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| Jean Bricaud |
GNOSTIC CATECHISM
THE ESOTERIC CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE
FOR USE BY THE FOLLOWERS
OF THE CATHOLIC GNOSTIC CHURCH
Jean Bricaud
Content:
MORNING PRAYER / EVENING PRAYER
I – GNOSIS
II – THE DIVINE WORLD
III – THE SPIRITUAL WORLD
IV – THE HYLIC OR MATERIAL WORLD
V – OF MAN
VI – THE SAVIOUR CHRIST
VII – THE ASCENCION OF THE PLEROMA & THE DISSOLUTION OF THE HYLIC WORLD
VIII – RELIGIOUS LIFE
IX – SIN
X – PRAYER
XI – THE SACRAMENTS
XII – THE TWO BAPTISMS
XIII – THE MYSTERY OF THE GREAT NAME
XIV – THE INEFFABLE MYSTERY
XV – THE MYSTERY OF PNEUMATIC UNCTIONS
XVI – THE CHURCH
MORNING PRAYER
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Amen.
On waking, Heavenly Father, I sing Your praises and I dare say to You again with confidence the prayer that the divine master taught us: Our Father who are in the depths of the Eons, may Your holy Logos and Christ be understood and adored in all the Universe; may the kingdom of Your Holy Spirit come to us, may Your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us this day our spiritual food, the strength and courage to earn the bread for our body. Forgive us our digressions from Your laws, as our Assembly forgives those of repentant sinners. Support us in our weaknesses so that we are not carried away by our passions and deliver us from the deceptive mirages of the Archon. For we have no other king than Your beloved son Christ our Saviour whose is the kingdom, the triumph and the glory for ever and ever.
Amen.
Lord, oh divine Propator, hear my prayer, listen to my supplications; let me hear he voice of Your mercy from the morning, for it is in Your hands that I place myself.. I adore You, I praise You, I give You thanks from the morning.
I thank You for having protected me during the night from all the dangers and all the evils which could have harmed me and from which You have covered me with your protection. During this day, remain my support, my strength, my refuge, my salvation and my consolation.
Amen.
Creed of the Gnostic Church
I believe in one God, eternal Propator and almighty Father, creator and attractor of all visible and invisible beings, the first tridyname amongst the divine Eons.
And in His only son, the divine logos, the prototype of man, the second tridyname, Christ, spiritual and physical light, born of the treasure of light, true God like the Father and consubstantial to Him, without whom nothing was made.
Who became incarnate on earth in the person of Jesus the Saviour and the star of the Pleroma, came down here below for us, taking on a soul and a body like our own in the breast of blessed Mary.
Who was manifest in Jesus from the time of his baptism until the time of his passion;
Who spoke to us through his mouth and taught us the very holy gnosis and the holy life, in order to deliver us from the slavery of the Demiurge and of his earthly Archon, to thus enable our return into the spiritual Pleroma our homeland, as he himself returned there after his death;
Who will come to earth again full of glory to judge the living and the dead;
Whose kingdom shall have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the third tridyname, who proceeds from the Father like the son;
Who gives love with life, who puts us onto the path of truth and holiness, who unifies all beings, who is adored and glorified with the Father and the son.
I believe in one truly universal or catholic Church, the origin on earth of which goes back to that of the human race, but which in heaven constitutes the holy Pleroma, and is as old as God Himself, the perfect being.
I confess the two baptisms and the three other mysteries for the remission of sins.
I await, on the completion of the earthly Pleroma, the reappearance of the dead, the ascension of the Pleroma, lastly the final destruction of the spirits resistant to any conversion, at the same time as the destruction of the hylic (physical) world, the work of the Demiurge.
Amen.
Let us pray
Oh my Father, I thank You for all the good things that I have received from you so far. It is also by an effect of Your goodness that I see this day; I want to use it to serve You. I devote to You all my thoughts, words, deeds and sorrows. Bless them, oh my God, so that there will be none which are not activated by Your love and which do not tend to glorify You.
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Amen.
EVENING PRAYER
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Amen.
Night has spread its veils over us, everything invites us to meditate. I raise my thoughts to you, oh divine Propator, and I come into your presence to examine the conduct of my day.
