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GNOSTICS AND TEMPLARS
(by Bishop T Dionysus)
In the last issue of the Gnostic Gnews we read some comments
written by Bishop Bill Heidrick on the history of the Ecclesia
Gnostica Catholica. Since this sort of article is exactly what
I would like to see more of in the pages of the Gnostic Gnews I
decided to pipe up with some results of my own researches and,
as is my notorious wont, a few controversial comments on history
and organizational management. These are all the personal
opinions of one Bishop.
I challenge you to reject my dogmas just as fiercely as I reject
the dogmas of others!
Bill has already described the development of the Gnostic
Catholic Church out of the Old Catholic "Wandering" Episcopate;
more details of which may be found in Peter F. Anson's Bishops
at Large. He has also effectively described the organization of
the now-moribund non-profit corporation Ecclesia Gnostica
Catholica. So I shall concentrate on two other areas: firstly,
the historical connection between the O.T.O. and the Gnostic
Catholic Church; secondly, the current state of their organal
integration.
In Crowley's 1912 c.e. Manifesto for his Mysteria Mystica Maxima
Lodge of O.T.O. there is an explicit claim ?20?20to possess
within the Order "the wisdom and the knowledge of" the
Gnostic Catholic Church. Around this same time Crowley wrote
his own version of the Gnostic Mass. Clearly, he believed
himself possessed of episcopal authority. Theodor Reuss, the
actual founder of the Ordo Templi Orientis proper, claimed in
1918 c.e. the title "Sovereign Patriarch and Primate of the
Gnostic Chur e the article "Theodor Reuss; Irregular Freemasonry
in Germany, 1900-23" by Howe and Moller in Transactions of
Quatuor Coronati Lodge, Feb. 16, 1978). Unfortunately, to my
knowledge, no documentation of either Crowley's or Reuss'
consecrations has ever been published, so I can offer no certain
idea of the transmission of the Gnostic Catholic lineage to the
O.T.O. through Reuss and Crowley. Both men were in
correspondence with Gerard Encausse (Papus) and may have receive
d episcopal recognition from him before his death in 1916 c.e.;
in addition, Reuss was in touch with an associate of
Encausse's, Jean Bricaud, who may have served as an avenue of
consecration.
Should this perhaps dubious route of transmission raise any
worries among Order members over the legitimacy of our present
claims to Gnostic Catholic episcopacy, we can reassure them,
since the current acting-Outer Head of the Order claims a
documented apostolic succession on his own account and is able
if it were necessary, by his own recognition, to regularize all
the consecrations of his predecessors.
The ecclesiatical situation created by the current O.T.O.
Bylaws (see the first issue of Gnostic Gnews) is very open to
and respectful of the diversity that is a hallmark of the
Wandering Episcopate. Article IX recognizes the independent
nature of different lines of apostolic succession while
rightfully asserting the Order's claim to a valid lineage of
such succession; it also provides a framework for cooperation
between the Order's Bishops while carefully avoiding the
imposition of any dogmatic r on them. By setting up such an
open relationship between the Church and the Order the bylaws
provide a great many opportunities for the Bishops themselves to
control the development of their own working relationships, with
the members of their own local church and with the rest of the
episcopate. Conditions vary greatly for Bishops, from the
places where one lone apostle administers the only church within
500 miles to the areas where one sanctuary can call on a ny of
half-a-dozen Bishops to officia In either situation I suggest
that Bishops consider taking advantage of the provisions of
Article IX's Section 9.04C to legally register their local
churches. The possible advantages of registration are the
ability to perform recognized marriages, to coordinate banking
and fundraising, to sign leases or buy property, just to name a
few. The disavantages are possible registration fees, some
obligatory record-keeping, and those fearsome twin djinni,
al-Daghmuh & al Burakrat. These latter two may be hed by the
frequent application of Tolerance & Humor. If you decide to put
the time and effort into getting legal recognition for your
church you will then be faced with all sorts of procedural
questions. Fortunately the requirement that your local
registrations be reviewed by the National Supreme Council means
that you will receive the benefit of the Order's experience to
help you avoid technical pitfalls, but for the most part the
Bishop (s) who form(s) a local church must make the decisions
abou will be administered. Some Bishops may do best by running
their own organizations, while other Bishops (especially in
areas of high concentration) may do best by forming a local
"synod" to manage church affairs. Whatever best fits your
situation should be achievable under the liberal statutes of the
O.T.O.'s Bylaws. In any event such local organizations must be
in accord with the Church's spirit of religious freedom; no
Bishop or group of Bishops can ever claim "jurisdiction" over
all the Gnostic ics within their "territory".
