An End to the Crisis of God

Jesus is gone.

Forty four days ago we all conspired to shed his blood and put him to death. Some of us conspired through betrayal, some through denial, and others through inaction, false witness, and a myriad of other ways. We denied his humanity, we desecrated his divinity, we tied him up, led him in chains, affixed him to a beam of wood, nailed him to the cross, pierced his side and turned our backs even as he cried to the heavens and released his soul unto death.

Forty days ago he returned from death and nobody who saw him recognized his face even though he had only been in the tomb for three days. Not even his closest companions recognized him. He came back and found us all drunk and stupefied, forgetful of everything he shared with us for the years that we followed him around pretending to learn eagerly at his feet and seeing our distress, stayed with us for another forty days to assuage our grief, to instruct us of the mysteries which lie beyond and then, like the putting out of a candle, his light was absorbed into heaven and once again, Jesus was gone.We were left without him.

But he left a promise.

A Vigil Rite in Times of Disaster

Following the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings I, like many people around the world, was filled with a sudden sadness and loss of words (and thoughts!) about the immensity of the event. Words do not adequately lend themselves to these types of situations and, after reading all sorts of news articles on the events and reading increasingly sophistic writings about it on Facebook, I grew more sad and a little bit jaded about this event like many who are exposed on a constant level to the horrors that surround us. Each of us comes to terms with these things in different ways: some through song, some through talking and writing, others through crying, and others – such as myself – through prayer.

In the days immediately following the event, I wrote the following brief service based on my own religious tradition. It is not an official AJC ceremony by any means – I’m the only one whose prayed it before -  but I present it that it may be used, and modified, by those in my community or who are otherwise genuinely interested and wanting to contribute prayerfully in the wake of this most recent tragedy at the Boston Marathon.

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The Signum

 

Celebrant:          O Heavenly King, the Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth, who are present everywhere, emanating from the supreme source and filling all things, Treasury of Endless Good and Giver of Life, come and dwell in us, cleanse us from every stain, and heal our infirmities, O Good one.

Celebrant:          Holy are You, O Creator of the Universe. Holy are You, O God, Whose Will is perfected by its own Powers. Holy are You, O God, who desires to be known and are known by your own.

 All:                         +Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One. Have mercy on us.

 Celebrant:          Holy are You, who by the Eternal Word did make all to be as it is. Holy are you, who made Nature to have an image. Holy are you, who are uncreated in Image.

 All:                         +Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One. Have mercy on us.

Celebrant:          Holy are you, more powerful than All Power. Holy are you, transcending all preeminence. Holy are you, better than all praise.

 All:                         +Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One. Have mercy on us.

 Celebrant:          Holy God, One in Three and Three in One, have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

Celebrant:          God, come to my assistance.

All:                         Lord, make haste to help me.

 All bow

Celebrant:          Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

All rise

All:                         As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be unto the Æons of Æons. Amen.

Optional, invocation of the holy archangels may take place here:

Invocation of the Archangels

 

Celebrant:          Hail Raphael, Ruler of Air, Divine Physician. As the breath of the Divine moves over the face of the Deep, so do we call upon you to move over the sanctuary of our being, giving voice to our prayer and strength to our journey.

All:                         Lord of Wind and Storm, we invoke thee!

 

Celebrant:          Hail Michael, Ruler of Fire, Divine Guardian. As our spiritual ancestors travelled through the darkness by a pillar of fire, so do we call upon you as pilgrims to light our path through the wilderness of ignorance into the Kingdom of Heaven.

All:                         Lord of Flame and Prince of the Seraphim, we invoke thee!

Celebrant:          Hail Gabriel, Ruler of Water, Divine Messenger. As the Incarnation of the Logos was foretold to our Mother by your                 presence, so do we call upon you that we may truly know ourselves as children of the Divine Beloved.

All:                         Lady of Stream and Ocean, we invoke thee!

Celebrant:          Hail Uriel, Ruler of Earth, Divine Companion. As you stand guarding the gates of paradise, so do we call upon you to lead us at our last through the portal of that undiscovered territory, from which no traveller returns.

All:                         Lady of Stone and Vale, we invoke thee!

Invitatory Prayer

Celebrant:          We gather together and are one of purpose as fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, who love the good land God has given us; who cherish the freedoms we enjoy, and who lament our innocence lost. With anger we come, and with sorrow;

with confusion and concern. O Lord, look with the eyes of your love upon our confusion and distress, grant that our vision may be made clear and that we not falter in loving one another as you had taught.

All:                         Amen.

Psalm 37, An Exhortation to Patience and Trust

Reader:               Do not fret because of the wicked;

do not be envious of wrongdoers,

for they will soon fade like the grass,

and wither like the green herb.

 

All:                         Trust in the Lord, and do good;

so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.

Take delight in the Lord,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

 

Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will act.

He will make your vindication shine like the light,

and the justice of your cause like the noonday.

 

Reader:                                Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;

do not fret over those who prosper in their way,

over those who carry out evil devices.

 

All:                         Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.

Do not fret—it leads only to evil.

For the wicked shall be cut off,

but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

 

Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;

though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.

But the meek shall inherit the land,

and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

 

Reader                 The wicked plot against the righteous,

and gnash their teeth at them;

but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

for he sees that their day is coming.

 

All:                         The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows

to bring down the poor and needy,

to kill those who walk uprightly;

their sword shall enter their own heart,

and their bows shall be broken.

 

Better is a little that the righteous person has

than the abundance of many wicked.

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,

but the Lord upholds the righteous.

 

Reader:                                The Lord knows the days of the blameless,

and their heritage will abide forever;

they are not put to shame in evil times,

in the days of famine they have abundance.

 

All:                         But the wicked perish,

and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures;

they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.

 

The wicked borrow, and do not pay back,

but the righteous are generous and keep giving;

for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land,

but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

 

Reader:                                Our steps are made firm by the Lord,

when he delights in our way;

though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong,

for the Lord holds us by the hand.

 

All:                         I have been young, and now am old,

yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

or their children begging bread.

They are ever giving liberally and lending,

and their children become a blessing.

 

Depart from evil, and do good;

so you shall abide forever.

For the Lord loves justice;

he will not forsake his faithful ones.

 

Reader:                                The righteous shall be kept safe forever,

but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

The righteous shall inherit the land,

and live in it forever.

 

All:                         The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,

and their tongues speak justice.

The law of their God is in their hearts;

their steps do not slip.

 

The wicked watch for the righteous,

and seek to kill them.

The Lord will not abandon them to their power,

or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial.

 

Reader:                                Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way,

and he will exalt you to inherit the land;

you will look on the destruction of the wicked.

 

All:                         I have seen the wicked oppressing,

and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.

Again I passed by, and they were no more;

though I sought them, they could not be found.

 

Mark the blameless, and behold the upright,

for there is posterity for the peaceable.

But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;

the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.

 

Reader:                                The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

He is their refuge in the time of trouble.

The Lord helps them and rescues them;

he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,

because they take refuge in him.

 

Standing Prayers

 

All stand.

