Panacea Society
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Panacea Society is a Christian religious group based in Bedford, England. Notoriously secretive, they reached local headlines in 2002 when they were ordered by the Charity Commission of England to auction off many of their assets or risk losing their favourable tax benefits as a charity in law.
The Society promotes the belief of the second coming of Jesus as predicted by the Devonshire prophet Joanna Southcott (1750 - 1814) and later, twentieth century, prophets. Their symbolic main residence, The Haven, is a formidable victorian mansion close to the remains of Bedford Castle, which is being maintained in waiting for the arrival of the messiah as his residence.
The Society is said to be extremely rich, owning tracts of land in London and elsewhere. Its accounts for 2004 (available to view via the Charity Commission website) showed net assets of around £20 million.
