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ecosophia
During the years when the Universal Gnostic Church flourished, the Minor Orders were open to anyone who was interested in them, and most church members went through the Gnostic Lessons as an ordinary part of their membership. The priesthood or priestesshood was something else again. It required a serious and sustained commitment to study and practice in the UGC tradition, demonstrated by the completion of a series of tolerably stringent requirements. As explained in the Prospectus, candidates for the priesthood were expected to complete the Gnostic Lessons, to complete the system of training of at least one of the UCG’s affiliated orders, to establish a regular personal spiritual practice, and to engage in systematic reading and study of certain basic textbooks and of at least three holy scriptures, only one of which could be from the candidate’s own faith tradition.
As a bishop in the Universal Gnostic Church I am prepared to ordain candidates who meet these criteria. I am also prepared to consecrate priests and priestesses as bishops in the UGC tradition, provided that they meet the criteria for consecration. All these requirements are covered in the Propectus. What I propose to discuss here are the practical details.
First, it is not necessary to complete the qualifications for ordination in any particular order. If you are still working on the Gnostic Lessons and one of the affiliated orders, you can begin the reading and study now. What matters is that you have fulfilled all the requirements before you contact me to come to Rhode Island for your ordination. You will of course need to document your completion of the Gnostic Lessons and the affiliated order, as well as your personal spiritual practice; keeping a regular journal of your practices and experiences is recommended, so that you will have answers to the questions I will ask.
Second, since I don’t expect candidates for the priesthood and priestesshood to move to Rhode Island for the duration of their studies, we will be conducting seminary training online, using Dreamwidth as a venue. I have created an invitation-only group for seminarians. In order to join, you must have a Dreamwidth account; a free account is fine. Once you have your Dreamwidth account, send me a personal message at my Dreamwidth account giving your legal name, date of birth, mailing address, and at least 500 words explaining why you want to be ordained as a priest or priestess in the Universal Gnostic Church. All these communications will be kept confidential.
Third, the group will be set up to permit discussion of topics relevant to the Universal Gnostic Church. It will be moderated, of course, and there will be specific rules, which will be sent to each person accepted for membership. Violation of those rules will get you suspended or expelled from the group and the seminary program, and no, there is no recourse: my seminary, my rules. This is not a game, nor is it a venue for you to sell things or work out your emotional problems. (The Order of Spiritual Alchemy lessons are meant to help you with the latter.) Imagine that you’re asking to be enrolled in a genuine brick-and-mortar seminary, and the Dean of Students is observing you with the old, cold, bleak expression of someone who has seen every kind of nonsense students get up to and is bored with all of it.
Fourth, one of your assignments will be to post reviews of each chapter of each of the three required books. Yes, you need to review each chapter. The review will be at least 500 words in length and will demonstrate that you have read and thought about the chapter. Please do not simply cut and paste passages from the text—I am interested in your personal understanding of the ideas presented in the chapter, any insights you may have arrived at, any situations in which the material was reflected in your life experience, and the like. I want to know what you think and how you feel about these teachings.
You will also be expected to write a review of each of the sacred scriptures you read. These will cover the entire scripture and will be at least 2500 words in length. Again, cutting and pasting does not qualify; your personal reactions, insights, and reflections are what I want to see, and the goal again is to be sure that you’ve read and thought about the scripture.
Each of your book reviews is to be posted as a friends-only entry to your personal Dreamwidth account, and you and I are the only people who are to have access to it. I will read your review and, provided that it shows that you’ve read and thought about the material, you will get credit for it.
Fifth, when you have completed the Gnostic Lessons, contact me via a Dreamwidth personal message and I’ll ask you some questions to be sure you’ve done the work. In the same way, once you finish your work with the affiliated order you’ve chosen, contact me the same way and be prepared to field questions. So long as you’ve done the work you’ll have no trouble at all answering the questions and getting credit for the work.
Sixth, once you have completed all the requirements, get in touch and we’ll talk about your visit to Rhode Island and your ordination ceremony. You will have to pay all your own expenses for this but there is no other fee for ordination.
Finally, you’ll doubtless have noticed that the training for the UGC does not include instruction in specific kinds of liturgy or religious ceremony, nor does it include instruction in counseling, running a church, or what have you. This is traditional, and quite deliberate. What forms you want to use in your own religious practice, what services you want to perform for other people (or whether you want to perform services for other people at all), and what else is part of your personal religious path is up to you. Few priests and priestesses of the UGC ever had a conventional church and congregation, though there were exceptions. Most walked unique personal paths in their service to the Divine. Much of what you will be doing during the course of your training for the priesthood or priestesshood is determining exactly what kind of path you feel called to walk.
So there you have it. The door is open. Will you pass through it into the light of the Universal Gnosis? Only you can decide.