Celebrant:          Glory to Thee, Our God, Glory to Thee.

All:                         Glory to Thee, our God, Glory to Thee. O Heavenly Queen, Comforter, the Spirit of Truth,

Who is everywhere present and permeates all things, the Treasury of all good things and the Giver of life: Come, and abide in us, and cleanse us from every stain, and save our souls, O Pure One.

Celebrant:          Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One: have mercy on us.

All:                         Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One: have mercy on us.

Celebrant:          All Holy, All Mighty, Everlasting Trinity, have mercy on us; cleanse us from our sins, pardon all our iniquities, visit and heal us from our infirmities for Your Name’s sake.

All:                         Kyrie eleison, kyrie eleison, kyrie eleison.

Christi eleison, Christi eleison, Christi eleison.

Kyrie eleison, kyrie eleison, kyrie eleison.

Celebrant:           Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

All:                          As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, forever and ever. Amen.

The Lucernarium

The Celebrant pour oil in the lamp and seven members of the community come forth and place a single tear of frankincense into the oil. If alone or with less people, the tears may be divided up accordingly.

Celebrant:           O Logos who dwells on high, we praise the glory of Your majesty Whose light is the light of the luminaries, Who sends forth light from heaven over all the world of humankind

Through You we have the sun to light the day and moon and stars to light the night-time. Through you we have the Lamp to drive back shadow. You are light laudable, holy and primal light. From You does darkness and evil flee.

O Christos, send forth Your healing light into our hearts. Restore us to the glory of the Fullness within and without. Comfort our minds, bodies and spirits, and wipe away every tear from our eyes. Blessed is the Name of Your holy glory and to You we sing a hymn of praise and glory. To the Fullness, to the Word and to Wisdom.

The Celebrant or youngest person present comes forth to light the candle.

Celebrant:          As you illumine this lamp, O Lord

All:                         So illumine our dark places

Celebrant:          The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness does                 not overcome it.

O Gracious Light (Phos hilaron)

All:                         O gracious Light,

pure brightness of the ever-living Father in heaven,

O Lord, the Christ, holy and blessed!

Now as we come to the setting of the sun,

and our eyes behold the vesper light,

we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,

O Son of God, O Giver of life,

and to be glorified through all the worlds.

Amen.

All:                         We give thanks unto you, O Light, in whom darkness dwells not.

The Universal Prayer

Celebrant:          Having set this vigil light, let us pray to receive and foster the Divine Light which enlightens the world, that within all of us the Sacred Flame may grow ever stronger and we all grow in love and understanding.

Silence or brief meditation as members come up to light their own candles from the lucernarium.

All:                         Amen.

 

Reader:                For our reigning Sovereign Pontiff __________, and presiding Bishop __________, and all bishops of the Apostolic Johannite Church, bishops in amity, and leaders of faith throughout the world, we pray to the Lord.

Or,

For the leaders of our respective communities of faith, wherein we find our connection to the Sacred Flame, especially __________…

All:                         Lord, hear our prayer.

 

Reader:                For our President __________, our Governor __________,  and all members of local and regional government and all who give their lives in tireless service to the common good, may they be guided by the Sacred Flame and create the foundations for a holy society, free from tyranny and oppression.

All:                         Lord, hear our prayer.

 

Reader:                For those who give their lives in service to the poor, the needy, the marginalized and imprisoned as well as those in need and from want, suffering ostracism and imprisonment; may they all be preserved bodily, mentally and spiritually.

All:                         Lord, hear our prayer.

 

Reader:                For our church and faith communities throughout the world; especially __________,  our (mission, narthex, parish, etc.), that they be beacons of light in the sea of existence and guide people to You, in the myriad of ways you provide.

All:                         Lord, hear our prayer.

 

Reader:                For our friends and family and all those suffering illness, especially __________, may you renew them bodily, mentally, and spiritually that they may remain with us presently and in future joy.

All:                         Lord, hear our prayer.

 

Reader:                For those who have left this world and have gone onward to that other shore from which no one returns, especially __________,  may they be rightly guided by the lights you have set for them and may they be uplifted and encouraged by our prayers.

All:                         Lord, hear our prayer.

 

Reader:                                For our own personal needs at this time…

 

All may state their petitions out loud or silently at this time.

 

All:         Lord, hear our prayer.

 

Celebrant:          O Lord, You make all things new. As these prayers are lifted up toward you, renew the world and all those for whom we have prayed that they may abide forever under the providence of your divine light. May all those, especially the victims of [name or location of tragedy] find speedy healing and protection under your wings and may the wings of Holy Wisdom brush gently at our hearts, removing from us the defilements of anger, hatred and confusion.

Closing

Celebrant:          The Lord be with you.

All:                         And also with you.

Celebrant:          The Lord bless us, and bring us to wholeness, compassion and understanding. The Lord enlighten our minds, comfort our hearts and sustain our bodies. May all those in suffering soon find healing, comfort and aid and may we all do what is meet and right in our ways as members of your body, O Lord, to commit ourselves to repair of the world.

All:                         Amen.

Optional, dismissal of the archangels.

 Dismissal of the Archangels

 

Celebrant:           Hail, mighty Raphael, Archangel of the Air, Healer and Guardian of Wind and Tempest. We thank thee for thine attendance and protection here, and before thou departest for thine airy realms, we bid Thee hail and farewell.

All:                          Hail and farewell.

Celebrant:           Hail, mighty Michael, the Defender, Lord of Fire and Prince of the Legions of Heaven. We thank thee for thine attendance and protection here, and before thou departest for thine fiery realms, we bid Thee hail and farewell.

All:                          Hail and farewell.

 

Celebrant:           Hail, mighty Gabriel, Lady of Water, Heavenly Herald, who didst bring glad tidings to Our Blessed Mother. We thank thee for thine attendance and protection here, and before thou departest for thine watery realms, we bid Thee hail and farewell.

All:                          Hail and farewell.

Celebrant:           Hail, mighty Uriel, Dark Lady of Earth, who bringest all at last unto the Nether Shore, Companion of all who offer up their lives in the defense of others. We thank thee for thine attendance and protection here, and before thou departest for thine earthy realms, we bid Thee hail and farewell.

All:                          Hail and farewell.

Easter Is Not Named After Ishtar, And Other Truths I Have To Tell You

Reblogged from The Belle Jar:

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If there is one thing that drives me absolutely bananas, it's people spreading misinformation via social media under the guise of "educating". I've seen this happen in several ways - through infographics that twist data in ways that support a conclusion that is ultimately false, or else through "meaningful" quotes falsely attributed to various celebrities, or by cobbling together a few actual facts with statements that are patently untrue to create something that seems plausible on the surface but is, in fact, full of crap.

Read more… 2,097 more words

I don't typically re-blog others' posts, but this has been going around lately and I like how they've worded it.

A Thrifty Saint

Born of Christian parents near Seville in 76 AD; died near Baia in 138.

