The Gnostic Church of France (french: Église gnostique de France) is a

neo-Gnostic Gnosticism in modern times includes a variety of contemporary religious movements, stemming from Gnostic ideas and systems from ancient Roman society. Gnosticism is an ancient name for a variety of religious ideas and systems, originating in Jewis ...

Christian organisation formed by

Jules Doinel Jules-Benoît Stanislas Doinel du Val-Michel (8 December 1842 in Moulins, Allier – 16 or 17 March 1903), also known simply as Jules Doinel or Tau Valentin II was an archivist and the founder of the first Gnostic church in modern times who cla ...

in 1890, in France. It is the first

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 ...

church in modern times.

History

The

esoteric Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas a ...

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Jules Doinel, while working as archivist for the library of

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of the

Orléans Cathedral Orléans Cathedral ( French: ''Basilique Cathédrale Sainte-Croix d'Orléans'') is a Roman Catholic church located in the city of Orléans, France. The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Orléans. It was originally built from 1278 to 1329. It ...

, burned at the stake in 1022 for his pre-

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 ...

Gnostic doctrines (see

Orléans heresy The Orléans heresy in 1022 was an early instance of heresy in Europe. The small heretical sect at the center of the event had coalesced around two canons, Stephen and Lisios, who expressed ascetic and possibly dualist beliefs. The sect leaders and ...

). Doinel founded the Gnostic Church in 1890, a date which opened for him and his followers ‘the first year of the Restoration of

Gnosis Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge ( γνῶσις, ''gnōsis'', f.). The term was used among various Hellenistic religions and philosophies in the Greco-Roman world. It is best known for its implication within Gnosticism, where it ...

’. Doinel claimed that he had a vision in which the

Aeon The word aeon , also spelled eon (in American and Australian English), originally meant "life", "vital force" or "being", "generation" or "a period of time", though it tended to be translated as "age" in the sense of "ages", "forever", "timeles ...

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

appeared, He charged Doinel with the work of establishing a new church. When Doinel attended a

séance A séance or seance (; ) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word ''séance'' comes from the French word for "session", from the Old French ''seoir'', "to sit". In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, spe ...

in the oratory of the Countess of Caithness, it appears that the disembodied spirits of ancient

Albigensians 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. Foll ...

, joined by a heavenly voice, laid spiritual hands on Doinel, creating him the bishop of the Gnostic Church. As

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

of the new Church, Doinel took the mystical name ‘Valentinus II, Bishop of the Holy Assembly of the

Paraclete Paraclete ( grc, παράκλητος, la, paracletus) means 'advocate' or 'helper'. In Christianity, the term ''paraclete'' most commonly refers to the Holy Spirit. Etymology ''Paraclete'' comes from the Koine Greek word (). A combination o ...

and of the Gnostic Church’, and nominated eleven

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

s, including a ‘ sophia’ ( female bishop), as well as deacons and deaconesses. The

Symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...

poet

Léonce Fabre des Essarts Léonce-Eugène-Joseph Fabre des Essarts (19 March 1848 - 17 October 1917) was a French occultist, Symbolist poet, politician and theorist on Gnosticism and Esoteric Christianity. Life Born in Aouste-sur-Sye, he became a Fourierist and pacifi ...

was named bishop of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

. The dress of Gnostic bishops is characterized by purple gloves and the use of

Tau Tau (uppercase Τ, lowercase τ, or \boldsymbol\tau; el, ταυ ) is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless dental or alveolar plosive . In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 300. The name in English ...

symbol, a Greek letter which is also used before their names. In 1892, Doinel consecrated Papus—founder of the first

Martinist Order Martinism is a form of Christian mysticism and esoteric Christianity concerned with the fall of the first man, his state of material privation from his divine source, and the process of his return, called 'Reintegration'. As a mystical traditio ...

—as Tau Vincent, Bishop of

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

. Other Martinists, such as

Paul Sédir Paul Sédir or Sédir (born ''Yvon Le Loup''; 2 January 1871 - 3 February 1926) was a French mystic and esotericist, notable as the author on several works on esotericism and Christian mysticism. Life He was born to Hippolyte de Loup and his w ...

and were also consecrated by Doinel. At the end of 1894, Doinel abjured his Gnostic faith and converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

due to the

Taxil hoax The Taxil hoax was an 1890s hoax of exposure by Léo Taxil intended to mock not only Freemasonry but also the Catholic Church's opposition to it. Taxil and Freemasonry Léo Taxil was the pen name of Marie Joseph Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pagès, w ...

