Polytheist Monasticism

[ecosophia]

I'm delighted to announce that Polytheist Monasticism: Voices from Pagan Cloisters is now in print.  It's an anthology, edited by Janet Munin, of essays by people involved in one way or another in the emerging world of polytheist and animist monastic life.Yes, there are monks and nuns in polytheist traditions; there were monastic traditions in polytheism long before Johnny-come-lately faiths such as Christianity and Buddhism were born; and the revival of polytheism in recent years has inspired a significant number of people to take up a vocation as polytheist monks and nuns.

The essays in this book were written by some of the people involved in that movement. I've got a piece in there, about the process by which the Ancient Order of Druids in America organized its own monastic system, but there are other essays in the collection that are much more interesting! 

(All this is timely for another reason. One of the tasks on the horizon as I sort out the legacy of my late teacher John Gilbert is the revival of the Universal Gnostic Church, the religious tradition he inherited from his teachers and passed on to a handful of successors. The UGC had, among other things, its own monastic orders, the Order of the Universal Monk and the Order of the Universal Nun, and those will need to be reactivated as well in due time.) 

If you're interested in the anthology, why, it's now in print and hitting bookstore shelves. You can order a copy here if you live in the United States (they're temporarily backordered but should have more copies soon) and here if you live anywhere else in the world. 

Comments

[jprussell]

Would you mind sharing some of the ancient polytheistic monastic traditions you're familiar with? I'd be interested in looking into them a bit more, as it's not something I'm familiar with (though I suppose the enclaves of Pythagoras and Epicurus might count, now that I think about it).

Incidentally, I've received my pre-ordered copy of the book, and I can confirm for anyone wondering that physically it's a nice quality paperback and the contents indeed look interesting. Looking forward to reading it next year after I've completed my resolution to only read dead folks this year.

[ecosophia]

Sure. Hinduism has a very ancient monastic tradition, with forest hermitages a commonplace in ancient Indian literature. The ancient Egyptian priesthoods were largely monastic in structure -- that's the model that Pythagoras used for his society, which became the template for religious and philosophical communities throughout the ancient Greek world. We also have scraps of information about collegia of Druids in ancient Gaul, which seem to have been more or less monastic in character.

Polytheistic Monasticism

[(Anonymous)]

I got my copy a couple weeks ago, and I love the book! It definitely lives up to expectations. There are a lot of good ideas and perspectives in here, that we can adapt, if we wish, to our own way of living and our own spiritual expression. And it is inspiring, even just as a reading experience. I’ve already re-read it a couple of times, in the spirit of lectio divina!

JMG: Will you give us the opportunity here to discuss your new book on Pluto?

Winifred Hodge Rose

Re: Polytheistic Monasticism

[ecosophia]

Hmm! Let me toss that out to the commentariat: is that something that other people would like to discuss?

Re: Polytheistic Monasticism

[jprussell]

I'd be interested in seeing the discussion, though I haven't had a chance to read the book yet.

Re: Polytheistic Monasticism

[open_space]

I would like to see that too and participate even though I haven't finished the book just yet.

Re: Polytheistic Monasticism

[neonvincent]

Yes, I'd be interested in the effects of the discovery and demotion of Pluto, whether here or on ecosophia.net.

On the original subject, what relation does the Universal Gnostic Church of John Gilbert have to those of Jean Bricaud and Samael Aun Weor, who have been credited with founding identical or very similar sounding movements?

Re: Polytheistic Monasticism

[open_space]

I had no idea Samael Aun Weor (Víctor Manuel Gómez Rodríguez) was a known figure outside of hispanic circles! All I know of him only relates to his Quetzalcoatl Gnosis Cultural Institute but it seems he had a wider reach.

Edit: Interesting, he actually seems to have been quite the figure! I thought he was just a local guy. I wish I remember how I went from Ser to Samael Aún Weor. It probably was researching Ser and Edmond Bordeaux Szekely

Re: Polytheistic Monasticism

[ecosophia]

Good heavens, yes. Anyone who knows their way around the occult scene these days has heard of him; many of his works are available in English translation, for that matter.

Re: Polytheistic Monasticism

[ecosophia]

That very question had me chasing down any number of strange byways until quite recently. Here's what I learned.

The Universal Gnostic Church (UGC) I'm involved in was founded in 1952 by three Universalist ministers, Rev. Omar Zasluchy, Rev. Owen Symanski, and Rev. Matthew Shaw, who were opposed to the proposed merger between the Universalist Church and the Unitarian Church. They received episcopal consecration that year in Allentown, PA from +Robert Monroe of the Liberal Catholic Church. The term "Universal" in the name of their church came from their Universalist background, and had no connection to the French Gnostic lineage of +Jean Bricaud, the Eglise Gnostique Universelle, which was of course also the lineage in which Samael Aun Weor was part. The coincidence of names sent me down a lot of rabbit holes!

As part of the general sharing of lineages in the independent sacramental movement in the late 20th century, +John Gilbert -- who had originally been consecrated in 1984 by +Matthew Shaw and several other bishops of the UGC -- some years later received sub conditione consecration from +Herman Adrian Spruitt of the Church of Antioch, and thus the consecration that was passed onto me includes all known episcopal lineages that are independent of the hierarchical churches.