Disciplina was the daughter of a leather maker and personal maid to Domitia Paulina, from whom Disciplina learned how to write and manage business. Upon her father’s death, Disciplina took over her father’s workshop and was renowned for her skill in craftsmanship as well as for fairness in business transactions. One day, a Roman centurion named Diligens visited her workshop to have his shoes repaired. He so admired her skill that he fell in love with her and they were married following her mother’s death.

Three children were born of this marriage, Frugalis the eldest, Severita the second, and Fido the third. Diligens agreed to let their children be baptized on the condition they would receive a Roman education. Diligens agreed and the family travelled throughout the empire where she continued her work in repairing the shoes of soldiers who admired her skill and her dedication to both her family and to the poor she met along the way who she was able to feed and miraculously impart knowledge of writing and mathematics to the poor she met in whichever city she visited.

During their stay in Judea, Diligens was severely injured while helping Jewish and Christian citizens find safe refuge in the midst of a rebellion taking place in the city. There it was discovered that he had married a Christian and could have been put to death. Disciplina and Fido interceded on his behalf to the emperor who was so moved that he agreed to allow him medical treatment so long as Fido would replace his father and Disciplina teach other soldiers and tax collectors how to correctly manage their business affairs.

Disciplina and Fido acquiesced to the emperor’s command and they found themselves welcomed by the court. Frugalis was promoted to tax collector himself and Severita became well-known for education of the children of soldiers and their children. Following the aftermath of the rebellion, Fido was excused from replacing his father’s place and became a monk in Palestine. Upon her death in July 138, she was deeply mourned by Romans, Christians and Jews and her body was buried along with her husband in Baia where she had lived her final years educating the children of senators as well as poor Christians and Jews.

Disciplina is commemorated on 1 July and she is the patron of mixed marriages, woman workers, school teachers, secretaries, home economics, devotion, parents of soldiers, parents of religious, and meticulousness.

Novena to Saint Disciplina

Saint Disciplina, devoted wife and mother, help us to carry our lives with meticulous attentiveness to our daily spiritual and temporal needs, always saving what we have and providing to others what they need. Through your imitation may we grow in steadfastness, prudence and faith in all we do that our labors may be appreciated. We ask this in the name of Christ the Lord. Amen.

Lenten Meditation: Water

 

God calls us, even now, reminding us that there is no better moment than the present to begin seeking to remember our divine origins and that we have at this very moment an opportunity that we can freely take advantage of to deepen our knowledge and embody the nature of the Christ. In practicing mindfulness, we can start to see through the watery illusions which we have put about us and start remembering who we were.

The image of water as a concrete means of purification is self-explanatory, however water as a means of spiritual purification, dare I say atonement, and is one of the foundational mysteries of Christian belief – that is Baptism. The outward washing with water symbolizes an inward cleansing of the soul and is practiced to this day by many people of a variety of different faiths. In joining the symbolic path of Christ during Lent, we must wash away the accretions of falsehood from our field of perception so that we may come to better know our divine natures and be recognized for our own inherent divinity (cif. John 9:12, I Cor. 13:12).

As one who may have had more than a passing familiarity with the mystery traditions of the Greeks as well as the Egyptians in addition to his own Jewish heritage, the usage of water in purification rites would have been very clear to Jesus however, during the Lenten season, it is also into the waters that we must descend in order to die to our old ways of viewing the world and become reborn and regenerated in order to gain a more comprehensive idea of “whereto we speed ”.

For the Ancient Egyptian religions, water or mw played an important role in the lives of the sacral duties of their priesthoods so much so that an entire clerical class, w’b nswt or purification priests,  were in charge of preparing ritual space but were not allowed to enter the sanctuary where the Divine Image was kept. An interesting parallel here might be to consider the role of John the Baptist in the desert preparing the way for Jesus as the embodiment and instructor of embodying God. Also, interestingly, although the Hebrew letter mem (מ) is believed to be graphically related to the Egyptian n-water ripple this represents only the letter, “n”, the Sefer HaBahir which may be dated to the first century, informs us, “Do not read Mem, but Mayim (water).”

So, what do we find in water? Biologically, the human fetus is suspended in the waters of the womb for nine months before birth and upon exiting the womb encounters a deserted wasteland of pure potentiality but first, the first impetus of many of us at birth is to cry at the cold world we’ve been thrust into before being picked up and placed into the loving arms of our first parent whose voice we quickly learn to recognize and whose heartbeat we already know. On a spiritual nature, we already have the capacity to listen to the heartbeat of God and hear our First Parent or Protogenetiera (cf. Eugnostos the Blessed) speaking Her Wisdom into us (cf. proverbs 8:22-8:31, Wisdom 7:25-7:26) continually fostering our connection to the Sacred Flame.

Water is also emblematic of emotion, specifically connection to our emotions, and is ruled by the Moon as countless folk-legends attest. The first step in our purification then must be to be attentive to our own moods and the their waxing and waning cycles and direct our focus and offer our experiences, through blood, sweat and tears, where we might find “true life through intelligence and love ” and fulfill the great commandment given by Christ to us, that through understanding our own selves and purifying our own fluctuations, we may be able to love one another in such a way as He had loved us, even unto the watery depths.

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[1] “Je suis descendu du Ciel? Est-ce parce qu’il a habité avec les Grecs, qu’il vient ainsi converser avec nous? Que de commun ce qu’il a appris des Égyptiens, et ce que nos pères nous ont appris?” Palaprat, B.R. Lévitikon: ou Exposé des principes fondamentaux de la doctrine des chrétiens-catholiques-primitifs: suivi de leurs évangiles, d’un extrait de la Table d’or… et précédé du statut sur le gouvernement de l’Eglise et la hiérarchie lévitique

[2] “Μέχρι τοῦ βαπτίσματος οὖν ἡ Εἱμαρμένη, φασίν, ἀληθής· μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο οὐκέτι ἀληθεύουσιν οἱ ἀστρο 4.78.2 λόγοι. Ἔστιν δὲ οὐ τὸ λουτρὸν μόνον τὸ ἐλευθεροῦν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ γνῶσις, τίνες ἦμεν, τί γεγόναμεν· ποῦ ἦμεν, ἢ ποῦ ἐνεβλήθημεν· ποῦ σπεύδομεν, πόθεν λυτρούμεθα· τί γέννησις, τί ἀναγέννησις.” ΕΚ ΤΩΝ ΘΕΟΔΟΤΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΤΗΣ ΑΝΑΤΟΛΙΚΗΣ ΚΑΛΟΥΜΕΝΗΣ ΔΙΔΑΣΚΑΛΙΑΣ ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟΥΣ ΟΥΑΛΕΝΤΙΝΟΥ ΧΡΟΝΟΥΣ ΕΠΙΤΟΜΑΙ, Clement of Alexandria

[3] Kaplan, Aryeh (ed.), Bahir

[4] Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie, Eliphas Levi

Spiritual Architecture

On December 26th, the Eve of the Feast of John the Beloved Disciple, the Monsignor Scott Rassbach+ arrived with members of Rose Cross Community in Portland to celebrate mass with Seattle’s Holy Paraclete Community, a mission of the Apostolic Johannite Church. This feast is of particular importance to the world wide Johannite community which describes itself as a spiritual tradition carried in part through the initiatory tradition of John the Baptist, exemplified in the relationship between Christ and the Apostle John. The service itself was well attended for this small community that was granted last year to Monsignor Scott+ and me by His Eminence, +Mar Iohannes IV and His Grace, +Mar Thomas, with people from a wide variety of religious backgrounds – a fine example of the acceptance of diversity that epitomizes this tradition and sets it apart in many ways.

