Antonin Gadal
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Antonin Gadal (15.3.1877 – 15.6.1962) was a French mystic and historian who dedicated his life to study of the
Cathar Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Follow ...
s in the south of France, their spirituality, beliefs and ideology.


Life

Gadal was born in 1877 in the Pyrenean town of
Tarascon Tarascon (; ), sometimes referred to as Tarascon-sur-Rhône, is a commune situated at the extreme west of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Inhabitants are referred to as Tarasconnais or Taras ...
in the Ariège region in the south of France, which was one of the centres of the heretical
gnostic Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
movement known as the
Cathars Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Fol ...
or the Albigensians in the 12th and 13th Centuries. Another major Cathar centre,
Montségur Montségur (; Languedocien: ''Montsegur'') is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France. It is famous for its fortification, the Château de Montségur, that was built on the "pog" (mountain) on the ruins of one of the las ...
, the castle where their leaders made their last stand against the
Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
, is not far away to the north-east.
Montaillou Montaillou (; oc, Montalhon) is a commune in the Ariège department in the south of France. Its original, medieval location was abandoned and the current village is a short distance away. History The village is best known for being the s ...
, the village which continued as a secret community of Cathars until the 14th Century and the
Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...
's records of which went up to make Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie's book ''Montaillou: Promised Land of Error'' (1975), is also nearby. Gadal grew up in a house next to the Tarasconian historian Adolphe Garrigou who specialised in the history of the Cathars (along with his son he is honoured by a plaque on the building he lived in one of the squares in Tarascon). Garrigou saw himself as a preserver of the memory of the Christian sect and, seeing a kindred spirit in the young man took him under his wing as an inheritor of his knowledge. As an adult, Gadal worked as a schoolteacher but his fascination with the Cathars lead him to work for the Tourist Board Of Ussat Ornolac. In doing so he was able to explore the Pyrenean caves himself, which he believed were hiding places and sites of worship for the Cathars. Through his investigations he developed a detailed picture of what he believed were the inner mysteries of their faith.
Otto Rahn Otto Wilhelm Rahn (18 February 1904 – 13 March 1939) was a German writer, medievalist, Ariosophist, and an officer of the SS and researcher into the Grail myths. He was born in Michelstadt, Germany, and died in Söll (Kufstein, Tyrol) in ...
, the
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
historian and occultist, is believed to have approached him in his own quest for the secrets of the Cathars (Rahn believed that the Cathars were the trustees of the
Holy Grail The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...
). Although some have suggested that Gadal refused to assist Rahn, it seems likely that in fact Gadal personally took Rahn on a tour of the various Cathar Cave locations. Gadal also worked with an English student of the Cathars, Walter Birks, and their association is described in the book "The Treasure of Montségur" by Birks and his collaborator R. A. Gilbert (1987).London (Aquarian Press) It is not always clear whether the assertions in this book are by Birks, or by the younger scholar Gilbert, who held strong views about Gadal's work.


