Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica

Ordo Templi Orientis is a fraternal order that initially developed from the Rite of Memphis and Mizraim of Freemasonry (which is considered irregular by most Masonic Grand Lodges and Grand Orients) and includes Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (which celebrates the Gnostic Mass). Originally O.T.O. was intended to be tied to and modelled on Freemasonry, but under the leadship of Aleister Crowley was reorganized based on the Law of Thelema as its central religious and organizational principle. O.T.O. also includes the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (E.G.C.) or Gnostic Catholic Church, which is the ecclesiastical arm of the Order. Its central rite, which is public, is called Liber XV, or the Gnostic Mass.O.T.O. claims over 3000 members in 58 countries.

Teachings and Doctrinal Orientation

While Christian based on Gnosis not creed/belief, the church considers itself part of the fellowship of Universal Christendom, that is part of the One Holy Catholic (Universal) and Apostolic Church.

The Ecclesia Gnostica is a liturgical orthopraxy rather than an orthodoxy. Liturgical practice is central to the existence of the church.

The church does not proselytize. There is not an exclusive claim of salvation, salvation is not dependent on participation in the church. Salvation is understood differently from that of mainstream Christianity. Salvation is achieved through Gnosis, described as "an inner 'knowingness,' a change of consciousness." Gnosticism is grounded in the experience of Gnosis, which is the salvific and revelatory experience of transcendence. The experience of Gnosis receives expression in the Gnostic Mythos which allows the Gnostic to amplify and assimilate the experience of Gnosis and also makes further experience of Gnosis possible.

The aim of instruction is not just one variety of the Gnostic Mythos, but the entire heritage of the Gnostic tradition.

Understanding of the Gnostic Tradition

While recognizing the very pluralistic and creative elements of ancient Gnostic teachings they are seen as embracing a set of common assumptions which form the core of the Gnostic tradition. The "brief and inadequate outline" of this core is further summarized below:

There is an original and transcendental spiritual unity which came to emanate a vast manifestation of pluralities. The manifest universe of matter and mind (psyche) was created by spiritual beings possessing inferior powers, one of their objectives being continued separation of humans from the unity (God).

The human being is a composite, the outer aspect being the handiwork of the inferior creators, while the "inner man" has the character of a fallen spark of the ultimate divine unity. Though these sparks slumber in their material and mental prison, there is a constant effort directed toward their awakening and liberation from the unity. Particularly honored for such aid is the emanation called Sophia (Wisdom). The awakening of the inmost divine essence is effected by salvific knowledge, called Gnosis.

Messengers of Light have been sent by the unity for the advancement of Gnosis in humans. The greatest of these messengers in our historical and geographical matrix was Jesus Christ. Jesus was a teacher, imparting instruction concerning the way of Gnosis, and he was a Hierophant, imparting Mysteries. These Mysteries (sacraments) are mighty aids toward Gnosis entrusted by Jesus to his apostles and to their successors. By way of the spiritual practice of the Mysteries (sacraments) and a relentless and uncompromising striving for Gnosis, humans can steadily advance toward liberation. The ultimate objective of this process of liberation is the achievement of salvific knowledge and with it freedom from embodied existence and return to the ultimate unity.

The church does not require the acceptance these teachings as a matter of belief. Yet states, "it is obvious that these teachings represent the distinctive contribution of the Gnostic tradition to religious thought and persons functioning within the tradition would find themselves in general agreement with them."

The Gnostic Church and its Branches

The two principal branches of the Gnostic Church are the French and the English. Of these, the French is the older and more widely disseminated. Long before there was a country named France, Gnostics were already present in that land. Gnostic groups of various kinds flourished in France throughout history, the best known and most numerous being the Cathar Church in the Middle Ages. French crusaders also came into contact with Gnostic groups in the Middle East and brought their teachings back to the French homeland, where these teachings were cultivated by generations of French devotees of the Gnosis in secret. This seems to have been the case with the Knights Templar, who, not unlike the Cathar Gnostics, were cruelly exterminated by the unholy alliance of the French crown and papacy.

 

The cruel massacre of the Cathars and of the Templars created a wide spread and long lasting resentment against the Roman Catholic Church, which resentment was extended to the monarchy as well. Every time the hold of the Roman Catholic Church weakened on the government of France, Gnostic and gnosticizing religious bodies emerged from hiding, only to be suppressed eventually by another clerical government. One of these incidents of emergence occurred in the late Nineteenth Century, when Jules-Benoit Doinel du Val Michel (Tau Valentin II), inspired by spiritual influences that appeared to have been of Cathar origin founded the French Gnostic Church, which by way of its various branches and under several names has functioned ever since. Primarily by way of its Haitian extension, this church came to establish itself in the United States as well, particularly within the last few decades.

