Universal Alliance

Born on 14 June 1903 in Cavaillon from an unbeliever father and a Catholic mother, George Ernest Roux quickly abandoned the faith after reading Plato's works, and became factor in 1920. In the late 1920s, he went to Paris to try an artistic career, and composed, among other things, a poem (''Le Cercle d'airain), a novel (Le toit de paille), and a one-act play (Le Bienheureux). On 12 April 1928, he married Jane Robert, and they had together six children raised in Catholicism. Then he founded a symphony orchestra and composed an opera (L'Auréole'') in 1939, but the beginning of the World War II forced him to resume service as inspector at the post office in Avignon, where it stayed until December 1953. His meticulous work earned him an appointment as assistant inspector sorting of letters. In 1947, he was said to have a gift of healing and began to miraculously heal thousands of patients in his detached house named "La Préfète" in Montfavet, bought in 1933 by his mother. He published three spirituality-related books which explained his doctrine. In 1947, then in 1950, he told his family that he was the incarnation of Jesus Christ, then made the assertion publicly in February 1954. On 15 August 1973, Roux even claimed to be God. He died on 26 December 1981. ==Organization==

In the early 1950s, some followers of Roux created the Christian Agency of Information (Agence Chrétienne d'Information, ACI) in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, 18 rue d'Enghien. From 1953, they published two monthly leaflets: Lumière and Le Témoin de la vie. On 24 December 1952, Roux, then known as the Christ of Montfavet or Georges-Christ, founded the Universal Christian Church whose faithful were widely named the Christ's Witnesses. There was no hierarchical structure: the local groups were informal and autonomous, but the most important ones (in Avignon, Paris, Strasbourg, Toulon) formed associations for organizational purposes. On 15 June 1983, the Universal Alliance officially replaced the Universal Christian Church. Its statutes, filed at the Prefecture of Avignon, were modified in 2004. With about 500 subscribers, this cultural association aims to air and translate Roux's writings and to organize conferences by Jacqueline Roux. Sociologist Régis Dericquebourg defined the Christian Agency of Information as a "movement", the Universal Christian Church as an "ecclesia" and the Universal Alliance as a "circle". He considered the Universal Alliance a "network of thought and spirituality circles", which perpetuates Roux's teachings and has a Quaker and charismatic-related spirituality. ==Beliefs==

The doctrines are contained in three books written by Roux: ''Journal d'un guérisseur (1950), Paroles du guérisseur (1950) and Mission divine (1951), and explained in the monthly magazine Messidor'', published from 1951 to 1977. Roux presented himself as a persecuted prophet, said to be Christ and to carry out the law of love unfulfilled by God's representatives including Jesus. He wrote a strong criticism of Christian churches deemed as apostate, asked in a letter Pope Pius XII to officially recognize his reincarnation and sent open letters to priests, occultists and theosophists. He taught that everyone could be a healer with prayer and blessing if he had faith in him. Roux announced the Last Judgment for 1 January 1980 at the latest and said that the Universal Alliance would have to spread across the world. According to Régis Dericquebourg, this movement presents a new version of Christianity: there is no syncretism, but it is strongly tinged with Gnosticism and can be described as a "Christic esotericism". The founder was successively a mystagogue, then a prophet, and the group was first based on a personal and prophetic charisma, then a sacramental charism, then a group charism. The group defines itself as "christian", then "christic", ==Practices==

In the Universal Christian Church, religious ceremonies began with a modified version of "Our Father" and ended with a meal together. The crucifix was not used. ==Membership==

Membership of the Universal Christian Church reached a peak of 5,000 between 1955 and 1960, in about fifty local groups (Marseille, Nantes, Paris, Strasbourg, Toulon, etc.). and shared out into fifty communities, and about 1,000 in France. Groups are mainly located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region and the Aude department. In the 1990s, Belgian press reported presence of followers and conferences by Jacqueline Roux in the country. ==Reception==

In the 1950s, refusals of medical treatments led to the death of several children, including a 13-year boy in October 1953, a young girl in March 1954, and a three-month baby in September 1954. These cases were the subject of a strong coverage in the press, particularly in Paris-Match. In 1996, Jacqueline Roux wrote to Alain Gest, a member of the commission, to question this classification, highlighting financial transparency, democratic nature and compliance with the law of her association. Because of its particular doctrinal views, the religious group is criticized by main Christian churches, including evangelical associations. ==References==