WISDOM CALLS Fall/Winter 2017 Vol. 24 No.3

WISDOM CALLS Fall/Winter 2017 Vol. 24 No.3 Nature of the Redeemer

Wisdom Calls is the bulletin of the Queen of Heaven Gnostic Church Chief Editor: Rt. Rev. Steven Marshall Asst. Editor: Po Clemmer Secretary: Chrissy Stabenow Rector: Rt. Rev. Steven Marshall, Bishop Rev. Linda Dies, Priest Rev. Joseph Wolf, Priest Web Designer: Artlightlabs.com Deadline for changes or submissions for the Spring 2017 bulletin is Jan. 15 th LOCATION: Queen of Heaven Gnostic Church 5815 NE Everett St. Portland, OR 97213 Email: Portland@gnosis.org Phone: 503.233.0854 WEB: gnosticchurchportland.org Regular Events Gnostic Holy Eucharist High Mass with Homily, Rt. Rev. Steven Marshall, Celebrant Every Sunday 11 AM Our real nature is divine. Because we are divine, we have infinite strength and wisdom at our command, provided we can free ourselves of the obstacles in our personality, which stand in the way of our conscious union with the indwelling God. The Holy Eucharist [or Mass] is so designed that it may remove the barriers separating the human and divine natures in ourselves. The Queen of Heaven Gnostic Church of the Ecclesia Gnostica invites all who seek this mystic union, to partake of the Eucharist, and of the other mysteries [sacraments] which it administers. No barrier of creed, race, or status is erected around the altar of the Gnosis. Please join us for this traditional and inspiring service. Gnostic Healing Service - Every 2 nd Sunday On the 2 nd Sunday of each month of this quarter the Gnostic Healing Service will be inserted into the regular Mass. The Healing Service includes a sacramental anointing with Holy oil and imposition of the hands, which constitutes one of the seven sacraments of the Gnosis. Please join us in receiving this special sacrament. Sophia Service - Monthly Sophia is the feminine emanation of the Divine and a Gnostic version of the Holy Spirit. Features of this service include the Blessing of the Rose & the Litany of Love. Please join with us in this inspiring ritual devoted to the Divine Feminine. Please see calendar of events for current dates. This is an evening ceremony beginning at 7pm on selected Fridays. ALL EVENTS THIS QUARTER, UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE CHURCH ADDRESS, FOR INCLEMENT WEATHER IF PORTLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED, SO ARE WE 2017-2018 Queen of Heaven Gnostic Church

