Abraxas

"The bird is struggling out of the egg.
The egg is the world. Whoever wants to be born must first destroy a world. The bird is flying to God. The name of the God is called Abraxas."

- Hermann Hesse, Demian

"God and devil are distinguished by the qualities of fullness and emptiness, generation and destruction. EFFECTIVENESS is
common to both. Effectiveness joineth them. Effectiveness, therefore, standeth above both; is a god above god, since in its effect it uniteth fullness and emptiness.

This is a god whom ye knew not, for mankind forgot it. We name it by its name ABRAXAS. It is more indefinite still than god and devil. That god may be distinguished from it, we name god HELIOS or sun. Abraxas is effect. Nothing standeth opposed to it but the ineffective; hence its effective natyre freely unfoldeth itself.

The ineffective is not, therefore resisteth not. Abraxas standeth above the sun and above the devil. It is improbable probability, unreal reality. Had the pleroma a being, Abraxas would be its manifestation. It is the effective itself, nor any particular effect, but effect in general.

It is unreal reality, because it hath no definite effect.
It is also creatura, because it is distinct from the pleroma.
The sun hath a definite effect, and so hath the devil.
Wherefore do they appear to us more effective than indefinite Abraxas. It is force, duration, change.

The dead now raised a great tumult, for they were Christians.

- Jung, Seven Sermons to the Dead

Creed of the EG Mass

We know one secret, Supreme and Ineffable Lord, the Father of us all, unchanging in essence, yet ever changing in appearance and manifestation; And the Logos, the Son, the Divine Manifestation of God, the only begotten of the Great Stillness, begotten by an act of consciousness alone, which comes to the flesh to destroy incarnate error; And the Holy Spirit, the giver of life and goodness, the principle of love and compassion, which remains here on earth to guide and care for those still groping in the darkness of matter, which with the Father and the Son, forms the wholeness upon which the manifested universe is erected; We honor one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, the communion of the Holy Aeons and Saints, Custodians of the essential wisdom of the race, who preach the great law, who live and labor unselfishly, dedicated to the advancement of all beings; We acknowledge the infinite wheel of existence, immutable laws that govern and sustain the universe. We look to the resurrection and ascension of our souls into the Universal Will and thus liberation from the infinite chain of attainment.
Amen.

[posted without permission - if this raises ire, please let me know and I'll delete it immediately. This is my favourite creed, honest.]

Gnosticism vis a vis Christianity

"Gnosticism is first of all a pre-Christian movement which had its roots in itself. It is therefore to be understood... in its own terms, and not as an offshoot or byproduct of the Christian religion."

- Wilhelm Bousset, Kyrios Christos, 1913

The Synod of 1893

The Holy Gnostic Synod decrees:

i) The re-establishment of the hierarchy permits the Restoration of Gnostic symbolism.

ii) The Consolamentum, the Breaking of the Bread and the Appareillamentum of the Albigensian Assembly are re-established.

iii) The Bishops and their coadjutors can alone confer the Consolamentum

iv) Every pneumatic, Parfait or Sup.: Inc.: can perform the Breaking of the Bread.

v) The Appareillamentum is the exclusive privilege of the Patriarchal seat.

vi) “L'Initiation” will repeatedly publish the three rituals.

vii) The Martinist Order is declared to be of Gnostic essence. Every Sup.: Inc.: takes their place at the level of the Parfaits.

viii) The Gospel of John is the only Gnostic Gospel.

Given at Paris under the seal of the Very High Gnostic Synod, the 28th day of the seventh month of the year IV of the Restoration of the Gnosis.
+ The Gnostic Patriarch, Primate of the Albigensians, Bishop of Montségur.
+ The Bishop of Toulouse
+ The Bishop of Béziers
+ The Sophia of Varsovie
+ The coadjutor of His Grace, the Patriarch, Bishop of Milan.
+ The coadjutor of Toulouse, Bishop of Concorezzo.
+ The Bishop elect of Avignon.

By mandate of his grace and of the Very Holy Synod, the referendiary Deacon Enforceable, the Very Holy Pleroma being invoked, we ordain that the aforementioned decrees of the Very Holy Gnostic Synod will be put into action in the assemblies.
T. Valentin, Gnostic Patriarch Primate of the Albigensians, Bishop of Montségur, 1893.