Gnostic interest in the English speaking countries was initially restricted to secular avenues. The rise of the Theosophical Society in the last quarter of the Nineteenth Century brought some considerable attention to focus on the Gnostics. At the halfway point of the Twentieth Century, the British Gnostic, Richard, Duc de Palatine felt inspired to become a pioneer of sacramental Gnosticism for Britain and the United States. Having been consecrated as a bishop by the well known British independent Catholic prelate, Hugh George de Wilmott Newman, de Palatine proceeded to establish a sacramental Gnostic church both in England and in the United States. Bishop Palatine was acquainted with several French Gnostic bishops, and received encouragement and inspiration from them.

History

Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica descended from a line of French Gnostic revival churches that developed in the 19th century. At that time, these Gnostic churches were essentially Christian in nature. In 1907, Gerard Encausse, Jean Bricaud, and Louis-Sophrone Fugairon founded their own, simply called the Gnostic Catholic Church. Between the years of 1888-1891 while Gerard Encausse "Papus" and his associates P. Sedir and L. Chamuel were forming a Supreme Council to gather and unite Martinist Initiates from around the world, one Jules Doinel claimed special revelation from an apparition of the "Aeon Jesus" and two Bogomil Bishops (this in synchronicity with a rare find of an ancient Cathar document) established L'Eglise Gnostique Universelle. Many members of College of Albi Brethren (Cathars), the Gnostics of Carmel, the Johannites, and the Valentinians remained active within the structure of Masonic Chivalry, who were allied to many of the Rosicrucian fraternities.

Under the leadership of Tau Harmonius I (Constant Martin Chevillon) Patriarch and successor to Jean Bricaud (Tau Jean I) the Gnostic Ecclesia began to take her position of pre-eminence among other of the Continental Initiatic orders, to the extent that such orders as those of Martinism, Antiqua Ordo Rosicrucia and Memphis Misraim Rite of Masonry were in solid alliance with or under governance of the Bishops who composed the "Sanctuary of the Gnosis". On December 7th, 1906 in their Sanctuary of the Gnosis at the Prefecture of the Seine in Paris a Constitutional Synod was convoked to declare the doctrine of the Gnostic Universelle Ecclesia publicly before the world. Thus having met and accomplished the promulgation of Doctrine of a new Constitution for the Church, an array of dignitaries entered into commitment with the with the new Sanctuary of the Gnosis including the Grand Masters and Hierophants of the Ancient and Primitive Rites of Memphis and Misraim as well as several Orders of the Rose-Croix. Among those who clamored to its rolls were Doctor Krumm Heller (Tau Huirachoca), Rudolph Steiner and John Yarker to mention but a few. 

In 1908, they gave O.T.O. Grand Master Theodor Reuss episcopal consecration and primatial authority in their G.C.C. Later that year, Reuss incorporated the Gnostic Catholic Church into O.T.O. after the original founders renamed their own church to the Universal Gnostic Church. The name "Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica" was not applied to the church until Crowley wrote the Gnostic Mass in 1913, which Reuss proclaimed to be the church's official rite. This marked the first time an established church was to accept the Law of Thelema as its central doctrine. Reuss then announced a new title for himself: the "Sovereign Patriarch and Primate of the Gnostic Catholic Church." In 1911 Papus signed a treaty under which he recognized the UNIVERSAL GNOSTIC CHURCH as the official Church of Martinism. By so doing, he linked the Order revived by him to the secular Western doctrine.

By 1946 the Ecclesia was able to spread its sphere of influence quickly to the Americas, Africa and far Asia. Furthermore the decade of the 1950's saw a healthy revival of the intimate association of the Ecclesia and its patrons in Templar, Rosicrucian and Egyptian Masonic Orders. The Sanctuary of the Gnosis had thus become so revived, reconstituted and rebroadcast. In 1979, Hymenaeus Alpha X° (Grady McMurtry) separated Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica from Ordo Templi Orientis, and made it into an independent organization, with himself at the head of both. However, in 1985, his successor, Hymenaeus Beta, dissolved the separate Gnostic Catholic Church corporation and folded the church back into O.T.O.

Worship and Spiritual Practice

 Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (E.G.C.), or the Gnostic Catholic Church, is the ecclesiastical arm of Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), an international fraternal initiatory organization that initially developed from the Rite of Memphis and Mizraim of Freemasonry. The word Catholic denotes the universality of doctrine and not a Christian or Roman Catholic belief set.