Homily for the 4th Sunday of Advent The Nature of the Redeemer Rt. Rev. Steven Marshall The nature (or hypostasis reality ) of the Redeemer is another great mystery of the Gnosis, not in the conventional sense of a puzzle that is to be solved but in that it is something that is too ineffable to be expressed in ordinary words and speech. It cannot be reduced to a single person in history, a specific figure in religion, or even a single experience. It cannot be reduced to anything; it is continually revealing itself. Many references and insights of Gnosis may appear secret, but they are secret only in that they can only be apprehended through mystical experience; they transcend ordinary thought and speech. Our Pre- Eucharistic prayer refers to one of the feminine aeons, the Grace beyond thought and speech. The prayer of Prajnaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom), one of the principle Female Deities of Tibetan Buddhism contains the title beyond thought and speech. In the same way, the nature of the Redeemer is, in great measure, beyond thought and speech. The use of the word nature in this context might also be explicated by the Hindu term for the essential and true nature of a thing, the truth of it, which is its dharma. It is similar in meaning to the Chinese Tao or way and the Buddhist law of life (right living), leading to liberation. The Truth, the Way and the Life can further develop the intent for this Sunday. They resume a phrase in the Gospel of St John where the Christ exclaims, I am the truth, the way and the life. Yet we must not narrow this to one person in history; the nature of the Redeemer cannot be contained in such a fashion. The mystery of the nature of the Redeemer must be apprehended as a paradox that is both universal in essence and individual in experience. In the Gnostic framework, the individual is redeemed through a process of internalization and identification with the figure of the Redeemer, thereby being identified with both the Redeemer and the redeemed. One of the mythic representations that most fully expresses this process is that of the Holy Prophet Mani. Although Mani s vision is the result of a unique transmission, he poetically draws upon the religious imagery surrounding him, including that of mystical Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Alexandrian Gnosticism. He describes the First Man (Human), the androgynous Anthropos, as a Man (Human) of Light who is captured and trapped by the Darkness or, in otherwise, knowingly sacrificed to the Darkness to redeem the Light previously consumed by it. The Darkness wishes to defeat the Light by consuming it and possessing it, and by that means the Light is fragmented into sparks and dispersed throughout the cosmos. Such a metaphor is described equally in the Lurianic myth of the fragmented sparks of Adam Qadmon and in the Sethian Gnostic accounts of the seed of Seth. In the Manichaean myth, the distress of the Darkness, in having consumed the Light, brings forth material creation and the living universe. This entire cosmos, by which the Darkness hoped to capture and defeat the Light, becomes a mechanism for freeing and putting back together the fragments of the Light dispersed throughout the Chaos. Yet this redemptive process does not happen automatically. The dispersed sparks of the Light of the First Man suffer from a faint of ignorance, a forgetfulness of their origin. The Father of Greatness, who with the Mother of Life engendered the androgynous First Man, together send envoys of light in the form of Messengers of Light to remind the fragments of the First Man of their celestial origin and perfection. In this scheme, the process of redemption is remembering from whence we came. This call to remembrance is present in all the traditions of Gnosticism in all times and cultures. It is poetically recalled in the remembering of the body of Osiris in the Egyptian mysteries and in the Manichaean myth with the gathering together of the fragmented light of the First Man, the gathering of the sparks of light from the sea of forgetfulness. When men asked for the Redeemer, then the Mother of Life, and the First Man and the Spirit of Life decided to send to their children One who should free them and save them, to show them the knowledge and the righteousness and rescue them from evil. A Messenger of Light is sent by the Father of Greatness and the Mother of Life for our Redemption. Another portion of Manichaean writings lists not just one but a stream of such messengers sent throughout history: Seth-el, Shem, Enos, Nikotheos, Enoch, Elias, Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus, Mani. The Redeemer is not just one occurrence in history. The Messenger continues to come to us, the ever-coming and redeeming Logos. Like the Chanticleer of the dawn the Redeemer comes to awaken us from the slumber of ignorance, to guide us to Liberation. The Christ came to free us, to deliver us, to show us knowledge and righteousness and to rescue us from

evil. He did not come to bring us a vicarious atonement by dying on a cross, but he came into this world to bring a message of liberation and a redeeming power to achieve it. According to the writings of Mani, the Christ only appeared to be a man. While coming, the Son changed himself into the form of man, and He appeared to men as a man, being no man, and men fancied him to have been born. The Gnostic Christ is both a mysterious other and in perfect kinship with us. In the Odes of Solomon he states I am from another race. We too, our essential spirits, are alien to this worldly reality; they are the exiled sparks of the First Man (Human), the Redeemed Redeemer. So, we bear a kinship to Christ in that way. The goal of the Gnostic is to become not a Christian but a Christ. To seek to know this divine redeemer is to wonder at the place from whence we have come. Redemption to the Gnostic means liberation, liberation from the psychological, social and material powers that keep us from achieving the greater consciousness of our Gnostic heritage. If not for such a redeeming power from outside of the system, the hyletics, as well as the psyche-centered people of this world would never make it. The wheels of karma and fate are not sufficient to the task, either. Besides the message of an alternative worldview, the Redeemer brought a liberating power, a power to alter our consciousness into more elevated states of perception, a power conveyed through the institution and revivification of mysteries, which the Church today calls sacraments. The sacraments are mysteries; the Redeemer also is a mystery. The sacraments enact metaphors and myths of transcendent and timeless processes of purification and apotheosis. The rituals become external cues to an interior state of consciousness as well as external symbols of an interior and invisible grace from on high. The Sanskrit word dharma means the true nature of a thing but also the law. The nature of the redeemer, when considered in this fashion also relates to the Law. In this regard, the Law of the Gnostic is one, the Law of Love: And he also gave us the law: to love one another, and to honor God and bless Him, and seek Him who He is and what He is that we should wonder at the place whence we have come, and not return to evil again but follow after Him who has given us the Law of Love. (The Book of the Gnosis of the Light) The commandment to love one another and to love God intends that we should wonder at the place from whence we have come. To discover the nature of the redeemer within ourselves we must seek God within ourselves and find our way to the place from whence we have come. In the Gospel of Thomas Jesus says, If they say to you: whence have you originated, say to them: We have come from the light where the light has originated from itself. When we seek who and what God is we find who and what we are. The Redeemer and the redeeming power within us are one; the nature of the Redeemer and our true divine nature are the same. If you will know yourselves, then you will be known and you will know that you are the sons (offspring) of the living Father. (Gospel of Thomas) Another aspect of the redemptive process is the bringing together of the masculine and the feminine of the Androgynous First Man, Adam. In this regard, the mythic figure of the Redeemer transcends gender designations. The Gnostic myths are replete with stories of divine feminine figures redeeming the fallen masculine as well as divine masculine figures redeeming the fallen feminine. The Gnostic journey towards wholeness involves both these relationships within us regardless of our outward gender. In the Sethian gospels, Eve is called the Mother of life, the Mother of all living, just as the divine feminine is titled in the Manichaean scriptures. The Gnostic Eve is not an evil temptress; rather, she is the bringer of enlightenment and Gnosis to Adam; she awakens him from the sleep of unconsciousness of who and what he is. Through the divine feminine spirit of Eve, Adam s progeny, the seed of Seth, carries the light and its message forth to all generations of Gnostics, which culminates in the advent of the Christ. The Christ is the divine redemptive image of the raised Adam, just as the Blessed Virgin Mary may represent the redemptive image of the divine Eve. Likewise, the Sophia who gives herself to the depths of the material chaos for our redemption is redeemed by the Christ to become the feminine image of the Redeemed Redeemer. Thus, for the Gnostic, the story of the Advent of Christ brings not a mere recounting of historical or pseudo-historical facts but a rich, mythic weaving together of timeless archetypes and our potential for liberation and redemption.

