Monday, October 24, 2005
FR. ROSSNER'S ORDER OF THE TRANSFIGURATION
On the program last May 22 at Conference I Session 5 of the "At the Dawn of a New Light" conference was a slot set aside for "A Creation Liturgy adapted from Teilhard de Chardin's 'Hymn to the Universe.' Order of the Transfiguration Celebration for the IIIHS 30th Anniversary"
The story of Fr. John Rossner would be incomplete without mentioning one last title that he holds--that of Abbott of The Order of the Transfiguration, "the new monastics for a new humanity in a new world order." Fr. Rossner was its founder.
This monastic order is an "ecumenical order for interfaith work, founded in 1988, in Corinth Greece." It, too, is affiliated with the United Nations and the World Council of Churches. The website tells us that
As a contribution to inter-religious understanding and world peace, persons in the catholic, protestant & orthodox Christian traditions have formed an ecumenical religious order with interfaith perspectives...linked with teachers and groups...from the other great religious traditions of the world...united in the common quest for universal human values, East & West through personal study and transformative spiritual experience.
What's more, this order
...has been formed as a Bridge between the One, Holy, Catholic, & Apostolic Church, the Mystical Body of Christ...and the World's Religions, East & West, and New Religious & Spiritual Movements & Groups.
One wonders what those new religious & spiritual movements and groups might be. It would appear that whatever they are, they are expected to continue being what they are while joining this Order as well. The meat of their spirituality seems to be summed up in this statement:
Visions; apparitions; post-mortem contacts with the dead saints; invocation of saints & angels; prophecies; healings; the on-going processes of personal revelations among saints and mystics in the history of Christianity and the other world religions, ancient and modern; the nature and uses of ritual and sacramentals, liturgy and eucharistic action as effective instruments of the "Mysteries of Redemption".
They intend to restore the gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy, inspirational teaching, and healing. They sound like Pentecostals. Their goal is "ultimate spiritual transformation of the human race and the planet itself" which they plan to accomplish using the Cosmic Christ and the Primordial Tradition, and including the "important truths that God has revealed to humanity through the other great religions and cultures of the world." They are very ecumenical.
I wonder if they read Lee's article since they talk about being "mid-wife of a New Humanity in a New World Order."
They support the Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations Charter, and Nostra Aetate of the Second Vatican Council.
Turning to Google for more information, I discovered Father Iliya Popov, Dr. who is a member living in Russia. He operates the Orthodox Church of Mother of God Derzavnaya.
The bishop of this church, Archbishop John, is a visionary. He began receiving messages in Smolensk in 1984 from the Holy Virgin Hodigitria. It is a beautiful icon, but what to make of the messages many of which are online, though not nearly all. Some of the more unusual ones include these words from the Virgin
- I bless the rising church.
- The priesthood has fallen and there is no salvation for it.
- The unbaptized are already now being baptized by the blood of the innocent martyrs of the faith.
- Children are now answerable for their sins from the age of one year.
From the 1997 revelations in Russia we are told:
- During Her earthly days the Virgin endured fierce abuse from the demonic host. She was more than once crucified by them. And our Lord used to come and take Her off the Cross, and He kissed Her pierced hands and Her brow, healing Her miraculously.
- Prayer for aborted infants brings great consolation to their souls and is the only way to ease of their unmeasured sufferings for the sins of Adam's race.
From the 1999 revelations we are told
- The era of the Ever-Virgin returns! The aegis, the kingdom, the power and the glory of Sophia, Mother of Christ, Queen of the World, the Ever-Virgin! Amen....The era of the Mother of God is coming.
- The Mother of God, Sophia the Divine Wisdom, is destined to bemother Holy Russia and lead her with majestic hand.
- The kingdom of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity is coming, the third kingdom in Holy Russia....Sing canticles to Mother Saviour, to your immaculate Protectress. The Virgin will save Holy Russia!
- Praise Her as befit the Coredemptress, the Bride of the Lamb! Worship the Lord of the Holy Trinity in Her!
- Praise Her in Her innumerable hypostases, in the multitude of Her miracle-working images!
