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Gnosis is the Greek word for knowledge. In the context of Gnosticism, it signifies knowledge of divine things, such as the origin and destiny of the cosmos and man. The name “Gnostic” was used anciently to describe numerous sects in the first centuries of the Christian era who sought and revered gnosis. Until the mid-second century, the Christian community included Gnostics. However, from the late-second century onward, an increasingly dogmatic and powerful orthodoxy waged a campaign to characterize Gnosticism as a heresy and to suppress and destroy all its forms. As part of that attack, many Gnostic Christians were killed, and Gnostic texts were destroyed. However, the Gnosis persisted in covert forms (as among the Cathars, Templars, and Rosicrucians), occasionally reasserting itself through the course of western history. By the late 18th through early 19th centuries, a serious movement was underway from within the Roman Catholic Church of France to return the Gnostic Throne of John to the Western World. This involved numerous ecclesiastics, who were leading Masonic and Templar figures. In 1890 Jules Doinel founded the Universal Gnostic Church in Paris and consecrated three bishops who were prestigious leaders of Arcane Orders active in France. Our Ecclesia has since been known as L'Église des Initiés ('The Church of the Initiates'). At the heart of the Gnostic tradition is a sacramental ministry, the purpose of which is the advancement of the soul. The sacraments of the Gnostic Church are the Baptism of Water, the Baptism of Fire and Wind, the Holy Eucharist, Pneumatic Unctions, and Holy Orders. The Gnostic Church is accessible to all men and women based upon their spiritual and intellectual merits, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, language, or sexual orientation. We invite you to join us in this living tradition. |
The Gnostic Apostolic Church, known as L'Église Gnostique (Catholique) Apostolique (EGA/EGCA),
is the French Gnostic Church, the first Gnostic Church in modern times, established in 1890 by Jules Doinel in Paris.
is the French Gnostic Church, the first Gnostic Church in modern times, established in 1890 by Jules Doinel in Paris.