Brief biography of Vassula Ryden

& genesis of the True Life in God messages

Updated December 2007

Biographic elements

Vassula Ryden, daughter of Greek parents established in Egypt, was born on January 18^th, 1942 in Heliopolis on the outskirts of Cairo. She starts school in Egypt, and then at the age of 15, she emigrated to Europe.

Starting at a very young age, she experienced terrifying nightmares, which she attributed to Satan. At the age of 10-12, she had mystic experiences, including what she describes as a spiritual marriage with Jesus. During her teenage years, she says to have seen, on several occasions, the souls of dead people surrounding her. Afterwards, she became indifferent to religious matters (1).

In November of 1966, she married a Lutheran man in the city of Lausanne, Switzerland, at a Greek Orthodox Church. She later got divorced in Sweden in November of 1980. In June of 1981, she married her current husband, Per Ryden, a Swedish Lutheran, at the registry office. In 1990, she regularized her union in the Greek Orthodox Church and celebrated her religious marriage in Lausanne, on October 13th, 1990. She has two sons from her first marriage, born in 1971 and 1976. Her husband works for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).(2)

She declares herself Greek Orthodox. A polyglot, her everyday language is English. She is currently living in the United States.

Genesis of the "True Life in God" messages

Towards the end of November 1985, while living in Bangladesh, Vassula claims that an invisible being, who identified itself as her “guardian angel Daniel”, contacted her. The entity manifested itself by moving Vassula’s hand without her being able to control it, forming words and drawings. By these means, Vassula started to receive “messages” in English, usually about 4 to 6 hours of guided “dictation” per day. 

Three months later, she experimented the brief intervention of another being, who identified himself as “God the Father”. The “guardian angel Daniel” then submited her to a purification week, which was followed by the substitution of the “guardian angel Daniel” by an entity who identified itself as “Jesus”. This entity also uses the guided dictation of the messages to communicate, calling the messages “True Life in God”. Other personalities also sporadically intervene: the Virgin Mary, Michael the Archangel, St Padre Pio, the Devil, etc.

The messages are written in a handwriting different from Vassula's normal one and which her supporters call "hieratic", sacred or holy. The content of the messages are religious, a sort of revival of biblical texts and teachings of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The main themes are the presence of the "abomination of desolation" in the Catholic Church, Christian unity, adhesion to the Pope John Paul II, the closeness of a time of “purification” and the importance of making the messages known in order to end the division among Christians and unite Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants.

During the very first years of the phenomena, Vassula Ryden had Roman Catholic spiritual fathers although, according to their own words, they never really directed Mrs Ryden, but rather "learned" from her (3). Then, “Jesus” is said to have declared that he would personally assume that role (4).

The writings (several hundreds of pages) have been translated and published in 40 languages. Vassula Ryden maintains that it is not a channeling / spiritism phenomenon such as automatic writing, and that the author of the messages is really Jesus-Christ.

In 2003, Mrs Ryden announced that, although she continues to receive messages, she would no longer publish them. In fact, since then, only a few have been published and/or circulated privately among some members of the TLIG organization. (5)

Ecclesiastical Recognition

Mrs Ryden counts with the support of some faithful and clergy of both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, and to a much lesser extent among the various protestant communities. However, she is not recognized by the authorities of neither the Greek Orthodox nor the Catholic Churches.

The Greek Orthodox Church, to which Vassula belongs, does not recognize the authenticity of the messages. In 2001, the Committee on heresies of the Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church published their decision regarding Vassula Ryden. In substance, they declared that Mrs Ryden has de facto left the Greek Orthodox Church, although she presents herself as a member of it. (6)

In 1995, the Roman Catholic Church gave a negative opinion on the writings through the publication of a Notification by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in which several negative elements and errors are pointed out. It concludes by requesting the faithful not to regard Mrs. Ryden's writings and speeches a being of divine or supernatural origin, but rather as the result of her private meditations.

In 2002, when Mrs Ryden was living in Rome, she requested the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) a revision of her case. The CDF gave her the opportunity to answer by writing some of the main points raised in the Notification. Extracts from this correspondence, maintained between 2002 and 2004, were published by the TLIG association. However, it did not result in the reversal nor modification of the Notification. Mrs Ryden however sustains that the result of this dialogue was positive, and that the CDF had no longer reservations regarding her writings.

In November 2005, Mrs Ryden obtained an Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat from a bishop and a cardinal, both long-time Catholic supporters of the seer. The Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat have been included in all the linguistic editions of the messages printed since then (7).

In January 2007, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith addressed an internal communication to all the Presidents of the Bishops' conferences around the world reconfirming the doctrinal judgment (negative) of the 1995 Notification regarding Mrs Ryden's writings and advising against the participation of Catholic faithfuls in TLIG prayer groups (8).

Sources :

(1)  Mon Ange Daniel – Les débuts de La Vraie Vie en Dieu, Vassula Ryden, Editions du Parvis, Hauteville (Suisse), 2001.

(2)  Le Phénomène Vassula – Etude critique, Marie-France James, Nouvelles Editions Latines, Paris, 1992. 

     And official website of the True Life in God organization: www.tlig.org

(3) « Although Fr. Fannan has therefore known her from the beginning, Jesus had explained that he was there to 'learn'» ("Vassula's mission in Asia - Part 3, January 1998. In the report that can be viewed online at http://www.tlig.org/india3.html , the name of Fr. Fannan has been replaced by Fr. "X").

    « Father michael O'Carroll insists that he is only Vassula's 'counselor'. He tells us, this is the role the Holy Spirit will fulfill for each of us if we sincerely ask Him » (Publisher's note in True Life in God Volume 12)        

(4)  For instance: message of June 1st, 2002.

(5) Several sources confirmed by David Armitage's answer published in the official TLIG discussion list regarding a question on this topic on September 19th, 2007: « Although Vassula has continued to receive messages since the lengthy 'Odes of the Holy Trinity' messages which she received in mid-2003, only a few have been published. »

(6)  Official website of the Greek Orthodox Church (only in Greek): http://www.ecclesia.gr/greek/press/ekklisia/EKKLISIA_2001_Iounios/6PAPAS.PDF

      See also: "Some statements from Greek Orthodox representatives regarding Vassula Ryden's TLIG messages"  (http://www.infovassula.ch/tliggreekorthodox.htm )

(7) "Did the TLIG messages get a nihil obstat and imprimatur ?" (http://www.infovassula.ch/tlignihilobstat.htm )

(8)  "The Catholic Church's position regarding Vassula Ryden's TLIG messages" (http://www.infovassula.ch/tligchurchposition.htm)

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