It seems clear to me that our current Patriarch is adopting an ecclesiastical role of 'primus inter pares' rather than that of "infallible" pope, which means that the day-to-day growth and continuation of the Order's branch of Gnostic Catholicism is more than ever the responsibility of each Bishop who is a living transmitter of this particular lineage. In the Gnostic Gnews we have a new opportunity to share the fruits of our experiences with each other. I encourage all Bishops and official O.T.O.
who have ideas or tips about any aspect of the Church to submit them to this publication, either by mail or in electronic form on ThelemaNet (if it is more convenient for you to use BaphoNet or TahutiNet be sure to let the sysop know that you want your file echoed to ThelemaNet). (Please also leave a note to RUSTY SPORER telling him the name and nature of your "fruits of experience" - or any other article - and a really brief summary of the file. Use AREA 93! - Ed.)
APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION
(The Holy Father, Hymenaeus Beta, has furnished the following lines of
succession which apply to his own line. There are two distinct lines
which stream from his hands. These lines find a parallel in the line
which flowed through the first Caliph, Grady McMurtry, Hymenaeus Alpha
and to our current Caliph, Hymenaeus Beta. Most EGC Bishops are
included in one or both of these lines.)
APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION -
(Line 1)
1909 - Bishop Gerard Encausse (Papus) consecrated Msgr. Theodor Reuss.
1912 - Bishop Reuss consecrated Msgr. Aleister Crowley.
1944 - Bishop Crowley consecrated Msgr. Grady McMurtry.
1983 - Bishop McMurtry consecrated Msgr. Tav Silenus (Hymenaeus Beta.)
HISTORICAL NOTE : Bishop Encausse only held the Doinel Succession when
he consecrated Reuss in 1909. Encausse received the Vilatte Succession
some years later. There is speculation that Crowley received separate
consecration from Encausse after Encausse received the Vilatte
Succession from Bishop Jean Bricaud around 1913 (The succession line
goes: Bishop Vilatte to Msgr. Poell Margali-Gulatti, Bishop
Margali-Gulatti to Msgr. Jules Sassaye, Bishop Sassaye to Msgr. Louis
Marie Francois Giraud, Bishop Giraud to Msgr. Jean Bricaud, Bishop
Bricaud to Msgr. Gerard Encausse), which would have brought the Vilatte
Succession into the O.T.O. at an earlier date than 1986 EV. This is
highly speculative and disputed by most EGC historians, and one account
has the event taking place some five years after Encausse's death.
APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION -
(Line 2)
May 29, 1882 Bishop Julius Alvarez consecrated Msgr. Joseph Rene Vilatte.
December 19, 1915 Bishop Vilatte consecrated Msgr. Samuel Gregory Lines.
December 21, 1927 Bishop Lines consecrated Msgr. Joseph A. Justin Boyle.
Bishop Boyle consecrated Msgr. Paul Wadle.
April 1, 1960 Bishop Wadle consecrated Msgr. W. W. Webb.
November 4, 1967 Bishop Webb consecrated Msgr. Marc A. Lully.
December 25, 1967 Bishop Lully consecrated Msgr. Michael P. Bertiaux.
1971 Bishop Bertiaux consecrated Msgr. Jack B. Hogg, Jr.
August 12, 1974 Bishop Hogg, Jr. consecrated Msgr. Tav Silenus
(Hymenaeus Beta).
THE GNOSTIC CATHOLIC CHURCH
(This is an article which first appeared in Sword of the Gnosis,
published by Bishop Tau Sir Hasrim, Bishop, E.G.C. He has
kindly permitted us to edit and include it here.)