Another meaning of dharma is the way. This implies a process, in Gnostic terms, a process of interpreting religious symbols to represent, illumine and further develop an interior Gnosis. The varied, diverse and occasionally contradictory mythologems of the Gnostics model this process. These are not just psychological symbols but symbols in a Jungian sense, symbols that are not simply to be studied but to be used in the process of portraying the interior realities of Gnosis, a process facilitated by mystery actions using them (sacraments). When we do something with them they may do something with us. Symbols, in this sense, represent spiritual potencies that are at once intrapsychic and extrapsychic, mystic and cosmic, personal and collective. In this manner, the religious symbols of Christmas: the figure of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Christ child and others can take on an even more transcendent and illuminating character. The mother Mary of the Christmas story has been called, in the Western Church, the Immaculate Conception. The Immaculate Conception refers to the doctrine that Mary, as the Mother of Christ, was conceived without original sin, so as to be a fit vessel for the birth of the Christ Child. To put this in a Gnostic context, the doctrine of original sin was by no means universally held in Christendom until after its popularization by St. Augustine of Hippo. The Gnostic myth rather indicates a doctrine of original divinity, not just of one person, but of everyone, whether male or female. Rather than an original sin, we suffer from an original ignorance, an ignorance of our divine origin. A verse from the Gospel of Philip describes Mary as the Virgin whom no power defiled. This alludes to the Pneumatic Eve of the Sethian Gnosis and to the figure of Norea as the mothers of the seed of Seth, from whose root the Savior is to come. Yet the Gnostics are everywhere in accord, that one becomes of the generation of Seth and Norea, a child of the Bridal Chamber, not by the circumstances of one s physical birth but through rebirth by means of the sacramental mysteries of Gnosis. way of the Lord, make straight a pathway for our God. This feminine aspect of divinity has been called, in Kaballistic literature, the Spirit of Prophecy and the Daughter of the Voice, both represented as a dove. Dove or the Latin columba is the title for virgins, such as Mary, according to tradition, who were dedicated to the Temple in Jerusalem. The Christmas season brings to us the Dove of Peace. So, it is the spirit of Mary, as a dove, who ushers in the peace at Christmastide. She speaks in the heart, announcing the coming of the Redeemer and our own Redemption. She reveals to us the nature of the Redeemer who dwells within us, and is our truest Self. We find the mystery that that which is born in us, like Christ, has always been, is now, and ever shall be, the evercoming and Redeeming Logos. My Lady is a fragrant rose, And near to God my Lady grows; And all my thoughts are murmuring bees That haste in silent ecstasies Upon her beauty to repose. Sweeter than any flower that blows, Since all the scents her lips disclose Are prayers upon the heavenly breeze, My Lady is. Her summer never comes and goes And, for the sweetness she bestows, My heart s the hive where by degrees I hoard my golden memories. For Mary, as my Angel knows, My Lady is. Anon. The figure of Mary, as an image of the Mother of Life, plays a redemptive role in the bringing forth of the promised Redeemer and Liberator, cosmically and mystically. For she in many ways is an image of our own souls and represents our individual role in preparation for the Advent of the Christ within. As announced by St John the Baptizer. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the

