Category: Palmar de Troya

Palmarian Rituals

Palmarian Rituals

Sacraments

Just as the Roman Catholic church, the Palmarians hold that Christ instituted seven sacraments. Nevertheless, they also teach that in this end-time the election to the papacy is an eighth, invisible sacrament, directly conferred by Christ (TM, chapter 34, volume 78-80).

The Palmarians have an exclusive soteriology; it is only possible to reach salvation within the visible Palmarian Church in union with the pope, where all divine graces are distributed since the end of the Roman era of the church. At present, the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, Palmarian church is the mystical body of Christ and the Virgin. Therefore, the sacraments of other churches, including the Roman Catholic have no value whatsoever, as the Holy Spirit does not work through them. Thus, they are empty rituals and, in fact, sacrileges that bring damnation on those who administer and receive them.

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Palmarian Doctrines, Part II

Palmarian Doctrines, Part II

Mariology

If the Roman Catholic Church has made few infallible dogmatic pronouncements, the Palmarian popes have made hundreds, if not thousands. During his first days as the pontiff, Gregory XVII promulgated a series of new Marian dogmas. Many of them had been discussed in the Roman Catholic Church for centuries. In the Early Church, it was taught that the Mary was a (perpetual) virgin and the mother of God (theotokos). Thereafter, it would take a long time before the church made any other binding dogma on the Virgin. In 1854, the Holy See announced a new dogma, the Immaculate Conception, that the Virgin Mary was conceived without the stain of original sin. Finally, in 1950, Pius XII infallibly dogmatized the Assumption of the Virgin: that Mary at her dormition (she did not die) was brought to heaven in body and soul (For a summary on Mariology, see Pelikan 1996; for details, see Marienlexikon 1988-1994).

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Palmarian Doctrines, Part I

Palmarian Doctrines, Part I

Doctrinal Texts

From its foundation in 1978, the Palmarian Church has been very text centered. It has published many documents that can serve as sources for a study of their theology. However, because of the increasingly closed nature of the church, it is not easy to get access to the texts and very little is found in research libraries. They have to be acquired in other, sometimes, complicated ways. Palmarian documents have often been published in parallel English, Spanish and German versions, but there are translations into French, Portuguese, Polish and Italian as well. They give evidence of a successive doctrinal development from a rather typical, though clearly apocalyptically-centered Catholic traditionalism, to a very different belief system.

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The Palmarian Church in the 21st Century, Part II

The Palmarian Church in the 21st Century, Part II

Holy Week in 2005 was a crucial time in the history of the Palmarian Church, as Gregory XVII died on March 21. In later years, he had become increasingly invisible in the life of the church and only appeared in Palmar de Troya on very special religious festivities, being carried in his gestatorial chair, tiara, miter or white biretta on his head. At his death, there was no conclave as he had already named Father Isidoro María his successor. The latter was crowned on March 24, taking Peter II as his papal name (ABC March 23, 24, 27, 2005). It is not known whether he regarded himself as Petrus Romanus, the last pope in the history, according to the prophecies of St. Malachy.

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The Palmarian Church in the 21st Century, Part I

The Palmarian Church in the 21st Century, Part I

The late 1990s and early 2000s was a very turbulent time in the Palmarian church, filled with secessions and expulsions. The crisis had to do not only with the new teachings of the church, but also with the behavior of the pope and other leaders. In a 1998 sermon, Pope Gregory XVII commented on the situation, claiming that the group of true believers would be even smaller in the near future

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Media Coverage of the Changes in the Palmarian Church

Media Coverage of the Changes in the Palmarian Church

Since news about the 22 of April escape of Pope Gregory XVII from Palmar de Troya was made public by me and others, there have been many articles about the matter in the Spanish press. The combination of a hermetically closed religious group and a pope leaving  to live with his girlfriend, claiming that he does not believe in the church teachings anymore is of course thrilling to many, including me.

