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The Rose+Croix of the Orient
Les Rose+Croix d' Orient
A. Identity
Who were the Rosicrucians of the Orient (or Brethren of the Orient or
Asiatic Brethren)?
What is their relation (if any) with the Rosicrucians of the 17th century
or with the modern rosicrucian orders?
We quote from the introduction of the famous "Sacramentaire du Rose+Croix"
(their Theurgy manual published by the late Robert Ambelain, who
-- according to an article
by Marcel Roggemans -- was the leader of the Order):
from the I N T R O D U C T I O N TO THE EDITION OF THE SACRAMENTARY OF THE ROSE+CROIX by Robert Ambelain
Translated from the French by Theodoulos (c) 2001
THE ROSE+CROIX
A. About the Order The reader that would like to study the history of the rosicrucian movement (the genuine one, of the 17th and 18th centuries, and not some modern american "recostitutions" /1), will be interested in reading the book by Sedir: History and Doctrine of the Rose+Croix. To this we will add the work by Wittemans: History of the Rose+Croix, the small book by Serge Hutin: History of the Rose+Croix, our study: Templars and Rose+Croix. Thus, the not initiated reader will be sufficiently informed about the subject. Their program can be summarized like this:
For the realization of their vast plan, that extents in several centuries, the Rose+Croix used all traditional occult knowledge:
Their legendary founder, Christian Rosenkreutz, that allegedly lived
in the 13th century in Germany, until now seems to "escape" every serious
historic research. As a matter of fact, this name is a hieronyme,
a sacred name.
But what is this secret; This name signifies God Himself in the esoteric scriptures: the Siphra Tzeniutha, the Talmud and the Holy Scripture, and particularly in the Book of Daniel (2.9) where it is stated that "God Himself is His Secret". So, Rosah Koroz is God's Herald, and the vehicle of Angel Keraziel. We also observe thar Rosen means "Prince", which gives
us a very similar signification: "Prince - Herald", Rosen Koroz.
In the magazine "Initiation et Science" (1963, #57), Gerard Heym speaks
about the Order of Asiatic Brothers or Knights of Saint John
the Evangelist. This Order was re-organized in 1750 and then again
in 1780; its See used to be in the city of Thessaloniki (Greece).
This Order is none other than the Rosicrucian Brethren of the Orient.
We may state that the continent of Asia is completely irrelevant to this Order of esoteric chivalry. Actually, the letters ASIE reveal a quality; they constitute an abreviation or a seal. In fact, the Candidate -- on entering the Order -- received the ordination of Eques A Sancti Ioannis Evangelista (the initials are: EASIE). (...)
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B. Origins
In "Le Sanctuaire de Memphis" ("The Sanctuary of Memphis", published in 1849), Jacques - Etienne Marconis de Negre states the following, regarding the origin of this order.
(This is obviously the masonic tradition regarging the origin
of the Rosicrucians of the Orient...).
from The Sanctuary of Memphis by Jacques - Etienne Marconis de Negre
Translated from the French by Theodoulos (c) 2001
Meanwhile, the Essenians and other Jews had founded an School of the Solomonic Science; this School was united to the one by Ormus. Untill 1118, Ormus' disciples were the only depositories of the ancient Wisdom of Egypt (purified by Christianity), as well as of the Templar Science. These were known as Knights of Palestine or Rosicrucian Brethren of the Orient, that the (Masonic) Rite of Memphis regards as its immediate founders. In 1150, eighty-one of them arrived at Sweden, having Garimont as their leader, and presented themselves to the archbishop of Upsala, to whom they bequeathed the heritage of Masonic knowledge. These eighty-one Masons established Free-Masonry in Europe. After the death of Jacques de Molay, the Scottish Templars, apostats
at the king's (Robert Bruce's) instigation, gathered under the standards
of a new Order that this prince had instituted. The receptions in this
Order were based in those of the Order of the Temple. Here is the origin
of the Scottish Masoic Rite -- and of the other Masonic Rites as well.
This date agrees with the one given by Br. Chereau, regarding the separation of the Masons of Edimbourg with the Masons of Memphis: 1322, which is two years earlier. The Masons of Memphis rested faithful to the ancient traditions; the others founded a new Rite, called Rite of Heredom de Kilwinning or of Scotland. Thus, from the late 14th century, two Rites exist: the Rite of Memphis or of the Orient and the Scottish one. Both continue to attract followers all over Europe. (...)
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However, this is not the only tradition regarding the origins of the Order.
Mark Stavish, in his book "Kabbalah and the Hermetic Tradition", writes:
Claiming connection with an ancient Order of a 'Rosicrucian character', dating back to 1643, and having Heinrich Khunrath, Alexander Sethon, Sendivogius, and Boehme among its ranks, the Society of Unknown Philosophers also linked itself to "Les Freres d' Orient" created in Constantinople in 1090. The teachings of this society were conveyed from teacher to disciple and their principle unifying form was the distinction of receiving "The Initiation" which gave them the right to be known as "Unknown Superiors" or "Superieurs Inconnus" or S.I. as it is written. |
C. The Doctrine
According to R. Ambelain, the Doctrine of the Brethren of the Orient
can be summarised in six points:
I N T R O D U C T I O N of the SACRAMENTARY OF THE ROSE+CROIX by Robert Ambelain 1. Creation God is Eternal, Infinite and Absolute, without any need; being Perfect, He is also infinitely Benign and Wise, as well as Almighty.2. The preexistence of the Souls 3. The Temptation and the Original Sin 4. Redemption of Man 5. Redemption of Nature 6. The Apocatastasis or Final Reintegration
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D. Offshoots
to be continued...
Note: This table presents only the main (or better - known) martinist
lineages. There are others as well (for example, the Russian ones).
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