Ecclesia Gnostica
Encyclopedia
Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
liturgical Church
Church Body
A local church is a Christian religious organization that meets in a particular location. Many are formally organized, with constitutions and by-laws, maintain offices, are served by pastors or lay leaders, and, in nations where this is permissible, often seek seek non-profit corporate status...
that is practicing publicly. It is centered in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
with parishes in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
; Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
; Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
; Sedona, Arizona
Sedona, Arizona
Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona...
; and Oslo, Norway. The church and its affiliate, the Gnostic Society, attempt to "make available the philosophy and practice of gnosticism to the contemporary world."
History
The organization now called the Ecclesia Gnostica was originally organized in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
under the name the Pre-Nicene Gnostic Catholic Church in 1953, by the Most Rev. Richard Jean Chretien Duc de Palatine with the object of “restoring the Gnosis - Divine Wisdom to the Christian Church, and to teach the Path of Holiness which leads to God and the Inner Illumination and Interior Communion with the Soul through the mortal body of man.” Born Ronald Powell, Richard Duc de Palatine had served in the Liberal Catholic Church
Liberal Catholic Church
The Liberal Catholic Church is a form of Christianity open to theosophical ideas and even reincarnation. It is not connected to the Roman Catholic Church, which considers it heretical and schismatic...
in Australia, before moving to England. Bishop Duc de Palatine was consecrated by the Most Rev. Msg. Hugh George de Wilmott Newman (Mar Georgius I), patriarch of the Catholic Apostolic Church (Catholicate of the West) who consolidated many lines of apostolic succession
Apostolic Succession
Apostolic succession is a doctrine, held by some Christian denominations, which asserts that the chosen successors of the Twelve Apostles, from the first century to the present day, have inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacramental authority, power, and responsibility that were...
.
Bishop Duc de Palatine also received a charter in 1953 to head an organization first called "the Brotherhood of the Illuminati," renamed "the Order of the Pleroma" in 1960. He received other esoteric lines and charters such as: the Templar Order
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
, Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross, Memphis and Mizarim Rites of Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, and the Martiniste Order
Martinism
Martinism is a form of mystical and esoteric Christianity concerned with the fall of the first man, his state of material privation from his divine source, and the process of his return, called 'Reintegration' or illumination....
, and termed the combination with the Ecumenical Apostolic Succession "the Wisdom Religion-Gnostic Mystic Tradition."
In 1959 the organization became active in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
through the work of Stephan A. Hoeller
Stephan A. Hoeller
Stephan A. Hoeller, is a writer, scholar and religious leader. Born in Budapest, Hungary he received a Ph.D. in philosophy with a minor in the philosophy of religion from the University of Innsbruck in Austria.-Career:...
, who served as a priest of the church in Los Angeles, and was subsequently consecrated as regionary bishop for the Americas in 1967. He became presiding bishop on the death of Bishop Duc de Palatine in 1977, although there was a falling out prior to that.
The Ecumenical Apostolic Succession
Most Rev. Msg. H. G. de Willmott Newman (Mar Georgius I) felt that all proper and valid consecrations and ordinations are equally efficacious regardless of the particular line of Apostolic SuccessionApostolic Succession
Apostolic succession is a doctrine, held by some Christian denominations, which asserts that the chosen successors of the Twelve Apostles, from the first century to the present day, have inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacramental authority, power, and responsibility that were...
, but also that some degree of irregularity would attach itself to acts lacking ecumenical sanction. And so, to rectify any irregularity, and to overcome any doubts about validity of any line of Apostolic Succession, he sought and received conditional consecration from every part of the One Holy Catholic (Universal) and Apostolic church, bringing into being the Ecumenical Apostolic Succession. This Ecumenical line incorporates Syrian-Antiochene
Syriac Orthodox Church
The Syriac Orthodox Church; is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean, with members spread throughout the world. The Syriac Orthodox Church claims to derive its origin from one of the first Christian communities, established in Antioch by the Apostle St....
