International Spiritualist Congress
International Spiritualist Congress
The name of five international gatherings of Spiritualist leaders held in the years between the two world wars. The first was held at Liège (1923), the second at Paris (1925), the third in London (1928), the fourth at The Hague (1931), and the fifth in Barcelona (1934).
The Paris congress prepared and promulgated a statement of the philosophy and fundamental principles of Spiritualism. Delegates agreed that Spiritualism stood for (1) the existence of God as the intelligent and supreme cause of all things; (2) the affirmation that man is a spirit related to a perishable body by an intermediate body (the etheral or "perispirit") that is indestructible in nature; (3) the immortality of the spirit and its continuous evolution toward perfection through progressive stages of life; and (4) universal and personal responsibility, both individual and collective, between all beings. Later congresses reaffirmed these principles. The congresses were a programmatic expression of the International Spiritualists Federation.