Esoteric Christianity

Short description: Mystical approach to Christianity

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The Temple of the Rose Cross, Teophilus Schweighardt Constantiens, 1618 Part of a series on

Christian mysticism

Theology · Philosophy

* Apophatic
* Ascetical
* Cataphatic
* Catholic spirituality
* Hellenistic
* Mystical theology
* Neoplatonic
* Henosis

Practices

Monasticism

* Monasticism
* Asceticism
* Spiritual direction

Meditation

* Meditation
* Lectio Divina
* Invoking of Mystic Saints

Active asceticism

* Contemplation
* Hesychasm
* Jesus prayer
* Quietism
* Stages of Christian perfection
* Divinization
* Catharsis
* Theosis
* Kenosis
* Spiritual dryness
* Religious ecstasy

Passive asceticism

* Abstinence

People (by era or century)

Antiquity

* Ancient African
* Origen
* Gregory of Nyssa
* Pseudo-Dionysius

Desert Fathers

* Paul of Thebes
* Anthony the Great
* Arsenius the Great
* Poemen
* Macarius of Egypt
* Moses the Black
* Syncletica
* Athanasius
* John Chrysostom
* Hilarion
* John Cassian

11th · 12th

* Bernard of Clairvaux
* Guigo II
* Hildegard of Bingen
* Symeon the New Theologian

13th · 14th

|  Dominican

* Dominic de Guzmán

Franciscan

* Francis of Assisi
* Anthony of Padua
* Bonaventure
* Jacopone da Todi
* Angela of Foligno

English

* Richard Rolle
* Walter Hilton
* Julian of Norwich
* Margery Kempe

Flemish

* Hadewijch
* Beatrice of Nazareth
* Lutgardis
* John of Ruysbroeck

German

* Meister Eckhart
* Johannes Tauler
* Henry Suso

Female

* Beatrice of Nazareth
* Bridget of Sweden
* Catherine of Siena
* Mechthild of Magdeburg
* Marguerite Porete

15th · 16th

|  Spanish

* Ignatius of Loyola
* Francisco de Osuna
* John of Ávila
* Teresa of Ávila
* John of the Cross

Others

* Catherine of Genoa

17th · 18th

|  French

* Margaret Mary Alacoque
* Pierre de Bérulle
* Jean-Jacques Olier
* Louis de Montfort
* Charles de Condren
* John Eudes
* John of St. Samson

Others

* María de Ágreda
* Anne Catherine Emmerich
* Veronica Giuliani
* Francis de Sales

19th

* Dina Bélanger
* Catherine Labouré
* Mélanie Calvat
* Maximin Giraud
* Bernadette Soubirous
* Conchita de Armida
* Luisa Piccarreta
* Mary of the Divine Heart
* Thérèse of Lisieux
* Gemma Galgani

20th

* Padre Pio
* Therese Neumann
* Marthe Robin
* Alexandrina of Balazar
* Faustina Kowalska
* Sister Lúcia of Fátima
* Edgar Cayce
* Simone Weil
* Alfred Delp
* Thomas Merton
* Charles de Foucauld
* Edvige Carboni
* Elena Aiello

Contemporary papal views

Aspects of meditation
(Orationis Formas, 1989)

Reflection on the New Age (2003)

Literature · Media

* Lingua Ignota
* Ordo Virtutum
* Scivias
* Ascent of Mount Carmel
* Dark Night of the Soul
* Spiritual Canticle
* Way of Perfection
* Book of the First Monks
* The Interior Castle
* Abbey of the Holy Ghost
* A Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation
* Religion:Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul
* From Willow Creek to Sacred Heart
* The Glories of Mary
* The Imitation of Christ
* The Ladder of Divine Ascent
* Philokalia
* Revelations of Divine Love
* Spiritual Canticle
* The Story of a Soul
* Theologia Germanica
* Devotio Moderna
* Fatima in Lucia's Own Words
* Calls from the Message of Fatima
* The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima
* Sol de Fátima
* The Cloud of Unknowing
* The Consolation of Philosophy
* The Mirror of Simple Souls
* Sister Catherine Treatise
* Tractatus de Purgatorio Sancti Patricii
* The Vision of Adamnán
* Divine Comedy
* Inferno
* Purgatorio
* Paradiso
* Fatima

* v
* t
* e

Esoteric Christianity is a mystical approach to Christianity which features "secret traditions" that require an initiation to learn or understand.[1][2] The term esoteric was coined in the 17th century and derives from the Greek ἐσωτερικός (esōterikos, "inner"). It stands in contrast to exoteric (ἐξωτερικός, exōterikos, "outer" or "public"), a distinction already noted by Aristotle, who referred to ἐξωτερικοὶ λόγοι ("exoteric discourses") intended for a general audience.[3][4] Esoteric teachings were often transmitted orally to a small inner circle of initiates rather than through written publications, a pattern consistent with other religious "secret traditions".