- Replacing the parochial clergy will be a new clergy of the sun, for the great Temple is throwing its doors open in heaven. Enter the ark and take the vial of oil from Me before you anoint.
On a webpage titled "Conversations" which supposedly took place in Japan, 1995 you can read:
- When you want to see Jesus, Our Lady comes. And they asked each other: "Why it's so happened. We were waiting for Jesus!" The others answered: "Because Jesus comes in Her". Jesus comes in Her image, as God Father came in the Son's image. And this is the mystery and foundation of the Church: we come to Jesus through Mary".
- Now Son doesn't judge anybody and He gave all judgment to His Mother....Because She is the Judge and she is a very merciful Judge. She prefers to suffer Herself Her Coredemptrix sufferings.
- My children throughout Japan and Russia, wake up and come.
There is a picture of the church and a description of "New Holy Russia" "The Marian movement in Russia", and the webpage includes a picture of a crying statue of Rosa Mystica.
Much of the website is not yet active, and some of the material is in Russian and thus inaccessible.
There is "A Catalogue of Edifying Information" which includes links to Marian apparition websites, Medjugorje being the most prominent among them. There is also a link to what is "acclaimed one of the greatest", a website devoted to Maria Valtorta and "The Poem of the Man-God", a book that was on the Index of Forbidden Books before the Index was abolished, according to Fr. Mitch Pacwa.
There is a letter in the website from Father Warren Thomas Wells which discusses the "mark of the beast".
The church claims to be the Catacomb Church of Russia, that portion of the Russian Orthodox Church which would not submit to the demands of the Soviet government and thus went underground.
Facts and figures about the size of the church are presented here. They gave me the opinion that the church is declining in popularity.
The church has a publishing house which has published the book of Dr. Charles Mercieca titled WORLD AND SPIRITUALITY OF THE 3RD MILLENIUM. From the text presented
a few bits stand out:
- Our children of today are the children of the new holy Russia that invites God's spirit to literally penetrate the vein of the entire nation. They are the beloved children of the Blessed Virgin Mary with whom they communicate constantly. [They sound a lot like the Indigo children of James Twyman and Doreen Virtue. - ct]
- ...the liturgy of the Mother of God Church...lasts for some eight to ten consecutive hours.
- In Russia...there is a constant excitment in the learning, study, and practice of religion. By religion one may not necessarily mean "organized religion." One means simply one's personal experience of a direct encounter with God...
- Regardless of one's age and background, one feels moved by a new life that is characterized by vitality, purity of heart, and full power of concentration in communicating directly with God through the Blessed Virgin Mary as an effective medium.
- Marian priests...may...also establish ecumenical dialogues with Protestants and non Christians to discuss the maternal aspects of God and how the Blessed Mother is viewed to be the expression of God's divine maternity.
Medjugorje is mentioned several times in the text. In fact it becomes clear that this newly developing, supposedly old religion in Russia is focused on Mary primarily and on Christ only secondarily.
According to another webpage Dr. Charles Mercieca is Professor of History and Philosophy, Alabama A&M University, Executive Vice President Interntional Association of Educators for World Peace NGO, United Nations (ECOSOC), UNDPI, UNICEF, UNCED & UNESCO.
Cesnur discusses this sect in an paper at their website, indicating that the word "Derzhavnaya" which is part of the title of the church translates to "Transfigured," so apparently the followers of this sect see the Blessed Virgin as a transfigured person. The paper also points out that the founder of this church, Father Ioann Bereslavsky (Archbishop John) was ordained in the "Sekachev" branch of the catacomb Genuine Orthodox Church, but he was excommunicated shortly after the 1984 revelations.
Lastly there is an interview at The Moscow News website which describes a confrontation between a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church and this Marian church. The Orthodox priest comes off rather badly in this interview, making it clear that the Russian Orthodox Church would like to see this Marian Church disappear.
It is just slightly odd that a developing Russian church devoted to Mary above and beyond their devotion to the Trinity, a church which has the disdain of the Orthodox Church, or at least a member of it, and which appears to be losing readership of their publication, has the endorsement of a professor of an American university, and is being promoted by a Spiritualist church in Canada that has enough influence to bring the Dalai Lama to their event, and that has affiliation with the United Nations. The facts don't add up to the whole picture that is present. There has to be more to this story than is currently available for discovery.