Examination of conscience
Did I hide my religious thoughts when, on the contrary, I should have expressed them clearly? – Have I mixed the name of God with words of impatience, anger, lying or thoughtlessness? – Have I at all times had a firm will and have I always subjected it to the light of reason? – Have I always preserved my dignity? – Have I always been moderate in prosperity and patient in adversity? – Have I been angry? – Have I been proud, vain or ambitious? – Have I always treated my neighbour like a brother and with love? – Have I acted out of hatred or vengeance? – Have I abstained from gossip, from slander and from rash judgments? – Have I put right the wrong caused to my fellow-man? – Have I always told the truth? – Have I always kept my word when it has been given? – Finally, have I filled my day well?
Those, oh my Father, are many faults; I admit them before you, and even though you do not need my confession and you see into the depths of my heart, I confess them to you nevertheless and I admit them before heaven and earth because I have greatly sinned in words, in deeds and in omissions; it is my fault, my own fault, my grievous fault. Oh my God and my Father, I have sinned against you, I am no longer worthy to be called your child; break the hardness of my heart and by your infinite strength and goodness, bring forth from it tears of penitence. Forgive me, oh my God, for all the wrong that I have done and caused to be done; forgive me for all the good I have not done and which I should have done, or that I have done badly; forgive me for all the sins that I know of and for those which I do not know of: I feel sincere repentance for them and I want to make an effort to put them right.
Amen.
Let us pray
Lord, oh divine Propator, who are the Father of lights and the protector of all those who hope in you, deign to take me in your holy protection during this night and keep me from all danger and from every peril. During the sleep of the body, make my soul watch in you. Subdue in me all wrong desires; make my evil thoughts and all the dangerous illusions of Satan. Grant your powerful protection to my parents, to my friends, to all those who make up the family of followers and generally to all men. Father, as I fall asleep, I place my confidence in you and in the double and shining star of the Pleroma.
Amen.
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Amen.
I – GNOSIS
What is Gnosis?
Gnosis is the supreme religious science, that is the true knowledge of the three worlds, divine, spiritual, material, as well as their relationships.
What is Gnosis also called?
It is called the esoteric Christian doctrine. It is called CHRISTIAN because it was taught to us by Christ himself and ESOTERIC because he only passed it on to a small number of men by oral teaching.
Did not Christ also teach men an esoteric doctrine?
Yes, but his esoteric or public teaching only reveals the practical side of the doctrine, that is the moral and a little esoterism under the veil of the parable.
Who are those to whom Christ taught Gnosis?
He taught gnosis to his twelve apostles and to some other disciples whose gather in made up the first Church.
Has not part of the Gnosis been revealed to Scripture?
Yes, part of the Gnosis was revealed to Scripture by the apostle Saint John and some other disciples.
Before the coming of Christ, were men without Gnosis?
No, from the beginning of humanity some men were in possession of Gnosis, but, with time, it ended up by being altered.
What was the true role of Christ on earth?
His true role was to purify, in a word to rectify, the ancient Gnosis, to perfect it.
Was not part of the ancient Gnosis committed to writing?
Yes, part of the ancient Gnosis was committed to writing, particularly in the VEDAS, the AVESTA and certain hebraic books such as the psalms, the book of Daniel, the book of Wisdom, Ecclesiastes, the book of Enoch and the writings of the Cabala.
Is knowledge of these ancient writings useless to us?
On the contrary, it is very useful to us in that it helps us to clarify certain points of the teaching of Christ, at the same time as it shows us the unity and then the truth of the secret doctrine from the most ancient times until the coming of Christ.
What are the bases of Gnosis today?
They are ancient and Christian tradition and knowledge.
How many parts is Gnosis divided into?
Gnosis is divided into two parts.
What does the first part contain?
It contains the account of the ILLUMINATING mysteries, that is truths which are kept secret from ordinary people and which give the explanation of the things of the three worlds. It is these truths which enlighten, illuminate the mind.
What does the second part contain?
It contains the account of the PURIFYING mysteries, that is the secret rites which remove sins, purify and sanctify the soul and enable it to rise up into the pleroma.
II – THE DIVINE WORLD
What is God?
God is THE BEING, one, simple, infinite and absolute.
Does the Being have a beginning and is he in a place?
No, the Being did not have a beginning, he is eternal and present everywhere; he is vast. Everything which exists is in him.
What is the Being essentially?
Above all, the Being is almighty; he is the potential being.
What is the Being secondarily?
Secondarily, the being is activity; he is the being in actuality.
How is the transition made from a potential Being to a Being in actuality?
The potential Being passes into actuality by becoming conscious of himself.
What is the word which we use to express the passage from the potential Being to the Being in actuality?
