The COMMUNIST CHURCH
1840s: Idealists in Britain,
By principles Chartist were smitten,
Such as John Goodwyn Barmby,
Who asked, "What could the harm be
In a Communist Church?" So it's written.
Dr G.H. and Giorgio Coniglio, 2023
Authors' Note: Liberal thinking seized Europe towards the middle of the nineteenth century. Emboldened by the partial successes of the politically-targeted Chartists, intellectuals were drawn to idealistic social movements such as communitarianism. According to Wikipedia, John Goodwyn Barmby (1820 – 1881), one of its principals, introduced the term 'communist', based on the French le communisme and founded a revue called The Communist Chronicle. Seeking a spiritual path, he later founded the Communist Church, a sect that had congregations numbering in the teens at its peak. When the church folded in 1849, Barmby became active as a Unitarian minister.
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