, Syrian-Malabar
Malankara Church
The Malankara Church is the church of the Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala, India, with particular emphasis on the part of the community that joined Archdeacon Mar Thoma in swearing to resist the authority of the Portuguese Padroado in 1653...
, Syrian-Gallican
Orthodox Church of France
The Orthodox Church of France is an autonomous Orthodox church in France, composed of a single diocese, that follows Western Rite Orthodoxy...
, Syro-Chaldean, Chaldean-Uniate
Chaldean Catholic Church
The Chaldean Catholic Church , is an Eastern Syriac particular church of the Catholic Church, maintaining full communion with the Bishop of Rome and the rest of the Catholic Church...
, Coptic-Orthodox, Armenian-Uniate
Armenian Catholic Church
|- |The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church sui juris in union with the other Eastern Rite, Oriental Rite and Latin Rite Catholics who accept the Bishop of Rome as spiritual leader of the Church. It is regulated by Eastern canon law...
, Greek-Melkite, Russian-Orthodox
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
, Russo-Syriac, Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, Old Catholic
Old Catholic Church
The term Old Catholic Church is commonly used to describe a number of Ultrajectine Christian churches that originated with groups that split from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, most importantly that of Papal Infallibility...
, Liberal Catholic
Liberal Catholic Church
The Liberal Catholic Church is a form of Christianity open to theosophical ideas and even reincarnation. It is not connected to the Roman Catholic Church, which considers it heretical and schismatic...
, Order of Corporate Reunion
Order of Corporate Reunion
The Order of Corporate Reunion is an ecumenical and interdenominational association of clergy and laity of Anglican origin, founded by Frederick George Lee, Thomas Mossman and Joseph Seccombe in London in 1874....
, Mariavite
Mariavite Church
The Mariavite Church is an independent Christian church that emerged from the Catholic Church of Poland at the turn of the 20th century. Initially, it was an internal movement leading to a reform of the Polish clergy. After a conflict with Polish bishops, it became a separate and independent...
; and additional (disputed) lines of Anglican
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, Nonjuring
Nonjuring schism
The nonjuring schism was a split in the Church of England in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, over whether William of Orange and his wife Mary could legally be recognised as King and Queen of England....
, Celtic
Celtic Christianity
Celtic Christianity or Insular Christianity refers broadly to certain features of Christianity that were common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages...
, Welsh
Church in Wales
The Church in Wales is the Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.As with the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Wales serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The current archbishop is Barry Morgan, the Bishop of Llandaff.In contrast to the...
, and Restored Apostolic (Irvingite)
Catholic Apostolic Church
The Catholic Apostolic Church was a religious movement which originated in England around 1831 and later spread to Germany and the United States. While often referred to as Irvingism, it was neither actually founded nor anticipated by Edward Irving. The Catholic Apostolic Church was organised in...
.
All of these lines were passed to bishop Duc de Palatine at his consecration in 1953 and in a subsequent conditional consecration in 1955. They were then passed on to bishop Hoeller at his consecration in 1967.
Organization
The presiding, and currently only, bishopBishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the church is Most Rev. Stephan A. Hoeller
Stephan A. Hoeller
Stephan A. Hoeller, is a writer, scholar and religious leader. Born in Budapest, Hungary he received a Ph.D. in philosophy with a minor in the philosophy of religion from the University of Innsbruck in Austria.-Career:...
, a leading exponent of Gnosticism
Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
as living religious practice, a professor of comparative religions, and scholar who has written and lectured extensively on Gnosticism
Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
, Jungian psychology, and esoteric subjects. In addition to the bishop there are currently two Archpriest
Archpriest
An archpriest is a priest with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholic Churches, although it may be used in the Latin rite of the Roman Catholic Church instead of dean or vicar forane.In the 16th and 17th centuries, during...
s who serve as vicars forane
Archpriest
An archpriest is a priest with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholic Churches, although it may be used in the Latin rite of the Roman Catholic Church instead of dean or vicar forane.In the 16th and 17th centuries, during...
in Portland, Oregon (V. Rev. Stephen Marshall), and Oslo, Norway (V. Rev. Jan Valentin Sæther
Jan Valentin Sæther
Jan Valentin Sæther is a Norwegian figurative painter, sculptor and gnostic priest. He was professor of figurative painting at the National Academy of the Arts in Oslo between 1996 and 2002....
