+

Hi Bob! It happened that Martha sent me a genealogy url she had found helpful, it is maintained by the Mormons, so it is more inclusive than what I had been able to come up with. So I was laboriously tracing the Mead line – and lo and behold, it comes to this lady and quits! I found that frustrating, but then, I thought the names Askew and Fox ring a bell somehow – and that’s how I hit the pot of gold!

But wait, I’m not finished. I am as familiar as most with Quakerism – I believe Quakers are perceived as having no “theology” properly so-called, they just sit prayerfully and “wait for the Spirit”. Actually, that’s pretty much what Orthodox call “hesychasm”, and it definitely is the foundation Herbert Schwartz taught us. And you can visit orthodoxnews.com and see that just a couple of days ago something I had written which that site posted was criticized for being cultist! I responded that what I wrote is in the New Testament, and in nothing less than a letter from the Prince of the Apostles, Peter himself, of whom Catholics claim their Pope to be the successor! (Orthodox - as an aside - have no problem with that claim whatsoever, they would only add that “Peter’s Chair at Antioch” pre-dates “Peter’s Chair at Rome” inasmuch as he established the see of Antioch before establishing the see of Rome. This used to be reflected in the old St. Andrew’s Catholic Missal, and apparently the Catholics had no problem with it, for the Mass was exactly the same, in fact as I recall it was printed out for feast of Antioch the feast of Rome referred the reader to Antioch.)

And what about the offensive teaching in my post that was criticized as being cultist? Imagine my astonishment when I read the following, which prefaced a book on George Fox:

“Fox judged truly that the new Protestant [or Catholic, or Orthodox] scholasticism had not reached to the heart of things … in any printed book however sacred: that academic learning was not in itself an adequate passport to the Christian ministry; that the words of God should not supersede the Word of God.

He realized, as few men [few, that is, who were known to the bishop, see below!] have ever realized, that we are placed under the dispensation of the Spirit: that the power from on high with which the risen Christ promised to endue His People was no exceptional or transitory gift, but an Eternal Presence, an unfailing spring of energy…. He felt that the Spirit which had guided the fathers was waiting still to lead forward their children: that He who spoke through men of old was not withdrawn from the world like the gods of Epicurus [or Aristotle – I’m a little surprised at Epicurus being the pagan philosopher of choice!], but ready in all ages to enter into holy souls and make them friends of God and prophets."

-- Bishop Brook Foss Wescott

In fact, as you can see from my post on orthodoxnews.com (the “Antichrist du jour”) God does yet more than this, granting us even a participation in His own triune divine nature! Yet my experience with Orthodox in America is that they reduce this incredible mystery to their misreading of Gregory Palamas (see Judith Matta’s Response in Letters to the Editor – I made a typo, Hatta instead of Matta, in my response to her response!), so that Fr. Peter Gilquist was even saying when I heard him in Miami that we should focus on what he called “entry level” pamphlets for teaching the people – theosis and the Theotokos, I believe I heard him say, he had never even heard of! At first I was truly scandalized, but after a while I recalled the really pathetic presentation of Gregory Palamas in the Orthodox Study Bible which I believe is represented as explaining “theosis”! Theosis is, in truth, what I say it is in my current article on orthodoxnews.org and many other places, for instance on my own web site, mamaleh-larisa.com, in my “Manifesto” which you can find under that title, or access by clicking on any of the ikons of Our Lady of Guadaloupe.

Furthermore, the Orthodox Study Bible (at least the copy I owned for a very short period of time), is just the King James Bible with a few scrappy pseudo-Orthodox commentaries like that on “theosis”. And, what is far, far worse – because it functions subliminally, most people have no clue as to what is at issue – the words presented as quoted explicitly from Christ (which is already egregiously misleading, since the Gospel writers wrote from memory some time after the events, it is improbable they were quoting directly, which, moreover, wasn’t even the style back in those pre-scholasticism days) are printed in red, to distinguish them from the rest of the text. Yet God, as the Quakers understand, does speak through us, and the Orthodox services even attribute to Christ statements made by the prophets, notably (that I have myself remarked) Moses and Isaiah.

But this is what Quakerism is all about. Let’s get more specific about our ancestor Margaret Fell-Fox. Her 9 children were of her marriage to Thomas Fell. Our ancestor is Sarah Fell, Clerk of the Lancashire Women's Quarterly Meeting and the person most concerned with the family's finances, who, at age 38, married William Mead – so that she contributed to our lineage. Some 11 years after Thomas Fell’s repose, years of Margaret’s close collaboration with Fox, so close, in fact, that they are viewed as together the spiritual parents of Quakerism, and after she had gotten Fox out of jail yet another time (she being just about the only Quaker who was of the gentry, and so had access to the king – whom she approached on behalf of the Quakers on quite a few occasions, and successfully, until Parliament passed a law against the Quakers’ meeting together – and the king could not contradict Parliament) – so after all these years of such very close collaboration, as Fox himself relates, "I had seen from the Lord a considerable time before that I should take Margaret Fell to be my wife. And when I first mentioned it to her, she felt the answer of life from God thereunto." And so they obtained approval from Margaret's children and the Quakers in Bristol and were married 27 October, 1669.