It is the word TO EMANATE. We say that the potential Being emanates the Being in actuality and that the Being in actuality is an emanation of the potential Being.
Are the potential Being and the Being in actuality two Beings?
No, they are only two aspects of the Being, but they form only one Being which is God.
Can there be more than one God?
No, because he is one and infinite; but there are three persons in him, that is why it is said that God is Trinity.
Is each one of these three persons a God?
Each person is a determination of the divine being, a role, a divine individual so that while each one is God, these three persons are only one God.
What are the three divine persons called?
The are called the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
What are the properties of the Father?
They are free and voluntary activity, the creation of beings and their attraction.
What are the properties of the Son?
They are the word, reason and intelligence.
What are the properties of the Holy Spirit?
They are love, life and unity.
What then is the Father?
The Father is none other than the Being in actuality, the first born of the potential Being, the first being; not The Being, but a being; he is the FATHER whereas the Being is the FIRST FATHER (propator).
What then is Christ?
Christ is the universal manifestation of intelligence, the vibratory movement which expresses the logos and which activates all beings.
What then is the Holy Spirit?
It is the force which produces a sort of current leaving the divine center of the universe to reach the borders of the physical world and from there to return to the divine centre.
III – THE SPIRITUAL WORLD
Did the Father create all beings at once or does he create new ones every day?
The Father created a large number of beings at once, but not all possible beings; consequently he creates new ones every day.
What do we call all these beings which are not linked with each other?
All these beings not linked with each other are called Aether or Ether.
Are all these beings at the same degree of development at the same time?
No, according to their seniority some are more advanced than others in will, thought and awareness.
What do we call beings which have reached different stages of development?
They are called spirits, either elementary or complex.
Do the spirits have a sort of body?
Yes, the spirits have a very subtle ethereal body, which is also called spiritual or pneumatic.
Can the spirits appear to us?
Yes, the spirits can appear to us by materializing their subtle body and even become tangible.
Is the form in which the spirits appear to us always their true form?
No, this form is usually a borrowed form; their true form is unknown to us.
Are there many spirits?
Their number is immeasurable and they form within the universe a vast bright world which is called HEAVEN and of which the divine world occupies the centre.
How many categories are the spirits divided into?
Into three main categories: the elemental hierarchy, the hominal hierarchy and the angelic hierarchy.
What are the various categories of spirits and the place each one inhabits called?
They are given the name of Aeons.
In a world so vast and so ancient, made up of free spirits did nothing happen?
No, the spirits being free had the possibility of doing evil, and tradition teaches us that that indeed happened.
What does tradition teach us about the origin of evil?
It teaches us that certain heads of the angelic hierarchy refused to obey the laws which govern the pleroma; that they wanted to go over to degrees higher than their class without fulfilling the required conditions, which caused great disorder in the pleroma.
What was the result of this revolt of the angels?
This revolt brought about an appalling fight between the spirits and the legions of the rebellious spirits were disorganized and cast out of the pleroma into the darkness outside.
What was the name of the head of the rebellious spirits?
Tradition gives him several names. He is called ATHAMAS (fire); OPHIOMORPHOS (with the form of a serpent); THE GREAT SERPENT, THE GREAT ARROGANT ONE, LUCIFER, LUCIBEL, etc…
Who reorganized the pleroma?
A superior spirit of the children of God, whom we call the SAVIOUR, or THE STAR OF THE PLEROMA.
Is the spiritual world complete?
No, since the fall or CATABOLE of the rebellious spirits, the spiritual world has been incomplete as the spirits are missing from it which were cast into the darkness outside.
IV – THE HYLIC OR MATERIAL WORLD
In which region was the hylic or material world formed?
All around and at the end of the luminous pleroma under the form of immense clouds called original nebulae.
What were the original nebulae made of?
They were first of all made of incandescent gases of different natures, which represented vast furnaces.
What else were the original nebulae made of?
Of all the superior elementals, of all the spirits driven out of heaven and cast out into the darkness outside.
What do we call this mixture of all the fallen spirits?
It is called CHAOS.
Who is the head and the organizer of chaos?
It is ATHAMAS, the great serpent, who, because of his role as an organizer, is also called the DEMIURGE.
Did not Christ intervene in this work of the demiurge?
Yes, for nothing can be done without him.
How did our original nebulae become the world which we contemplate?
Each head of spirits lined up under his orders all his archons and elementals, and this army thus formed separated from the next by concentrating with it a portion of the gases of the nubula. Later, as a result of cooling, the spheres were formed, part liquid and part gas, which are called the planets, and such is the earth.
