A lot of "modern minded" people looking into Gnosticism get creeped out by the idea of "Apostolic Succession" in many of the modern Gnostic churches. I, for one, have been one of them. I now see it as something symbolic as well as magical in the sense that Dumbo's feather was magical. He held the feather in his trunk and did what he thought he couldn't. I'm not sure completely what it means to those who are a part of that tradition and I suppose I may never.
I do remember when my uncle laid his hands on my head and with oil on his hands, he conferred the melchizedek priesthood to me in the LDS church. Although I was really struggling at the time with huge doubts about the validity of the whole thing, there was something very warm about being brought into a tradition that my family grew up in.
My uncle immediately asked that I give him a blessing to help him recieve guidance regarding an upcoming business trip. This caught me completely by surprise. Given that I doubted that God even existed and I shouldn't have even been there, I did the best I could. I don't remember my words, only that my hands were shaking and I studdered a bit. He didn't seem to notice and seemed quite satisfied with the blessing. So that was that.
Given this background, this post by Reverend Troy Pierce+ of the Ecclesia Gnostica struck a chord with me.
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There's been a lot written on this subject lately, as you probably know. Apostolic Succession was the topic of my first question to the AJC before I became active here.
This is my take:
There are three levels of "importance" for us as Gnostics.
1.) The direct communication with the Divine - gnosis, which cannot be "given" by anyone or anything.
2.) Initiation through the wisdom of ancient and present sages, saints; even priests. This to me is spiritual preparation, such as the baptism of Jesus by John (whether you take that as archetypal or historical fact)Apostolic Succession has roots in this.
3.) Tradition, i.e., types of Sacraments, types of churches or societies, and the tools they give us to find our way. AS is also here.
Obviously #1 is the Big Kahuna. Without a deep, knowing, spiritual awareness of what is within us and around us, #2 and #3 have little meaning, though they might help to bring us some day towards #1 if we have the willing eyes to see it.
The very ancient tradition of AS is a powerful and magical connection to our spiritual heritage but it cannot by itself lead me to where I need to be.
A good metaphor is the PhD. You don't have to have a PhD to be wise and intelligent. Many "doctors" are not wise. But having the PhD at least sets some standard for us to see. The University grants this as a gift to the student who follows the traditional course, and in this way, he becomes "eligible" to transfer knowledge to others as a full professor. I could learn just as much from a person who does not have the PhD - no doubt. But at least there is some continuity of discipline and history in the tradition of the priesthood.
To anonymous posters to my blog (or any public posting for that matter). Posting hateful, slanderous extraordinary claims anonymously says you lack the fortitude to stand behind what you say. It therefore is unworthy of my time or anyone else's to respond. Therefore it is also a waste of your time.
Posts like that just get deleted here.
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