Scholars note that esoteric Christian movements often emphasize alternative interpretations of Christian theology that differ from established orthodoxy. These currents frequently draw upon the canonical gospels, apocalyptic writings, and certain New Testament apocrypha as sources of hidden or symbolic meaning.[5] Some traditions also refer to the disciplina arcani, a concept describing secret teachings or liturgical practices transmitted in the early Church, although mainstream scholarship generally understands it as limited to liturgical secrecy rather than esoteric doctrine.[6][7]

Scholars debate the relationship between esoteric Christianity and Gnosticism. While some see Gnostic movements as among the earliest expressions of esoteric Christian thought, others argue that esoteric Christianity developed distinctively through Alexandrian theology, medieval mysticism, and later currents such as Rosicrucianism and Theosophy.[8][9][7]

There are also esoteric Christian Societies such as the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia.[10]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 1.1 Ancient roots
* 1.2 Present-day denominations
* 2 Concepts
* 2.1 Reincarnation
* 3 See also
* 4 References
* 5 Further reading

## History

Synoptic chart of the historical background and major currents of esoteric Christianity. Esoteric Christianity properly emerged during the Renaissance; the theory of prisca theologia, present in sectors of the humanist movement, favored the Christian reinterpretation of platonism, hermeticism, alchemy, and kabbalah. However, the esoteric Christianity that reached the contemporary era was mediated by the Romantic movement of the late 18th century and 19th century; Romantic sensibility revalued the imagination, the forces of nature, and the symbolic world—in a context of declining esotericism in the face of Enlightenment trends and scientific revolutions—thus fostering the cultural climate of the subsequent 19th century occult revival.

### Ancient roots

Some modern scholars believe that in the early stages of proto-orthodox Christianity, a nucleus of oral teachings were inherited from Palestinian and Hellenistic Judaism.[7] In the 4th century, it was believed to form the basis of a secret oral tradition which came to be called disciplina arcani.[7] Mainstream theologians, however, believe that it contained only liturgical details and certain other traditions which remain a part of some branches of mainstream Christianity.[7][11][12] Important influences on esoteric Christianity are the Christian theologians Clement of Alexandria and Origen, the leading figures of the Catechetical School of Alexandria.[13][need quotation to verify]

### Present-day denominations

A denomination of esoteric Christianity is The Christian Community.[14] It focuses on the experiential aspect of sacraments, with the Eucharist serving as "the Rite of the Consecration of Man".[14]

Scholar Jan Shipps describes the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as having esoteric elements.[15]

## Concepts

### Reincarnation

Influenced by the Platonic doctrine of metempsychosis, reincarnation of the soul was accepted by most Gnostic Christian sects such as Valentinianism and the Basilidians, but denied by the proto-orthodox one. While hypothetically considering a complex multiple-world transmigration scheme in De Principiis, Origen denies reincarnation in his work Against Celsus and elsewhere.[16][17]

Despite this apparent contradiction, most modern esoteric Christian movements refer to Origen's writings (along with other Church Fathers and biblical passages) to validate these ideas as part of the esoteric Christian tradition outside of the Gnostic schools, who were later considered heretical in the 3rd century.[18]

## See also

* Anthroposophy
* The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ
* Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa
* Jakob Böhme
* Vade Retro Satana
* Sigillum Dei
* Chi Rho
* Christian Kabbalah
* Christian meditation
* Christian mythology
* Christian perfection
* Christian theosophy
* Enochian magick
* George Gurdjieff
* Martinism
* Mystical theology
* Johann Reuchlin
* Rosicrucianism
* Rudolf Steiner

