Tuesday, January 03, 2006
MARTINISM
has been one of the more elusive occult streams until recently. Now there is a history of Martinism online. It prints out as 93 pages in small print. Some interesting points are made in this history, and I will try to list them in no particular order. (The page references I'm including here are primarily for my own use, but they will give you an idea of how far into the study the various points appear.)
Martinism, it turns out, is not a totally independent stream of thought. Bogaard writes:
"Martinism" is generally considered to be a collective noun representing the followers of the 18th century French mystic Louis Claude de Saint-Martin. It is in particular based on the writings of this French mystic. Martinism has also a strong bond with the Elus Cohen of Martinez De Pasqually, as a matter of fact the followers of Martinez de Pasqually (1727-1774) are also known as 'Martinists'. Disciples of De Pasqually follow the technique of theurgic operations, those of Saint-Martin follow the method of inner guidance and illumination, which is known as the "Inner way" or "Way of the Heart".(p. 4)
Leading Martinists are/were also members of other occult orders as well, especially Rosicrucianism (A.M.O.R.C.) and Egyptian Rite Freemasonry (Memphis-Mizraim Orders). The gnostic churches figured prominently in Martinism. Lingering in the background of Martinism is the same German occultist, Jacob Boehme, who lurks in the background of Pentecostalism. Martinist groups/lodges have been named after Jacob Boehme. Saint Martin, the founder of Martinism, had an affinity with the theosophical philosophy of Jacob Boehme. (p. 2, 66, 20) Martinist orders are passed on by a laying on of hands which sounds quite similar to the way that Pentecostalism passes on its initiation. The study says that "Saint-Martin employed the biblical 'laying on of hands' upon the initiate'." (p. 25)
According to the author, Milko Bogaard, who prepared the study on Martinism, he is a former member of AMORC (p. 46), an American Rosicrucian Order which is active today in San Jose, California. Some Martinist orders use Rosicrucian orders as their inner circle. (p. 88) In Colorado there is a Rose+Croix Martinist Order. (p. 74)
"The Work" is a term applied to Martinism. (p. 77) A Co-Masonic rite called Pansophic Freemasonic obedience, was founded by Grand Master Lewis Keizer in 1998. (p. 77) Co-Masonry is an irregular masonic obedience founded by the leaders of Blavatsky's Theosophy. "The Way" has been applied to Martinist teachings. According to the study, "The Superior Unknowns: As Guardians of the Martinist Tradition, they deepen the Way (we give the word the same meaning as the sense of the word "Tao"). (p. 62) "Tao" is a word Stratford Caldecott used in describing Catholic mysticism, and he referred to C. S. Lewis' use of the word in THE ABOLITION OF MAN.
Martinist orders are sometimes given chivalric names, or names that put one in mind of religious orders, such as the "Religious Order of the Christos and of the Rose Cross", "Ordre Martiniste des Pauvres Chevaliers du Christ", Martinist Order of the Knights of Christ", to name a few. (p. 62) The Martinist Order has presented itself as the "Order of Christian- or Spiritual Knighthood." (p. 24) But the names of the orders are not always Christian. Martinists split over membership in the Lodge. Some groups require members to be Masons. Other groups which call themselves Christian reject Lodge membership. One order is called "La Coleuvre Noire" - "Cult of the Black Snake," and another group is called "Les Templiers Noires", "the Black Templars." (p. 91) A Lodge Melchisedech conferred degrees in 1911. (p. 27)
The Eglise gnostique apostolique, the ritual arm of Ordre des Elus Cohen, claims the Vilatte succession (p. 70) It also includes the lineage of the Syrian Jacobite Orthodox Church, the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch, the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church, the Caldean Syrian Church, the Orthodox Coptic Church and the Old Catholic Church of Utrecht. Some groups use the designation "First Temple" and "Second Temple" in their orders. (p. 71)
Martinism claims that its circumference is everywhere, it's center is nowhere. (p. 32) Martinism aims to awaken the Conscience and finally achieve interior harmony. (p. 27) The method used is/was known as "The Way of the Heart." (p. 6, 39) Is this the same method recommended by the "Paths to the Heart Conference", an interreligious conference which attempted to propose similarities between Sufism and the Christian East? The similarity in terminology is difficult to ignore.
One of the Martinist degrees is the "Unknown Philosopher." The study reports: "The 3rd initiation came from the Order of Unknown Philosophers...As I understand it, the Order of Unknown Philosopher's initiation is the actual initiation that the Martinist Order was created to perpetuate and is it's raison d'etre." (p. 29) Valentin Tomberg's book, MEDITATIONS ON THE TAROT, published under the appellation "Unknown Author", "is an appellation becoming increasingly common when referring to its author, and reminiscent of the Martinist 'Unknown Philosopher'" according to the review of the book at the Association for Tarot Studies website. Balthasar, of course, wrote the complimentary Forword for this book. According to the Study, Saint-Martin is known as the "Unknown Philosopher". (p. 4, 16) The tarot and kabbalah and the teachings of Eliphas Levi are mentioned in connection with Gerard Encausse (Papus), an early and famous occultist. The study says: "Papus became acquainted with a circle of Gnostics, Rosicrucians, and 'older' Martinists, all students of the late Eliphas Levi. (p. 5) Levi was the father of the Paris occult revival.
