Category: Gnostic History
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Hidden History of the Secret Church
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“Where is the true Church of Christ?” This is a question that has plagued Christians since the time of the apostles. For millions of believers, the Roman Catholic Church remains the ‘One True Church’ led to this day by the successors of the apostle Peter. Other Christians are convinced their particular church is equally ‘true’…
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Beyond The Da Vinci Code: Christianity’s Real Secret
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On the surface, it’s hard to explain the astonishing success of Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code. Many critics have pointed to its stale cliffhanger plot, its wan characterisation, and even to the flaws in its research. And yet it has sold over 40 million copies in hardcover. Its appeal must run deeper than any of its…
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Judas: The Greatest Disciple?
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At the climax of Dante’s Inferno, the narrator and his guide, Vergil, make their way to the deepest part of hell in the centre of the Earth. Embedded there is the fallen Lucifer, a hideous, three-headed figure with batlike wings. Each of his heads is chewing mercilessly on an archvillain. Two are reserved for Brutus and…
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The Gnostics: An Interview with Tobias Churton
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Tobias Churton is one of today’s most lively and spirited investigators of that underground stream of the Western tradition known as Gnosticism. He first became interested in the Gnostics while reading for a degree in theology at the University of Oxford in the 1970s. Soon after leaving, he became interested in exploring these ideas for…
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The Gospel of Mary Magdelene
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Of all the earliest followers of Christ, none has sparked the level of interest generated by one particular woman – the biblical figure known as Mary Magdalene. Revered as a saint, maligned as a prostitute, imagined as the literal bride of Christ, Mary of Magdala stands apart as an enigmatic individual about whom little is…
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Pre-Nicene Christianity
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Dr. Stephan A. Hoeller reminds us that “having known him [Richard, Duc de Palatine] for more than twenty years the present writer can attest that this modern Gnostic leader was also profoundly learned in Gnostic scriptures and wished his church to be truly a Gnostic one.” We are making Bishop Richard, Duc de Palatine’s essay…
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Gnostic Tradition in Australia
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A Gnostic study circle was established in Australia in 1886. Known as ‘The Melbourne Gnostic Society’, the group’s purpose was the study of “Theosophy and kindred matters.” Later becoming ‘The Gnostic Theosophical Society’, it was central to the foundation of the Theosophical Society in Australia. Madame H.P. Blavatsky, the co-founder of the worldwide Theosophical Society…
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The War on the Cathars
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The “Cathar heresy” that struck Southern France in the 13th century, and was viciously persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church, remains a pool of interest and intrigue. What really happened, and what did the Cathars actually believe? Wars between nations or faiths are commonplace. Sometimes, the leaders of nations turn against a minority resident within their…