## References

1. ↑ Stroumsa, Guy G. (2005). Hidden Wisdom: Esoteric Traditions and the Roots of Christian Mysticism. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-13635-9
2. ↑ "Esoteric". Oxford English Dictionary Compact Edition. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. 1971. p. 894.
3. ↑ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940). A Greek–English Lexicon. Oxford: Clarendon Press, s.v. "ἐξωτερικός"
4. ↑ Nikulin, Dmitri (2012-12-11). The Other Plato: The Tübingen Interpretation of Plato's Inner-Academic Teachings. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-4411-6
5. ↑ Faivre, Antoine. ''Access to Western Esotericism''. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994, pp. 119–124.
6. ↑ McGinn, Bernard. ''The Foundations of Mysticism: Origins to the Fifth Century''. New York: Crossroad, 1991, pp. 178–183
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Stroumsa, Guy G. (2005). Hidden Wisdom: Esoteric Traditions and the Roots of Christian Mysticism. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 90-04-13635-5.
8. ↑ Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas. The Western Esoteric Traditions. Oxford University Press, 2008.
9. ↑ Faivre, Antoine. Access to Western Esotericism. SUNY Press, 1994.
10. ↑ "Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia – An Introduction (SRIA)". 17 June 2016. https://freemasonrymatters.co.uk/index.php/societas-rosicruciana-in-anglia-an-introduction-sria/.
11. ↑ Frommann (1833) (in la). De Disciplina Arcani in vetere Ecclesia christiana obticuisse fertur. Jena.
12. ↑ Hatch, Edwin (1907). "Lecture X". The Influence of Greek Ideas and Usages upon the Christian Church. London: Williams and Norgate.
13. ↑ Daniélou, Jean (1955). Origen. New York: Sheed & Ward, 1955. xvii + 343 pp
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Melton, J. Gordon; Baumann, Martin (2010). Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices (2nd ed.). ABC-CLIO. p. 620. ISBN 978-1-59884-204-3. 6 vols.
15. ↑ Shipps, Jan (August 16–23, 1978). "The Mormons: Looking Forward and Outward". Christian Century: 761–766.
16. ↑ "Quotes by Church Fathers Against Reincarnation". 2004. http://www.catholic.com/library/Reincarnation.asp.
17. ↑ Uebersax, John S. (2006). "Early Christianity and Reincarnation: Modern Misrepresentation of Quotes by Origen". http://www.john-uebersax.com/plato/origen1.htm.
18. ↑ "Articles on Esoteric Christianity". http://www.archeosofica.org/en/index.php/Members-Area-Registred/Esoteric-Christianity.html.

## Further reading

* Anonymous (1985). Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey Into Christian Hermeticism. New York: Tarcher/Penguin. ISBN 978-1-5854-2161-9.
* Brown, Coleston (2007). Magical Christianity: The Power of Symbols for Spiritual Renewal. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books. ISBN 978-0-8356-0855-8.
* Duncan, Anthony (1996). The Lord of the Dance: An Essay in Mysticism. Sun Chalice Books. ISBN 978-0-9650-8395-9.
* Kirby, Richard S. (April 10, 1999). "The Focus of Esoteric Futures". http://www.wnrf.org/cms/esotericf.shtml.
* Knight, Gareth (2010). Experience of the Inner Worlds. Cheltenham, Gloucestershire: Skylight Press. ISBN 978-1-9080-1103-9.
* Knight, Gareth (2011). A History of White Magic. Cheltenham, Gloucestershire: Skylight Press. ISBN 978-1-9080-1104-6.
* Powell, Robert (2007). The Sophia Teachings: The Emergence of the Divine Feminine in Our Time. Aurora, CO: Lindisfarne Books. ISBN 978-1-5842-0048-2.
* Smoley, Richard (2002). Inner Christianity: A Guide to the Esoteric Tradition. Boston: Shambhala Publications. ISBN 978-1-5706-2810-8.

