Editing Antoinism (section)

==History==

===1846–1912: Founder Louis Antoine===
[[File:Antoine le guérisseur (Excelsior 1912-07-01).jpg|thumb|upright|Photograph of Antoine published in the French newspaper ''Excelsior'', 1912]]
====Childhood and professional activities====
Louis-Joseph Antoine was born on 7 June 1846 in [[Mons-Crotteux]], [[Belgium]] at a place called "In the Chapel",<ref name="Debouxhtay41">[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 41.</ref> the youngest of a large family,<ref name="Debouxhtay41"/><ref>[[#Vivier|Vivier, 1989]], p. 19</ref> which belonged to the [[Roman Catholic Church]].<ref>[[#Vivier|Vivier, 1989]], p. 9.</ref> His mother was Catherine Castille, born in 1797. He was raised in the Priesse street and attended primary school in Mons.<ref name="Lallemand45">[[#Lallemand|Lallemand, 1994]], p. 45.</ref> From the age of twelve, Louis was employed as a coal miner, following in the footsteps of his father.<ref>[[#Vivier|Vivier, 1989]], p. 24.</ref> One day, while working at the mine, his lamp went out without apparent reason, which he interpreted as a divine sign that he should abandon this work.<ref>[[#Vivier|Vivier, 1989]], pp. 30,31.</ref> He worked for two years in the mine,<ref name="Debouxhtay43">[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 43.</ref> then was a [[steelworker]] in the Cockerill factory in Seraing.<ref>[[#Dericquebourg|Dericquebourg, 1993]], p. 11.</ref> He was enrolled in the [[militia]] of Belgium in 1866, and filled his military obligations in [[Bruges]].<ref name="Lallemand45"/> During the [[Franco-Prussian War]], he accidentally killed a comrade; although there was no legal action, this event led him to question the meaning of life.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 47.</ref> After marrying Jeanne Catherine Collon on 15 April 1873,<ref>[[#Vivier|Vivier, 1989]], p. 108.</ref> while he was a hammerer,<ref name="Debouxhtay43"/> he became the father of a son, Louis Martin Joseph, born in Hamborn, [[Prussia]] on 23 September 1873, and baptized five days later in the Catholic Church of St. John.<ref name="Debouxhtay48">[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 48.</ref><ref>[[#Vivier|Vivier, 1989]], p. 112,113.</ref> Then the family went to Belgium in August 1876,<ref name="Lallemand45"/> where Antoine bought a horse and became a vegetable vendor.<ref name="Debouxhtay48"/><ref>[[#Vivier|Vivier, 1989]], p. 122.</ref> In 1878, he began to suffer from recurring [[stomach aches]].<ref>[[#Begot|Bégot, 1997]], § 7.</ref> In February 1879, he returned to Poland where he was hired as hammerer chief by Mr. Pastor in the Pragua steelworks;<ref name="Debouxhtay49">[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 49.</ref> there his wife ran a school canteen.<ref name="Lallemand45"/> Five years later,<ref name="Debouxhtay57">[[# Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 57.</ref> the family moved to [[Jemeppe-sur-Meuse]] (Belgium),<ref name="Deric13">[[#Dericquebourg|Dericquebourg, 1993]], p. 13.</ref> where he built twenty houses for workers.<ref name="Lallemand46">[[#Lallemand|Lallemand, 1994]], p. 46.</ref> On 5 February 1886, Antoine was sentenced to a fine of two francs on the grounds of physical violence on Denis Collon on 10 October 1885. Until 1900, he was a portier and a collector of Lexhy factory.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 50.</ref>

