Wilbur Glenn Voliva

Wilbur Glenn Voliva (March 10, 1870 – October 11, 1942) was an evangelist and a prominent proponent of Flat Earth theories.

Voliva was born on a farm in Indiana on Mar. 10, 1870. In 1889, he entered Union Christian College, Merom Indiana; he graduated five years later and became a minister. In 1898 he was drawn to the teachings of John Alexander Dowie and eventually joined his congregation, becoming an elder of the Christian Catholic Church of Zion, Illinois. In 1901 he emigrated to Australia to become overseer-in-charge of the Australian branch.

In September 1905, Dowie suffered a stroke and recuperated in Jamaica, claiming $2,000 a month expenses from the investments, and asked Voliva to return to oversee the city in his absence. Voliva arrived in February 1906, whereupon the congregation revolted against Dowie's leadership accusing him of corruption and polygamy and elected Voliva as head of the church, which he then renamed to the "Christian Catholic Apostolic Church." By careful management he rescued Zion from bankruptcy, gaining the support of the church members. He kept tight control on his some 6,000 followers, which made up the community, even up to the point of dictating their choice of marriage partners. The city of Zion was effectively controlled by the church; all of its real estate, while sold at market rates, was conveyed under a 1,100 year lease, subject to many restrictions and subject to termination at the whim of the General Overseer. Religions other than the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church were effectively banned – visiting preachers from rival sects were harassed and hounded out of town by the city police force.

Voliva diversified Zion Industries, an industrial concern owned by the church that manufactured Scottish lace, to include a bakery which produced the popular Zion brand fig bar cookies and White Dove chocolates. Zion was a one-company town and its workers were paid substandard wages.

He introduced many new rules for members and notices were placed around the town with stern warnings that the independents (who didn't belong to the church) resented and often burned. But the city was established as a safe space for those within its boundaries.

From 1914, he gained nationwide notoriety by his vigorous advocacy of flat earth doctrine. He offered a widely publicized $5000 challenge for anyone to disprove flat earth theory. The church schools in Zion taught the flat earth doctrine. In 1923 he became the first evangelical preacher in the world to own his own radio station, which could be heard as far away as Australia. His radio station broadcast his diatribes against round earth astronomy, and the evils of evolution. He was quoted about the sun as follows:

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