In this essay I will attempt to address some of the questions
that have been brought to my attention regarding the history and
nature of the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (or E.G.C., or Gnostic
Catholic Church) by members of the OTO and EGC. The Gnostic
Mass, being the ultimate public and private ritual of the OTO,
is important - even to aspirants at the lowest level of
commitment - to learn about EGC matters. For EGC Officers,
Official OTO Body Officers (Camp, Oasis, or Lodge Masters) se
seeking to Manifest the Law of the New Aeon, it would seem to be
as important as learning ceremonial magick, yoga, the Tree of
Life, etc.
In the year 543 of common reckoning, the Eastern Roman Empress,
Theodora, arranged secretly that one Iakab Bar Adai be
consecrated a bishop and ecumenical metropolitan in the lawful
line of apostolic succession. From this event may be dated the
birth of the mildly schismatic Orthodox Church.
Our attention is now drawn to the activities, some nearly
fourteen hundred years later, which involved Bishop Iakab's
nineteenth century successor, Peter the Humble, who was the
Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch. It was from Peter the Humble,
along with the Syrian Orthodox church (and its more obscure
cousin, the Church of Malabar in India and Sri Lanka), that a
series of events began to unfold which intertwined the orthodox
apostolic succession with the sublime world of magick occult.
So that today we find the Caliph of the Ordo Templi Orientis,
Hymenaeus Beta, is the Holy Father and a bishop of the Gnostic
Catholic Church. And today hundreds of people attend regular
performances of the Eucharistic Gnostic Mass presided over by
Bishops, Priests, Priestesses and Deacons - the majority of
which are fully accredited in one or several lines of apostolic
succession.
We need to address the question of what Gnosticism itself is,
and - more importantly - how this spiritual tradition relates to
the occultism of the present time. Special emphasis should be
placed on this manifestation in the OTO.
We can turn to Liber LII, the Manifesto of the OTO. Here we
find that, in the hands of this Order are said to be
concentrated the Wisdom and Knowledge of the Gnostic Church
along with that of various Freemasonic bodies.
The significance of this relationship can be seen clearly, not
only in the claims of Liber LII, but also in one of the most
significant religious documents in the present century, LIber
XV, known to us and practiced in our Order as the Gnostic Mass.
This was written in the early part of this century, inspired by
the somewhat outre synthesis of the Russian Orthodox Mass and
the Thelemic conception of the New Aeon. This ritual has become
the centeral public and pr itual of the OTO.
It can be argued that the function of the EGC is to give the OTO
an interface with the public, both revealing and concealing its
most mysterious and sacred secrets simultaneously. Or it may be
countered that it is a utility which provides an environment
where devoted members may undergo their various Life Passages -
Baptism, Confirmation, Communion, Marriage, etc. - within the
OTO framework. Or could it be that the EGC is the nucleus
of the solar-phallic religion of the New Aeon, only now begi
nifest?
Some questions have been raised in critical circles as to
whether the Grand Master, Baphomet, took seriously (or was even
aware of) his position in Gnostic history. But we may take it
as evidence of a sort that the Gnostic Mass was written
expressly for the Gnostic Catholic Church. (It is titled
"O.T.O. Ecclesiae Gnosticae Catholicae Canon Missae".)
We might well ask ourselves how this particular turn of events
came to be. As the occult explosion of the late 19th century
began to unfold, a strong link was forged between the denizens
of the metaphysical universe and the then burgeoning Gnostic
Catholicism that experienced a new birth in the West among those
disaffected by the heavy-handed centralist tendencies emanating
from Rome in the wake of the first Vatican Council. Unlike its
successor council in the 1960's which was presided over by t
aratively liberal Pope John XXIII, the First Vatican Council
inaugurated an era of Roman Catholic Conservatism - the doctrine
of Papal Infallibility, etc., was presented. Apostolic dissent
created a generation of what came to be scurrilously called
"Wandering Bishops". Many of these bishops were cast afloat by
various schools of apostolic succession, including Bishop
Villatte (of the aforementioned Syrian Orthodox line), the occu
ltist Bishop Doinel, and the national Catholic Archbishop,
Bishop Matthews.