Following the Gospel reading, Monsignor Scott+ announced that our small community had been elevated from its status as a mission community to that of a narthex. In the Apostolic Johannite Church, our communities fall into one of three primary categories: a mission is group of members that meet irregularly and are ministered to by visiting Johannite clergy; a narthex is a local study group under the direction of a lay or clerical leader; and a parish, is a fully functioning body of the Apostolic Johannite Church with regular clergy and services. This news was followed with a wonderful impromptu sermon on the nature of a narthex in the context of the AJC and in history, Eucharist, and our group meeting at a local restaurant for food and fellowship following the service.

In the week following the service, I have been given much to think about as the current lay-leader of Holy Paraclete Community in light of Monsignor Scott’s+ homily and there is doubtless more to think about as I undergo formation in my studies with Saint Raphael the Archangel Seminary on my process toward ordination to the priesthood. Formation, itself, is an interesting terminology to use in this context. As someone with a background in the plastic arts, a fervent love for Sculpey, and an appreciation for ancient and modern architecture I find myself thinking about the development of this community and myself with the same enthusiasm and reluctance as an artist or architect seeking to build something that will outlast the temporal here and now and grow and develop into something that I pray will last years beyond my physical life been extinguished. The whole process, in many ways, can be considered the building of architecture of spirit that is at once deeply personal and communal in nature.

Following the death of Jesus, the disciples traveled throughout the world scattered like seeds in the wind yet each carrying a blueprint of what the master builder had left them for creating a new society. Some, like James, stayed in Jerusalem and continued working on their own personal spiritual development with the community they had known there, while others started laying the foundation for new communities around the Mediterranean and as far away as India. Nearly all of them met violent ends at the hands of the civil and religious authorities of the time except for one, John, who according to holy tradition, was exiled to Patmos off the coast of modern day Turkey and lived to an old age and dying in Ephesus. Saint Paul, the only apostle to have not physically been present during the life of Jesus, mentions of John that he along with Peter in Rome and James who remained in Jerusalem, was one of the pillars of the Church (cf Galations 2:9).

As the community that established around Peter became known for its dogged dedication to creating a new temporal society and the church of James in Jerusalem worked gently to bridge the gaps in philosophical and theological disagreements between the Christians and the Jews, the vision of John was nearly entirely spiritual – free from the confines extremes of Jewish religious law and attachment to physical establishment of a new religious community. All three visions of these apostles however, form the supports upon which rest the ethical, moral and philosophical axis of the living church to this very day using the blue prints of Jesus.

By the time of the writing of the Gospel of John, it’s generally acknowledged that the Christian community had been expelled from participation in the synagogues and temple establishment and so most, in particular non-Jewish converts to Christianity, began meeting in the atria of the houses of sympathetic patrons who may or may not themselves have been converts while those who were interested would often wait outside the open area before gaining admittance to the mysterious Christian church. This place, which in Roman architecture of the time was called the fauces, in modern architecture a mud-room, would become the basis of the narthex as these communities would grow and become independent buildings of worship.

From a spiritual perspective, the narthex remains a mudroom of sorts. Separated from the nave of the church, it is the place where day to day business can be discussed, local gossip and profound observations exchanged, and where newcomers are welcomed. It’s also where we ourselves are at our least focused and meditative and mired in the concerns of the world but where we are reminded of our hope for spiritual purification. In many ancient churches then as now, the narthex would often include a baptismal font so that infants or adults could be baptized there before entering the nave, and to remind other believers of their baptisms as they gathered to worship. As a place of penance, the narthex is at once symbolic of the desert through which the ancient Hebrews wandered with Moses, the outskirts of society where John the Baptist cried like a voice in the deserts, and the wasteland where Jesus meditated for forty days and was tried and tempered. It’s also an oasis, a place of refreshment and hospitality. Then as now, hospitality is the highest law among desert nomads in the Near East and any weary traveler who found their way to an oasis would be greeted hospitably and given aid as they continued their journey. Everyone, regardless of rank or status, must pass through the narthex before entering the nave – the Holy of Holies – of the church.

As the lay leader of Holy Paraclete Community, a narthex of the Apostolic Johannite Church, I hope this community embodies what it means to be a place of similar welcome and hospitality, rest and refreshment, information and cordial chatter. Myself, I hope also to be tested and reminded about my own moral and spiritual deficiencies whereby I can better see what I need to work on in my own process of spiritual purification and development as well as better learn what I need to learn to be of aid and hospitality to those whom I meet wherever I may be. As a Johannite, I hope it is here that I cannot so much come to be loved as to better learn how to love, not be known so much as know, not so much receive as give, and in dying to old behaviors be reborn daily with my community in the light of holy gnōsis.

Mystical Novena to Jophiel

Inspired by recently reading Jason Miller‘s Financial Sorcery at the urging of my friend, the Monsignor Scott Rassbach+, I decided to create a novena to the Archangel Jophiel for the purposes of obtaining the amount of necessary wealth and prosperity to help me control my financial situation and acheive the goals I have in mind in the coming months.

Considering the nature of my blog, this might come as a surprise that I would step away for a moment from the high and lofty goals of divinization and actively engage in the material world, going as far as petitioning the angels themselves for assistance. The fact of the matter, as I feel Jason points out, is that wealth and prosperity are not bad things in and of themselves however, I also think that the misapplication of one’s resources is indicative of a deeper problem and can be considered a root of evil. Fortunately, I have a very understanding partner who’s willing to work with me on this.

The ritual below will be familiar to those from Roman Catholic backgrounds as a novena which is essentially a sustained form of invocation for the purposes of receiving the benefits of a particular angel, saint or holy being. Jophiel, ‘the Beauty of God’, a Cherub or a Throne then he is also a “prince of heaven” found in Jewish law and is a caretaker of the seven heavens and the angelic choirs.

In contemporary Hermetic Qabalah he is one of the angels who resides in the heavenly sphere of Tzedeq as the intelligence of Jupiter. As such, he is symbolically closer to humanity than the ruling Archangel Tzadkiel and is, in my experience, significantly more approachable. Regardless of the relative proximity – how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?! – novenas are a way of bringing down transcendental forces into one’s immediate proximity and are a simple way of forming connections with these forces for personal development.

