In Europe, the code name for the Kelpius group was “the Woman in the Wilderness.”  This is an image that expressed the concept of the Early American Rosicrucians, far, far away from their homeland, in the wilderness of a new and untamed world.  It was sometimes also referred to as "Sophia," alluding to universal wisdom ever present in Nature.

Kelpius, though physically frail, was a strong, religious leader, who, as part of his participation in the Germantown community, attempted to unite all the churches in the area.