TheOrder of the Golden Age(OGA) was an internationalanimal rightssociety with aChristian,theosophicalandvegetarianemphasis, which existed between 1895 and 1959.
 Information page about the society in the OGA's journalHerald of the Golden Age,April 1910 | |
| Abbreviation | OGA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1895 |
| Founders | Henry John Williams |
| Dissolved | 1959 |
| Purpose | Promotion ofanimal rights |
Region | Worldwide |
History
editThe Order of the Golden Age (OGA) was founded by Rev.Henry John Williams(younger brother ofHoward Williams) in 1882.[1][2]Sidney Hartnoll Beardre-established the OGA in 1895.[1][3]
The renewed OGA's headquarters were located at Beard's residence inIlfracombe.[4]The Order promotedpsychical research,spiritualismandvegetarianism.[1]In 1904, the OGA's new headquarters were located at Barcombe Hall inPaignton.[1][4]Beard was the editor of theHerald of the Golden Age(1896–1918), the official journal for the OGA.[3][5]The aim of the journal was to promote the "fruitarian[a]system of living, and to teach its advantages. "[5]The journal promoted vegetarianism from a Christian perspective.[6]According to an advertisement of the journal, it "challenges the morality of Carnivorous Customs and advocates Practical Christianity, Hygienic Common Sense, Social Reform, Philanthropy and Universal Benevolence. It is opposed to War, Slaughter, Cruelty and Oppression, and is designed to promote Goodness, but not goody goodyism, and Orthodoxy of Heart, rather than Orthodoxy of Creed."[7]Josiah Oldfield,the noted British lawyer, physician and promoter of fruitarianism, was a member of the OGA.[8]
By 1909, the OGA was active in 47 countries, and its headquarters transferred to London.[2]The OGA organised successful concerts at theRoyal Albert Hall.[9]The OGA even claimed to have convertedPope Pius Xto thevegetarian dietduring 1907.[10]In 1938, the Order decamped toSouth Africaupon the death of their official Founder and President, Sidney Hartnoll Beard, to become forgotten about by the vegetarian movement until the 21st century.
Position on fish eating
editThe OGA did not oppose consumption offish.[11]In 1902, the OGA stated that "the eating of fish caught in a net has never been forbidden to members of The Order, and the original rule still remains in force... The Order stands on the basis of its original foundation, and this foundation declared that the eating of net-caught fish should not exclude from membership".[11]
The OGA had two classes in its membership, companions and associates. The companions were vegetarians who abstained from fish,poultryandred meat,whilst the companions abstained from only poultry and red meat. Both were considered members of The Order.[12]
OGA's position on fish eating was criticized in an article inThe British Medical Journalwhich questioned "is not a fish as much deserving of consideration on 'humanitarian grounds' as a sheep?".[13]
Legacy
editA commemorative website was created in 2006 and the OGA was mentioned in a modern published history of the vegetarian movement a year later.[1][2]A large collection of volumes ofThe Herald of the Golden Agewere digitised by theInternet Archivein 2008.
See also
editNotes
edit- ^At the time, the term 'fruitarian' was used with a variety of meanings, see e.g. "Oldfield'stype of 'fruitarian dietary' was not a strict type offruitarianism".
References
edit- ^abcdeGregory, James. (2007).Of Victorians and Vegetarians: The Vegetarian Movement in Nineteenth-Century Britain.Tauris Academic Studies. p. 109.ISBN978-1-84511-379-7
- ^abcGilheany, John M."The Order of the Golden Age: An Overview".The Order of the Golden Age.Retrieved2 October2022.
- ^abAnonymous. (1978).Who Was Who Among English and European Authors, 1931-1949.Volume 1. Gale Research Company. p. 114. Open Library Ref: OL21034929M;ISBN0810304007ISBN978-0810304000
- ^ab"Sidney H. Beard (1862-1938)".Order of the Golden Age. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
- ^abKuhn, Philip. (2017).Psychoanalysis in Britain, 1893–1913: Histories and Historiography.Lexington Books. pp. 73-74.ISBN978-1498505222
- ^Stark, James F. (2018).Replace them by Salads and Vegetables: Dietary Innovation, Youthfulness, and Authority, 1900–1939.Global Food History4 (2): 130-151. Accessed 28 December 2019
- ^Kuhn, Philip. (2017).Psychoanalysis in Britain, 1893–1913: Histories and Historiography.Lexington Books. p. 93.ISBN978-1498505222
- ^Bates, A. W. H. (2017).Anti-Vivisection and the Profession of Medicine in Britain: A Social History.Palgrave Macmillan. p. 72.ISBN978-1-137-55696-7
- ^The Times,Tuesday, Nov 01, 1910; p. 16; Issue 39418.
- ^The Herald of the Golden Age,July 1907, p. 132.
- ^ab"Fish-Eating".Herald of the Golden Age.7(5): 56. 1902.
- ^"Companions and Associates".Herald of the Golden Age.7(5): 56. 1902.
- ^"Moderate Vegetarians".The British Medical Journal.2(2182): 1359–1360. 1902.JSTOR20274045.
Further reading
edit- Gilheany, John M. (2010).Familiar Strangers: The Church and the Vegetarian Movement in Britain (1809-2009).Cardiff: Ascendant Press.ISBN978-0-9552945-1-8.
- Calvert, Samantha Jane (2013).Eden's diet: Christianity and vegetarianism 1809 – 2009(PhD thesis). University of Birmingham.
- Bates, A. W. H. (2017), Bates, A.W.H. (ed.), "A New Age for a New Century: Anti-Vivisection, Vegetarianism, and the Order of the Golden Age",Anti-Vivisection and the Profession of Medicine in Britain: A Social History,The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 69–98,doi:10.1057/978-1-137-55697-4_4,ISBN978-1-137-55697-4
External links
edit- Order of the Golden Age
- The Herald of the Golden Age- International Association for the Preservation of Spiritualist and Occult Periodicals