Ngô Văn Chiêu
Ngô Văn Chiêu (28 February 1878 – 1932) was the first disciple of Đức Cao Đài. His religious name is Ngô Minh Chiêu.[1]
Life
He was born in 1878 and raised by his aunt and grandparents. He developed an interest in Chinese folk religion during this period. Later he served in the colonial bureaucracy and developed a fascination with spiritism. He declined his appointment as the first Caodaiist Pope and was not involved in the official establishment of Caodaiism in 1926. Instead, he chose to withdraw to a life of seclusion. Thus, the role went to Venerable Lê Văn Trung, who accepted on the condition that his title be Acting Pope.
In 1926, Lê Văn Trung and over two hundred others signed the "Declaration of the Founding of the Cao Đài Religion"; Chieu was not among the signers. He had accepted another entity as Đức Cao Đài and is credited as founder of the Chiếu Minh sect of Caodaiism. He died at 3:00 PM, 18-4-1932.
References
- Serguei A. Blagov Caodaism: Vietnamese Traditionalism and Its Leap Into Modernity "Ngô Văn Chiêu - Atomization of Caodaist movement commenced when the first disciple of the new doctrine, Ngô Minh Chiêu, broke away. He left Phò Loan on April 24, 1926, rejected their seance pronouncements and chose his own mediums, usually young"