The chief function of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica is the public and private performance of the Gnostic Mass, a eucharistic ritual written by Crowley in 1913. According to William Bernard Crow, Crowley wrote the Gnostic Mass "under the influence of the Liturgy of St. Basil of the Russian Church."Its structure is also influenced by the initiatory rituals of the Ordo Templi Orientis. Its most notable separation from similar rites of other churches is a Priestess officiating with a Priest, Deacon, and two Children. In addition to the Eucharist, baptism, confirmation, marriage, and last rites are offered by E.G.C.

About the Gnostic Mass, Crowley wrote, "... the Ritual of the Gnostic Catholic Church ... I prepared for the use of the O.T.O., the central ceremony of its public and private celebration, corresponding to the Mass of the Roman Catholic Church." It is the single most commonly performed ritual at O.T.O. bodies, with many locations celebrating the Mass monthly or more frequently. Most O.T.O. bodies make some or all of these celebrations open to interested members of the public, so the Mass is often an individual's first experience of the O.T.O.

Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica has a hierarchical structure of clergy, assisting officers, and laity which parallels the degree structure of the O.T.O. initiatory system. Before 1997, the two systems were more loosely correlated, but since then there have been strict rules concerning minimum O.T.O. degrees required to serve in particular E.G.C. roles.

 
Membership

Membership in Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica is similar to the Roman Catholic Church, with some important differences. As currently constituted, E.G.C. includes both clergy and laity. Clergy must be initiate members of O.T.O., while laity may affiliate to E.G.C. through baptism and confirmation without undertaking any of the degree initiations of the Order.

Novice clergy are initiate members who participate in the administration of E.G.C. sacraments, although they have not yet taken orders (i.e., been through a ceremony of ordination).

The first ordination in E.G.C. is that of the diaconate. Second Degree initiates of O.T.O. who have been confirmed in E.G.C. can be ordained as Deacons, whose principal duties are to assist the Priesthood.

The sacerdotal ordination admits members to the priesthood. Sacerdotal ordinands must hold at least the K.E.W. degree of O.T.O., a degree only available by invitation. The Priesthood is responsible for administering the sacraments through the Gnostic Mass and other ceremonies as authorized by their supervising Bishops.

The Priesthood is supervised and instructed by the Episcopate, or Bishops. Full initiation to the Seventh Degree of O.T.O. includes episcopal consecration in E.G.C. The Tenth Degree Supreme and Holy King serves as the Primate or chief Bishop for any country in which O.T.O. has organized a Grand Lodge. The Frater (Soror) Superior of O.T.O. is also the Patriarch (Matriarch) of the Church, with ultimate authority over the clergy.

The similarity of the titles of the various E.G.C. offices and ranks reflects some common history with Christian churches. However, E.G.C. does not administer Christian sacraments, and has no Christian ecclesiastical standing.

Rituals

The principal ritual of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica is the Gnostic Mass, a Eucharistic ceremony written by Aleister Crowley in 1913. Theodor Reuss produced and authorized a German translation in 1918.

The text of the Gnostic Mass makes reference to ceremonies of baptism, confirmation, and marriage. The Bishops of the contemporary Church have developed rituals for all of these purposes, as well as infant benedictions, exorcisms, consecration of holy oil, funerals, and home administration of the Eucharist to the sick.

Although some Gnostic Masses are held privately for initiates only, there is nothing secret about E.G.C. rituals as such, and they are commonly open to the public.

Giordano Bruno

Saints of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica

The Gnostic Saints of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica are a series of historical and mythological figures.

Two Gnostic Saints have been officially added to the original list. William Blake was so recognized. Giordano Bruno was more recently added to the list.

The Gnostic Creed

A creed is a statement of belief — usually religious belief — or faith. The word derives from the Latin credo for "I believe". The creed of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica — also known as the Gnostic Creed —i s recited in the Gnostic Mass, during the Ceremony of the Introit.

  
The text of the Creed is as follows:

I believe in one secret and ineffable LORD; and in one Star in the Company of Stars of whose fire we are created, and to which we shall return; and in one Father of Life, Mystery of Mystery, in His name CHAOS, the sole viceregent of the Sun upon the Earth; and in one Air the nourisher of all that breathes.

And I believe in one Earth, the Mother of us all, and in one Womb wherein all men are begotten, and wherein they shall rest, Mystery of Mystery, in Her name BABALON.

And I believe in the Serpent and the Lion, Mystery of Mystery, in His name BAPHOMET.

And I believe in one Gnostic and Catholic Church of Light, Life, Love and Liberty, the Word of whose Law is THELEMA.

And I believe in the communion of Saints.

And, forasmuch as meat and drink are transmuted in us daily into spiritual substance, I believe in the Miracle of the Mass.

And I confess one Baptism of Wisdom whereby we accomplish the Miracle of Incarnation.

And I confess my life one, individual, and eternal that was, and is, and is to come.

AUMGN. AUMGN. AUMGN.

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06/12/2019