Mystical Novena to the Archangel Jophiel

The mystical novena to the Archangel Jophiel is used to bring the beneficial and benevolent influences of the planet Jupiter into the life of the individual or group with whom it is performed. It requires a minimum of physical objects although more may be added as long as they are in accord with the nature of the working. The three basic objects required are a bowl of salt water or holy water if it can be obtained, a blue candle and a censer or oil diffuser. This ritual is best started on Thursday when Jupiter is well aspected and in the first hour of Jupiter. If the specific timing cannot be ascertained for whatever reason, it may be started on a Thursday when the moon is waxing at either sunrise or sunset.

Sign of the Cross

In the Name of + the Father,+ the Son, and +the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Supplication to the Lord

Omnipotent and eternal God, who has ordained the whole creation for Your praise and glory, and for the salvation of humanity, I ask that You would send your Spirit Jophiel of the Jovial order, who shall inform and teach me those things which I shall ask of him; or, that he [state your request of the day]. Nevertheless not my will be done, but Yours, through Christ, Your Son, our Lord. + Amen. +Amen. +Amen. +Amen.

Prayer to the Angel Jophiel

I invoke you, Jophiel, mighty intelligence of the Jupiter sphere! You who descend from Mercy and Loving-kindess!  From beginningless time you, Jophiel, have been the protector and benefactor of humanity and the provider of good things and whenever anyone has upon you in times of need, you have stood close beside them. We humbly ask you for success and prosperity in all out undertakings, particularly [state request], and that the light of your Holy Wisdom guide and keep us forevermore. We ask this in the name of the Most High god of Zion, El, Strong and Mighty. Amen.

Closing Prayer Following Psalms

Forasmuch as you came in peace, and quietly, and hast answered unto my petitions; I give thanks to God, in whose Name you came: and now you may depart in peace unto your orders; and return to me again when I shall call you by your name, or by your order, or by your office, which is granted from the Creator. Amen.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

We give thanks to You! Every soul and heart is lifted up to You, O Undisturbed Name, honored with the name ‘God’ and praised with the name ‘Father,’ for to everyone and everything comes the parental kindness and affection and love and any teaching there may be that is sweet and plain, giving us mind, speech and knowledge: Mind, so that we humanity understand You; Speech, so that we may expound You, Knowledge, so that we may know You. We rejoice because You hast shown us Yourself. We rejoice because we were in the body. You have made us divine through Your knowledge. The delight of the man who attains to You is one thing: that we know You. We have known You, O Intellectual Light. O Life of life, we have known You. O womb of every creature, we have known You. O womb pregnant with the nature of the Father, we have known You. O Eternal Permanence of the begetting Father thus have we worshipped Your goodness. There is one petition that we ask: we would be preserved in knowledge. And there is one protection that we desire: we do not stumble in this life. Amen.

 DAY ONE

 Sign of the Cross, Supplication to the Lord, & Invocation of Jophiel

Prayer of the Day

O Great Angel Jophiel, you who were present in Eden and provided our spiritual parents the necessary wealth and prosperity they needed even when they had been cast out; help us who diligently labor to obtain all good things and gather much wealth and prosperity in our days. We ask this through your aid and the help of the High God, El. Amen.

Psalm 104

“Bless the LORD, O my soul; O LORD my God, how excellent is your greatness! you are clothed with majesty and splendor…”

Closing Prayer Following Psalms & Prayer of Thanksgiving

 DAY TWO

 Sign of the Cross, Supplication to the Lord, & Invocation of Jophiel

 Prayer of the Day

O Great Angel, Jophiel, as you provided those lost in the wilderness to ascend to greatness and fed the lost on manna from Heaven, please help us to ascend from our lowly places and ascend to such greatness as David and all righteous Kings of the World, without stumbling or faltering in our righteousness. We ask this in the name of the Most High God, El. Amen.

Psalm 113

“Hallelujah! Give praise, you servants of the LORD; praise the Name of the LORD…”

Closing Prayer & Prayer of Thanksgiving

 DAY THREE

 Sign of the Cross, Supplication to the Lord, & Invocation of Jophiel

 Prayer of the Day

O Great Angel Jophiel, as the Lord ordained that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will never walk away unfulfilled, fill us with such righteousness that we may establish a strong community of faith and trust in the Lord and may live in such a way as our successes may always be unto His greater Glory. We ask this in the name of the Most High God, El. Amen.

Psalm 112

“Hallelujah! Happy are they who fear the Lord and have great delight in his commandments!”

Closing Prayer & Prayer of Thanksgiving

 DAY FOUR

 Sign of the Cross, Supplication to the Lord, & Invocation of Jophiel

Prayer of the Day

O Great Angel Jophiel, you who helped to establish strong fortresses and abundant homes, help to fill our homes with abundance and fortify ourselves through good diligence, the practice of beneficence, and service to your fellow citizens. We ask this in the name of the Most High God, El. Amen.

Psalm 122

“I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

Closing Prayer & Prayer of Thanksgiving

 DAY FIVE

 Sign of the Cross, Supplication to the Lord, & Invocation of Jophiel

Prayer of the Day

O Great Angel Jophiel, you who help to balance the measures of merchants and provide to equality amongst those who strive to maintain balance, help to balance our lives with necessary wealth, health, strength, joy and peace. We ask this in the name of the Most High God, El. Amen.

Psalm 126

“When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, then were we like those who dream.”

Closing Prayer & Prayer of Thanksgiving

DAY SIX

 Sign of the Cross, Supplication to the Lord, & Invocation of Jophiel

Prayer of the Day

O Great Angel Jophiel, true prosperity is given to the righteous who like Solomon know how to best utilize their skills with wisdom. Grant us industriousness in our chosen fields that we may become masters of our disciplines and wield the rod of authority with mercy. We ask this in the name of the Most High God, El. Amen.

Psalm 125

“Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but stands fast for ever.”

Closing Prayer & Prayer of Thanksgiving

 DAY SEVEN

 Sign of the Cross, Supplication to the Lord, & Invocation of Jophiel

Prayer of the Day

O Great Angel Jophiel, having balanced the inferior with the superior, grant that we may obtain those things which we personally wish and would like to draw your attention toward, in particular [name requests]. With wisdom and mercy, help us to have the peace and serenity to accept know what we need in accordance with Divine Will. We ask this in the name of the Most High God, El. Amen.

Psalm 131

“O LORD, I am not proud; I have no haughty looks.”

Closing Prayer and Prayer of Thanksgiving

 DAY EIGHT

 Sign of the Cross, Supplication to the Lord, & Invocation of Jophiel

Prayer of the Day

O Great Angel Jophiel, grant us apt and teachable hearts that we may avoid avarice and grossness, and regenerate our lives day after day so that our wealth and mercy may not be squandered in vain, but miraculously increase as in our knowledge of you and regenerate day after day in us and in the lives of all we hold dear and we may all live in peace and prosperity forever. We ask this in the name of the Most High God, El. Amen.

Psalm 133

“Oh, how good and pleasant it is, when brethren live together in unity!”

