new church life: march / april 2014
the new church in cuba
Excerpts from a report by Douglas Calvo Gainza, courtesy of David Simpson,
Toronto
During the “Seven Year War” in 1762 the British Army attacked and seized
Havana. At this time Emanuel Swedenborg also was revealing the spiritual
sense of the Word. Now Swedenborg’s Writings have come to Cuba.
Cubans’ interest in Swedenborg dates from the Independence War
against Spain, when José Martí, a national hero in Cuba, mentioned him
twice in his voluminous legacy. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, a
monthly newspaper was published in Spain and distributed in Cuba, with the
collaboration of a native Swedenborgian. During the 1950s interest grew and
significant individuals arose in the Cuban Swedenborgian movement.
With the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the development of
Swedenborgianism on the island was abruptly checked. But Cuban-Americans
like Ray Guiu, who directed a Swedenborgian bookstore in Boston for decades,
and resident intellectuals like writer José Lezama Lima, kept the movement
alive.
Today Cuba is an impoverished country but change is occurring and new
ideas are finding fertile ground. The father of modern Swedenborgianism in
Cuba is undoubtedly David Simpson in Toronto, who created a website and
published many New Church materials in Spanish. This was the beginning of
opening up new contacts.
A team was organized which has translated Divine Providence and is
working on many other books of the Writings. There has also been a significant
contribution from an anonymous donor in Canada to help with the translation
of Heaven and Hell.
Under the auspices of Dr. Adolfo Ham, one of the most relevant
personalities on Cuban spirituality, two international conferences on
Theology and Religious Science were held in 2013 and 2014, which were well
attended by students and the general public. These included presentations
by the Revs. Göran Appelgren , David Lindrooth, Bradley Heinrichs, Kurt
Nemitz and Dr. Anders Hallengren of Sweden. (Gören, David and Kurt also
have performed several baptisms in Cuba.)
These symposiums in an officially permitted and respected institution are
starting to attract the attention of Cubans from various religious origins, and
several people are increasingly interested in the teachings of the New Church.
There is already talk of a third conference to keep the momentum going.
“Let us hope,” the report states, “that (all) this will redound to a better
acquaintance of the Hispanic-speaking nations with the revelation that the
Lord of the Universe gave to mankind three centuries ago, through a man who
is already being welcomed as a pleasant guest in several Cuban homes and
hearts.”
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