Below you will find links to some articles from late April and early May that are quite interesting and not too speculative, including several interviews with the ex-pope, who now wants to “turn the page”and leave everything behind him, presenting the Palmarian church as a “set up” (montaje). One month after the departure of Gregory XVII, several Spanish TV channels have broadcast longer documentaries about the history of the Palmarians and the current events.

Early news on the escape of Pope Gregory XVII, ABC Sevilla 25 April 2016: El «papa» de El Palmar de Troya pierde su fe y deja su «orden» sin despedirse de sus seguidores

A history of the Palmarian history and the recent events, including the coronation of the new pope, Peter III, ABC Sevilla 26 April: Los cuatro «papas» del Palmar de Troya

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Outline of the History of the Palmarian Movement/Church 1968-2016

Outline of the History of the Palmarian Movement/Church 1968-2016

Here is a list of important events in the history of the Palmarian movement that became the Palmarian Catholic Church.

1968 (March 30): Four girls reported having seen a ”very beautiful lady” at the Alcaparrosa field, just outside Palmar de Troya, a town in Spanish Andalusia. The apparition took place by a mastic tree (lentisco), and the woman was identified as the Virgin Mary.

1968 (April onwards): Several other people, most of them women, claimed to have received apparitions at the site. The stories attracted large groups of people from the region, other parts of Spain, and from abroad.

1968 (October 15): Clemente Domínguez Gómez and his friend Manuel Alonso Corral from Seville visited Palmar de Troya for the first time.

1969 (July onwards) Clemente and Manuel began to travel frequently to Palmar de Troya.

1969 (August 15): Clemente fell in ecstasy by the mastic tree.

1969 (September 30): Clemente had his first vision (of Christ and Padre Pio).

1969 (December 15): Clemente had his first vision of the Virgin Mary.

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The Palmarian Church and the End of the World: Apocalypse Soon

The Palmarian Church and the End of the World: Apocalypse Soon

In the last days, the Palmarian church has been in the center of attention. The news about pope Gregory XVIII leaving the church and the coronation of this sucessor Peter III have received ample coverage, at least in Spanish media. See my contributions Unexpected Changes in the Palmarian Church  and The Palmarian Pope Has Resigned and is Succeeded by Peter III

The question is what is going to happen to the church now. Will there be a large exodus of members? Will the church even attract new ones? Will there be splinter groups, who claim that they are the true followers of the messages of Palmar de Troya. It is very hard to know. What can be studied, however, are the official Palmarian teachings about the future and the end of the world, i.e. the world of Palmarian apocalyptics

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The Palmarian Pope Has Resigned and is Succeeded by Peter III

The Palmarian Pope Has Resigned and is Succeeded by Peter III

Today, on 22 April 2016, the Palmarian pope Gregory XVIII (2011-2016) resigned. According to my sources of information, he abandoned the church compound without out making a declaration to the faithful. Nevertheless, he left a letter, stating that he “had lost the faith”.

Tomorrow, 23 April the name of the new pope will be announced. In all likelihood, Gregory XVIII will be succeeded by his former Secretary of State, Bishop Eliseo María, a Swiss. See my contribution Unexpected Changes in the Palmarian Church

To be continued …

Habemus Papam! Today, on 23 April 2016, a new pope pope was installed in the Palmarian Church.  As expected it is Eliseo María, a Swiss bishop, originally called Markus Josef Odermatt. He has taken the papal name Peter III. According to my informants, he will probably continue the relaxation of the rules, which Gregory XVIII began during the last part of his papacy. This is quite interesting. A Palmarian revolution might be on it’s way.

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Unexpected Changes in the Palmarian Church

Unexpected Changes in the Palmarian Church

For many years I have devoted much time to research about the Palmarian Church, a traditionalist group with its centre in southern Spain that has roots in the Catholic Church, but which developed increasingly different teachings built on private revelations. For a detailed study, see my research report (2015).

In the last months, there have been unexpected and great changes in this very closed group. The extremely strict dress code for members has been liberalized and there are even reports that nuns, who used to be entirely covered, are not using veils anymore. A truly remarkable development (See documents below).

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