). Each parish has a priest in charge, the pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
or rector.
The scope of the organization is best described as a liturgical
Christian liturgy
A liturgy is a set form of ceremony or pattern of worship. Christian liturgy is a pattern for worship used by a Christian congregation or denomination on a regular basis....
orthopraxy, the organization being focused on correct practice of the liturgical services offered by the church.
Participation
Participation and communion are open to allOpen communion
Open communion is the practice of Christian churches that allow individuals other than members of that church to receive Holy Communion...
, regardless of creed
Creed
A creed is a statement of belief—usually a statement of faith that describes the beliefs shared by a religious community—and is often recited as part of a religious service. When the statement of faith is longer and polemical, as well as didactic, it is not called a creed but a Confession of faith...
. Due to this open participation, there is not an emphasis on membership.
While the church has no association with secret initiatory orders, and does not feel that anyone would become a better Gnostic merely by belonging to any, its clergy and laity are left free to join and/or be initiated into any and all organizations, "while they are earnestly requested to keep their activities in such organizations separate from their activities in the Ecclesia Gnostica."
Clergy
Holy ordersHoly Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
are considered one of the seven sacraments practiced by the church. Clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
are of both major and minor holy orders
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
. The five minor orders
Minor orders
The minor orders are the lowest ranks in the Christian clergy. The most recognized minor orders are porter, lector, exorcist, and acolyte. In the Latin rite Catholic Church, the minor orders were in most cases replaced by "instituted" ministries of lector and acolyte, though communities that use...
are: cleric, doorkeeper
Ostiarius
An ostiarius, a Latin word sometimes anglicized as Ostiary but often literally translated as porter or doorman, originally was a servant or guard posted at the entrance of a building. See also gatekeeper....
, reader, Exorcist
Exorcist
In some religions an exorcist is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or other demons. A priest, a nun, a monk, a healer, a shaman or other specially prepared or instructed person can be an exorcist...
, and Acolyte
Acolyte
In many Christian denominations, an acolyte is anyone who performs ceremonial duties such as lighting altar candles. In other Christian Churches, the term is more specifically used for one who wishes to attain clergyhood.-Etymology:...
. The major orders are: subdeacon
Subdeacon
-Subdeacons in the Orthodox Church:A subdeacon or hypodeacon is the highest of the minor orders of clergy in the Orthodox Church. This order is higher than the reader and lower than the deacon.-Canonical Discipline:...
, deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
, priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, and bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
. Clergy formation (training) is progressive, with individuals being ordained
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
to and serving in each order in succession. Formation of priests is generally over seven or more years. All levels of holy orders are open to both male and female; married, divorced, and single; and both gay and straight candidates. Clergy are self-sustaining, not receiving a salary from the church.
The Gnostic Society
The Gnostic SocietyGnostic Society
The Gnostic Society is an organization founded in Los Angeles in 1928, and incorporated in 1939, by John Morgan Pryse and his brother James Morgan Pryse for studies of Gnosticism. Stephan A...
, is a secular organization for the study of gnosticism founded in 1928 and incorporated in 1939 by James Morgan Pryse. Currently functioning as an educational organization associated with the Ecclesia Gnostica, the Gnostic Society
Gnostic Society
The Gnostic Society is an organization founded in Los Angeles in 1928, and incorporated in 1939, by John Morgan Pryse and his brother James Morgan Pryse for studies of Gnosticism. Stephan A...
provides resources on Gnosticism and Gnostic studies such as lectures, as well as, historic and source materials at The Gnosis Archive web site.
