An earlier post provided some biographical information on Irving Steiger Cooper (1882-1935), an American who served as Leadbeater’s secretary for many years, and was consecrated as a Bishop on July 13, 1919 in Sydney by Bishops Wedgwood, Leadbeater, and Mazel, and appointed Regionary Bishop for the USA – see: https://cwleadbeater.wordpress.com/2017/01/05/irving-steiger-cooper/ and https://cwleadbeater.wordpress.com/2016/06/01/consecration-of-irving-cooper/ Dick Balfour Clarke, … Continue reading Irving Steiger Cooper: More biographical information

Irving Steiger Cooper (1882-1935) was born in Santa Barbara, California in1882, the son of Augustus Steiger Cooper and Mary Felds Cooper. He graduated from the University of California. In 1927 he married Susan L. Warfield. Cooper joined the Theosophical Society, and travelled to Adyar in 1911 where he worked as an assistant to Leadbeater. Dick … Continue reading Irving Steiger Cooper

The Consecration to the Episcopate of Irving Steiger Cooper (1882-1935) (2nd Bishop from left) as Regionary Bishop of the United States of America by Wedgwood (3rd Bishop from left) assisted by Leadbeater (Bishop on far left) and Mazel (Bishop on far right), with assisting Priests and servers at the Liberal Catholic Cathedral Church of St … Continue reading Consecration of Irving Cooper

Following the untimely death of John Cooper in 1998, his family asked me to serve as the literary executor of his estate, and to locate a repository for his extensive library and archives. Stringent conditions were to be imposed on any recipient: the collection must be maintained as a special collection; it must be properly … Continue reading Archives: Cooper Theosophy Collection

In 1986 Alfred John Cooper submitted a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in the School of Religious Studies at the University of Sydney with the title: “The Theosophical crisis in Australia : the story of the breakup of the Theosophical Society in Sydney from 1913 until 1923”: 428 leaves : ill. The … Continue reading Leadbeater Theses: John Cooper

The FOTA (Friends of Theosophical Archives) Newsletter No 6 Spring-Summer 2016 Included an interview with me by Leslie Price regarding what was then a new blog: https://cwleadbeater.wordpress.com/ See: http://hypatia.gr/fota/images/newsletter/Fota_Newsletter06.pdf Earlier and later issues of this excellent newsletter can be accessed at: http://hypatia.gr/fota/index.php/newsletter I have added some additional information in []. What is the purpose of the … Continue reading FOTA Interview

During the early years of the Liberal Catholic Church in Sydney, a number of Anglican clergymen found themselves attracted to it. One of them was James Robin Kay (1887 Hill End NSW – 2.8.1933 Lake Cargelligo NSW). He was described in documents relating to his estate as “Clerk in Holy Orders”. Kay had been ordained … Continue reading James Kay, Anglican and Liberal Catholic

“Last year, our librarian Stephen Van Dyk picked up this slender blue hardcover at a rare book auction. He didn’t know exactly what a “chakra” was, but still he found the worn old book remarkable, if not a bit weird, for its striking illustrations of big painted circles. I was surprised to see this book … Continue reading Chakras and Design

Thomas Hammond Martyn (1859-1924), was an eminent and powerful member of the Theosophical Society in Sydney, a leading and very wealthy stockbroker, and, initially, an enthusiastic disciple, generous host and financial supporter of Leadbeater. He subsequently became a bitter enemy of James Wedgwood, of whose sexual misconduct he claimed to have irrefutable proof, and the … Continue reading Thomas Hammond Martyn

The consequences of the resolution of the General Council of the Theosophical Society on December 26, 1908, to, amongst other related matters, declare that there was no reason why Leadbeater should not return to membership of the Theosophical Society, included the resignation of some of the most distinguished and long-standing members of the Society, the … Continue reading Independent Theosophical League