Christian Catholic Apostolic Church in Zion

Church and religious utopian city in northern Illinois founded by John Alexander Dowie.

Born in Edinburgh and educated at the University of Edinburgh, Dowie began his evangelical ministry in Australia, where his family had emigrated in 1860. In 1888 Dowie moved to San Francisco and later settled in Chicago, setting up a tabernacle at the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. During the next seven years, Dowie founded the Christian Catholic Church (Protestant-Evangelical), meeting in several city locations including the Chicago Auditorium (1896). Facing increasing criticism from local press and police, Dowie secretly purchased a frontage on Lake Michigan between Chicago and Milwaukee for his Zion City, which opened July 15, 1901. There Dowie established a lace-making industry, the first of its kind in America and spread his message by means of serial publications and preaching tours (including New York City). When Dowie became ill, he was succeeded as General Overseer by Wilbur Glenn Voliva (1906-1942).