And wait until you see what SHE wrote:

Title of a pamphlet written in prison: Women's Speaking Justified, Proved and Allowed of by the Scriptures, All Such as Speak by the Spirit and Power of the Lord Jesus And How Women Were the First That Preached the Tidings of the Resurrection of Jesus, and Were Sent by Christ's Own Command Before He Ascended to the Father (John 20;17).

Yes, Meads, Mead-Jonses, and friends thereof – that’s our great, 8 or 9 times (I lost count) grandmother speaking – or, rather, writing, and from prison!!!

Mary Magdalene and the other Myrrhbearers are known as Apostles to the Apostles – moreover, it was to Mary Magdalene that Christ appeared first after His Resurrection. And what did He say to her? (This is probably a direct quote!!! I bet the words were indelibly inscribed upon Mary Magdalene’s consciousness!) “Don’t hold onto Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’” Jn 20:17

The Spirit does more than enter into holy souls and make them friends of God and prophets. God is now our Father, so that we, by participation, share in the triune divine nature itself (2Pet 1:4), AND in such wise that the divine nature becomes a truly operative principle in us – the more so as we live as did these first Quakers.

“Those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. You are not of the flesh, you are of the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.” Later in this chapter Paul goes on to say that “all who are led by the Spirit are children of God,... so when we cry, ‘Abba, Father’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” (Rm 8)

To tell the truth, I never really paid that much attention to Mama (who was, after all, MY Margaret Askew Fell Fox), I was too taken up with my own “quest”, I guess you could call it. And, of course, Daddy Mead reposed when I was just turned 6. But after Mama’s repose, on the Feast of Theophany, the Manifestation of God (be it His manifestation to non-Jews in the visit of the Magi, as per the western tradition, or the first manifestation of the Holy Trinity at Christ’s baptism, per the eastern), I reflected more on what she gave to me all those years when I wasn’t paying attention – especially inasmuch as my experience within Orthodoxy has been most profoundly marked by her presence, so that experiencing my mother so close within me, and so unflaggingly and so palpably - and as a genuinely OPERATIVE PRINCIPLE, as I said above - has moved me to reflect on how the Mother of God is perpetually re-generating in us her Son’s divine nature, which because of her has become, and becomes again at every present moment, every instant, our nature and our motivation! So that, as Paul says, “you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit…. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life.”

That’s how Mama taught me, not by what today are known as “values” – although they are certainly of no value whatsoever to anyone trying to live as we are talking about here. Probably the anti-Christ du jour – whoever that happens to be on this or any other particular day – rejoices over those “values”. I guess there must be some reason Mama’s showing me all this stuff right now.

Here is the record – I hope the formatting doesn’t get lost sending it. Note the Prichard connection.

Armistead Davis Mead Mar 30, 1877 - Sept 9, 1937, Kentucky –

Laura Belle Caldwell

M Oct 11, 1899, Bedford VA

Charles Powell Mead Dec 10, 1848, Ashland, Greenup, KY – 19 July 1888

Lida M. Hoople

M 10 May 1878, KY

Henry Armistead Mead

Elizabeth Powell

Among their offspring was:

Sarah Belle Mead (Henry Armistead D.4, Benjamin3, Robert2, John1) who was born February 21, 1843, and died October 30, 1917. She married Dr. Lewis Prichard January 7, 1868, son of Lewis Prichard and Lucy Toler. He was born January 19, 1839, and died July 21, 1920.

Children of Sarah Mead and Lewis Prichard are:

+ i. Henry Lewis6 Prichard, born December 25, 1868; died October 16, 1916.
ii. Frederick Charles Prichard, born March 1, 1871. . He married Alice Clare Wilson; born August 31, 1873.
+ iii. Armstead Mead Prichard, born September 9, 1875

Benjamin Franklin Mead 2 July 1818, Greenup KY

Mary Ann PRATT 1820 Greenup KY

M 11 Aug 1841

Benjamin Mead 14 Mar 1772 Bedford VA – 1821 VA

Elizabeth Brown 1773 – 19 Oct 1851

M 29 Dec 1796 Bedford

Robert Mead 1750 Bedford – 1825 Bedford

Hannah Rhodes 1750 Bedford – 1855 Salman Ind

M 30 Dec 1769 Bedford City VA

John Mead 1693 Cecil MD? – 1754 Bedford VA – burial New London, Bedford

Mary Abrell

M 2 Mar 1726 Nottingham Mm, Chester Co., Maryland , New Garden Mm

Nathaniel Meade 1684 Bucks PA - 1760

Mrs Nathaniel Meade

M 1705

William Mead b 1675 Essex, England d 1628 [??? b abt 1655 died 1700-26]

Sarah Fell b 1643 Lancashire, England d/b 1714 Gooseyes, Essex, Eng

Thomas Fell b 1598 Furness Abbey, Redmen Hall, Lancashire, E

Christ age 34 – when m Marg

d 8 Oct 1658 London, Middlesex, Eng

Margaret Askew b 1614 Swarthmoor, Lancashire, Eng

Christ 18, when married Thomas

M 1632

2nd M [of Margaret Askew] George Fox, 27 Aug., Broad Meade, Bristol, Eng

Thomas Mead b abt 1599 Essex, England d 1628

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