Re: Polytheistic Monasticism

[jprussell]

Just to resolve a bit of confusion: I take it you are using "episcopal" here to mean "of or pertaining to bishops and bishopry" as opposed to anything to do with the Anglican/Episcopal church? My wife was raised Episcopalian, so I tend to add the capital "E" unconsciously unless I stop and think about it.

Even if so, I'm a bit interested to learn more about what episcopal "lineage" going back to the Liberal Catholic Church (or even the Unitarian Church, for that matter) means for a non-Christian, should you be willing to expand a bit.

Re: Polytheistic Monasticism

[ecosophia]

Yes. The Episcopalian Church took that name because in post-Revolutionary War America, they couldn't keep calling themselves Anglican, and at that time they were the only Protestant church with bishops. The word "episcopal" simply means "having to do with bishops."

The lineage matter is simple. In Christian tradition, Jesus of Nazareth passed on a special blessing to his apostles, and they transmitted it to their successors by a ritual involving laying on of hands. Around the third century, it became customary for bishops, and only bishops, to have the ability to do this while ordaining priests or consecrating other bishops. Every bishop, whether independent or in a hierarchical church, should be able to trace his or her lineage back all the way to Jesus by a documented set of consecrations: "A was consecrated by B, who was consecrated by C," and so on. I can do that, and so can anyone else in the UGC lineage (for example, the bishops and priests in the Gnostic Celtic Church, the AODA's religious aspect, which was founded by UGC bishops).

Re: Polytheistic Monasticism

[jprussell]

Thank you! Being raised a rather indifferent Methodist, I was not familiar with that tradition.

So, the lineage goes back to Jesus, but at some fairly recent point, it lost the requirement of being explicitly Christian? This might be lingering Christian "one true way or heresy" thinking, but I'm scratching my head a bit, since you have said multiple times that you're not Christian, but this particular position/blessing seems to derive its power/holiness/legitimacy from explicitly Christian roots.

Please let me know if I'm just being thick or closed-minded, but if you could talk a bit more about how you square a lineage going back to Jesus with not especially venerating Jesus, I'd appreciate it.

Re: Polytheistic Monasticism

[ecosophia]

Just as Jung said, "Thank God I'm not a Jungian," I'm far from sure Jesus would consider himself a Christian. There's quite a bit of difference between recognizing the validity of a current of power descending from a holy person in the past, on the one hand, and buying into the ornate ideology that's been manufactured around him, on the other.

The Universal Gnostic Church started out with Universalism, one of the more freewheeling branches of Protestantism, which rejected outright the belief in eternal damnation -- they argued, and I think rightly, that there's no way to square that belief with the claim that God is both omnipotent and loving. The UGC's founders also held that salvation is a matter of individual growth and development over many lives, and is thus available to everyone. They concluded -- and of course they're far from the only ones to come to this conclusion -- that Christianity lost its way sometime in the first few centuries after the time of Jesus. They held that the Christ energy has descended on many prophets and teachers down through the ages, and it's still accessible today; the current of power that has been pased on by the heirs of Jesus is one of many such currents, which is why Matthew Shaw and John Gilbert got themselves initiated into a variety of other currents, and passed on the whole shebang to their students.

Finally, er, I'm quite capable of recognizing that an important part of my Druid lineage comes from Iolo Morganwg, say, without thinking that he was infallible, and I'm also capable of acknowledging that the founders of the Golden Dawn (another of my lineages) lied about the origins of their tradition. (For that matter, I'm well aware that the Freemasons aren't descended from the builders of the Temple of Solomon.) Why should I treat Jesus of Nazareth differently?

Re: Polytheistic Monasticism

[jprussell]

Thanks very much for this, that helps quite a bit.

[causticus]

So happy to hear this, looks like a must-read!

One question: Will the Universal Gnostic Church be a joinable organization once you are done renovating/reviving it?

[ecosophia]

Yes, though there's a bit of a catch. Membership in the UGC entails receiving at least the first of the minor orders; it's not the kind of church where most members belong to a congregation and just sit there listening and praying on cue. There are papers and books to study and practices to take up, though there's a lot of leeway in the latter!

The minor orders? The UGC confers the following orders on qualified candidates:

MINOR ORDERS
Cleric
Doorkeeper
Reader
Exorcist
Acolyte

MAJOR ORDERS
Deacon
Priest
Bishop

The minor orders are conferred by way of a ritual performed by the candidate, following a period of prayer, meditation, and discernment. The major orders can only be conferred in person by a UGC bishop via laying on of hands. Yes, I'm a bishop -- I became one ex officio when I became an archdruid in AODA, and all past and present AODA archdruids have the same consecration I do.

[lincoln_lynx]

I was surprised when reading the latest MM, when you mentioned the UGC not using
banishing rituals, I figured that would be one of the practices.

[ecosophia]

Remember that the UGC was all interwoven with the Holy Order of the Golden Dawn and the Ancient Order of Druids in America, as well as the Order of Spiritual Alchemy and the Modern Order of Essenes. Most people who belonged to the UGC also belonged to most or all of the other organizations -- and the HOGD and the AODA both taught the Sphere of Protection. So it was avaiable!

The UGC was intended to be extremely flexible when it comes to practices -- it's a church, after all, not an initiatory order or a school. Prayer, contemplation, and meditation were taught, as well as study of scriptures (any scriptures) and an assortment of sacraments and rites, but the magical dimension was left to the other orders.

[helloolleh]

Polytheist Monasticism-
Oh wow. Say that 3 times fast.