Gnosticism vs. Thelema

In view of these several and other considerations it is only fair to state that we of the Ecclesia Gnostica and its associated bodies cannot in good conscience recognize the O.T.O. groups and their alleged Gnostic Church as being in any way compatible to or related to our own effort or movement. We do not question the sincerity and worthiness of the efforts of persons in these movements and wish them not only no harm but the best in every way. To compare us to the Thelemite groups is impossible and tantamount to comparing apples and oranges. We do not doubt that their efforts may play some useful role in the Gnostic revival, though we honestly can't see what it might be. We would even respectfully suggest that they might call themselves some other names which would more truthfully describe their orientation, such as Kabbalists, Magicians and so forth and leave the name Gnostic to those whose teaching and practise resembles the original model more closely. Meanwhile we feel dutybound to uphold our own Gnostic traditions and as far as we may be able to do so to prevent them being confounded with what they are not.

Concerning the Thelemite or Crowleyan Gnostic Churches
The Rt. Rev, Stephen A. Hoeller
Regionary Bishop of the Ecclesia Gnostica

Dualists?

One of the great challenges of being a contemporary Gnostic, is that we are still pursued by the ghosts of orthodox heresiologists.

Modern Christian theological students are invariably taught - incorrectly - that the two hallmarks of Gnostic thought and literature are Dualism (because we make a distinction between the ideal world of the Pleroma and the cosmos of the Demiurge) and anti-Semitism (because, like Christians, we do not adhere to Jewish practices such as kosher and shabbat).

As to the latter, certainly no Gnostic was the cause of any pogrom or Holocaust, and can be dismissed outright as hypocracy. The former however bears some scrutiny. Here is the orthodox Christian view on matter vs. spirit.

"And it must be known that, although all these things may happen to the bodily senses in the way of God, we must never rely upon them or accept them, but must always fly from them, without trying to ascertain whether they be good or evil; for, the more completely exterior and corporeal they are, the less certainly are they of God."

- St. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel: Book II

Sounds pretty dualist to me. Likewise, this binary approach permeates Christian culture: God vs. The Devil, orthodoxy vs. heresy, etc.

The Gnostic view is vastly more subtle, and therefore easily misinterpreted. To use a pop-culture reference, "The Matrix cannot tell you who you are." The world is not in and of itself evil. Flawed, yes - red in tooth and claw and all that. Disease. Hunger. Age. Disaster. But not by its nature evil. It is more a question of the created world not being the source of our spiritual selves, and therefore less spiritually relevant. An approach much less cut and dried.

Rather than a rejection of the Earth, Gnosticism involves a challenge to and negotiation with the System, or cosmos. A subtle yet critical distinction. Natural allegories, such as storms, the planting of crops, fish, newborn babies and flowers are recurring positive themes in Gnostic literature. Would world-haters employ such symbolism, and so lovingly?

There is even some slipperiness regarding primary emanations of the Godhead, namely Sophia. She is generally regarded as the first Spiritual being with a Personality, and therefore the one with Whom we can most closely relate. Yet it is Her folly that creates the Archons, and in Philip we hear of Her lost in the world, defiled, and overthrown. And in Her failure She is know as Sophia Achamoth. Here is this pure Emanation, down here with us getting Her hands dirty, and suffering for it. This is the template too of the descent of the Logos, who in His Incarnation redeems us and rescues His fallen Sister. That this myth is at the core of Gnostic understanding makes a lie of the oversimplification that comes from painting us as Dualists.

Soterology

The idea of Salvation is pivotal in Christian theology. You are basically doomed, from a combination of Original Sin, and your own transgressions, and headed for the Lake o' Fire, that God put there for just such an eventuality. And you cannot Save yourself, only intercession of God can get you out of the hole you've dug for yourself - even if you didn't know you were digging. However, God just might save you from, well, God. It's a lot like saying "nice doggie" to a junkyard Rottweiler, just so he doesn't tear your leg off.

The Salvific myth belies its origins in the Demiurge. It is the Demiurge who demanded, above all else, to be obeyed and worshipped. In fact, he is powerless without your obedience and worship, which is why it's such a big deal. So he has set the rules, and the punishment.

