Esoteric Christianity

The Temple of the Rose Cross, Teophilus Schweighardt Con-

stantiens, 1618.
A 17th-century fresco from the Cathedral of Living Pillar in
Esoteric Christianity is an ensemble of spiritual cur- Georgia depicting Jesus within the Zodiac circle.
rents which regard Christianity as a mystery religion,[1][2]
and profess the existence and possession of certain eso-
Early Christians used the Greek word (mys-
teric doctrines or practices[3][4] of which the public is un-
aware (or even to which they may be denied access) but terion) to describe the Christian Mystery. The Old Tes-
which are understood by a small group of people.[5] tament versions use the word mysterion as an equivalent
to the Hebrew sd, secret (Proverbs 20:19). In the
These spiritual currents share some common denomina-
New Testament the word mystery is applied ordinarily
tors, such as:
to the sublime revelation of the Gospel (Matthew 13:11;
Colossians 2:2; 1 Timothy 3:9; 1 Corinthians 15:51), and
heterodox or heretical Christian theology; to the Incarnation and life of the Saviour and his manifes-
tation by the preaching of the Apostles (Romans 16:25;
the canonical gospels, various apocalyptic literature,
Ephesians 3:4; 6:19; Colossians 1:26; 4:3).
and some New Testament apocrypha as sacred texts;
and The word mysticism is derived from the Greek ,
meaning to conceal,[7] and its derivative ,
disciplina arcani, a supposed oral tradition from the mystikos, meaning 'an initiate'. In the Hellenistic world,
Twelve Apostles containing esoteric teachings of Je- 'mystical' referred to secret religious rituals[7] The
sus the Christ.[6] use of the word lacked any direct references to the
transcendental.[8] A mystikos was an initiate of a mys-
tery religion.
1 Mystery religion Theologians give the name mystery to revealed truths that
surpass the powers of natural reason,[9] so, in a narrow
See also: Mysticism sense, the Mystery is a truth that transcends the created
intellect. The impossibility of obtaining a rational com-

1
2 4 MODERN FORMS

prehension of the Mystery leads to an inner or hidden way denies reincarnation in unmistakable terms in his work
of comprehension of the Christian Mystery that is indi- Against Celsus and elsewhere.[15][16]
cated by the term esoteric in Esoteric Christianity.[2] Despite this apparent contradiction, most modern Es-
oteric Christian movements refer to Origens writ-
Even though revealed and believed, the ings (along with other Church Fathers and biblical
Mystery remains nevertheless obscure and passages[17] ) to validate these ideas as part of the Esoteric
veiled during the mortal life, if the deciphering Christian tradition.[18]
of the mysteries, made possible by esotericism,
does not intervene.[10]
3 Early modern forms
This esoteric knowledge would allow a deep comprehen-
sion of the Christian mysteries that otherwise would re-
In the later Middle Ages, forms of Western esotericism
main obscure.
such as alchemy and astrology were constructed on Chris-
tian foundations, combining Christian theology and doc-
trines with esoteric concepts.[19]
2 Ancient roots Giovanni Pico della Mirandola's Apologia (Apologia
J. Pici Mirandolani, Concordiae comitis published in
1489) states that there are two types of "magic", which
are theurgy (divine magic), and goetia (demonic magic).
These disciplines were explained as the Operation of the
Stars, just as alchemy was the Operation of the Sun,
and astrology the Operation of the Moon. Kabbalah
was also an active discipline. These spiritual traditions al-
legedly aided the esoteric to arise to higher forms of con-
sciousness, and arise to a better understanding of God,
The Self, and the Universe. Esoteric Christians practice
these forms or traditions, which they believe are all a part
of the same spiritual truth, which help to convey mystery
knowledge, which can only be learned directly from spir-
Greek mysticism inuenced many early church theologians such itual experience via Theurgy, Kabbalah, or Mysticism.
as Clement of Alexandria and Origen.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, this was followed up by
the development of Theosophy and Rosicrucianism.[20]
Some modern scholars believe that in the early stages Behmenism also developed around this time, as did
of Christianity, a nucleus of oral teachings were inher- Freemasonry.
ited from Palestinian and Hellenistic Judaism. In the
4th century, it was believed to form the basis of a se-
cret oral tradition which came to be called disciplina ar-
cani. The mainstream theologians, however, believe that 4 Modern forms
it contained only liturgical details and certain other tra-
ditions which remain a part of some branches of main- Many modern Esoteric Christian movements acknowl-
stream Christianity.[6][11][12] Important inuences on Es- edge reincarnation among their beliefs, as well as a com-
oteric Christianity are the Christian theologians Clement plex energetic structure for the human being (such as
of Alexandria and Origen, the leading gures of the etheric body, astral body, mental body and causal body).
Catechetical School of Alexandria.[13] These movements point out the need of an inner spiritual
Origen was a most prolic writer according to work which will lead to the renewal of the human person
Epiphanius of Salamis, he wrote about 6,000 books[14] according to the Pauline sense.
making it a dicult task to dene the central core of his Rudolf Steiner and Max Heindel gave several spiritual ex-
teachings. The original Greek text of his main theologi- ercises in their writings to help the evolution of the fol-
cal work De Principiis only survives in fragments, while a lower. In the same direction are Tommaso Palamidessi's
5th-century Latin translation was cleared of controversial writings, which aim at developing ascetic techniques and
teachings by Tyrannius Runus, making it hard for mod- meditations. In Bulgaria Peter Deunov opened an Eso-
ern scholars to rebuild Origens original thoughts. Thus, teric Christian School, which he called School of the Uni-
it is unclear whether reincarnation and the pre-existence versal White Brotherhood. It consisted of two classes of
of souls formed part of Origens beliefs. students and had 22 school years.
While hypothetically considering a complex multiple- George Gurdjie called his teaching The Fourth Way
world transmigration scheme in De Principiis, Origen the way of conscience, whereby the student learns to work
 3