Who presided over the organization of earth?
It is the archon Satan or the prince of the powers of the air.
How many epochs can be distinguished in the formation of the earth?
The earth was formed as we see it in six epochs.
What characterizes these six epochs?
It is over these six epochs that the earth became as we see it today, covered with water, lichens, mosses, forests, animals and mammals of all kinds some of which, having become BIPEDS and BIMANOUS, completely resembled man.
What do we call the species of bimanous mammals which completely resembles man?
They are called the PRECURSORS of man; ANIMAL MAN, who was not endowed with either reason or speech, even though he was superior from the point of view of psychic faculties to all other animals.
What do Satan and the angels do?
They exert over us a fascinating action which gets us bogged down in matter and they set the elementals against us, with the aim of making difficulties for us.
Are there any good spirits on earth?
Yes, there are good spirits on earth who mix with the fallen spirits and with the elementals, but they can, when they please, go back up into the pleroma or come back down from it.
Are there any spirits specially responsible for taking care of us?
Yes, there are spirits who are responsible for taking care of us and protecting us; they are called GUARDIAN ANGELS.
V – OF MAN
What is man?
Man is a spirit endowed with reason and with freedom combined with a soul and an animal body.
What is an animal?
It is a soul, ANIMA in Latin, combined with a body.
In what way does man differ from animals?
Man differs from animals in that he is endowed with innermost sense to the second power, freedom, moral conscience and reason, in a word with his spirit.
Where does the spirit of man come from?
The spirit of man is of celestial origin; he belongs to the hominal hierarchy of the children of God, and he came to earth to combine with the soul and the body of the ANTHROPOID PRECURSOR.
For what reason did the spirits of the hominal hierarchy come to incorporate on earth?
In order to perfect the soul of the precursor and to take him with them to the Pleroma.
What was the state of the first man on earth?
He received the full illumination of his soul through the light of the logos; he had the knowledge of God and of the world and he was fee from diseases, suffering and death.
What then was the end of man?
After having spent much time on earth, the original man underwent a series of metamorphoses which successively freed his spirit and his soul from his body, which became spiritualized as it dematerialized. The spirit of man then left the earth to return to heaven, taking with it the soul and the spiritualized or GLORIOUS body.
Was the aim achieved which the spirits set themselves in coming down to earth?
No; almost all those which came down failed. Tempted by the deceptive mirages of here below, they yielded to the impulses of the soul instead of remaining masters of them. From then on, the man according to the spirit became man according to the flesh. Original man was struck by a FALL.
What does the fall of man consist of?
The loss of almost all the faculties which he enjoyed in his original state. Man became almost an animal, and this fall was passed on to his descendants.
How was the fall of man perpetuated?
It was perpetuated by HEREDITY.
What is this hereditary form called which we bring as we are born?
It is called the original stain or ORIGINAL SIN.
Does not the original stain make us the slave of the earthly archon or Satan?
Yes, as a consequence of this hereditary fall, all men are born slaves of the earthly archon and of his legions.
What sufferings does the earthly archon make us undergo?
He makes us suffer from gravity, heat, cold, diseases, pain, death, reincarnations and successive lives.
VI – THE SAVIOUR CHRIST
What is Jesus?
Jesus is the greatest of great men who have appeared on earth to make humanity advance on the path of truth and good.
Where did Jesus come from?
Jesus was from Nazareth, a small town of Galilee.
What did Jesus of Nazareth do?
He taught pure and true gnosis and preached to the people the way to lead the holy and true life which leads to heaven.
What distinguished Jesus from other great men?
It is that he manifested the logos, the Christ to the highest degree possible.
At what age did Jesus become the home of the Christ on earth?
At the age of about thirty years.
Did the Christ remain in Jesus until his death?
No, Jesus having finished his role as organ of the logos, the source of spiritual light which was in him no longer had its raison d’etre on earth and he (the Christ) disappeared at the time of Jesus’ arrest.
When Jesus was crucified, the Christ was no longer in him?
No. That is why he was heard to shout: Aeon, Aeon, why have you abandoned me?
What was the mission of the Saviour Christ on the earth?
It was: 1. To deliver us from the slavery of the Archon and to reintegrate us to our original state; 2. To restore on earth the heavenly kingdom; 3. To bring us back to the spiritual pleroma, our homeland.
What did the Saviour Christ do to fulfil this mission?
