Five brothers and sisters are removed from reclusive Gloriavale religious community amid allegations they were 'beaten with sticks and smacked hard'

Five children have been removed from reclusive Christian cult Gloriavale by social services following allegations of abuse at the community earlier this year.

A Gloriavale leader told Stuff.co.nz the brothers and sisters were taken by Child Youth and Family staff, but have since been returned.

Fervent Stedfast told the publication the children were 'happy and healthy', after being reuinted with their parents at the sect, located in New Zealand's South Island.

It has been reported that the children were removed amid claims of physical abuse, which allegedly saw the children being beaten with sticks.

The New Zealand Ministry of Social Development said they would not comment on particular cases for the safety of the children.

'Every enquiry we get from the media is reviewed on a case by case basis, taking into account police investigations, relevant privacy considerations and public interest considerations before responding,' a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.

'In many cases it is not helpful for children and families' involvement with Child, Youth and Family to be played out in public.

'As a result we generally do not confirm or deny Child, Youth and Family involvement and will not be responding to your request in this instance,' the statement said.

The five children recently removed from Gloriavale have two older sisters - both in their 20s - who no longer live in the reclusive community.

Earlier this year the contents of a new documentary revealed what life was like in the bizarre cult where teenagers are banned from speaking to each other until they are married off.

Footage from inside the community revealed how leaders match young men and women and use bloodlines to ensure members of the same families do not marry.

The sect, based in New Zealand's South Island, is secretive about its practices, but recently former members who fled the community have opened the lid on what really goes on.

Paul Valor and Pearl Hope were arranged to marry after a 'shortlist' was devised by leaders to decipher which women are not too closely related to Paul for him to bear healthy children.

The sect has drawn controversy over recent decades with founder Neville Cooper, who has legally changed his name to Hopeful Christian, convicted for three counts of indecent assault.

The documentary, Gloriavale - Life and Death, follows a young couple, Paul Valor and his wife Pearl Hope, as they embark on married life and raise their growing family, NZ Herald reports.

Like all married couples in the community, their relationship and other facets of their life have been decided on by the senior men of the community.
‘It’s the Gloriavale equivalent of an arranged marriage,’ TVNZ writes.

Teenagers are discouraged from speaking to one another until a wedding between them is arranged.

Otherwise ‘things could get messy,’ Paul says.

Under the guise of the lord’s will, the leaders arrange marriages by identifying partners that are not too closely related to have healthy children – which whittled down to just five or six women suitable for Paul in a community of round 530.

‘The leaders – they have got lists of all bloodlines and so when you come and ask them to get married, they can get you a list of, you know, five or six girls who you can marry without any problems and they’ll all be within your age bracket,’ Paul said in the documentary.

‘That’s what they call your shortlist.’

Pearl said she loved whoever God wanted her to.

‘That’s a decision you make and it’s not hard, it’s easy,’ she said in the documentary, Gloriavale – A World Apart.

The couple have two children including a daughter named Esther and son Josiah.

Birth control is not permitted in the community, and it is typical for each couple to have as many as 12 children, with Paul being the eldest of 11, and Pearl the second youngest of 10.

Rose and Steady Standtrue, one of the oldest couples living in the community on the South Island’s West Coast, have 57 great grandchildren.

In troubled births, it is up to the father to decide if they take the newborn to a hospital.

‘If something did go wrong, it would be the father’s decision on whether or not we had to go in to hospital,’ Paul said.

Under the guise of the lord’s will, the leaders arrange marriages by identifying partners that are not too closely related to have healthy children – which whittled down to just five or six women suitable for Paul in a community of round 530.

‘The leaders – they have got lists of all bloodlines and so when you come and ask them to get married, they can get you a list of, you know, five or six girls who you can marry without any problems and they’ll all be within your age bracket,’ Paul said in the documentary.

‘That’s what they call your shortlist.’

Pearl said she loved whoever God wanted her to.

‘That’s a decision you make and it’s not hard, it’s easy,’ she said in the documentary, Gloriavale – A World Apart.

The couple have two children including a daughter named Esther and son Josiah.

Birth control is not permitted in the community, and it is typical for each couple to have as many as 12 children, with Paul being the eldest of 11, and Pearl the second youngest of 10.

Rose and Steady Standtrue, one of the oldest couples living in the community on the South Island’s West Coast, have 57 great grandchildren.

In troubled births, it is up to the father to decide if they take the newborn to a hospital.

‘If something did go wrong, it would be the father’s decision on whether or not we had to go in to hospital,’ Paul said.