Special Events Fall/Winter 2017 OCTOBER Sunday after Michaelmas The Holy Michael, Archangel Celebrant, Rev. Joseph Wolf Sunday, October 1 st 2017-11am On this date we will celebrate the Mass in honor of the Holy Archangel Michael. St. Michael, the Archangel, plays an important part in traditional Christian mythology, the Grail legends, Gnostic myth and many of the Western esoteric traditions. The cathedrals and chapels dedicated to St, Michael have long been associated with certain esoteric traditions and symbols. The Pistis Sophia includes the Archangel Michael as one of the two angelic powers who support Sophia in her ascent back into the Pleroma. Sunday after St. Francis Day Celebrant, Rev. Linda Dies Sunday, October 8 th 2016-11am With his emphasis on individual poverty and charity to all creatures St. Francis is thought to have been very early influenced by Cathar sentiments. On this Sunday we will recite a special prayer for blessing of the animals in remembrance of St, Francis love and compassion for all creatures great and small. Women s Divination Group Monday, October 9 th 2017-7pm All women are invited to share an evening of discussion and divination. Sunday after Templar Day Martyrdom of the Holy Templars Sunday, October 15 th 2017-11am Near this date in 1314, Jacques demolay, the Grand Master of the Templar Order, and many of his most highly placed knights were burned at the stake. Although the Templars have been the subject of much pseudohistorical legend, many have attested to their heirship of a dual tradition, one secret and esoteric, known only to a few, and the other corresponding to the orthodox Roman Catholicism of the time. Sophia Service Celebrant, Rev. Linda Dies Friday, October 20 th, 2017-7pm Come to receive the Blessing of the Rose 19 th Sunday after Trinity The Universality of Revelation Sunday, October 22 nd, 2017-11am Lecture-Egypt in the Tarot, part 1 Sunday, October 22 nd 2017-7pm See attached flyer for details. Sunday before All Saints Day Sunday, October 29 th, 2017-11am On this day we remember the great Heroes and Heroines of the Gnosis who have passed over the veil of Death. For the Gnostic, death to this world represents rebirth into a spiritual world that contains and penetrates all worlds. The Mighty Dead who have passed into another reality represent our forerunners in our spiritual quest for transcendence and liberation. NOVEMBER Sunday following All Souls Day Sunday, November 5 th 2017-11am On this day we will celebrate the Feast of All Souls with a Gnostic Requiem Eucharist. Prayers for the Dead not only assist the souls of those who have passed over into another reality, but also assist those who remain here in opening the portals to the gnosis of transcendental realms. (Feel free to bring a small photo to place on the mantle before Mass to commemorate your loved ones.) 22 nd Sunday after Trinity Right Attitude toward the World Sunday, November 12 th, 2017-11am CHAPEL CLEANING DAY Sunday, November 12 th 2017/2-5pm All help is appreciated preparing the chapel for Advent, refreshments will be provided.

Women s Divination Group Monday, November 13 th 2017-7pm All women are invited to share an evening of discussion and divination. Sophia Service Celebrant, Rev. Linda Dies Friday, November 17 th, 2017-7pm Come to receive the Blessing of the Rose 23 rd Sunday after Trinity Peace Sunday, November 19 th, 2017-11am Lecture-Egypt in the Tarot, part 2 Sunday, November 19 th 2017-7pm See attached flyer for details. Sunday Next before Advent Adoration of God Sunday, November 26 th 2017-11am DECEMBER Advent Sunday Seeking the Light Sunday, December 3 rd 2017-11am 2 nd Sunday in Advent The God Within Sunday, December 10 th 2017-11am Sophia Service Celebrant, Rev. Linda Dies Friday, December 15 th 2017-7pm Come to receive the Blessing of the Rose 3 rd Sunday in Advent Nature of the Redeeemer Sunday, December 17 th 2017-11am 4 th Sunday in Advent Recognition of the Messenger Sunday, December 24 th 2017-11am Christmas Midnight Mass Co-Celebrants, Rt. Rev. Steven Marshall & Rev. Linda Dies Sunday, December 24 th 2017-10:30pm Christmas Eve celebration with High Mass & the lighting of the Christmas Candle. Join us for an evening of carols and other sacred music. Tonight s donations will go to charity. PLEASE NOTE Midnight Mass is in addition to the morning Sunday service, as Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday this year. New Year s Eve Renewal of Life Sunday, December 31 st 2017-11am JANUARY Epiphany Sunday of the Epiphany Divine Guidance Sunday, January 7 th 2018-11am Epiphany commemorates the appearance of the Light of Christ to the World. We celebrate Epiphany to acknowledge and give thanks for the treasured glimpses of the Light in our lives and the appearance of the Christ in us. Ritual practice for the evening will be held after the 11am mass that day. Please attend the morning practice if you want to be on the special ritual team for Epiphany. Special Epiphany Service Baptism of Our Lord Sunday, January 7 th 2017-7pm (The evening event will be followed by the Epiphany Party) Tonight we will celebrate the Epiphany with the special service adapted from the baptismal Rite of Abramentho found in the Bruce and Askew codices. Some Gnostics claim that the Christ fully descended into Jesus at his Baptism in the River Jordan. Those who wish to obtain baptism on this occasion need to contact Father Steven at 503 233 0854 as soon as possible.