He came to earth, lived our life, taught us what God is and what our world is, who we were, who we are and what we ought to be. He taught us the means of delivering ourselves, to reintegrate to our original state; finally he represented before us the drama of human life, to serve as a model to be imitated.
What did the Saviour Christ leave for us as he went back up to heaven?
He left us the HOLY SPIRIT, who having come own at the same time as the Christ, remains on earth and in us.
What is the role of the Holy Spirit on earth?
His role is to bring about in men a change, a regeneration, or CONVERSION, through repentance and sanctification; then to unite all the converted people who are on earth amongst themselves and with all the spirits which are in heaven, so as to restore the unity of the pleroma.
How is this unity expressed?
It is expressed by saying that all the members of the pleroma form only one single body of which the Saviour is the head, and other people are the organs, and that what benefits one of these organs benefits them all.
What is this unity called?
It is called the COMMUNION OF SAINTS.
VII – THE ASCENSION OF THE PLEROMA & THE DISSOLUTION OF THE HYLIC WORLD
What will happen on earth at the end of time?
The earthly kingdoms will be destroyed and man, filled more and more with the spirit of Christ, will reestablish the heavenly kingdom on earth.
In the heavenly kingdom, will man be reintegrated to his original state?
Yes, just as science will have found the means of subjecting all natural forces to it, so it will find the means of restoring to man’s body its original properties.
Will our relations with the invisible world be reestablished?
Yes, and we will be able to communicate with it in several ways.
What will be the relationships of humanity with the world of spirits?
Materializations or apparitions of spirits will occur more and more frequently and will remain, so that amongst the living, a large number of the dead will be seen.
Will the men who are living at that time die?
No, they will have found the way of changing death into a simple metamorphosis, as happened at the time of original man.
Will the heavenly kingdom last for ever?
No, but then we will be near to the time of the ascension of the pleroma.
What will characterize that time?
The coming of the Saviour, who will himself come to earth with his pneumatic body, accompanied by the saints who will have already returned to the pleroma, and by a multitude of angels.
Will those who then wish to repent return to the Pleroma?
No, the doors of light will then be closed for ever.
What will become of those converted or perfect?
All the perfect ones groups around the Saviour will rise with him and return to the pleroma which they came from.
What will then become of the hylic world?
It will dissolve and thus its existence will only have been an accident in limitless time.
VIII – RELIGIOUS LIFE
What is religious life?
It is the development of the spirit, after which it unites with the other spiritual beings similar or superior to it, and with God.
Does the spirit achieve a completely religious life straight away?
No, but by degrees.
What are these degrees?
They are: 1. Getting out of the mire of Hyle; 2. The purgative life; 3. The illuminating life; 4. The unifying life.
What do you mean by getting out of the mire of Hyle?
I mean the resolution taken by man to give up the sensual, hylic or material life, in order to live henceforth that of the spirit, and the effort that he makes to do so.
What do you mean by the purgative life?
I mean the life the spirit leads when, after having given up the hylic world, it receives the purifying mysteries.
What do you mean by the illuminating life?
I mean the life the spirit leads when, in possession of purity, it makes the light within it shine more and more and it becomes worthy of returning to the realm of light.
What to you mean by the unifying life?
I mean the life which the spirit leads when, having found its completion, its perfection, it has become united with God.
What do the various degrees of religious life on earth represent?
They represent in a very imperfect way the religious development of our spirits across the universe and in the process of time.
Does not the purgative life sometimes continue after death?
Yes; for spirits which, having become purified, still leave earth with some impurities, there is a purgative life outside the earth. That is what is called the state of PURGATORY.
What does the state of purgatory consist of?
It consists of working against what is left of sensual obsession, which could take more or less time, and of a slow purging of the whole person.
Why does the purgative life predominate on earth?
Because the men who inhabit it have committed sin and because they thus need purifying mysteries.
IX – SIN
What is sin?
Sin is disobedience to moral laws, that is the laws of the world of reasonable spirits.
What brings man to sin?
His soul, the desires of which are never satisfied, which solicits the spirit to satisfy them and is never satisfied, as well as the deceptive mirages which light up before his eyes, the attraction which the works of Satan exerts on the senses, that is nature.
What do we call the man whose spirit always lets itself go to the impulses of the soul or to the attractions of nature?
We call it man according to the flesh or the HYLIC.
What do we call the man whose spirit is always the master of the impulses it receives?
We call it man according to the spirit or the PNEUMATIC.
Can all men be put into these two categories?
No, a very great number must be put into an intermediary category.