====Influence by Spiritism====
Though young, Antoine showed great piety,<ref>[[#Vivier|Vivier, 1989]], p. 26.</ref> which the historian Pierre Debouxhtay described as a "devotion of a rather scrupulous formalism".<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 46.</ref> Despite his strong faith, Antoine was unsatisfied with his religion. He began to be influenced by the writings of [[Allan Kardec]] and, through his friend Gustave Gon, was initiated in 1884 in [[Kardecist spiritism|Spiritism]] in attending Spiritist meetings to [[Tilleur]],<ref name="Giltay6">[[#Giltay|Giltay, 2011]], p. 6.</ref> alongside his wife and his nephew Pierre Dor.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], pp. 54,55.</ref> In Jemeppe-sur-Meuse, with friends, he started a [[Kardecist spiritism|Spiritist]] movement called "The Vine Growers of the Lord" ("Les Vignerons du Seigneur").<ref name="Deric13"/> Often ill, his son attended evening school in Jemeppe, then worked at the Society of Belgian Northern Railways (Société des Chemins de Fer du Nord Belge);<ref name="Debouxhtay58">[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], pp. 58,59.</ref> At his death on 23 April 1893 because of a [[phlebitis]],<ref name="Debouxhtay58"/><ref>[[#Dericquebourg|Dericquebourg, 1993]], p. 14.</ref> Antoine and his group definitively broke with [[Christianity]]; moreover, after participating in Spiritist meetings, parents believed that their deceased son was reincarnated as a pharmacist in Paris.<ref name="Debouxhtay58"/> Antoine published in 1896 a book entitled ''Little Spiritist Catechism'' (''Petit catéchisme spirite'') to explain his own doctrinal views; shaped on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, this writing was successful and was translated into Spanish. Antoine organized public meetings of Spiritism the first Sunday of each month at his home, and the second and the fourth Sundays at Pierre Debroux's home,<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 64.</ref> people being invited to meetings through flyers.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 65.</ref> He then discovered the gifts of healing and by 1900, he received many sufferers to heal; thenceforth, he was known as the "healer of Jemeppe". He distributed remedies learned from Spiritism and advocated [[vegetarianism]], as well as temperance and avoidance of fatty foods.<ref>[[#Dericquebourg|Dericquebourg, 1993]], p. 16.</ref>

On 8 November 1900, the prosecutor of [[Liège]], who had received an anonymous letter, asked doctors Louis Lenger and Gabriel Corin to investigate the healing activities of Antoine. On 14 December, the Commissioner raided the pharmacist Nizet, installed in Jemeppe, who received orders made by Antoine to heal the sick. Three days later, the prosecutor and the two doctors asked Antoine about his healing activities and attended several consultations. In his report, the prosecutor stated that Anthony was very cooperative, that his treatments were "simple" and that it was certain that he obtained many recoveries but only under suggestion; he noticed his "absolute sincerity", but also asserted his activities could be "a danger to public health".<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], pp. 70–89.</ref><ref>[[#Dericquebourg|Dericquebourg, 1993]], p. 17.</ref> Antoine appeared before the Criminal Court on 19 February 1901; Dr. Corin and three patients who reported having been cured succeeded at the witness box.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 90.</ref> Finally, Antoine was sentenced to a suspended fine of 60 francs,<ref name="Lallemand46"/> which did not prevent him to enjoy great renown.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 91.</ref> Meanwhile, on 25 December 1900, approximately 180 people attended the inauguration of a new building located at the corner of Tomballes and Bois-du-Mont streets that Antoine had purchased earlier the same year, and then decorated with portraits of Allan Kardec, the [[cure of Ars]] and Dr. House.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], pp. 67–69.</ref>

[[File:Temle antoiniste jemeppe.JPG|thumb|upright|The temple in Jemeppe-sur-Meuse, the first one of the religion, was consecrated by Antoine in 1910.]]

In 1901, Antoine posted an advertisement in the Spiritist journal ''The Messenger'' (''Le Messager'') seeking doctors who would associate with him, but the attempt did not meet with success.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 92.</ref> At the same time, he was deeply influenced by Léon Denis' book ''In the Invisible''.<ref>[[#Begot2|Bégot, 2000]], § 7,8.</ref> He began to give up his remedies, particularly because of his then recent trial,<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 93.</ref> and gradually left Spiritism, as he was sometimes deceived by false mediums.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 115.</ref> In 1902, his group The Vine Growers of the Lord, although solicited, did not participate in the creation of a Spiritist Federation, then in 1905, the members did not attend the preparatory meeting of the Congress in Liège and refused the 0.25 franc contribution.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 117.</ref> In 1905, he saw up to 400 patients per day.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 149.</ref> Around the same time, he published a four-page leaflet which commented on passages of the Gospels without reference to Spiritism.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], pp. 120,121.</ref>

====Foundation of a new religion====
In 1906, Antoine discovered a spirituality he called a "new spiritualism", which led him to definitely give up [[Kardecist spiritism|Spiritism]], to decide to heal by faith alone and to perform only collective healing in a temple, and thus started to lay the foundations of a structured religious movement.<ref name="D20">[[#Dericquebourg|Dericquebourg, 1993]], p. 20.</ref> That year, the followers of The Vine Growers of the Lord attended for the last time the national convention of Spiritists in [[Charleroi]], which officially marked the end of their mutual support, and the following year, Antoine publicly abjured any practice of Spiritism.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], pp. 122–24.</ref> In addition, the moral dimension became more present in the doctrine,<ref>[[#Roure|Roure,1925]], p. 179.</ref> while the experimental disappeared.<ref name="Debouxhtay126">[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], pp. 126, 127.</ref> Given this abandonment of the Spiritist doctrine, the new religious group was criticized in Spiritist journals.<ref name="Debouxhtay128">[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], pp. 128, 129.</ref>