Teachings and Doctrinal Orientation
While ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
based on Gnosis not creed
Creed
A creed is a statement of belief—usually a statement of faith that describes the beliefs shared by a religious community—and is often recited as part of a religious service. When the statement of faith is longer and polemical, as well as didactic, it is not called a creed but a Confession of faith...
/belief
Belief
Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true.-Belief, knowledge and epistemology:The terms belief and knowledge are used differently in philosophy....
, the church considers itself part of the fellowship of Universal Christendom, that is part of the One Holy Catholic (Universal) and Apostolic Church
Four Marks of the Church
The Four Marks of the Church is a term describing four specific adjectives—one, holy, catholic and apostolic—indicating four major distinctive marks or distinguishing characteristics of the Christian Church...
.
The Ecclesia Gnostica is a liturgical orthopraxy rather than an orthodoxy
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
. Liturgical practice
Christian liturgy
A liturgy is a set form of ceremony or pattern of worship. Christian liturgy is a pattern for worship used by a Christian congregation or denomination on a regular basis....
is central to the existence of the church.
The church does not proselytize
Proselytism
Proselytizing is the act of attempting to convert people to another opinion and, particularly, another religion. The word proselytize is derived ultimately from the Greek language prefix προσ- and the verb ἔρχομαι in the form of προσήλυτος...
. There is not an exclusive claim of salvation
Salvation
Within religion salvation is the phenomenon of being saved from the undesirable condition of bondage or suffering experienced by the psyche or soul that has arisen as a result of unskillful or immoral actions generically referred to as sins. Salvation may also be called "deliverance" or...
; salvation is not dependent on participation in the church. Salvation is also understood differently from salvation in mainstream Christianity: salvation is achieved through Gnosis
Gnosis
Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge . In the context of the English language gnosis generally refers to the word's meaning within the spheres of Christian mysticism, Mystery religions and Gnosticism where it signifies 'spiritual knowledge' in the sense of mystical enlightenment.-Related...
, described as "an inner 'knowingness,' a change of consciousness."
Gnosticism is grounded in the experience of Gnosis, which is the salvific and revelatory
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, through active or passive communication with a supernatural or a divine entity...
experience of transcendence
Transcendence (philosophy)
In philosophy, the adjective transcendental and the noun transcendence convey the basic ground concept from the word's literal meaning , of climbing or going beyond, albeit with varying connotations in its different historical and cultural stages...
. The experience of Gnosis receives expression in the Gnostic Mythos
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
which allows the Gnostic to amplify and assimilate the experience of Gnosis and also makes further experience of Gnosis possible.
The aim of instruction is not just one variety of the Gnostic Mythos, but the entire heritage of the Gnostic tradition, which includes: primary sources such as the Nag Hammadi scriptures
Nag Hammadi library
The Nag Hammadi library is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. That year, twelve leather-bound papyrus codices buried in a sealed jar were found by a local peasant named Mohammed Ali Samman...
, with consideration of the less reliable accounts and recension
Recension
Recension is the practice of editing or revising a text based on critical analysis. When referring to manuscripts, this may be a revision by another author...
s of teachings found in heresiological
Heresiology
In theology or the history of religion , heresiology is the study of heresy. It can be distinguished from heresiography, or the recording of heresy....
texts, the Hermetic writings
Hermeticism
Hermeticism or the Western Hermetic Tradition is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs based primarily upon the pseudepigraphical writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus...
, and the teachings of the Prophet Mani
Mani (prophet)
Mani , of Iranian origin was the prophet and the founder of Manichaeism, a gnostic religion of Late Antiquity which was once widespread but is now extinct...
.