The occultists, for their part, were then engaged in what became
the codification of the magical spiritual path along freemasonic
lines. This came to be the seminal Hermetic Order of the Golden
Dawn, principally in England; the OTO in Germany; and various
Rosicrucian bodies in America and elsewhere. The magicians -
rightly so in my understanding - perceived episcopal offices and
church sacraments as being ESSENTIALLY IDENTICAL to the high
ceremonial magical rit t with its own special source of power
and unique ambiance.
So-called "cross-ordination" became a very common practice, with
episcopal titles and prerogatives interchanged with freemasonic
dignitaries, among disaffected church prelates and occult-minded
masons and rosicrucians. Out of the interchange in that period
of occult ferment came that great modern manifestation of
Gnostic occultism, the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica, or E.G.C. -
the Gnostic Catholic Church.
In time the particular Gnostic Mass, Liber XV, was written in
the early years of the present century and modeled somewhat on
predecessor ceremonies. It came to be the predominant ritual
among occultists-Gnostics, and its principal organizational
repository came to be the OTO. This is so, even though others
have experimented with the Mass, and autonomous, acknowledged
Gnostic Catholic bodies exist outside of the OTO.
Dr. Reuss and Crowley, successive Outer Heads of the Order, were
both gnostic bishops. With Reuss, and to a greater extent with
the consecration of the most controversial of all modern magi,
Crowley, the Thelemic current began to fuse with the primordial
Gnostic spiritual philosophy. This is a matter of no small
import; the fusion of Gnosticism (always a fusionist path, in
any case) - the spiritual path of Gnosis or Knowledge, with the
Law of the New Aeon, the Law of Thele rue Will - is arguably the
most significant spiritual occurrence of the contemporary era.
"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law" is the essence
of the Law of Thelema as proclaimed in Liber CCXX, The Book of
the Law, dating from 1904. But what is "True Will"?
"Know Thy Self" says the perennial philosophy of Gnosticism.
The discovery, and the realization of, the True Will, then, is
at the core of the modern manifestation of Gnosticism that has
based itself in the World of Occultism. That it attempts to do
so through the graded, progressive initiatory system of
freemasonry and the episcopal structure of the "High Church"
makes this all the more remarkable and potentially potent.
The curriculum set out by the OTO (Liber MCLI - Ed.) involves
progressive exercises leading to the deeper states of
self-realization, utilizing the sublimation of raw sexual energy
into a vehicle for the expansion of consciousness. While in the
West this could be considered unusual, the "sacred fire" has
been long understood in the East. All of the sacramental
functions I personally have participated in, within the modern
EGC, have contained a strong sexual element, always done, of co
ith good taste and sensitivity.
The Gnostic Mass as such contains within its poetic structure a
goodly portion of sexual symbolism, the Eucharist being
consecrated in a stylized erotic ritual act. It is said that a
variant of the Gnostic Mass - comparable to the alchemical "Mass
of the Holy Ghost", with its purely sexual Eucharist - exists in
practice as well. The Gnostic Mass, certainly NOT
coincidentally, is said to embody within its symbolism "the
ultimate secret of freemasonry."
In addition to this occultist/gnostic version of the Eucharist,
rites of Baptism, Confirmation, and Ordination may include
erotic aspects, communicating the secrets of Tantric Yoga as
transmitted to the West by the Templars, Dr. Kellner, and
others.
(We wish to thank our contributors for their generousity.)
C-Series tapes again available.
We are pleased to offer, once again, the C-Series tapes which were
originally available from Thelema Lodge Products during the reign of
Hymenaeus Alpha.
This series of three tapes contains:
C-I: Crowley reading the Ist and 2nd Enochian Calls (Crowley's own voice
from old transcription 78 rps records.) Regardie reading Enochian
Rituals, including the above. 31st anniversary of Crowley's Greater
Feast memorial O.T.O. group reading of Liber AL -- lead by Hymenaeus
Alpha. Regardie gives pronunciation guide for magical words in his
Golden Dawn.
C-II: Regardie reads Liber LXV and Liber ARARITA.
C-III: Regardie reads Liber VII, Liber Israfel and Liber Samekh.
