Friends of the Glorious Cross of Dozulé
Encyclopedia
The Friends of the Glorious Cross of Dozulé (Amis de la Croix Glorieuse de Dozulé) is a Christian
movement founded in the 1980s in the Calvados
département, France. It is based on a series of miraculous revelations received in Dozulé
in the 1970s. This controversial movement is widely referred as a cult
in the media.
by Albert Delbauche, a professor of yoga, after receiving many apparitions and messages by Jesus. He predicted the end of the world, preceding by many catastrophes, and published Le Message de Dozulé which contains the doctrine of the group. He confirmed as true the prophecies of Madeleine Aumont, a family mother who claimed to have received 49 miraculous interventions, 38 of them from Christ, between 28 March 1972 and 6 October 1978, in Dozulé, Calvados. In late 1982, the Apocalypse was announced as imminent, and the followers took refuge in Loire-Atlantique
. According to the founder, several precautions should have been followed to be saved. After the failure of the prophecy, many members left the group and began to publicly criticize it. The group is now under the leadership of a woman self-named JNSR.
In the 1990s, there were between 80 and 500 followers, but 6,000 pilgrims came in Dozulé from Belgium and Holland. Claude Vorhilon, founder of the Raëlism
, made a pilgrimage to Dozulé and said Aumont's revelations were actually messages from aliens. Today, nearly 20 others associations are active to promote the messages of Dozulé.
and the Réunion
(35-40 crosses).
), notably because of its apocalypticism
. In 1985, the bishop of Bayeux
publicly condemned the message of Dozulé which is not recognized by the Catholic Church and thus considered as a "pseudo-catholic cult". In addition, the project of erecting giant crosses sometimes received some opposition, particularly in Haute-Garonne
and Loiret
. Several crosses were destroyed, as in Essonne
.
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
movement founded in the 1980s in the Calvados
Calvados
The French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...
département, France. It is based on a series of miraculous revelations received in Dozulé
Dozulé
-See also:* Cross of Dozulé* Movement of Love Saint Juan Diego*Communes of the Calvados department-References:*...
in the 1970s. This controversial movement is widely referred as a cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
in the media.
History
The movement was founded on 2 April 1982 in Saint-QuentinSaint-Quentin, Aisne
Saint-Quentin is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France. It has been identified as the Augusta Veromanduorum of antiquity. It is named after Saint Quentin, who is said to have been martyred here in the 3rd century....
by Albert Delbauche, a professor of yoga, after receiving many apparitions and messages by Jesus. He predicted the end of the world, preceding by many catastrophes, and published Le Message de Dozulé which contains the doctrine of the group. He confirmed as true the prophecies of Madeleine Aumont, a family mother who claimed to have received 49 miraculous interventions, 38 of them from Christ, between 28 March 1972 and 6 October 1978, in Dozulé, Calvados. In late 1982, the Apocalypse was announced as imminent, and the followers took refuge in Loire-Atlantique
Loire-Atlantique
Loire-Atlantique is a department on the west coast of France named after the Loire River and the Atlantic Ocean.-History:...
. According to the founder, several precautions should have been followed to be saved. After the failure of the prophecy, many members left the group and began to publicly criticize it. The group is now under the leadership of a woman self-named JNSR.
In the 1990s, there were between 80 and 500 followers, but 6,000 pilgrims came in Dozulé from Belgium and Holland. Claude Vorhilon, founder of the Raëlism
Raëlism
Raëlism is a UFO religion that was founded in 1974 by Claude Vorilhon, now known as Raël.The Raëlian Movement teaches that life on Earth was scientifically created by a species of extraterrestrials, which they call the Elohim...
, made a pilgrimage to Dozulé and said Aumont's revelations were actually messages from aliens. Today, nearly 20 others associations are active to promote the messages of Dozulé.
Beliefs and practices
The purpose of the movement is to collect donations, to organize pilgrimages in Dozulé and to build in this village a 738-meter lighted cross, a purification tank and a sanctuary. The movement wants to establish in France a thousand crosses of this model, but reduced to 1/100 (7.38 meters), illuminated in blue and white. There are about 7,000 crosses in the world, some of them in New CaledoniaNew Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
and the Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
(35-40 crosses).
Controversies
In 1995, the group was considered as a cult in the 1995 parliamentary report on cults, and by anti-cult associations (ADFI, CCMMCentre contre les manipulations mentales
The Centre contre les manipulations mentales , widely named CCMM or Center Ikor Roger, is a French anti-cult association....
), notably because of its apocalypticism
Apocalypticism
Apocalypticism is the religious belief that there will be an apocalypse, a term which originally referred to a revelation of God's will, but now usually refers to belief that the world will come to an end time very soon, even within one's own lifetime...
. In 1985, the bishop of Bayeux
Bayeux
Bayeux is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France.Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England.-Administration:Bayeux is a sub-prefecture of Calvados...
publicly condemned the message of Dozulé which is not recognized by the Catholic Church and thus considered as a "pseudo-catholic cult". In addition, the project of erecting giant crosses sometimes received some opposition, particularly in Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne is a department in the southwest of France named after the Garonne river. Its main city is Toulouse.-History:Haute-Garonne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Languedoc.The...
and Loiret
Loiret
Loiret is a department in north-central FranceThe department is named after the river Loiret, a tributary of the Loire. The Loiret is located wholly within the department.- History :...
. Several crosses were destroyed, as in Essonne
Essonne
Essonne is a French department in the region of Île-de-France. It is named after the Essonne River.It was formed on 1 January 1968 when Seine-et-Oise was split into smaller departments.- History :...
.