* v
* t
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Religion

Major religious groups and denominations1

| Abrahamic|

| Judaism|

* Orthodox
* Haredi
* Hasidic
* Modern
* Conservative
* Reform
* Karaite
* Samaritanism
* Haymanot
* Reconstructionist
* Renewal
* Humanistic

|

Christianity|

* Catholicism
* Latin
* Eastern
* Eastern Orthodoxy
* Oriental Orthodoxy
* Nestorianism
* Assyrian
* Ancient
* Proto-Protestantism
* Waldensians
* Czech Brethren/Moravians
* Protestantism
* Lutheranism
* Calvinism
* Reformed
* Presbyterianism
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* Amish
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* Anglicanism
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* Holiness
* Baptists
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* Plymouth Brethren
* Restorationism
* Irvingism
* Adventism
* Pentecostalism/Charismatic
* Independent Catholicism
* Nontrinitarianism
* Unitarianism
* Swedenborgianism
* Mormonism
* Christadelphians
* Bible Students/Jehovah's Witnesses
* Anglo-Israelism
* Oneness Pentecostalism
* Spiritual
* Tolstoyan
* Judaizers
* Nondenominational
* Evangelicalism
* Esoteric

Islam|

* Sunni
* Ashʿari
* Maturidi
* Traditionalist theology
* Salafism
* Wahhabism
* Modernist Salafism
* Shia
* Twelver
* Zaidiyyah
* Isma'ilism
* Alawis
* Sufism
* Khawarij
* Ibadi
* Alevism
* Ahmadi
* Mahdavia
* Quranism
* Non-denominational

Others|

* Bábism
* Azali
* Bahá'í
* Druze
* Ali-Illahism
* Yarsanism
* Mandaeism
* Rastafarianism

Dharmic|

| Hinduism|

* Vaishnavism
* Sri Vaishnavism
* Brahma Sampradaya
* Nimbarka Sampradaya
* Pushtimarg
* Mahanubhava
* Ramanandi
* Varkari
* Shaivism
* Siddhantism
* Kashmir
* Kapalika
* Kaumaram
* Lingayatism
* Nath
* Balinese
* Shaktism
* Smartism
* Śrauta
* Sant Mat
* Ayyavazhi
* Neo-Hinduism

|

Buddhism|

* Theravada
* Mahayana
* Chan/Zen
* Amidism
* Nichiren
* Vajrayana
* Tibetan
* Neo-Buddhism

Others|

* Jainism
* Digambara
* Śvētāmbara
* Sikhism

Mazdan|

* Zoroastrianism

Indo-European|

* Armenian
* Baltic
* Celtic
* Druidry
* Germanic
* Hellenism
* Italo-Roman
* Romanian
* Slavic
* Yazidis
* Ossetian
* Kalash

Uralic|

* Estonian
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* Mari
* Mordvin
* Sámi
* Udmurt

Altaic|

* Turko-Mongolic
* Tengrism
* Burkhanism
* Vattisen Yaly
* Tungusic
* Manchu
* Evenki

Chinese|

* Confucianism
* Taoism
* Folk Taoism
* Yao Taoism
* Nuo
* Salvationist
* Xiantiandao
* Yiguandao
* Luoism

Tibeto-
Burmese|

* Bon
* Burmese
* Benzhuism
* Bimoism
* Bathouism
* Bongthingism
* Donyi-Polo
* Heraka
* Kiratism
* Qiang
* Sanamahism

Korean|

* Sindoism
* Cheondoism
* Jeungsanism

Japanese|

* Shinto
* Tenrikyo
* Ryukyuan

Tai and Miao|

* Ahom
* Hmongism
* Mo
* Satsana Phi

Austroasiatic|

* Vietnamese
* Caodaism
* Đạo Mẫu
* Hoahaoism
* Sarnaism

Austronesian|

* Batak Parmalim
* Dayak
* Kaharingan
* Momolianism
* Javanese Kejawèn
* Karo Pemena
* Malaysian
* Philippine Dayawism
* Tagalog
* Polynesian
* Hawaiian
* Māori
* Sumbese Marapu
* Sundanese Wiwitan

African|

| Traditional|

* Akan
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* Bantu
* Kongo
* Zulu
* Berber
* Guanche church
* Bushongo
* Dinka
* Efik
* Fon and Ewe
* Igbo
* Ik
* Lotuko
* Lozi
* Lugbara
* Maasai
* Mbuti
* San
* Serer
* Tumbuka
* Urhobo
* Waaq
* Yoruba
* Ifá

|

Diasporic|

* Candomblé
* Bantu
* Jejé
* Ketu
* Comfa
* Convince
* Espiritismo
* Kumina
* Obeah
* Palo
* Quimbanda
* Santería
* Tambor de Mina
* Trinidad Orisha
* Umbanda
* Vodou
* Voodoo
* Winti