What are they called?
They are called the PSYCHICS.
What is the immediate effect of sin?
It is a disorder in the spiritual world.
What is the punishment of sin?
It is the exclusion from the spiritual pleroma or the spiritual world and the loss of the Holy Spirit.
What are the consequences of exclusion from the pleroma?
They are reincorporation with the loss of the personality and the perpetuity of pain and of death.
What are the effects of sin on the soul?
They are firstly the production of special beings called LARVAE, which sully the soul, exhaust its strength and curb the will; then the attraction of droves of elementals which harm it and can even dominate it completely.
Cannot the habit of sin lead to the disintegration of the spiritual individual?
Yes, the habit of persistent sin after a more or less great number of reincorporation can disintegrate the whole spiritual being. It is eternal death.
Can the effects of sin be erased and its suffering be absolved?
Yes, and that is what is exoterically called: the REMISSION OF SINS.
What are the required conditions for the remission of sins?
They are: 1. Repentance; 2. The production by fasting, abstinence, meditation, of sufficient nervous strength to be put to the service of the will not to sin any more nor to spread the disorder caused by sin; 3. The exercise of precatory power, that is the effectiveness of the prayers of Jesus, the angels and saints; 4. The exercise of sacerdotal power, that is the action through the intermediary of the SACERDOCE of the purifying mysteries through which the soul and the spirit of the sinner are purified.
What is the state of purification called?
It is called STATE OF HOLINESS.
X – PRAYER
What is prayer?
Prayer is an elevation of our spirit towards God and the expansion of our feelings into the breast of the Father.
What is the aim of prayer?
To render homage to God, to ask him for the spiritual things we need to ask for his grace.
In what place should we pray?
In any place, but above all in Church.
When should we pray?
We must always have a spirit of prayer, but we must particularly pray at the beginning and at the end of the day, and at all times when we feel the need of the help of God.
What is the effect of prayer?
It is to spread peace and harmony in the spirit at the same time as it unites us with God and unites men amongst themselves.
Did Christ the Saviour not give us the model of a prayer?
Yes, it is the prayer called the DOMINICAL ORISON, that is: the Lord’s Prayer.
Recite the dominical orison?
Our father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
What does the word: amen mean?
The word amen means: may it be so. It is the consent, the approval of the people of what the priest (sacerdote) does. “When the Bishop is alone inside the sanctuary, says saint Augustin, the people pray with him and subscribe to the words he says by replying: Amen.”
What recommendation did Christ the Saviour make concerning all prayer?
He recommended to us to pray in his name and these are this own words: “Everything you ask of my Father in my name, that will He give you.”
XI – THE SACRAMENTS
What is a sacrament?
It is a sacred rite, the visible sign of the invisible action of the Holy Spirit, intended to purify our soul and our spirit.
Is the sacrament always effective?
Yes, the sacrament is always effective and produces the action of the Holy Spirit which it represents, provided that the receiver does not put up any obstacles which could stop its effects.
Is it a sin to receive the sacraments without the required preparations?
Yes, it is a great sin, which is called sacrilege, that is the profanation of a holy thing.
Does the effectiveness of the sacraments depend on the merit of the minister who administers them?
No, for the minister is only an instrument, an agent. It is not his piety which makes the effectiveness of the sacraments; for a sacrament given by a sinner is valid of it is administered according to the given rite and with the intention of doing what the Church does.
How many sacraments are there?
There are five sacraments.
What are they?
They are in order of their dignity: the baptism of water; the baptism of fire and of wind (consolamentum); the mystery of the great name also called the mystery of the seven voices and of the forty-nine powers (the order); the ineffable mystery (the eucharist), and the mystery of pneumatic unctions (extreme unction).
Does not the Greco-Roman Church also accept other sacraments?
Yes, it accepts two more: marriage and penitence.
Is marriage a sacrament?
No, but there has always existed in the Church a nuptial benediction which is a simple religious ceremony.
Is penitence a sacrament?
No, but it is one of the subjective conditions required by all sacraments; sins being remitted by all sacraments, it is not necessary nor even useful that there be a particular sacrament for the remission of sins.
How are the sacraments classified?
They are divided into two groups: those which remit sins in their time and those which remit them in all times.
Which are the ones which remit sins in their time?
They are the baptism of water, the baptism of fire and wind and the mystery of the seven voices and the forty-nine powers which can only be received once.
Which are the ones which remit sins in all times?
They are the ineffable mystery of pneumatic unctions which can be given as many times as you wish.