Closing Prayer & Prayer of Thanksgiving

 DAY NINE

 Sign of the Cross, Supplication to the Lord, & Invocation of Jophiel

 Prayer of the Day

O Great Angel Jophiel, we bless you and give you thanks for your assistance in our daily desires and our desires for wealth, both physically in the material and spiritually in the transcendental realms. Freely we have received and freely may we give, delighting in our bodies and minds, call others into joy and life and abundance. May we always be mindful that material things are to be used and our fellow humanity to be loved and that imbalance and evil arise when people are used and material things are loved. For your intercessions and your presence we give you due thanks and honor and praise, now and forevermore. +Amen. +Amen. +Amen. +Amen.

Psalm 134

“Behold now, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, you that stand by night in the house of the LORD.”

Closing Prayer and Prayer of Thanksgiving

The mystical novena may be used toward any end where one wishes to obtain the virtues and blessings of the Archangel Jophiel. As before, it is best performed when Jupiter is well aspected in the Heavens but may be done starting on any Thursday when one is in particular need. The personal requests and petitions should be in concord with those things under the corresponding principals of Jupiter such as principles of growth, expansion, prosperity, and good fortune; long distance and foreign travel, higher education, religion, and the law; humanitarian and protecting roles, and with gambling and merrymaking.

The scent most traditionally associated with Jupiter in modern times is cedar, although according to the theurgists of ancient Egypt and Greece storax is also held to be particularly well aspected to the planet. Should one be inclined to make a blend specific for this rite, the best would be a compound of 1 part finely ground cedar shavings, 1 part clove or cardamom, 1/2 part storax or benzoin, and a few drops of nutmeg essential oil.

If one is inclined to set up a more devotional space, the arrangement of the table or shrine should be as follows:

Icon or Statue of Jophiel

 

Holy Water             Thurible

 

Bible or Psalter

When the Sign of the Cross (+) one should place the three fingers of the right hand in the small bowl and make the sign of the cross upon his or herself. A small scoop of incense is added at the points of the Invocation of the Jophiel, during the reading of the psalms appointed, and at the Prayer of Thanksgiving.

The Archangel Jophiel

Nobody’s Theology

In a recent post over at his Arkadian Anvil, friend and esoteric colleague Sam Webster M.Div. has a fascinating article about the difficulties of language in the field of theology from a Pagan perspective. Having many friends myself who, like him, are self-identified Pagans from a myriad of different traditions and backgrounds, I deeply sympathise with his concerns which I would encourage my readers to spend some time thinking about. From a Gnostic perspective I frequently run into similar difficulties of expression on one hand because of the differences between historical Gnosticism of the 2nd and 3rd Centuries and Gnosticism as it has come into being since the Gnostic Revival of the late 19th Century which itself is deserving of its own essay. However, there are some things I think that Sam absolutely correct on and some that he is mistaken on and so I offer my critique here:

In his recent essay Theology Is God-Talk, scholar and modern mage Sam Webster approaches the difficulties of expressing contemporary pagan religious ideas in a field that, since at least the early first millennium has lacked a voice of pluralism under the dominance of monotheistic cultures. In this essay he squarely levels the playing field by citing the misunderstanding of the role of theology in the Hellenic mind by the nascent Christian religion where it became refined by apologists seeking to explain to their contemporaries the importance of Christianity as a religious world-view as well as pointing out the role that theology played in the late Roman Empire as a means of uniting the populus by consolidating state and religion as a monolithic structure of one God, one Emperor, and one State. Although correct in his assertion that the current language of theology is perhaps insufficient for discourse from a pagan perspective, he fails to account for the plurality of theologies that have been developed in response to the early Christian movement when a monotheistic culture once sought out to do what modern pagans must hammer away at for themselves today.

As Webster correctly points out, “[theology] is God talk” however is incorrect in his assertion that it is something particularly new. In his Metaphysics, Aristotle divides theoretical philosophy into what today would be understood as mathematics, physics and theology – the latter corresponding more correctly to what today would be considered abstract metaphysics. By the time of the early Christian era religious philosophy would become divided culturally into Eastern and Western theologies with early Christian theologians in the West following a more Stoic form of dividing philosophy into three forms of discourse consisting of mythic, rational and civil interpretations while those in the East – in particular those early in the early Christian eremitic tradition – following a much more poetic and mythic exegetical form owing to the strong influence of Neoplatonism. On account of this, it is difficult to state there is one Christian theological template that would generalize the opinions of the early Church in the same way it would be difficult to say that Roman or Hellenic pagan philosophers were drawing from the same well.

Webster’s example of the ‘problem’ of the development of Christian theology as a means to appeal to the powers that be is particularly problematic in that it proposes that the symbol set used by the early Christians in explaining the Christian doctrines of the Trinity and incarnation are particularly new or unique. The Doctrine of the Trinity, while arguably having little scriptural basis, is none-the-less a very interesting reinterpretation of Neoplatonic concept of emanation theory through an Hellenized, Jewish lens using apocalyptic narrative as a framework. Similarly, the concept of incarnation is also not particularly new, especially when one considers the vast corpus of material accounting for the wholly human and wholly divine statuses of various deities, demi-gods and heroes. While I personally disagree with the literal interpretation that later doctors of the Church would ascribe to these ideas, they did exist and are not strictly speaking new in theological discourse. The tools of the ancient philosophers in this vein were not so much put to new use as they found new meaning in the language of the early Christians.

In the centuries following the arguable collapse of Paganism, Western Scholastic Theology filled in the void left by classical philosophers and theologians until the Renaissance and has sense captivated the Western mind seeking, as Saint Anselm points out, the intellectual desire to “believe so as to understand.” This cataphatic form of religious philosophy, in spite of its failings, would ultimately be the form that would become dominant in Western Europe with the exception of apophatic or mystical understanding of the Christian concept of Divinity held by some theologians. It is also this form of theology that would give rise to later philosophical schools such as humanism as well as the philosophies of materialism that would gain later prominence in the post-Enlightenment era.

It is out of Enlightenment philosophy that modern systematic theology came into being, in particular among more liberal circles such as the Society of Friends (Quakers), Unitarian and Universalist movements, and contemporary ‘liberal’ and mainline Christian churches in contrast to the strong anti-modernist reactions exemplified by the Roman Catholic Church pre-Vatican II as well as modern evangelical Christianity. It is also in this milieu that modern Pagans must seek to find their voices in the dynamic tensions of philosophical ideas – even more important for modern Pagans, many of whom are refugees from the excessive pressure put on them by conservative socio-religious structures.

Owing to the diverse perspectives within modern Paganism, it will naturally be difficult but not impossible for a new theological plurality to emerge that can draw upon the rich wells and bury the dry sources provided by the different perspectives offered by Christians following the end of the classical world in a manner that is at once old and new and speaks not as a monolithic structure for all, but like a fertile apple tree, exists for individuals to pluck fruit from while still leaving other apples for other members of greater Paganism. Although theology has its origins in a pagan milieu, it has ceased to belong to any one religious or philosophical school, but is now that tree standing in the middle of the field of human experience from which all can draw.

Making Retrogrades Work for You

Phone gone missing? E-mails getting dropped left and right? Inability to express a simple thought without drooling all over your chin? Yup – that’s Mercury retrograde. In a departure from my typically more thoughtful posts, I figured I’d share some reflections on this particular astrological occurrence which seems to have become every astro-geek’s favorite whipping boy and “devil made me do it” excuse.