Christianity and Neopaganism

Christianity and Paganism

Christian Kabbalah

Christian meditation

Christian mysticism

Christian mythology

Christian views on astrology

Christian views on magic

Esoteric astrology

Gnosticism

Jewish mythology

Martinism

Neoplatonism

Occult

Origins of Christianity
Selfportrait with Christ by Martin von Feuerstein Spirituality

with and transform the negativity and suering of ones
ordinary life to come to real life (Life is real only then,
when I Am.). His one-time pupil, the Russian mathe-
matician and esotericist P.D. Ouspensky made the term
6 Further reading
Fourth Way and its use central to his own teaching of
the ideas of Gurdjie. Beginning with The Fourth Di-
mension in 1909, Ouspenskys books synthesize esoteric
Christianity with psychology, comparative religion and
Eastern practises.
According to all of these esoteric scholars, the ensemble
of these techniques (often related with Eastern medita-
tion practices such as chakra meditation or visualization)
will lead to salvation and to the total renewal of the hu-
man being. This process usually implies the constitu-
tion of a spiritual body apt to the experience of resur-
rection (and therefore called, in Christian terms, spiritual
body).[21][22][23][24]
Some Esoteric Christians today also incorporate New
Age and traditional magical practices in their beliefs,
such as Qabalah, theurgy, goetia, alchemy, astrology, and
hermetism.[25]
Theosophy
Anonymous (1985). Meditations on the Tarot: A
Journey Into Christian Hermeticism. New York, NY:
Tarcher/Penguin. ISBN 978-1-5854-2161-9
Besant, Annie (2001). Esoteric Christianity or the
Lesser Mysteries. City: Adamant Media Corpora-
tion. ISBN 978-1-4021-0029-1.
Brown, Coleston (2007). Magical Christianity: The
Power of Symbols for Spiritual Renewal.Wheaton,
IL: Quest Books. ISBN 978-0-8356-0855-8
Duncan, Anthony (1972, 1996). The Lord of the
Dance: An Essay in Mysticism. Sun Chalice Books.
ISBN 978-0-9650-8395-9
Knight, Gareth (1975, 2010). Experience of the In-
ner Worlds. Cheltenham, Gloucestershire: Skylight
Press. ISBN 978-1-9080-1103-9

Knight, Gareth (2011). A History of White Magic.