Are the sacraments necessary for the deliverance of man?
Not all the sacraments are necessary for each one of us, but some are absolutely necessary, such as the first two, the baptism of water and the baptism of fire and wind.
XII – THE TWO BAPTISMS
What is the mystery of the baptism of water?
It is the mystery by which we are made Christians and become children of God again.
At what age is one likely to receive the baptism of water?
At the age of over ten years, and one has to have elementary religious instruction.
What are the effects of the baptism of water?
The baptism of water washes the outer stains from the soul of the sinner; it produces a certain change in the spirit which gives the means of becoming a new man, a perfect child of God, and prepares the receiving of the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
What does one undertake to do by the baptism of water?
One undertakes:
1. to renounce Satan, all his pomps and vanities and his works;
2. to believe in the mission of Christ the Saviour, to study and practice the doctrine which he taught;
3. to receive in the case of danger of dying the baptism of fire and water.
What is the mystery of the baptism of fire and wind?
It is that by which we are made perfect Christians and truly CHILDREN OF GOD, that is heavenly men.
What is this mystery also called?
It is called the CONSOLAMENTUM.
Is the consolamentum necessary for man to be absolutely delivered from the links of the earthly archon?
Yes, Christ the Saviour declared that without the baptism of water and wind nobody can enter the pleroma.
At what age can one receive the consolamentum?
At the age of over twenty at least. However, in a state of imminent death, it can be given before that age.
What are the effects of the baptism of fire and wind?
1. It remits all our sins and gives us the strength not to sin any more at least for a time;
2. It perfects in us the change produced by the baptism of water, by accentuating it and making it absolutely ineffaceable;
3. We become the temple of the Holy Spirit who passes on to us all his gifts;
4. By his effects we become complete or PERFECT Christians;
5. Finally, it once more unites the spirit of the follower to the angel originally committed to watch him and from whom he had been separated after his fall.
XIII – THE MYSTERY OF THE GREAT NAME
What is the mystery of the great name?
It is the mystery through which a Perfect Person receives priestly power.
What is a priest?
It is the member chosen by the Church to fulfill the various religious ministries, to celebrate the mysteries and administer the sacraments.
Who is the head of all priests?
It is the Saviour; it is Jesus, whom Saint Paul declares to be the eternal priest, the sovereign pontiff who unites the earth to the Pleroma, so that nobody can enter it but by him.
What are the effects of the mystery of the seven voices and the forty-nine powers?
1. It remits all the sins which one could have committed and gives the strength not to sin any more at least for a time;
2. It produces in the subject a characteristic change which remains ineffaceable;
3. It gives priestly power.
Is priestly power passed on from one priest to another?
No, it is an error of the Greco-Romans to imagine that Jesus gave the priestly power to his apostles to pass it on to the bishops and so on indefinitely. The Saviour chooses, calls the priest, it is said of him that he has his vocation; but priestly power, the strength to worthily carry out his ministry is always given by the Holy Spirit.
Besides the ordinary preparations necessary for all the sacraments, does one not have to prepare oneself in a special way for priesthood?
Yes, because the priest needs intelligence enlightened by study, a will which nothing breaks and discretion that nothing can corrupt.
What are the physical and moral qualities of the priest?
The priest must be of irreproachable purity; he must be sober, chaste selfless, inscrutable, impervious to every kind of prejudice or fear, impassive and calm when tested by all contradictions and all sorrows. Be gentle and worthy with everyone; but in social relations, never let himself be absorbed.
XIV – THE INEFFABLE MYSTERY
What is the ineffable mystery?
It is the mystery which unites us in a very special way to Christ the Saviour and through him to all of the Pleroma.
How do we united ourselves to Christ the Saviour through this mystery?
By eating his blood and his pneumatic body under the appearance of bread and wine.
How can the pneumatic body and blood of Christ take on the appearance of bread and wine?
Through the phenomenon of TRANSELEMENTATION or TRANSUBSTANTIATION produced by the Holy Spirit.
Does the Holy Spirit really come onto the altar for the consecration?
Yes, with the prayer of the assembly and of the priest, he really comes onto the altar, and his presence is sometimes visible to certain people.
Does Christ the Saviour leave the pleroma to come onto the altar?
No, for he is at the same time in the pleroma and in all parts of the bread and wine, because of the vastness of his body.
Is Christ the Saviour whole under each of the appearances of bread and wine?
Yes, Christ is completely whole under each appearance because he is living in heaven and therefore indivisible. Only the appearances are divisible.