Since March 11^th of this year until around April 4^th, Mercury has been in a retrograde cycle. It happens at least three times per year when the apparent motion of a planet seems to move backward from its usual course from our perspective. As seen from Earth, all the planets appear to periodically switch direction as they cross the sky. In reality, the planets aren’t doing anything different than usual but since we’re the only sentient species on this planet that seems to have an interest in the motion of planetary spheres, our geocentrism tends to get the better of us and, when retrogrades were first observed, tended to puzzle ancient astronomers who viewed such occurrences as unfavorable at best or malefic at worst.

Is there anything to this – I can only answer, “Maybe.” From my own anecdotal experiences, periods of Mercury retrograde tend to be less than optimal times to start new projects in communication or practicing divination or anything dealing with electronics. Beyond my own anecdotal experiences, I can neither confirm nor deny the veracity of the hype. Also, from a strictly Gnostic perspective, we are informed in texts such as Excerpta ex Theodoto:

“[T]hrough the fixed stars and the planets, the invisible powers holding sway over them direct and watch over births. But the stars themselves do nothing but display the activity of the dominant powers, just as the flight of the birds (for omens) indicates something but effects nothing…Now the twelve signs of the Zodiac and the seven stars which follow them rising now in conjunction, now in opposition, . . . these, moved by the powers, show the movement of substance toward the, creation of living beings and the turn of circumstances. But both the stars and the powers are of different kinds: some are beneficent, some maleficent, some right, some left, and that which is born shares in both qualities. And each of them comes into being at its own time, the dominant sign fulfilling the course of nature, partly at the beginning, partly at the end…Until baptism, they say, Fate is real, but after it the astrologists are no longer right. But it is not only the washing that is liberating, but the knowledge of who we were, and what we have become, where we were or where we were placed, whither we hasten, from what we are redeemed, what birth is and what rebirth.”

In this context, any astronomical or astrological event should be considered in its due place as a natural occurrence with some subtle action upon the vast tapestry of creation but not as a fatalistic event that holds complete sway over every facet of our lives. This being said, certain astrological and astronomical events can be used as intentional periods of reflection on certain themes whereby we may better align our lives in concord with nature.

As mentioned by friend and fellow blogger Sam Block on his Digital Ambler: “[Mercury retrograde is] a good time for reviewing what’s been going on in one’s life, gathering up one’s thoughts, and contemplating without much planning.” He goes on listing some of his accomplishments and interactions during periods of retrograde and how one can proactively use it to one’s advantage. In agreement with him, I tend to treat retrograde periods as similar period for “deep thoughts” and “deeper questions” and actually tend to focus more on appreciating the luminary spheres for their placement in the kosmos.

Being a Mercurial person myself in many regards, I tend to amplify my thoughts and appreciation of the wanderer through various devotional practices such as meditating upon the corresponding celestial divinities associated with this planet.

 

Planet	Mercury
Heavenly Sphere	Kokab
Divine Name	Elohim Tzabaoth
Archangel	Michael
Angels	Beni Elohim (Sons of God)
Intelligence	Tiriel
Spirit	Taphthartharath
Psalms	22(14), 24(7), 40(5), 145
Scent	Cassia or Storax
Ikon	Christ the Good Shepherd, Holy Hermes Trismegistus

 

Above are enough correspondences to set up a working Mercury altar within a grimoire-based or Gnostic practice. One may even make a special altar cloth using the 8×8 planetary grid of Mercury to add a bit of flair to the occasion. The ikon of Christ the Good Shepherd has, in my opinion, a good association with Mercury as it is historically identical with the image of Hermes Kriophoros; alternately, at least amongst some in the Rennaisance, Hermes Trismegistus would also be appropriate since he was considered by many to be a contemporary of Moses and works attributed to him deemed not completely incompatible with Christian thought.

From here one may banish and purify the temple according to their usual practice and then recite a conjuration of Mercury such as the Orphic Hymn to Hermes:

TO HERMES

Hear me, Hermes, messenger of Zeus, son of Maia;
almighty is your heart, O lord of the deceased and judge of contests; gentle and clever, O Argeiphontes, you are a guide
whose sandals fly, and a man-loving prophet to mortals.
You are vigorous and you delight in exercise and in deceit;
interpreter of all, you are a profiteer who frees us of cares
and who holds in his hands the blameless tool of peace.
Lord of Korykos, blessed, helpful and skilled in words,
you assist in work, you are a friend of mortals in need,
and you wield the dreaded and respected weapon of speech.
Hear my prayer and grant a good end to a life
of industry, gracious talk, and mindfulness.

Or, for a more grimoire-influenced flavor, one may also use the following invocation modified from Pietro d’Abano’s Heptameron:

I CONJURE and call upon you, ye strong and holy angels, good and powerful, in a strong name of fear and praise, Ja, Adonay, Elohim, Saday, Saday, Saday; Eie, Eie, Eie; Asamie, Asamie; and in the name of Adonay, the God of Israel, who hath made the two great lights, and distinguished day from night for the benefit of his creatures; and by the names of all the discerning angels, governing openly in the Sixth Heave] before the great angel, Tiriel, strong and powerful; and by the name of his star which is Mercury; and by the name of his seal, which is that of a powerful and honoured God; and I call upon thee, Raphael, and by the names above mentioned, thou great angel who presidest over the fourth day: and by the holy name which is written in the front of Aaron, created the most high priest, and by the names of all the angels who are constant in the grace of Christ, and by the name and place of Ammaluim, that you assist me in my labours. Amen.”

Following this, one may silently meditate or pray on the Psalms or perform a basic divination (I prefer to use the method of coin divination outlined by Sannion which can be found here) and communicate with the intelligences briefly over concerns regarding lessons one may benefit from learning and record these in one’s journal. It’s important to remember that this isn’t a full-on conjuration practice in any traditional sense, merely information gathering and reflection.

The same type of outline can be used for other planets as well when in their retrograde stations to great effect – especially during periods when a planet appears to be in retrograde in one’s natal chart. The purpose, again, is not to become a fatalistic fool but to be able to intelligently communicate with the nature of the kosmos. With luck, this can become a regular practice even done in more opportune times that can be a middle ground between high-ceremony and simple devotion.

 

Thoughts Toward Actualizing a Gnostic Monastery Project

“…the restoration of the church will surely come only from a new type of monasticism which has nothing in common with the old but a complete lack of compromise in a life lived in accordance with the Sermon on the Mount in the discipleship of Christ.  I think it is time to gather people together to do this…” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer (January 14, 1935)

In the past several months, the topic of monasticism has come up on a few of the message boards in which I participate. As a lay person whose background has been indelibly influenced by a Catholic Benedictine heritage,  I owe a great deal of who I am today by the monastic experience. What made these particular conversations interesting is that the kind of monasticism being discussed is not that of Buddhism or the many traditional forms familiar to the West, but Gnostic Monasticism.