At that time, Antoine had a student named Martin Jeanfils,<ref name="Debouxhtay146">[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 146.</ref> an employee at the Corbeau coal.<ref name="Debouxhtay150">[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 150.</ref> A few years ago, Jeanfils was certain to get a gift of healing by treating knee and foot sprains of his wife and himself, and was then consulted by patients in Jemeppe. Antoine and he were sued on 16 January 1907 on the grounds of illegal practice of the art of healing. Jeanfils explained to the court that he just wanted to heal the pain, and that he always sent his patients to doctors.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 147.</ref> For his part, Antoine told the judge that he simply put his hand on the forehead of patients and that he prescribed drugs;<ref name="Debouxhtay146"/> he denied the charge, and all the witnesses heard testified of the altruism of Antoine, who distributed money to the poor. Antoine and Jeanfils appeared before the Criminal Court on 15 June 1907, and the courtroom was entirely filled.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 148.</ref> Dr. Delville and the parents of a child cured by Antoine testified from the witness box; Mr. Dupret then pronounced the indictment.<ref name="Debouxhtay150"/> The judgment was adjourned and finally, on 21 June 1907, President Hamoir acquitted the two men, who were absent from court. Following an appeal by the prosecutor, Antoine and Jeanfils appeared before the Court again on 16 October 1907.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], pp. 152,153.</ref> The General Advocate Meyers made the indictment, analyzing the legislation of 1918 on the illegal art of healing, claiming that it was not what Antoine did. On 22 October of the same year, the acquittal was confirmed, and Meyers was deeply thanked by several faithful.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], pp. 155–57.</ref>

Mrs. Desart, a stenographer, transcribed the teachings of Antoine in a magazine, ''The Halo of Consciousness'' (''L'Auréole de la conscience''),<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 253.</ref> published from May 1907 to April 1909,<ref name="Debouxhtay137">[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], pp. 137–40.</ref> while three books were successively published, works in which the new doctrine was developed and which contained the Antoinist creed, "The Ten Principles of the Father".<ref name="D20"/><ref>{{cite book |title=Les Marges du christianisme: " Sectes ", dissidences, ésotérisme |title-link=Les Marges du christianisme |editor-first=Jean-Pierre |editor-last=Chantin |editor-link=Jean-Pierre Chantin |publisher=Éditions Beauchesne |place=Paris |year=2001 |language=fr |series=[[Dictionnaire du monde religieux dans la France contemporaine]] |pages=4–6 |isbn=2-7010-1418-2}}</ref> At that time, the temple was quickly filled every day and Antoine received daily about 250 letters or telegrams.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 160.</ref> Unlike today, some proselytism was performed by 70 hawkers wearing coats and hats and with briefcases.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 254.</ref> From May 1909 to Easter 1910, Antoine did not appear in public, and lived alone to practice [[fasting]] and [[prayer]], and the worship was assumed by one of his followers,<ref>[[# Begot2|Bégot, 2000]], § 10–11.</ref> Florian Deregnaucourt, who also published the Antoinist literature.<ref>{{cite journal| title=A New Sect and its Prophet&nbsp;— Antoinism Has 160,000 Followers in Belgium |journal=[[The Sun (New York)|The Sun]] |date=25 December 1910 |place=New York}}</ref> On 15 August 1910, Antoine announced that he would no longer do individual consultations,<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 161.</ref> and consecrated the temple of Jemeppe-sur-Meuse, located on rue Bois-de-Mont (later rue Alfred Smeets, at the present rue Rousseau), which cost about 100,000 francs. Antoine presented his wife as his successor and appointed a council composed of followers to manage financial issues of the religion. At the meeting of 11 June 1911, the council proposed the publishing of a newspaper titled ''The Unitive'' (''L'Unitif'') which was released in September of the same year, with a printing of 400,000 copies for the first issue, and 6,000 subscribers.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], pp. 181–85</ref> In the context of legal proceedings for the worship registration, secretary of the Antoinist committee Deregnaucourt wrote to the Minister of the Interior on 29 March 1910 and to the Minister of Justice and Religious Affairs on 19 April 1910.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], pp. 271–73.</ref> A petition of 160,000 signatures to demand official recognition of the Antoinist religion was sent to the House of Representatives on 2 December 1910, and forwarded to the Minister of Justice on 27 January 1911.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 275.</ref>