We will be holding our annual holiday party after the evening service. There will be a gift exchange at the party. Please bring a gift suitable for either male or female, $10.00 or less. 2 nd Sunday after Epiphany Desire for Liberation Sunday, January 14 th 2018-11am Sophia Service Celebrant, Rev. Linda Dies Friday, January 19 th, 2018-7pm Come to receive the Blessing of the Rose 3rd Sunday after Epiphany Sincerity Sunday, January 21 st 2018-11am 4thSunday after Epiphany The Overcoming of Sorrow Sunday, January 28 th 2018-11am Please remember the Queen of Heaven Gnostic Church will close any time Portland Public Schools are closed due to inclement weather CHURCH NEWS: Congratulations to Chrissy Valles who, on July 23rd, Sunday following the feast day of the Holy Mary of Magdala, was ordained to the order of cleric. Greetings to Quinton Ask, who has begun his serving at the altar. He was admitted as lay server in Hagia Sophia of Seattle, and is now located in Portland to assist us in carrying on the sacramental work. Blessings on his continued service to the Gnosis. Early this Fall, Fr. Steven will be leaving for a long overdue trip to Los Angeles with greetings from Portland to all the Clergy and friends of the Ecclesia Gnostica in the Diocesan Center there. His departure date is September 28th and his return flight is on October 3rd.

Lecture Egypt in the Tarot In two parts Sunday, October 22 nd, 2017, 7pm Part 1: Tarot as Egyptian Initiation: Paul Christian 1863 and1870, his sources, likely and unlikely, and influence (on Papus 1889 and 1910, Falconnier 1896, Zain 1918, a Weiser publication of 1988, and Payne-Towler 1998). Christian isn't very well known but was a neighbor and early follower of Eliphas Levi (the founder of modern occultism) with major influence of his own on the occult tarot. Sunday, November 19 th, 2017, 7pm Part 2: Where it came from, Egypt in the Tarot 1420-1781, and where it went. A look at more or less probable suggestions of ancient Egypt from a Greek perspective in individual subjects of the historic tarot, contrasted with the same subjects from the new perspective of Levi, Papus, and others in their tradition, plus a few incongruities.

Chapel Cleaning Day, November 12 th, 2017 11:00am (morning service) & 1:00 4:00 pm (Cleaning) Please stay after the morning service to polish some brass, dust some furniture or other actions to spruce up the chapel for the holidays. If you can offer an hour or two of your time, it would be greatly appreciated. Coffee, tea and light snacks will be provided. Epiphany Sunday, January 7 th, 2018 11:00am (morning service) & 7:00pm (evening ritual) Evening event will be followed by our annual party. Please see Special Events calendar page (January) for more information as there are several points to remember. If you would like to be part of the evening ritual team you need to attend practice after the morning service. We are looking forward to seeing you! Note: The Queen of Heaven Gnostic Church is a parish of the Ecclesia Gnostica, a Christian Gnostic Sacramental Church, with its headquarters based in Los Angeles, CA. As a sacramental, liturgical church, we employ chant, candles, incense, bells, vestments, and other accoutrements for the purpose of elevating consciousness out of the ordinary. The structure and content of our liturgies are age old and inspired by the practices and metaphorical writings of the early gnostics of the 1 st through 4 th centuries. We continue an established and recognized, apostolic tradition without moralizing judgments or dogmatic statements of belief in a setting that fosters mystical inquiry and spiritual understanding. We retain the early gnostic practice of ordaining women on an equal basis with men and revere the feminine aspect of Deity in the fashion of our Gnostic forebears. For more information please visit www.gnosticchurchportland.org And the Gnostic Archives: www.gnosis.org