Although we can be fairly certain that there were never any Gnostic monasteries in the 1^st through 2^nd centuries of the common era, the discovery of the Nag Hammadi codices in Egypt indicate at least somewhat that what many contemporary Gnostics hold dear as scripture was once read and written in the very heart of the Orthodox expression of Monasticism. What is monasticism and why does it still exist? What would a Gnostic Monastery look like – is it even needed? There are many considerations to look at, but here are my observations for what they’re worth.

Monasticism as a Christian expression of vocation to religious life developed fairly early on in the history of the Church. Models of the Christian monastic ideal included groups and individuals such as the Nazirites[1], Moses, Elijah and the Hebrew prophets whereas New Testament figures such as John the Baptizer and the itinerant evangelization of the apostles tended to play a more prominent role. It is also very likely that early Christian monasticism could have also been influenced by the Essenes located near the Dead Sea as well as the Therapeutae of Alexandria.

Institutionalized Christian monasticism first appears to have taken root in the 3^rd Century in the deserts of 4^rd Century Egypt with the likes of Paul the Hermit, Anthony of Great and Pachomius. Around 350CE, Martin of Tours introduced monasticism to the West and a little over a century later, Benedict of Nursia established the Regula Benedicti (Rule of Saint Benedict) that led to him being credited with the title of father of western monasticism. By the time monasticism made inroads into the West, Benedict describes four different types of monks that were common around the time the text was penned:

“It is well known that there are four kinds of monks. The first kind are the Cenobites: those who live in monasteries and serve under a rule and an Abbot. The second kind are the Anchorites or Hermits: those who, no longer in the first fervor of their reformation, but after long probation in a monastery, having learned by the help of many brethren how to fight against the devil, go out well armed from the ranks of the community to the solitary combat of the desert. The third kind of monks, a detestable kind, are the Sarabaites… They live in twos or threes, or even singly, without a shepherd, in their own sheepfolds and not in the Lord’s. Their law is the desire for self-gratification: whatever enters their mind or appeals to them, that they call holy; what they dislike, they regard as unlawful. The fourth kind of monks are those called Gyrovagues (lit. ‘circuit wanderers’). These spend their whole lives tramping from province to province, staying as guests in different monasteries for three or four days at a time. Always on the move, with no stability, they indulge their own wills and succumb to the allurements of gluttony, and are in every way worse than the Sarabaites.”[2]

In the West, monastic communities tend to be organized into orders or congregations following a particular canon or rule such as the Rule of Saint Benedict or the Rule of Saint Augustine. In the East, monastic regulae (rules) never took root in the same way as in Western monasticism; instead, monks and nuns are encouraged to read Scripture and the writings of the Holy Mothers and Fathers and emulate their virtues. In both Eastern and Western examples, there are elements of active and contemplative life is more or less equally possible amongst religious although, in some orders, one may take precedence.

An example of a form of proto-neo-Gnostic monasticism can be found in the establishment of the Abbey of Thelema in Cefalù, founded by the early 20^th Century occultist Aleister Crowley. The Abbey of Thelema, name borrowed from François Rabelais’s satire Gargantua and Pantagruel is described as a sort of “anti-monastery” where the lives of the inhabitants were “spent not in laws, statutes, or rules, but according to their own free will and pleasure.[3]” It was through The Abbey of Thelema that Crowley had hoped to create an intentional community which would function as a type of esoteric school, giving it the designation Collegium ad Spiritum Sanctum, a “College Towards the Holy Spirit”. Despite only lasting three years, the Abbey of Thelema remains an ideal of a functioning, magical utopia by many contemporary followers of the magical and ethical philosophy of Thelema.

Amongst adherents of contemporary Christian Gnosticism, it would be difficult to imagine what form a modern monastic community would take due to incomplete data regarding the number of adherents of the various denominations. Because of this incomplete data and gaps in geography of members, it would stand to reason that a contemporary Gnostic monastic project would have to function independently from individual denominations or be ecumenical to such an extent that it could provide communally and individually for members belonging to particular denominations while also providing for both singles and committed couples. The model for such a community could be similar to that of the 1^st and 2^nd Century Therapeutae or those established by the Joachimites or the Brethren of the Free Spirit, two lay Christian movements which flourished in Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Providing for physical space, a Gnostic monastic project would (in the United States) have to register as a tax-exempt, non-profit entity and accommodate for living, dining and community areas. In urban areas, following the model of the new monastic movement, such a group could potentially purchase housing or loft space in areas of a city that would be amenable for remodeling and have access to transportation into the cities. In less urban or even rural areas, it would be conceivably easier to construct a community that would ideally fit the needs of the community as well as provide for agricultural and such space as could be used to befit the specific mission of the project as is done in more conventional communes such as by the Cistercians or Mennonite communities.

As with the New Monastic Movement, a Gnostic Monastery Project would be able to provide a space where members may live thoughtful, prayerful, and contemplative lives in the context of a community and focus on engagement of a particular charism (e.g. education, social service, food services, plastic arts, construction, etc.). In a Christian monastic context, the Twelve Marks [4]could be easily applied or modified in order to suit a more ecumenical approach such as would be necessary if a community has members whose personal identification is more similar to Hermetic or Neo-Platonic schools of Gnosticism. Ultimately, these considerations would have to be taken into account as members of a Gnostic Monastery Project come together to establish their community.

The overall benefit of establishing a Gnostic Monastery Project would be to provide for an actualized, physical community where Gnostics or members of various Gnostic communities could come together and practice their beliefs in a contemplative environment. Secondly, as with exoteric expressions of Christianity and Buddhism, a Gnostic Monastery project could provide a visible example of the Restoration of the Gnosis[5] and become a center of promulgation for Gnostic ideals and values in a society that could benefit from them now more than ever and provide for the continuation and preservation of a faith that is at once ancient and, as monasticism itself, eternally new.

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[1] One who voluntarily took a vow described in Numbers 6:1–21

[2] Doyle, Leonard. Saint Benedict’s Rule for Monasteries.

[3] Wilson, Colin. Nature of the Beast.

[4] The Simple Way. http://www.thesimpleway.org/about/12-marks-of-new-monasticism/. 3/5/2012 8:38 PM

12 Marks of New Monasticism

1. Relocation to the abandoned places of Empire.
2. Sharing economic resources with fellow community members and the needy among us.
3. Hospitality to the stranger
4. Lament for racial divisions within the church and our communities combined with the active pursuit of a just reconciliation.
5. Humble submission to Christ’s body, the church.
6. Intentional formation in the way of Christ and the rule of the community along the lines of the old novitiate.
7.  Nurturing common life among members of intentional community.
8. Support for celibate singles alongside monogamous married couples and their children.
9. Geographical proximity to community members who share a common rule of life.
10. Care for the plot of God’s earth given to us along with support of our local economies.
11. Peacemaking in the midst of violence and conflict resolution within communities along the lines of Matthew 18.
12. Commitment to a disciplined contemplative life.

[5.] Doinel, Jules (Tau Valentin II). Restoration de la Gnose,