Gnosticism departs profoundly from Christianity on this crucial point. We are saved not from the Wrath of the Big Dog, but rather from Ignorance. Gnosis frees us, saves us, from the veil of illusion that prevents us from both knowing who we are and experiencing the Divine. This freedom, and its ensuing responsibility, is both the gift and the curse of gnosis.

Ritual of the Breaking of the Bread 1894

The Perfects being assembled, the women's heads covered by white veils and the men encircled with white sashes, are kneeling to receive the blessing of their Lord's son, the Bishop.
Then they rise and the choir sings:

"Beati vos Eones Vera vita vividi;
Vos Emanationes Pleromatis lucidi;
Adeste visiones Stolis albis candidi."

On a linen draped table, The Gospel of John rests between two candles. The Bishop, Deacon and the Deaconess assistants stand upright in front of the table. After the canticle is completed, His Lordship recites the "Pater Noster" (in Greek).

"Pater hêmôn ho en tois ouranois:
Hagiasthêtô to onoma sou;
Elthetô hê basileia sou;
Genêthêtô to thelêma sou,
Hôs en ouranôi kai epi gês;
Ton arton hêmôn ton epiousion dos hêmin sêmeron;
Kai aphes hêmin ta opheilêmata hêmôn,
Hôs kai hêmeis aphêkamen tois opheiletais hêmôn;
Kai mê eisenenkêis hêmas eis peirasmon,
Alla hrusai hêmas apo tou ponêrou.
Hoti sou estin hê basileia,
Kai hê dynamis, kai hê doxa,
Eis tous aiônas. Amên."

The deacon presents the cup and the bread to the bishop. The Prelate dons the stole (from the grace of the officiating Patriarch. He is covered with the most august Pallium). The congregation responds "Amen." The Bishop places his hands upon them, saying:

"Eon Jesus prisquam pateretur mystice, accepit panem et vinum in stancias et venerabiles manus suas, et, elevatis oculis in coelum, fregit (The Bishop breaks the bread), benedixit (The Bishop shapes the Tau on the bread and the cup) et dedit discipulis uais, dicens (All bow): Accipite et manducate et bibit omnes!"
The deacon carrying the tray and the Deaconess carrying the cup before His Lordship, stand at the head of the Perfects. The organist plays a religious slow march.
The bishop, taking the bread, elevates it above the assembly in saying:

"Calix meus inebrians quàm proeclaus is!- Calicem Salutaris accipiam and nomen Domini invocabo."

He then rests the bread on the tray, kneels and adores.
Taking the bread, he breaks a fragment of the spiritual body of Jésus and then he eats.
He drinks the cup of the blood.
Pause. - Organs.
He then approaches and stops before each Perfect, offering the bread and the cup to each.
Silence. - Organs. - Worship.
Returning to the altar, the Bishop extends his hands saying: May the grace of the very holy Plérôma always be with you!
The remains of the concecrated hosts are burnt on a chaffing dish, because the pneumatic bodies of the Lord should not pass into profane existence.
After this, His lordship gives the Gnostic blessing and retires between the two assistants who carry the candles.

Jules Doinel April 1894, Adapted from a translation by Malgwyn Evans

Creed of the Église Gnostique de France, Paris 1913

I believe that everything comes from an indescribable, limitless, and formless Universal Principal. It is One in its Essence, threefold in its appearance: Father, Son, Spirit.

I believe that this Principle is the ultimate Progenitor, that Thought is indivisibly united with Him, and that the Hierarchy of Holy Æons are His attributes which He has brought forth, through which He manifests himself, and proceeding fom him, are one with Him.

I believe that the Demiurge is the Principle of division and egotism, that it begat all restriction, and is the begetter of all forms and existences; the ultimate Principle, which is in the Demiurge, and which with it is bound to the Universal Spirit, comes directly from the Progenitor.

I believe that the Æon Christ (one with the Holy Spirit) appears to us through the 'Saviour', and that the Saviour in our earthly age is Jesus, from whom the Eternal Gospels were inspired.

I believe in the mission of this 'Saviour', that it prepares us for the coming of the Helper [Paraclete], which is the Holy Ghost, and that it appears to us through the Virgin of Light.

