Victor and Florence Houteff, The Shepherd's Rod

Victor and Florence Houteff, The Shepherd's Rod

Victor Houteff, founder of what later became the Branch Davidians

This photograph features Victor Houteff and his wife, Florence. The date of this photograph is unknown.

Unknown

The Texas Collection, Baylor University, Waco, Texas

Newport, Kenneth G. C.. The Branch Davidians of Waco : The History and Beliefs of an Apocalyptic Sect, Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2006. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ugalib/detail.action?docID=431150.

Unknown

Baylor University, Waco, Texas

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Photograph Plate

March 2, 1885 as to Victor; May 7, 1919 as to Florence

Raicovo, Eastern Rumelia, Ottoman Empire as to Victor; Elderon, Wisconsin as to Florence

February 5, 1955 as to Victor; September 14, 2008 as to Florence

Author and Sabbath Teacher as to Victor; Author, Spiritual Leader as to Florence.

Born in 1885, Victor Houteff was an immigrant from modern-day Bulgaria, who left the Greek Orthodox church of his childhood to join the Seventh Day Adventist church. He was attracted to the Seventh Day Adventist church, and his religious views continued to develop. Houteff’s beliefs reached a point where the Adventist church first opposed, then disfellowshipped, Houteff and his followers in 1930. According to Houteff, some even tried to admit him into an insane asylum (Newport, 2006). Houteff published his theology in a book called The Shepherd’s Rod, which also became a colloquial name for his Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist group (The Shepherd's Rod, 2010).
Florence Houteff, 34 years younger than her husband, continued his work when he died unexpectedly in 1955. There were some contenders for the leadership of the Shepherd’s Rod group, but Florence managed to take the lead until she resigned. In 1957, Florence purchased over 900 acres of land for a new Mount Carmel Center, but sold it in 1962 and dissolved the Branch Davidians after she unsuccessfully predicted the apocalypse (Newport, 2006).

Newport, Kenneth G. C.. The Branch Davidians of Waco : The History and Beliefs of an Apocalyptic Sect, Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2006. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ugalib/detail.action?docID=431150.

The Shepherd's Rod. "A Brief History." The New World Order. General Association of DSDA, 2010. https://www.shepherds-rod-message.org/about_us.html. Accessed 2 December 2021.