Collect all three and get your Thelema fix on your car tape deck as you
ride to work each day. If the "Thumpers" can do it with their
"Bibble-Babble", so can we!
These tapes are only available from:
Joshua A. Norton Oasis
c/o P.O. Box 5311
South San Francisco, CA 94080
Cost in USA: $7.50 each plus postage and handling. Add $1.00 for the
first tape and 50 cents for each additional to cover P & H. Make checks
or Money Orders payable to "O.T.O." The money will be used to produce
other tapes of interest - including a series of lectures on the Gnotic
Mass
LIBER XV - THE GNOSTIC MASS
(By Father John. Continued from last issue.)
OF THE CEREMONY OF THE INTROIT
Webster defines introit as "the first part of the traditional
"proper" of the Mass consisting of an antiphon, verse from a
psalm, and the Gloria Patri" or "a piece of music sung or played
at the beginning of a worship service." (From Webster's Ninth
New Collegiate Dictionary, Merriam Webster, Inc. Springfield,
MA, 1984.)
"The DEACON, opening the door of the Temple, admits the
congregation and takes his place between the small altar and the
font. (There should be a doorkeeper to attend to admission.)
The DEACON advances and bows before the open shrine where the
Graal is exalted. He kisses the Book of the Law three times,
opens it. and places it upon the super-altar. He turns WEST and
says,
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. I proclaim the
Law of Light, Life, Love, and Liberty in the name of IAO"
"The CONGREGATION replies with
Love is the law, love under will."
What better music, what could be more "proper" than to hear the
essence of Thelemic Law proclaimed and its further explanation
echoed back?
The "doorkeeper" could be the Black Guard, properly trained,
either as or by, a Knight of Baphomet.
Chapter V of Magick in Theory and Practice contains very
valuable information concerning the formula of IAO. Its study
is recommended for not only DEACONS, but also PRIESTS who will
also vibrate this formula later in the Mass.
Notice the three kisses on the Book of the Law by the DEACON.
Again we have another 3. Some DEACONS will read a passage from
Liber AL before setting it down on the super altar.
After placing the Sacred Scroll down, the DEACON then turns
around to face the people and makes his opening speech. Notice
the sequence: Light, Life, Love and Liberty. Light is pure
vibration, and there are those who view Life as "shaking", too.
Life proceeds out of Light. From Life we learn to Love. This
Love, then, permits us to to our True Will. Doing your True
Will frees you from the Sin of Restriction - it provides the
Liberty we all seek.
"The DEACON goes to his place between the altar of incense and
the font, faces EAST, gives the Step and Sign of a Man and a
Brother. All imitate him."
This Step and Sign might be one of the secrets given to a Priest
on his ordination. He then, passes it on to the DEACON so he
can do it. But traditionally, it is omitted when there are
non-initiates of the OTO in the congregation. For further
details, consult your local bishop or OTO initiator. It should
be obvious that the Mass was intended to be performed and
witnessed by OTO initiates of high degrees.
"The DEACON and all the PEOPLE say:
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 breaths."
Ineffable = "too great to be described; to holy to be spoken"
Viceregent = vice = substitute + regent "a person chosen while a
king or queen is sick, absent, or too young" or "a member of a
governing board, as of a university".
CHAOS = secret, ineffable, Star, Father, substitute for a
stand-in for the Sun upon the Earth, Air, nourisher. Chaos has
been associated with the Dyad (Sephiroth of Chokmah whose number
is 2) as well as the Father of Thought. Other associations with
CHAOS include WORD and WISDOM.
It is taught in some metaphysical circles that the air we breath
contains something which is used by our physical bodies to
sustain life. It might just be oxygen. But there are those who
say that there something special, Prana, which sustains our
spiritual life as well in the Air. LORD is another name for
Hadit. "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 Mysteries, in Her name
BABALON."
BABALON is the Sphere of Binah, Number 3, the Mother - and yet,
after another fashion, also in Malkuth, the Earth. Notice the
associatiion between CHAOS and BABALON where CHAOS was called
the sole (only) viceregent of the SUN UPON THE EARTH.
"And I believe in the Serpent and the Lion, Mystery of
Mysteries, in His name
BAPHOMET."