Understanding of the Gnostic Tradition
While recognizing the very pluralistic and creative elements of ancient Gnostic teachings they are seen as embracing a set of common assumptions which form the core of the Gnostic tradition. The "brief and inadequate outline" of this core given by bishop Hoeller is further summarized below:The church does not require the acceptance these teachings as a matter of belief
Belief
Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true.-Belief, knowledge and epistemology:The terms belief and knowledge are used differently in philosophy....
. Yet states, "it is obvious that these teachings represent the distinctive contribution of the Gnostic tradition to religious thought and persons functioning within the tradition would find themselves in general agreement with them."
Worship and Spiritual Practice
The Gnostic Holy Eucharist
The celebration of the Gnostic Holy EucharistEucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
is offered every Sunday in Los Angeles (and most other parishes). The Eucharist is central to the practice of the church, and is celebrated with high formality as congregants prepare to commune with "the indwelling and cosmic Christ." The service resembles an old-fashioned Roman Catholic liturgy in style, complete with elaborate vestments, burning candles, incense, and bells.
The service contains the Post-Eucharistic Benediction, "The peace of God which passeth all understanding, go with you. There is a power that makes all things new: It lives and moves in those who know the Self as one. May that peace brood over you, that Power uplift you into the Light, may It keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and Love of God, and of His Son, our Lord the Christ."
Other Sacraments
The Ecclesia Gnostica recognizes five initiatory sacraments as listed in the Gospel of PhilipGospel of Philip
The Gospel of Philip is one of the Gnostic Gospels, a text of New Testament apocrypha, dating back to around the third century but lost to modern researchers until an Egyptian peasant rediscovered it by accident, buried in a cave near Nag Hammadi, in 1945...
: Baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
, Chrism or Confirmation, Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
, Redemption (sacrament) and Bride-Chamber, with the additional two sustaining sacraments of Holy Orders
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
and Anointing of the Sick
Anointing of the Sick
Anointing of the Sick, known also by other names, is distinguished from other forms of religious anointing or "unction" in that it is intended, as its name indicates, for the benefit of a sick person...
. (The sacraments of Penance
Penance
Penance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in non-sacramental confession among Lutherans and other Protestants...
and Matrimony are considered to be secondary sacraments having been substituted for those of Redemption and Bride-Chamber.) The initiatory sacraments of Baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
and Chrism or Confirmation and the two sustaining sacraments are offered by the church.
Devotional Service to the Holy Sophia
In addition to the forms of liturgical service in the tradition of the Christian church, there is also the devotional service to the Holy Sophia that is unique to the rite of the Ecclesia Gnostica.Liturgical Calendar and Lectionary
The church follows the traditional Western liturgical calendar with additions and emendations. These changes include the addition of observances of Gnostic church fathers and martyrs of the Gnostic tradition, and the re-dedication of the Marian feastsMarian feast days
Marian feast days are specific holy days of the liturgical year celebrated by Christians as significant Marian days for the celebration of events in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her veneration...
of Assumption
Assumption of Mary
According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...
and Nativity to the Assumption and Descent of the Holy Sophia.
The Lectionary, the book of collect
Collect
In Christian liturgy, a collect is both a liturgical action and a short, general prayer. In the Middle Ages, the prayer was referred to in Latin as collectio, but in the more ancient sources, as oratio. In English, and in this usage, "collect" is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable...
s, lessons (instead of epistles), and gospels
Gospel (liturgy)
The Gospel in Christian liturgy refers to a reading from the Gospels used during various religious services, including Mass or Divine Liturgy . In many Christian churches, all present stand when a passage from one of the Gospels is read publicly, and sit when a passage from a different part of the...
