Karen Zerby

Karen Elva Zerby (born in Camden, New Jersey on 31 July, 1946) is the current leader of The Family International, a new religious movement. She legally changed her name to Katherine Rianna Smith in 1997, and uses the pseudonyms Maria David, Maria Berg, Maria Fontaine, Mama Maria and Queen Maria.

Related Topics:
Camden, New Jersey - 31 July - 1946 - The Family International - New religious movement - 1997

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Zerby joined the group, then called Teens for Christ, in 1969. After becoming a private secretary to David Berg, the group's founder, a sexual relationship started between the two. In a prophecy titled "A Prophecy of God on the Old Church and the New Church", Berg explained that he had been told by God to leave his first wife, Jane Miller, who represented the "old church", for Zerby who became his soi-disant second wife, who represented the "new church".

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1969 - David Berg

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In 1988, with David Berg's health declining, Maria began to take a leadership role within the group. Upon his death, in October 1994, she assumed full leadership of the group and married her long-time co-worker, Steven Douglas Kelly (known in the group as Christopher Smith, Peter Amsterdam, or King Peter).

Related Topics:
1988 - 1994 - Steven Douglas Kelly

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In January 2005, her son, Ricky Rodriguez (29), who left the group in 2000, murdered former member Angela Smith and hours later committed suicide.

Related Topics:
2005 - Ricky Rodriguez

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