I believe that all beings are finally united in the Womb of the Pleroma, where harmony, justice, and grace shall reign in all Aeons.
Aom!

Marie Chauvel de Chauvigny Esclarmonde (Sophia), from: "Bref Éxposé de la Doctrine Gnostique", Paris 1913.

Blogdar

Seems we're turning up on the radar of the gnostoblogosphere.

Jeremy Puma over at Fantastic Planet was kind enough to drop a note. His exegesis of Thomas I find particularly wonderful. And publishable, as in dead-tree publishable. Here's hoping.

Additionally, long-time sparring partner, fellow Deacon and dear web-friend Terje Bergersen was kind enough to post a mention. Thank you!

In Gnosis,

Jordan

Creed of the Eglise Gnostique Universelle at Lyon, 1908

The sermon of H. H. + Johannes Bricaud (Jean II) on the occasion of his appointment as Patriarch of the Universal Gnostic Church in Lyon, 1908.

We believe in the Divine Archetype [Proarche] and the eternal Progenitor [Propator], in the unending and almighty Being, come forth from the Heavenly Powers into perfect Presence, God in One and Three.

In the First Aspect of the Trinity [tridyname], the Father, who brought forth all things visible and invisible.

In the Second Aspect of the Trinity, the Son, the Divine Logos, in which Christ is revealed, the spiritual and physical Light, true God as his Father and of one substance with Him.

That the same had appeared on earth in the Person of Jesus, the supernatural Spirit, who came down to us, so that He might join with a soul and a body, to be like us; in the womb of Miriam.

That the same since the moment He appeared in Jesus, was consecrated and had suffered.

That spoke to us through His mouth and taught us the Gnosis and the true holy life, so that we shall be free from slavery of the Demiurges and their earthly Archons, and as he made our return to the pneumatic World from which we came possible, where He returned after his death.

We believe in the Third Aspect of the Trinity, Life, which follows from the Father as from the Son, and reveals itself in the Pneuma-Hagion, the Holy Ghost.

Who gives us joy in life, and leads us on the Path of Truth and Holiness, who unites all beings, who is worshipped in the Father as in the Son.

We believe in a Pneumatic Universal, Immeasureable Church of the Spirit, as old as God Himself, and older than the Material [hylic] Universe, where our globe finds itself as but a colony in the Perisphere, whereon we men descend as spirits.
- We profess the two Baptisms, and the three other Mysteries of the purification and conversion of mankind.
- We await the institution of the Heavenly Kingdom on Earth, and the original state of mankind.

And finally the Resurrection of the Dead with Jesus, the Head of the earthly Church; the ascension and establishment of this association in Heaven; the dissolution of the Fallen Spirits, and likewise the dissolution of the Material [hylic] Universe, the work of the Demiurges.
Amen.
Lyons, 1908.

Epiphany

An excerpt from Rev. Steven Marshall's Homily for Epiphany

In Jung’s The Seven Sermons to the Dead, he describes the star in terms of a light guiding the soul into this repose. “In the immeasurable distance there glimmers a solitary star on the highest point of heaven. This is the only God of this lonely one. It is his world, his pleroma, his divinity...This star is man’s god and goal. It is his guiding divinity; in it man finds repose. To it goes the long journey of the soul after death; in it shine all things with the brilliance of a great light. To this One man ought to pray. Such a prayer increases the light of the star. Such a prayer builds a bridge over death. It increases the light of the microcosm; when the outer world grows cold, this star still shines.” This star is thus the interior light of the Self, the light-spark of divinity in each of us, the star that guided the wisemen to Bethlehem, the star that guides us to our own awakening and birth of the infant of light within us. So, as we celebrate the season of Epiphany, may that star guide us to that altar within each of us and prepare us for the showing forth, the Epiphany of the Light, “Till you stand where the One Initiator is invoked, till you see your star shine forth.”

Blessings.

Light and Darkness

Light and Darkness, life and death, right and left, are brothers of one another. They are inseparable. Because of this neither are the good good, nor evil evil, nor is life life, nor death death. For this reason each one will dissolve into its earliest origin. But those who are exalted above the world are indissoluble, eternal.

- From The Gospel of Philip

Gnostic Yoda?

"Luminous beings are we - not this crude matter."