Although his predictions were sometimes inaccurate, Antoine was then regarded as a prophet by his followers, and some of them said it could perform supernatural apparitions; for his part, Antoine said nothing about the possible truthfulness of these phenomena.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], pp. 176–80.</ref> Named "The Father" by his followers, Antoine died — "disembodied" in Antoinist doctrine —<ref name="Giltay8">[[#Giltay|Giltay, 2011]], p. 8.</ref> on 25 June 1912 as the result of an attack of [[stroke]].<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 197.</ref> Then there were rumors that he would resurrect on the third day, but Debouxhtay believed that they emanated from "jesters" and that Antoinists did not believe this.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 199.</ref> The procession which took place at his funeral on 30 June 1912 was a great event in Jemeppe,<ref>[[# Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], pp. 201–04.</ref> and on this occasion, 100,000 faithful came to pray over his body.<ref>[[#Dericquebourg|Dericquebourg, 1993]], p. 21.</ref> Subsequently, Antoinists were allowed to move the body, initially in the [[pauper's grave]], to the town cemetery. In 1920, Antoine's widow asked the country's Queen to allow her to carry the body in the temple garden of Jemeppe where a chapel would be erected, but this request failed.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], pp. 205–06.</ref>

As a legacy, a street in [[Spa (Belgium)|Spa]] was named "Father Antoine Street" ("Rue du Père Antoine") after a decision by the Liberal Party of the city in 1931,<ref>{{cite book |first=Jacques |last=Cécius |title=Une religion de guérison : l'Antoinisme |year=2009 |page=42 |language=fr}}</ref> and a 1952 painted plaster bust of Antoine is exhibited at the Museum of Walloon Life (Musée de la Vie wallonne) in Liège.<ref>{{cite web |title=Musée de la Vie wallonne&nbsp;— Buste du Père Antoine |url=http://www.blogg.org/blog-78129-billet-1271194.html |publisher=antoinisme.blogg.org |language=fr |access-date=31 December 2011}}</ref>

====Splinter groups====
When Antoine was alive, a minor splinter group was led in [[Verviers]] by a man named Jousselin.<ref>[[#Vivier|Vivier, 1989]], p. 373.</ref> A more important schism from Antoinism was iniatied by Pierre Dor (born 15 May 1862, Mons-Crotteux), Louis Antoine's nephew, and was named "Dorism". He first participated in the Spiritist circle of his uncle, "The Vine Growers of the Lord", but decided to split off, as he believed he had himself [[gifts of healing]]. He tried to heal sufferers, but did not achieve success and returned to the group of his uncle. However, he accompanied one of his patients in Russia, where he enjoyed success since he healed about 7,000 people per week,<ref>[[#Dericquebourg|Dericquebourg, 1993]], p. 31.</ref> but came back to Belgium after complaints from doctors. In Roux-Wilbeauroux, he built a hall called "The Moral School" ("L'École Morale") where he healed the sick and dispensed roughly the same teachings as that of his uncle.<ref name="Cecius">{{cite web |title=L'antoinisme et le dorisme |url=https://prolib.net/pierre_bailleux/libresens/208.014.antoinisme.htm |first=Jacques |last=Cecius |publisher=Profils de libertés |location=Spa |date=2 July 2007 |language=fr |access-date=10 September 2010}}</ref> He explained his theory in two books respectively published in 1912 and 1913, entitled ''Catechism of the Restoration of the Soul'' (''Catéchisme de la restauration de l'âme'') and ''Christ Speaks Again'' (''Le Christ parle à nouveau'')—as he identified himself to Jesus Christ, and Antoine to [[John the Baptist]]—which Debouxhtay considered as a potential [[plagiarism]] of Antoine's writings.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay|Debouxhtay, 1945]], p. 15.</ref> Dor encouraged a diet of [[vegetable]]s boiled in water and [[chastity]] before marriage. In 1916, he was convicted of illegally practicing the healing art. Thereafter, he moved to [[Uccle]], and his movement disappeared following his death on 5 March 1947.<ref name="Cecius"/> As Antoinism, Dorism was criticized by some Catholic clergy members.<ref>{{cite book |title=L'Antoinisme ou la religion bizarre d'un faux prophète |author=Abbé Brabant |publisher=Éditions Rex |place=Louvain |year=1931 |chapter=Appendice: Le Dorisme |language=fr}}</ref>