Native
American|

* Abenaki
* Anishinaabe
* Blackfoot
* Californian
* Miwok
* Ohlone
* Pomo
* Cherokee
* Chilote
* Choctaw
* Creek
* Guarani
* Haida
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* Jivaroan
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* Mapuche
* Mesoamerican
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* Purépecha
* Midewiwin
* Muisca
* Native American Church
* Navajo
* Nuu-chah-nulth
* Pawnee
* Tsimshian
* Ute
* Zuni

Other ethnic|

* Aboriginal Australian
* Circassian
* Dravidian
* Inuit
* Papuan
* Siberian

Recent|

* Adi Dharm/Brahmoism
* Anthroposophy
* Discordianism
* Eckankar
* Falun Gong
* Fourth Way
* Goddess
* Japanese
* Jediism
* Modekngei
* Neopaganism
* Reconstructionism
* Wicca
* Neoshamanism
* New Acropolis
* New Age
* New Thought
* Rajneesh
* Satanism
* Spiritualism
* Subud
* Tensegrity
* Thelema
* Theosophy
* Neo-Theosophy
* Agni Yoga
* Transcendental Meditation
* UFO religion
* Raëlism
* Scientology
* Unitarian Universalism
* White Brotherhood

Note: 1 The main source: Eliade, Mircea, ed (1987). The Encyclopedia of Religion. New York: MacMillan.

Historical religions

* Prehistoric
* Paleolithic
* Harappan
* Egyptian
* Atenism
* Mesopotamian
* Sumerian
* Babylonian
* Semitic
* Canaanite
* Yahwism
* Arabian
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* Etruscan
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* Proto-Indo-European
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* Vedic
* Mazdaism
* Hittite
* Armenian
* Paleo-Balkan
* Albanian
* Illyrian
* Thracian
* Dacian
* Greek
* Mysteries
* Orphism
* Gnosticism
* Hermeticism
* Greco-Buddhism
* Roman
* Imperial cult
* Gallo-Roman
* Mithraism
* Manichaeism
* Mazdakism
* Scythian
* Germanic
* Anglo-Saxon
* Continental
* Frankish
* Norse
* Celtic
* Baltic
* Slavic
* Finnish
* Hungarian
* Ainu
* Melanesian
* Micronesian
* Nauruan
* Cook Islands
* Rapa Nui
* Tongan
* Inca
* Olmec
* Zapotec
* Fuegian
* Selk'nam
* Guanche
* Swahili
* Jamaican Maroon

Topics

| Aspects|

* Apostasy / Disaffiliation
* Behaviour
* Beliefs
* Clergy
* Conversion
* Deities
* Entheogens
* Ethnic religion
* Denomination
* Faith
* Fire
* Folk religion
* God
* Meditation
* Monasticism
* monk
* nun
* Mysticism
* Mythology
* Nature
* Ordination
* Orthodoxy
* Orthopraxy
* Prayer
* Prophecy
* Religious experience
* Ritual
* liturgy
* sacrifice
* Spirituality
* Supernatural
* Symbols
* Truth
* Water
* Worship

|

Theism|

* Animism
* Deism
* Dualism
* Henotheism
* Monotheism
* Nontheism
* Panentheism
* Pantheism
* Polytheism
* Transtheism

Religious
studies|

* Anthropology
* Cognitive science
* Comparative
* Development
* Evolutionary origin
* Evolutionary psychology
* History
* Philosophy
* Neurotheology
* Psychology
* Sociology
* Theology
* Theories
* Women

Religion and
society

* Agriculture
* Business
* Clergy
* monasticism
* ordination
* Conversion
* evangelism
* missionary
* proselytism
* Disability
* Education
* Fanaticism
* Freedom
* pluralism
* syncretism
* toleration
* universalism
* Fundamentalism
* Growth
* Happiness
* Homosexuality
* Minorities
* National church
* National religiosity levels
* Religiocentrism
* Political science
* Populations
* Schism
* Science
* State
* Theocracy
* Vegetarianism
* Video games
* Violence
* persecution
* terrorism
* war
* Wealth

Secularism and
irreligion

* Antireligion
* Deism
* Agnosticism
* Atheism
* Criticism
* LaVeyan Satanism
* Deconstruction
* Humanistic Judaism
* Irreligion by country
* Objectivism
* Secular humanism
* Secular theology
* Secularization
* Separation of church and state
* Unaffiliated

Overviews
and lists

* Index
* Outline
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* Abrahamic prophets
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