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UPDATE
Dr. Charles Mercieca
This man has connections.
His two papers features on the Church of the Orthodox Church of the Mother of God Transfigured website that I linked above:
http://user.transit.ru/~maria/s2-2.htm
http://user.transit.ru/~maria/books/mamapeng.htm
Both of these publications bear the copyright of the Church, and the Church's Publishing House "New Holy Russia Publishers, Moscow".
Here is the man's website:
http://www.iaewp.org/president.php
It's one of the more sophisticated websites on the web. It would take many hours to get through all of it. IAEWP has four publications:
The UN News
The Circulation Newsletter
The Peace Program Journal
The Peace Education Journal
They also offer "UNESCO Seminars developed in six sessions each for various community groups on topics of human concern."
The membership page claims 35,000 spread over 100 countries.
There are drop-down menus in several places. Some go to the UN website.
The link for homeplanet.org takes you to this website. This organization "is a Non-Profit Corporation registered in Ontario Canada that is directly affiliated with the International Association of Educators for World Peace ("IAWWP"), which is a Non-Profit corporation with 501 (3) (c) IRS status in the United States, founded April 30, 1969 in Alabama (certificate #46277)."
They "believe that 'humankind will make peace when peace makes money'..."
The website indicates that:
Our Culture of Peace activities have been widely recognized by the United Nations, which In 1987, the UN Secretary-General, Javier Perez de Cuellar, designated IAEWP as a PEACE MESSENGER of the world on behalf of the UN General Assembly.
Another link in the website takes you to Wild Divine. According to their website:
The Journey to Wild Divine is a unique program for mind & body that links biofeedback hardware with your computer to create an enlightening experience of wellness.
Practice new breathing and meditation techniques using biofeedback to create a renewed sense of balance. It's the perfect addition to your wellness program for a happy mind and a healthy body. [emphasis mine]
Perhaps Wild Divine is one example of peace making money?
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SECOND UPDATE
Dr. Charles Mercieca is listed in Who's Who, World Level, a list compiled by the Canadian Centers for Teaching Peace.
This is what it says about him:
International Association of Educators for World Peace. IAEWP (www.homeplanet.org/iaewp) was founded in 1967 by Dr. Charles Mercieca, a Maltese philosopher, educator. Now represented in 102 countries, with consultative status at many United Nations agencies, a designated Peace Messenger of the United Nations since 1987, the IAEWP has initiated the IPC 2000 Program at it's eighth World Peace Congress, and two Proclamations at its 10th World Congress.
Proclamation 1: That all educators, both formal and informal are educators for World Peace.
Proclamation 2: Educators for World Peace will shift buying habits of individuals, corporations, institutions, and Nation States to support the 1% Solution. In addition, we encourage individuals to become aware of the values that identifies products and services supporting the development of a healthy growing society. The IAEWP is the developing agency for the 1% Solution - a voluntary global tax intended to fund the Foundation for a Culture of Peace. http://www.homeplanet.org/iaewp/main.htm Contact: Mr. Mitchell L. Gold, UN Special Envoy & Vice President of North American Affairs, 2 Bloor Street West, Suite 100-209, Toronto, Ontario M4W 3E2, Canada, Phone (1) 416-924-4449 / Fax: (1) 416-924-4094 / 921-4365 E-Mail: mgold@homeplanet.org ;
Please note that the Homeplanet Alliance is intended to be a depository for Educational materials / accessible over the net : educational material at www.homeplanet.org/alliance/edumat.htm .
Why Canada when he is an American? Why is Homeplanet.org a Canadian association? Why is he affiliated with a Russian group that Canadian Fr. John Rossner is associated with as well? What's the Russian connection?
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It looks like Homeplanet.org is Jewish. The link below will take you to a "Listings Canada" website. This particular webpage is devoted to "Canada: Society: Religion: Judaism". Homeplanet.org is on the list.
http://listingscanada.ca/Society/Religion/Judism/