The Serpent and the Lion is shown in Atu 11 - Lust. This Atu
corresponds to the Hebrew letter Teth, whose value is 9. There
is a total of 9 squares in the magical square of Binah and
Saturn. This associates BAPHOMET with BABALON - if we didn't
already have BABALON riding the BEAST in the Thoth Deck.
Leo is also associated with Atu 11 and the Sun rules Leo.
Therefore the association of BAPHOMET back to CHAOS is made.
BAPHOMET is the combination of the Spheres of Chokmah and Binah
and is Heru-Ra-Ha, the twins Ra-Hoor-Khuit and Hoor-Paar-Kraat.
Notice that there are 8 letters in BAPHOMET and 7 letters in
BABALON. The sum of these two letters is 15. Behold, a picture
of BAPHOMET is found on Atu 15. "And I believe in one Gnostic
and Catholic Church of Light, Life, Love, and Liberty, the Word
of whose Law is:
THELEMA."
Gnostic = esoteric knowledge of spiritual matters. Gnosis is
the Greek word for Knowledge.
Catholic = True and Universal in extent, of interest to all.
(The Law is for All.)
Light, Life, Love, and Liberty are also related to the four
powers of the Sphinx. See Liber Aleph, chapters 151 to 154 for
more information on this.
THELEMA should be a rather familiar word to us. But it is
strongly suggested that we don't accept the pat answers we found
in the past. Discover new meanings and associations for this
Greek word meaning WILL. It seems that this would be the first
step in discovering your True Will - to discover what WILL
really is.
"And I believe in the communion of Saints."
Later on the Priest will say, "Hear ye all, Saints of the true
church of old time now essentially present, that of ye we claim
heirship, with ye we claim communion, and from ye we claim
benediction in the name of IAO".
"for as much as meat and drink are transmuted in us daily into
spiritual substance, I believe in the Miracle of the Mass."
The whole purpose of attending Mass is not to see the PRIESTESS,
but to partake of spiritual food, the sacraments. There are
some mystic circles teaching that the food and drink we consume
is combined with the prana of the air we breath and forms
something called "Chine". This chine then fortifies our
spiritual bodies in the same manner which the physical body is
fortified by the food and drink. This is one of the main
reasons for watching our diet. This process is more efficient
when the food a k are of higher quality than what is found in
junk food. And this is why we can say at the end of the Mass,
with all honesty, "There is no part of me that is not of the
gods." This is the proof of the statement "Deus est Homo".
"And I confess one Baptism of Wisdom whereby we accomplish the
Miracle of Reincarnation."
This point, reincarnation, is one of the major divisions between
the Gnostics and the Orthodox Christians. But another
difference is contained within this statement - the idea of a
"Baptism of Wisdom".
The Orthodox Christian Church also teaches that one is born into
something called "Original Sin". This is the result of the
"Sins of Adam and Eve" when they made an apple pie in the Garden
of Eden. Since they goofed, we must pay for it. It makes as
much less sense than someone being punished for the crimes of
their parents.
With the Gnostics, baptism is an act which prepares a person to
become more enlightened - it does not remove "sin" in the
traditional sense. Yet it does remove restriction, the "word of
sin" (See Liber AL, I:41). So, the Orthodox Christians are
correct in thinking that taking a Christian Spitz-Bath will
remove Sin. And it is the "Sin of Adam" which we are born into
- it is the "restriction" which we have initially when we are
not aware of our True Will. "All words are sacred and all
prophets true, save only that they understand a little" (Liber
AL, I:56). The difference, then, lies in how we interp.
Your attention is drawn to the choice of the word "WISDOM". Is
that not another name for CHAOS?
The Creed should be studied by all, but especially those who are
or wish to be confirmed in the Church.
We will continue with this part of the Mass in the next issue.
GNOSTIC BOOK LIST
The Holy Father requests that the readers of this paper
(especially the bishops) submit to us a list of the "Ten Gnostic
Books Most Likely to be taken with you to a desert island". We
will compile this list and publish them in rank order.
Now if you would also be willing to write a short book
report...and, if possible, on ThelemaNeT...Hmmmmm!