Is there only the substance of the body and blood of Christ the Saviour in the bread and wine?
There is also his soul, his spirit and his divinity. The whole Saviour is in the bread and wine.
What are the effects of the ineffable mystery?
The ineffable mystery remits all sins in all places and in all times; it keeps from sin indefinitely those who have received him as he should be received; it unites closely with Christ the Saviour and makes people participate in his kingdom which will have no end; finally is closely unites to all the spiritual pleroma.
Are we obliged to receive the sacrament of the ineffable?
Yes, for not to receive it would be to scorn the words of Christ the Saviour: “If you do not eat of my flesh and if you do not drink of my blood, you will have no more life in you.”
Must this sacrament be received often?
No, that is not necessary. Holy things must not be abused. But you must take communion on the days prescribed for the celebration of the Holy Mystery when one is present at this ceremony.
What happens to those who receive this mystery in an unworthy way?
According to the expression of Saint Paul, they eat and drink their own judgment and their own condemnation.
XV – THE MYSTERY OF THE PNEUMATIC UNCTIONS
What is the mystery of the pneumatic unctions?
It is a mystery the purpose of which is to sustain the strength OF THE SICK and to deliver them from their sickness or at least to relieve their sufferings.
To whom must this sacrament be given?
To all those who are sick or infirm, but not to those who are in danger of dying without being sick.
Why is that?
Because the mystery of pneumatic unction is the sacrament of the sick and not the sacrament of the dying.
Can one receive this mystery several times during the course of one sickness?
Yes, certainly.
What are the effects of the mystery of pneumatic unctions?
It remits sins; gives the strength to resist the temptations of the larvae and the elementals which take advantage of the weakness of the sick person to attack and tempt him, and to make him succumb morally and physically; finally, it delivers us from evil.
Should the pneumatic unctions dispense us from the care of the doctor?
No; the doctor takes care, but it is the Holy Spirit who heals in his position as principle of life in general. It is the same Holy Spirit who acts through the ministry of the doctor and through the ministry of the priest. Therefore neither of the two ministries should be scorned.
After the mystery of pneumatic unctions, is not the ineffable mystery also given to the sick person who is going to die?
Yes; after a sick person has received the pneumatic unction, when he is going to die, he is provided with heavenly bread and the drink of immortality.
XVI – THE CHURCH
What is the Church?
The Church is the assembly of all reasonable spirits which recognize Christ the Saviour as their head.
How is the Church divided up?
Into two parts: the heavenly or pleromatic part and the earthly part.
Therefore all the Church is not visible to us?
No, the greatest part of the Church is invisible; only the small portion which is on earth is visible to us.
What is the Church also called?
It is also called: kingdom of God, kingdom of heaven, kingdom of light.
Who is the chief priest of the kingdom of light and of the universal Church?
It is Christ the Saviour and there are no others.
What are the main qualities of the invisible Church?
The invisible Church is one, holy catholic and indestructible.
What do you mean when you say that the Church is one?
I mean that the Church is one because it forms only one organized body, having only one head, a single sacred science and all the members of which are united amongst themselves by the same charity and all obey the same moral laws.
Why do you say that the Church is holy?
Because its head is the Holy of Holies and all its members are Holy.
Why do you say that the Church is catholic?
Because it includes all the beings of the spiritual and material world which, in all times, remained or became again followers of the Savoiur.
Why do you say that the Church is indestructible?
Because it has always existed and always will exist.
What is the visible Church?
It is the earthly Assembly or Society which recognizes and has always recognized Christ the Saviour as the head of the Pleroma and as its head.
Are the characters of the visible Church similar to those of the invisible Church?
They ought to be; but unfortunately they are not entirely so. The members of the visible Church agree on certain points of doctrine, but do not agree on others; they are divided into several fragments or orthodoxies: (Greek, Armenian, Coptic, Old Catholic, Roman, Anglican, etc…) each one claiming to be right and saying the others are wrong. The most proud of these portions of the visible Church is without question the Roman Church; it is this one, too, which has always allied itself the most with the princes of this world.
What is the role of the Gnostic Church?
It is to preach a doctrine which is that of the higher human race, which has not been corrupted by the ideas of the semitocushitic races and which conforms the most faithfully to the universal tradition and the teaching of Christ the Saviour. It is finally to work according to its means to the unification of the orthodoxies; to join together all men of good will who are outside of the visible Church and to deserve by this to be truly catholic.