Gadal and Cathar spirituality

Gadal's belief was that the spirituality of the Cathars traced back through various Gnostic beliefs (such as
Manicheanism Manichaeism (; in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani (AD ...
,
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
Gnosticism Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people ...
) to the most ancient sources of the Western Mystery Tradition - the
Essenes The Essenes (; Hebrew: , ''Isiyim''; Greek: Ἐσσηνοί, Ἐσσαῖοι, or Ὀσσαῖοι, ''Essenoi, Essaioi, Ossaioi'') were a mystic Jewish sect during the Second Temple period that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st c ...
,
Hermeticism Hermeticism, or Hermetism, is a philosophical system that is primarily based on the purported teachings of Hermes Trismegistus (a legendary Hellenistic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth). These teachings are containe ...
, the
Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
Mysteries and so on - but seen in a Christian context. He argued that in the Ariège basin, and particularly the Lombrives caves, Cathar Perfecti (the spiritual elite of the movement) underwent a three-year period of initiation in which they experienced a transformation of the human soul, much like that experienced by Christ in the Gospels - Transfiguration,
Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
&
Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...
. Transformed by the
Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
, the Perfecti then went out into the world, having 'died' to it, to spread the Cathar faith and minister to the Credentes, or Believers. Gadal's belief was that this process of Initiation was contained within the Christian message of the Gospels and the cycle of the Christ story and was the hidden meaning of the
Grail The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) was an American lunar science mission in NASA's Discovery Program which used high-quality gravitational field mapping of the Moon to determine its interior structure. The two small spacecraf ...
Legend. Through his interest in the Gnostic Christianity of the Cathars and his belief in its connection with an ancient tradition, in his later years Gadal made contact with the leaders of the neo-
Gnostic Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...
,
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
Rosicrucian Rosicrucianism is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts purported to announce the existence of a hitherto unknown esoteric order to the world and made seeking its ...
movement, the
Lectorium Rosicrucianum The Lectorium Rosicrucianum or International School of the Golden Rosycross is a Spiritual School which considers itself a worldwide school of Esoteric Christianity. It was founded in 1935 by Dutch mystics Jan van Rijckenborgh, his brother Zwie ...
- Jan van Rijckenborgh and
Catharose de Petri Catharose de Petri (real name Henriette Stok Huyser 1902–1990) was a Dutch-born mystic and co-founder of the Lectorium Rosicrucianum, an international esoteric school based on Gnostic ideas of Christianity. Catharose de Petri founded the Lectori ...
. Gadal's theories and ideas subsequently became a very important element in the cosmology of the Lectorium and to this day members of the society embark on pilgrimages to the Ariège and the Lombrives caves every five years.


Later life and work

As well as his work in the Ariège region, Gadal travelled widely through Europe and the world lecturing on the
Cathars Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Fol ...
, his findings and theories, many of which were rejected by academics as being too mystical or speculative. His books include ''The Inheritance of the Cathars'' and ''On the Path to the
Holy Grail The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...
'' (), both printed by the Rosycross Press, the printing arm of the Lectorium. He died in 1962.


See also

* Ariège *
Catharose de Petri Catharose de Petri (real name Henriette Stok Huyser 1902–1990) was a Dutch-born mystic and co-founder of the Lectorium Rosicrucianum, an international esoteric school based on Gnostic ideas of Christianity. Catharose de Petri founded the Lectori ...
*
Cathars Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Fol ...
/
Catharism Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Follow ...
,
Cathar Perfect Perfect (also known as a in French or in Latin) was the name given by Bernard of Clairvaux to the leaders of the mediaeval Christian religious movement in southern France and northern Italy commonly referred to as the Cathars. The were not cle ...
,
Credentes Credentes or ''Believers'', were the ordinary followers of what became known as the Catharism, Cathar or Albigensian movement, a heretical sect which flourished in western Europe during the 11th, 12th and 13th Centuries. Credentes constituted the ...
*
Christian mysticism Christian mysticism is the tradition of mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative presence of God" ...
*
Gnosticism Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people ...
*
Holy Grail The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracul ...
* Jan van Rijckenborgh *
Lectorium Rosicrucianum The Lectorium Rosicrucianum or International School of the Golden Rosycross is a Spiritual School which considers itself a worldwide school of Esoteric Christianity. It was founded in 1935 by Dutch mystics Jan van Rijckenborgh, his brother Zwie ...
*
Manicheanism Manichaeism (; in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani (AD ...
*
Rosicrucianism Rosicrucianism is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts purported to announce the existence of a hitherto unknown esoteric order to the world and made seeking its ...
,
Rosicrucian Manifestos Rosicrucianism is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts purported to announce the existence of a hitherto unknown esoteric order to the world and made seeking it ...


References

*''Rosicrucians Through the Ages'' Rozekruis Pers/ Rosycross Press *www.gadal-catharisme.org


External links


Antonin Gadal: L'Oeuvre d'un homme inspiré par l'EspritLectorium Rosicrucianum
Official site of the organisation Gadal became involved with towards the end of his life {{DEFAULTSORT:Gadal, Antonin 1877 births 1962 deaths 20th-century Christian mystics Esotericists 20th-century French historians French male writers Historians of Catharism French Christian mystics Roman Catholic mystics