Traditionalism plays a part in Martinism. One branch of the rite is named "Ordre Martiniste Traditionnel". (p. 17)
Johannites are part of Martinist tradition. From the study:
The first Martinist Lodges in Belgium were founded in 1892. Brussels' first and main lodge was Lodge 'KVMRIS'. The Lodge was lead by Francis Vurgey and Nicolas Brossel, the latter being its President. Evidently the Lodge also represented the Belgian branch of Papus' G.I.D.E.E. ( "Independent Group of Esoteric Studies" ). According to Koenig, the G.I.D.E.E. (its Belgian branch included) carried a line of succession of Fabré-Palaprat's "Order of the Temple" (1). The Templar-lineage is confirmed by several sources. As a matter of fact, some state that the KVMRIS-Lodge was directly linked to Fabré-Palaprat's Templar Order. After Fabré-Palaprat's death in 1838, the neo-Templar Order slowly died out under the direction of a small group of French and Belgian noblemen. According to these sources, the Orthodox Templar order died out, but some sort of 'Primitive Christian Church' ("Johannites") that was attached to the neo-templars continued its activities in secret. At first the members of the "Order of the Temple" had professed the Roman Catholic religion, but in or about the year 1814, Fabré-Palaprat had obtained possession of a manuscript copy of a "spurious Gospel of St.John, which is supposed to have been forged in the 15th century". Fabré-Palaprat used the Gospel, together with an introduction and commentary called the "Levitkon" which was said to have been written by Nicephorus, to compose a liturgy. The Order established a religious rite which they called "Johannism", or "Johannite Church". Their church propagated the idea of an "alternative" Apolostic succession from John through the Grand Masters of the Templars. When the "Order of the Temple" was disbanded, the "Johannite Church" continued its activities and it is said that out of this church, which was lead by French and Belgian noblemen, evolved a circle of men which would finally establish Lodge KVMRIS. The Gnostic elements which influenced the works of such lodge-members as Clement de Saint-Marcq were part of the doctrine of the Johannite church.(p. 23)
There is a Russian branch of Martinism which plays an important part. You may have noticed when looking at the book review for MEDITATIONS ON THE TAROT, linked above, that Tomberg was a Russian ex-patriot living in London. Bogaard devotes space to the Russian branch, indicating that in the 18th century there were lodges all over Russia, and that Russian Martinism was tied to German Rosicrucianism. He writes:
The traditions of these Masonic-Rosicrucian Lodges included "the practice of Christian virtues and self-improvement, philanthropy, Christian mysticism, and opposition to atheism, materialism, and revolutionary tendencies". In 1788 a lodge in Moscow was established, others would follow. within 30 years there were lodges established all over Russia, including Siberia; St. Petersburg (1802, a stronghold of Rosicrucian/Mrtinist activities in Russia), Orel, Simbirsk, Mohilef, Wologda, Jaroslaf, and Techernigov (1920).(p. 64)
What I found most interesting of all was the following:
Kaznatcheev was the leader of lodge "Saint Jean l'apotre". The Moscow lodge was one of the main lodges in Russia, and many candidates received their initiations, among which Ouspensky (pupil of Gurdieff) and Bely, a friend of Rudolf Steiner.(p. 65)
Some branches of Martinism intend to be distinctly mystical rather than magical. According to the study: "Martinism, as advocatd by the writings of LC de Saint-Martin. As Mike Revisto explains; "the Rose+Croix Martinist Order, alone among Martinism, represents a return to the pure Christian Mystical tradition suggested by Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin." (p. 68)
There is a "Martinist Christian Community". (p. 79)
As this history easily demonstrates schism is Martinism's last name. Orders are formed, last for perhaps 10 years, then infighting causes them to break apart and new orders are formed. The philosophy continues, with additions, subtractions, and alterations, down through the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, but tracing one particular order is an impossibility. The history of Martinism is better traced through the most prominent players than through their organizations. What makes this even more difficult is the fact that the information was held in secret. Bogaard makes note of the fact that some of the information was turned over to the "Philalethes". (p. 1, 48) Today there is a Masonic Research Lodge by that name. Whether this is what he means or there is some other meaning, I can't tell.
There have been several attempts to unite the esoteric orders. A current one is the Order of the Grail. The order is described here, and the terminology is rather Catholic.
Given these facts--
** that liturgies play a part in the gnostic churches
** that Russian Rosicrucianism-Martinism is closely linked with the German variety and that John Paul II was sympathetic to the Russian variety and we now have a German pope
** that Stratford Caldecott's paper on the New Age discusses in a positive manner some of these very Martinist ideas
** that von Balthasar gave his approval to MEDITATIONS, was written, apparently, by a third degree Martinist
** that interreligious dialogue moves us ever closer to a syncretistic conception of religion
** that von Balthasar is a theologian of choice for both John Paul II and Benedict-16
** that the monks of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue are promoting centering prayer and delivering talks at a Gurdjieffian church which is practicing occultism, and that Gurdjieff's follower, Ouspensky, was an initiated Martinist and Gurdjieff's chief apologist
** that the Center for Action and Contemplation is promoting the enneagram attributed to Gurdjieff and Ichazo
** that Pentecostalism has made significant inroads into Catholicism and can be traced back to Jacob Boehme, the same occultist who caught the fancy of the founder of Martinism
and probably more similarities that I've neglected to mention--given all of these things, I have come to believe that Martinism has invaded Catholicism and made itself at home, that it is the spirituality of those who are in charge of our doctrine, and that Martinist occultism is the future of the Roman Catholic Church.
The question I can't answer is what a Roman Catholic in the pew should think and/or do about this.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!!
