The Universal Gnostic Church: Gnostic Lesson 1

The training program the Universal Gnostic Church offered for its lay members and aspirants to monastic and priestly vocations alike was a set of six Gnostic Lessons, which also involve preparation and ritual entry into the Minor Orders of the UGC. (The minor orders of most established churches tend to be highly selective, but in the UGC and most other independent sacramental churches, it's normal for the laity to receive them.) Each one other than the first will take a month of study and practice.

The Gnostic Lessons

The six Gnostic Lessons are a lightly revised version of the training that was provided to aspirants to the Minor Orders in the Universal Gnostic Church (UGC). During John Gilbert’s day, the Gnostic Lessons were made freely available to anyone who was interested, and completing them was a prerequisite for advancement to the higher grades of initiation in several of the orders and organizations under the UGC’s umbrella.

In the Universal Gnostic Church there are five Minor Orders and two Major Orders. The five Minor Orders are Cleric, Doorkeeper, Reader, Warder, and Acolyte. The two Major Orders are Priest or Priestess, and Bishop. Ordination as a priest or priestess and consecration as a bishop can only be earned by extensive study and practice, but it was normal during the heyday of the UGC for most active members to receive one or more of the Minor Orders and to exercise the functions and spiritual gifts of those Orders under the supervision of a priest, priestess, or bishop.

The Major Orders can only be passed on by personal contact through laying on of hands and anointing.  It has been traditional for many years in the UGC, however, for the Minor Orders to be conferred through study and practice of spiritual disciplines, followed by a ceremony of commitment which may be performed by the aspirant alone or by a priest or bishop for the aspirant. That custom is followed in these lessons.

In the Universal Gnostic Church, the Minor Orders have a threefold function. First, they pass on certain spiritual gifts of their own.  Second, they form part of the preparation for ordination to the Gnostic priesthood or priestesshood. Finally, it was also standard for postulants to the Order of the Universal Monk, the Order of the Universal Nun, and the other monastic orders that once exixted in the UGC, to complete the Gnostic Lessons as part of the preparation for taking vows. It is not necessary to commit to either the second or third of these functions in advance. If you feel that studying the Gnostic Lessons would be valuable to you, for whatever reason, you may proceed with them.

If you have already decided that you intend to seek ordination to the Gnostic priesthood or priestesshood, or to take vows as a monk or nun, it is important to perform the five ceremonies of commitment for the Minor Orders, and to practice the sacraments that are assigned to each Order. If you have previously studied the Gnostic Lessons and did not perform the ceremonies of commitment, you should plan on reviewing the Lessons and performing the ceremonies as part of your preparation for ordination or monastic vows. In the meantime, of course, the books listed in the prospectus for this course should be on your reading list.

With that said, we can proceed. ( Read more... )