The Organisation and Religion to Re-unite All Religions

Introduction

 

Well first I would like to introduce myself. My name is Matthew Thomas McDonald, if you have any thoughts or questions please feel free to email me.

There are many avenues about which one could write about the Rosicrucians; their teaching, their leadership; Modern Rosicrucian groups, but I believe that it is important to first start off by understanding a brief history about the group.

There are two roads of history that one must look down when looking at the history of the Rosicrucians. The first is that of history of the Rosicrucians according to tradition and the second is the history of the Rosicrucian in light of modern history.

Rosicrucian's in light of tradition date their Order back to 1500 BCE when Pharaoh Thutmose III organized the first esoteric brotherhood of initiates founded upon principles and methods similar to those perpetuated today by the Rosicrucian Order. Decades later, Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, was initiated into the secret brotherhood. This most enlightened pharaoh —history’s first monotheist — was so inspired by the mystery teachings that he gave a completely new direction to Egypt’s religion and philosophy. He established a religion which recognized the Aton, the solar disk, as being the "symbol" of the sole deity — the foundation of life itself, the symbol of Light, Truth, and Joy — and changed his name to Akhnaton toreflect these new ideas. Centuries later, Greek philosophers such as Thales and Pythagoras, the Roman philosopher Plotinus, and others, journeyed to Egypt and were initiated into the mystery schools. They then brought their advanced learning and wisdom to the Western world. Their experiences are the first records of what eventually grew and blossomed into the Rosicrucian Order. There are Masonic writings about how Saint Mark brought the hidden teaching of Christ to Egypt and taught them in the mystery schools of Alexandria and all throughout Egypt.

Now in light of modern history we can start in the year 1408 when a Germany born man by the name of Christian Rosenkreuz start The Order of the Rose and Cross in Germany after being introduce to the Occult and Esoteric Mystery Schools while travelling throughout the Middle East. However, both his esoteric wisdom and movement died as a mystery with him in 1484.

There was a "revival" of Rosicrucianism in the early 17th century with the discovery of the lost tomb of Rosenkreuz. This revival is generally credited to the writings of Johann Valentin Andreae, a German theologian and Lutheran pastor. His works composed a sort of manifesto of the growing Rosicrucian movement in which he told the story of Rosenkreuz and various aspects of his secret order, as well as promoting reform and suggesting an occult synthesis of Christian pietism, Renaissance hermeticism, magic, and alchemy.

Rosicrucian lodges flourished in eighteenth century England. A good number of them were fraudulent endeavors but many were sincere attempts at forming genuinely Rosicrucian organizations. British Rosicrucianism had been influenced by the alchemist Robert Fludd, who had authored the Apologia Compendiaria Fraternitatem de Rosae Cruce in 1616.

Rosicrucianism was introduced to America with The Chapter of Perfection, a Rosicrucian association established by German settlers in 17th century Pennsylvania. They derived their teachings from the mystic Jacob Boehme, the Kabbalah, and several German psychic visionaries. The Chapter of Perfection was successful for a generation, but began to die away after the death of its leader Kelpius, leaving no notable legacy. There was virtually no further reference to the presence of Rosicrucians in America until the nineteenth century, when Pascal Beverly Randolph, the founder of the oldest Rosicrucian body in the U.S. -- the Fraternitas Rosae Crucis, appeared. Randolph was an occult theorist who provided America with the first major system of alternative occult thought -- including such concepts as reincarnation and occult sexuality. A number of writers during this time wrote books that emphasized the links between Rosicrucianism and magic or popularized such stereotyped ideals as the "elixir of immortality" and various alchemical wonders.

In more Modern times the largest Rosicrucian group is the Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis, an esoteric fraternal group founded by H. Spencer Lewis in 1915. More information about this group can be found at www.rosicrucian.org.

In my next piece I am going to shed some light on the teachings of the Order of the Rose Cross.

In service of the grail, Matthew T. McDonald

 

Sources and Credits:
Author: Matthew T. McDonald