Our gnostic mass and our official, legal wedding is August 12, 2015
What is a Gnostic Wedding Mass as performed with E.G.C. clergy?
Basic overview of the Gnostic Mass or Liber XV...
Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (E.G.C.), or the Gnostic Catholic Church, is the ecclesiastical arm of the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), an international fraternal initiatory organization devoted to promulgating the Law of Thelema.
Thelema is a philosophical, mystical and religious system elaborated by Aleister Crowley, and based on The Book of the Law. The word Catholic denotes the universality of doctrine and not a Christian or Roman Catholic belief set.
The chief function of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica is the public and private performance of the Gnostic Mass (Liber XV), a eucharistic ritual written by Crowley in 1913. According to William Bernard Crow, Crowley wrote the Gnostic Mass "under the influence of the Liturgy of St. Basil of the Russian Church". Its structure is also influenced by the initiatory rituals of the Ordo Templi Orientis. Its most notable separation from similar rites of other churches is a Priestess officiating with a Priest, Deacon, and two Children. In addition to the Eucharist, baptism, confirmation, marriage, and last rites are offered by E.G.C. Marriage is not limited to couples of opposite gender.
A Wedding Ceremony prepared for the use of E.G.C. clergy
The ceremony of marriage is mentioned in the final paragraphs of Liber XV. In the case of Apostolic Christianity, holy matrimony expressed the redemption of an otherwise sinful and unclean act through the blessing of the priest, and the dedication of the act to the service of God by bringing new children into the Church in accordance with scripturally acceptable procedures. In Thelema, the Mystery of Marriage is a magical expression of the divine process which continually creates the Universe, the formula of which is "love under will." The marriage ceremony thus affirms the inherent sacramental nature of sex. It represents the devotion of the most powerful energies of human organic life to the service of the Beloved: the revealer of the True Will.
by Helena and T. Apiryon
Version 10/23/95 e.v.
Copyright © 1997 Ordo Templi Orientis U.S.A. All rights reserved.
See also...
US Grand Lodge Ordo Templi Orientis http://oto-usa.org/oto/egc/
Crowley, Aleister (1989). The Confessions of Aleister Crowley: An Autohagiography. London: Arkana. ISBN 978-0-14-019189-9
Crowley, Aleister (1933-0-02). "Black Magic is Not a Myth." The London Sunday Dispatch (London). Retrieved 2011-12-18
Apiyon, T. "The Invisible Basilica: Introduction to the Gnostic Mass." Retrieved 2009-05-24.
Basic overview of the Gnostic Mass or Liber XV...
Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (E.G.C.), or the Gnostic Catholic Church, is the ecclesiastical arm of the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), an international fraternal initiatory organization devoted to promulgating the Law of Thelema.
Thelema is a philosophical, mystical and religious system elaborated by Aleister Crowley, and based on The Book of the Law. The word Catholic denotes the universality of doctrine and not a Christian or Roman Catholic belief set.
The chief function of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica is the public and private performance of the Gnostic Mass (Liber XV), a eucharistic ritual written by Crowley in 1913. According to William Bernard Crow, Crowley wrote the Gnostic Mass "under the influence of the Liturgy of St. Basil of the Russian Church". Its structure is also influenced by the initiatory rituals of the Ordo Templi Orientis. Its most notable separation from similar rites of other churches is a Priestess officiating with a Priest, Deacon, and two Children. In addition to the Eucharist, baptism, confirmation, marriage, and last rites are offered by E.G.C. Marriage is not limited to couples of opposite gender.
A Wedding Ceremony prepared for the use of E.G.C. clergy
The ceremony of marriage is mentioned in the final paragraphs of Liber XV. In the case of Apostolic Christianity, holy matrimony expressed the redemption of an otherwise sinful and unclean act through the blessing of the priest, and the dedication of the act to the service of God by bringing new children into the Church in accordance with scripturally acceptable procedures. In Thelema, the Mystery of Marriage is a magical expression of the divine process which continually creates the Universe, the formula of which is "love under will." The marriage ceremony thus affirms the inherent sacramental nature of sex. It represents the devotion of the most powerful energies of human organic life to the service of the Beloved: the revealer of the True Will.
by Helena and T. Apiryon
Version 10/23/95 e.v.
Copyright © 1997 Ordo Templi Orientis U.S.A. All rights reserved.
See also...
US Grand Lodge Ordo Templi Orientis http://oto-usa.org/oto/egc/
Crowley, Aleister (1989). The Confessions of Aleister Crowley: An Autohagiography. London: Arkana. ISBN 978-0-14-019189-9
Crowley, Aleister (1933-0-02). "Black Magic is Not a Myth." The London Sunday Dispatch (London). Retrieved 2011-12-18
Apiyon, T. "The Invisible Basilica: Introduction to the Gnostic Mass." Retrieved 2009-05-24.