The Wissahickon Monks

Résumé du livre

In 1688 eccentric genius Johann Jacob Zimmerman founded the non-denominational Chapter of Perfection (subsequently known in America as The Monks of the Wissahickon). An accomplished mathematician and astronomer, this former Lutheran minister combined multiple currents of 17th century thought when cobbling together the "constitution" of his religious order: Luther's emphasis on sacred scripture, Jakob Boehme's theosophy, and the occult arts of astrology, numerology, alchemy, and geomancy.
Like the Dutch Mennonites from Krefeld, Zimmerman's monks were attracted to William Penn's "Holy Experiment" in Philadelphia, a new city named for the righteous congregation mentioned by Revelation, Chapter 3. Between 1693 and 1694 Quaker businessman Benjamin Furly assisted the monks during their fitful migrations from Hamburg to Rotterdam, then London to Philadelphia.