5 See also Cheltenham, Gloucestershire: Skylight Press. ISBN
978-1-9080-1104-6
Anthroposophy
Powell, Robert. (2007). The Sophia Teachings: The
Astrological age Emergence of the Divine Feminine in Our Time. Au-
rora, CO: Lindisfarne Books. ISBN 978-1-5842-
Book of the 24 Philosophers 0048-2
4 8 EXTERNAL LINKS

Rittelmeyer, Friedrich (Author), Mitchell, M.L.
(Translator) (2004). Meditation: Letters on the
Guidance of the Inner Life 1932. Whitesh, MT:
Kessinger Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-4179-
7983-7
Smoley, Richard (2002). Inner Christianity: A
Guide to the Esoteric Tradition.Boston, MA: Shamb-
hala Publications. ISBN 978-1-5706-2810-8
[17] See Reincarnation and Christianity
[18] Archeosoca, Articles on Esoteric Christianity (classical
authors)
[19] Antoine Faivre, L'sotrisme, Paris, PUF ( Que sais-
je?), 1992.
[20] Weber, Charles, Rosicrucianism and Christianity in Rays
from the Rose Cross, 1995

Steiner, Rudolf (1997). Christianity As Mystical [21] Rudolf Steiner, Christianity As Mystical Fact, Steiner-
Fact And The Mysteries Of Antiquity. Great Bar- books.
rington, MA: Anthroposophic Press. ISBN 978-0- [22] Tommaso Palamidessi, The Guardians of the Thresholds
8801-0436-4 and the Evolutionary Way, Archeosoca, 1978.

[23] Max Heindel, The Mystical Interpretation of Easter, Rosi-

7 Notes
[1] Western Esotericism and the Science of Religion: Selected
Papers Presented at the 17th Congress
[2] Besant, Annie (2001). Esoteric Christianity or the Lesser
Mysteries. City: Adamant Media Corporation. ISBN 978-
1-4021-0029-1.
crucian Fellowship.
[24] P.D. Ouspensky 'A New Model of the Universe: Prin-
ciples of the Psychological Method in Its Application to
Problems of Science, Religion and Art' New York Knopf
1931
[25] Secrets of the Magical Grimoires by Aaron Leitch, www.
northernway.org

[3] From the Greek (esterikos, inner). The

term esotericism itself was coined in the 17th century.
(Oxford English Dictionary Compact Edition, Volume 1, 8 External links
Oxford University Press, 1971, p. 894.)
Esoteric/Mystic/Experiential Christianity
[4] Wouter J. Hanegraa, Antoine Faivre, Roelof van den
Broek, Jean-Pierre Brach, Dictionary of Gnosis and West- The Cornerstone of Esoteric Christianity
ern Esotericism, Brill 2005.
The Focus of Esoteric Futures
[5] Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary: esoteric
The Esoteric Christianity E-Magazine
[6] G.G. Stroumsa, Hidden Wisdom: Esoteric Traditions and
the Roots of Christian Mysticism, 2005. Jacob Boehme Online
[7] Gellman, Jerome, Mysticism, The Stanford Encyclope-
dia of Philosophy (Summer 2011 Edition), Edward N.
Zalta (ed.)

[8] Parsons 2011, p. 3.

[9] The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume X. Published 1911.

[10] Tommaso Palamidessi, Introduction to Major and Minor

Mysteries, ed. Archeosoca, 1971

[11] Frommann, De Disciplina Arcani in vetere Ecclesia chris-

tiana obticuisse fertur, Jena 1833.

[12] Edwin Hatch, The Inuence of Greek Ideas and Usages

upon the Christian Church, London: Williams and Nor-
gate, 1907, Lecture X.

[13] Jean Danilou, Origen, translated by Walter Mitchell,

1955.

[14] Haer., lxiv.63

[15] Catholic Answers, Quotes by Church Fathers Against Rein-

carnation, 2004.

[16] John S. Uebersax, Early Christianity and Reincarnation:

Modern Misrepresentation of Quotes by Origen, 2006.
 5

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