===1912–1940: Wife Catherine as successor===
The illiterate wife of Louis Antoine, Catherine (born 26 May 1850, Jemeppe sur Meuse&nbsp;– died 3 November 1940, Jemeppe sur Meuse),<ref name="Deric2002">[[#Dericquebourg2|Dericquebourg, 2002]], pp. 42–44.</ref> called "The Mother" by the followers, was designated by him as his successor, but received no advice from him on how to manage the religion.<ref>[[#Dericquebourg|Dericquebourg, 1993]], pp. 22,25.</ref> In December 1918, then in September 1919, she sent letters respectively to the King of Belgium and the Minister of Justice to obtain legal recognition of the Antoinist worship;<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 277.</ref> in the month of March of the following two years, Secretary of worship Ferdinand Delcroix sent two letters in the same purpose,<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], pp. 278,279.</ref> which resulted in 1922 in the recognition of public utility of the religion.

To seek to prevent any misappropriation of the charism of Antoine within the movement after his death, the Antoinist journal ''L'Unitif'' published articles which presented Catherine as the legitimate successor and also redefined precisely the limits of the healers' role.<ref>[[#Begot2|Bégot, 2000]], § 19,20.</ref> To avoid a succession crisis and to ensure the continuity of the religion, Catherine decided to promote a centralized worship around the person of her husband and thus established various rules between 1925 and 1930. For example, she placed, in the temple before the high platform, the photograph of her husband with the mention "The Father is making the Operation", then added her own portrait. She also authorized the ''desservants''—the members the most involved in the religion—to perform the General Operation from the higher platform, but wanted that the ceremony would be preceded by a statement that it is the Father who performs the Operation and that the faith must be placed in him to obtain satisfaction. She insisted that the ''desservant'' installed in the platform would be sat during the reading of Antoine's writings. She also organized the Father's day, on 25 June, and rituals such as baptism, communion and marriage, which transformed the group into an institutionalized religion.<ref>[[#Begot2|Bégot, 2000]], § 21,22.</ref> She ordered that nothing should be changed in her husband's writings and in 1932 closed [[Reference library|reading room]]s in which followers gave personal teachings.<ref>[[#Dericquebourg|Dericquebourg, 1993]], pp. 23,24.</ref> However, unlike the writings of her husband which can be sold by anyone, changes and rules established by Catherine are recorded in books only available to the ''desservants'', thus remaining confidential.<ref>[[#Begot2|Bégot, 2000]], § 24.</ref> From 17 June 1930, a faithful named Narcisse Nihoul replaced her to perform the General Operation at the platform of the temple.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay2|Debouxhtay, 1934]], p. 215.</ref>

===1940–{{CURRENTYEAR}}: Continuity of the worship===
The history of Antoinism was very quiet after 1940. In Belgium, Joseph Nihoul, the President of the Antoinist Council, then his successors, led the religion until their death, alongside the members of this body.<ref>[[#Dericquebourg|Dericquebourg, 1993]], p. 25.</ref> The authority of Catherine was challenged just after her death by the Belgian branch of the movement, which has withdrawn the religious changes she made: removal of photographs in the temples, deletion of baptism, marriage and communion, opposition to the translation of Antoine's works. However, a Belgian group who, claiming to be faithful to the true Antoinist tradition, opened a temple in [[Angleur]] on 1 April 1943, preferred to keep the portraits of the Antoines in the temple.<ref>[[#Debouxhtay|Debouxhtay, 1945]], p. 27.</ref> In France, the Antoinists wanted to be faithful to all requirements provided by the founding couple. In spite of these differences, the two branches show each other support and tolerance. Thus, after the death of Catherine, there were two forms of Antoinism, which still remain different today: one in Belgium, and one in France.<ref>[[#Dericquebourg|Dericquebourg, 1993]], pp. 26–30.</ref>

In Belgium, the growth of the religion quickly begin to slow down, even to decline, as indicated by the fact that no temple has been built since 1968 and that several of them are currently unused because of a lack of dressed members and/or money. In contrast, the constructions of the temples in France has been continued until 1993, when a new temple in Toulouse was opened.<ref name="R136">[[#Dericquebourg|Dericquebourg, 1993]], pp. 136,137.</ref>