, of the church was written, edited, and collected by bishop Stephan A. Hoeller
Stephan A. Hoeller
Stephan A. Hoeller, is a writer, scholar and religious leader. Born in Budapest, Hungary he received a Ph.D. in philosophy with a minor in the philosophy of religion from the University of Innsbruck in Austria.-Career:...
and issued in 1974. Scriptures were collected from the Old
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
and New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
; the Pistis Sophia
Pistis Sophia
Pistis Sophia is an important Gnostic text, possibly written as early as the 2nd century. The five remaining copies, which scholars place in the 5th or 6th centuries, relate the Gnostic teachings of the transfigured Jesus to the assembled disciples , when the risen Christ had accomplished eleven...
and other scriptures known before the Nag Hammadi
Nag Hammâdi
Nag Hammadi , is a city in Upper Egypt. Nag Hammadi was known as Chenoboskion in classical antiquity, meaning "geese grazing grounds". It is located on the west bank of the Nile in the Qena Governorate, about 80 kilometres north-west of Luxor....
find; the Nag Hammadi scriptures
Nag Hammadi library
The Nag Hammadi library is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. That year, twelve leather-bound papyrus codices buried in a sealed jar were found by a local peasant named Mohammed Ali Samman...
of the Gospel of Thomas
Gospel of Thomas
The Gospel According to Thomas, commonly shortened to the Gospel of Thomas, is a well preserved early Christian, non-canonical sayings-gospel discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945, in one of a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library...
, Gospel of Truth
Gospel of Truth
The Gospel of Truth is one of the Gnostic texts from the New Testament apocrypha found in the Nag Hammadi codices . It exists in two Coptic translations, a Subachmimic rendition surviving almost in full in the first codex and a Sahidic in fragments in the twelfth.-History:The Gospel of Truth was...
, and Gospel of Phillip; Cathar, Hermetic
Hermeticism
Hermeticism or the Western Hermetic Tradition is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs based primarily upon the pseudepigraphical writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus...
, Manichean
Manichaeism
Manichaeism in Modern Persian Āyin e Māni; ) was one of the major Iranian Gnostic religions, originating in Sassanid Persia.Although most of the original writings of the founding prophet Mani have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived...
, and Mandaean
Mandaeism
Mandaeism or Mandaeanism is a Gnostic religion with a strongly dualistic worldview. Its adherents, the Mandaeans, revere Adam, Abel, Seth, Enosh, Noah, Shem, Aram and especially John the Baptist...
sources; and the Chaldean Oracles
Chaldean Oracles
The Chaldean Oracles have survived as fragmentary texts from the 2nd century AD, and consist mainly of Hellenistic commentary on a single mystery-poem that was believed to have originated in Chaldea...
.
Both the calendar and the lectionary have been adopted for use by a number of other Gnostic church bodies.
Parishes & Chapels
- Sophia Diocesan Center, Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, CA. Most Rev. Stephan Hoeller, Presiding Bishop. Rev. John Goelz, Rev. Robert Peterson, Rev. Donna Owen, Rev. Laurel Tropp and Rev. Gilberto Morales, Priests. Rev. Bryan Campbell, Rev. Gerry Szeman, Rev. Maria Clark, and Rev. Amber Tidwell, Deacons. - Saint Sophia Gnostic Seminary, Sedona, AZ. Rev. Charles Wells, Priest & Rector. Rev. Scot Soller, and Rev. Kriss Sprinkle, Priests.
- Queen of Heaven Gnostic Church, PortlandPortland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, OR. V. Rev. Stephen Marshall, Archpriest & Rector. Rev. Ed Smith, Priest. - The Holy Gnosis of Thomas Chapel, Salt Lake City, UT. Rev. Troy Pierce, Priest & Rector. Rev. Lance Owens, Priest.
- Hagia Sophia Church, Seattle, WA. Rev. Sam Osborne, Priest & Rector. Rev. Andrea Turner, Deacon.
- Capella Santa Sophia, OsloOsloOslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. V. Rev. Jan Valentin SætherJan Valentin SætherJan Valentin Sæther is a Norwegian figurative painter, sculptor and gnostic priest. He was professor of figurative painting at the National Academy of the Arts in Oslo between 1996 and 2002....
, Archpriest & Rector. Rev. Terje Bergersen, Deacon.