. He returned to Gnosticism five years later under the mystical name Simon and the title ‘

Primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

Samaria Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first- ...

’. In 1908, a schism occurred when the Gnostic bishop of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

Jean Bricaud Jean (or Joanny) Bricaud (11 February 1881, Neuville-sur-Ain, Ain – 24 February 1934), also known as Tau Jean II, was a French student of the occult and esoteric matters. Bricaud was heavily involved in the French neo-Gnostic movement. He was ...

, renamed his branch as (E.G.C.; Catholic Gnostic Church). Then it changed again becoming the (E.G.U.; Universal Gnostic Church) and became the official church of Papus’ Martinist Order. The patriarch Bricaud claimed the spiritual heritage of

John of Patmos John of Patmos (also called John the Revelator, John the Divine, John the Theologian) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Book of Revelation. The text of Revelation states that John was on Patmos, a Greek island where, according ...

. The E.G.U. later changed its name to (E.G.A.; Apostolic Gnostic Church). Meanwhile, the original in Paris had been taken over by Léon Champrenaud (Théophane), it later disintegrated under Patrice Genty (Basilide) in 1926.

Église Gnostique Catholique Apostolique

The (E.G.C.A.), in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

(not to be confused with ), or known as the Gnostic Catholic Apostolic Church of North America, which operates in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, claims the heritage of . This church is in a state of fraternal alliance (concordat) with the

Ecclesia Gnostica Ecclesia Gnostica (Latin: The Church of Gnosis) is an open sacramental neo-Gnostic church in Los Angeles. It has ordained clergy and conducts regular sacramental services, including two weekly Masses (Celebration of the Holy Eucharist), as we ...

. Like the latter, it also accepts the

ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordina ...

and

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

. In addition, the E.G.C.A. has affiliation with two other initiatic organisations: the ''Ordre Martiniste of North America'' and the ''Aesthetic Rose+Croix Order of the Temple and the Grail''. The latter is a reconstitution of

Joséphin Péladan Joséphin Péladan (28 March 1858 in Lyon – 27 June 1918 in Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a French novelist and Martinist. His father was a journalist who had written on prophecies, and professed a philosophic-occult Catholicism. He established the ...

’s Ordre de la Rose ✠ Croix Catholique et Esthétique du Temple et du Graal.

Église Gnostique, Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica, and Ecclesia Gnostica Universalis

The

Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (E.G.C.), or the Gnostic Catholic Church, is a Gnostic church organization. It is the ecclesiastical arm of the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), an international fraternal initiatory organization devoted to promulgatin ...

(E.G.C.) descended from a line of the above-mentioned 19th-century French Gnostic Revival Churches (see Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica#History). These , as well as the , are essentially Christian in nature, except for the Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica. Although

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 ...

is seen as

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

in an

orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

Christian sense, the E.G.C. goes even further by worshipping such figures like

Babalon Babalon (also known as the Scarlet Woman, Great Mother or Mother of Abominations) is a goddess found in the occult system of Thelema, which was established in 1904 with the writing of ''The Book of the Law'' by English author and occultist Al ...

Baphomet Baphomet is a deity allegedly worshipped by the Knights Templar. that subsequently became incorporated into various occult and Western esoteric traditions. The name ''Baphomet'' appeared in trial transcripts for the Inquisition of the Knights ...

, et cetera. Interestingly, also in this Thelemic-Gnostic milieu a
Ecclesia Gnostica Universalis
eventually rose, in reaction to the Patriarch of E.G.U. binding the clergy of the church to advancement into the degrees of Ordo Templi Orientis, in strict opposition with the original plan laid out by the Prophet of

Thelema Thelema () is a Western esoteric and occult social or spiritual philosophy and new religious movement founded in the early 1900s by Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), an English writer, mystic, occultist, and ceremonial magician. The word '' ...

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pro ...

References

External links

Gnostic Catholic Apostolic Church of North America

Ecclesia Gnostica Universalis

ECCLESIA GNOSTICA: Église Gnostique de France

The Structure and Liturgy of the French Gnostic Church of Jules Doinel
{{Authority control Gnosticism Martinism 1890 establishments in France History of Christianity in France Religious organizations established in 1890 LGBT churches