Martinism

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Martinism is a form of mystical or esoteric Christianity, which envisions the figure of Christ as "The Repairer" who enables individuals to attain an idealised state such as that in the Garden of Eden before the Fall. As an informal practice, Martinism dates back to late 18th Century France. In the late 19th Century it was established in France and elsewhere as a formal order meeting in lodges. During the 20th century there has also been a revival of some of the practices which pre-date Martinism proper and which directly inspired it.

Today, there are three separate concepts which come under the umbrella of the general term "Martinism":

  • Martinism itself - which is a Mystical tradition in which emphasis is placed on Meditation. This was founded in the 18th Century by Louis-Claude De Saint-Martin, and was formalised in 1888 by Augustin Chaboseau and Gerard Encausse (aka Papus).
  • The Elus-Cohens. This relies on Theurgy (i.e. Ritual Magic) to attain the same ends as Martinism. The Elus-Cohens were founded by Martinez De Pasqually, who was Saint-Martin's teacher. The original Elus Cohens ceased to exist sometime in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century, but it was revived in the 20th century by Robert Ambelain.
  • The Scottish Rectified Rite or Chevaliers Beneficient De La Cité-Sainté (CBCS). This is a Masonic rite which, in its highest degrees, uses Masonic-type rituals to demonstrate the philosophy which underlies both Martinism and the practices of the Elus-Cohens. The CBCS was founded in the late 18th Century by Jean-Baptiste Willermoz, who was a pupil of Martinez De Pasqually and a contemporary of Saint-Martin. The CBCS has managed to survive as a continually practiced rite from its founding until the present day.


Contents

[edit] Pre-Martinism: Martinez De Pasqually and the Elus Cohens

Jacques de Livron Joachim de la Tour de la Casa Martinez de Pasqually was born in c. 1727 in Grenoble, France, and died in 1774 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Martinez De Pasqually was active in Masonic organisations throughout France from the age of 28 onwards. In 1765 he established the Ordre des Chevelier Maçons Élus Cohen de L’Univers (Order of Knight-Masons Elect Priests of the Universe), which originally comprised Master Masons only.

This order had three sets of degrees: the first were analogous to the symbolic degrees of conventional Freemasonry. The second were generally Masonic, though hinting at De Pasqually's own secret doctrine. The third set were blatanly magical: for example by using exorcisms against evil in the world generally and in the individual specifically. In the highest degree, the Reaux-Croix, the initiate was taught to use Theurgy to contact spiritual realms beyond the physical.[1]

De Pasqually put forth the philosophy underlying the work of the Elus Cohens in his only book, Treatise on the Reintegration of Human Beings which first uses the analogy of the Garden of Eden, and refers to Christ as "The Repairer". The ultimate aim of the Elus Cohen was to attain - whilst living - the Beatific Vision, through a series of magical invocations and complex theurgic operations.

After Martinez De Pasqually's death, the Elus Cohens continued to operate for some time: however divisions started to occur between various temples, which became dormant during the first half of the nineteenth century. The last-known surviving Elu-Cohen from the original incarnation of the order, Destigny, died in 1868.[2]

[edit] Louis-Claude De Saint-Martin

Louis-Claude De Saint-Martin was born 1743 in Amboise, France and died in 1803. He was originally a barrister before taking a commission in the army at Bordeaux. Saint-Martin was initiated into the Elus-Cohens in 1768 and was active in it for at least six years. Saint-Martin was initiated into the Reaux-Croix, the highest degree of the Order, and in 1770 became De Pasqually's secretary.

Saint-Martin became increasingly dissatisfied with the Elus-Cohens' use of Theurgic ritual, feeling that it was far too sophisticated for the desired end. Instead, he personally favoured inward contemplation, or what he called "The Way of the Heart". Nevertheless, Saint-Martin continued to acknowledge Martinez De Pasqually's influence on his own system of thought. In addition, Saint-Martin drew much inspiration from the work of Jakob Boehme.[3].

In 1777, after failing to convince the Elus-Cohens to adopt a more contemplative as opposed to theurgic practice, he cut-back his involvement in the Order. He ceased all involvement in it in 1790.

Saint-Martin outlined his philosophy in several books, using the nom de plume of "The Unknown Philosopher". These include:

There has been some controversy as to whether Saint-Martin himself ever founded a formalised Order of Martinists himself. For example, twentieth century Martinist Robert Ambelain at first believed that Saint-Martin founded an actual order called the "Society of Initiates"[4], but within a few years he had become disillusioned with this and came to believe that the Society of Initiates had never existed.[5] Others allege that Saint-Martin became involved in a pre-existing society called the "Order of Unknown Philosophers"[6]. It seems most probable however that although Saint-Martin did initiate disciples after a fashion, this was done on an informal basis: Martinism did not exist as an order per se until the efforts of Papus and Chaboseau (vide infra).

[edit] Willermoz and the Scottish Rectified Rite

Jean-Baptiste Willermoz (born 1730, Lyons, France; died 1824 also at Lyons), was initiated into Masonry at the age of 20 in a lodge which operated under the auspices of the Strict Observance. He was initiated into the Elus-Cohen in 1767, eventually attaining the highest degree of the Order, and being named by De Pasqually as a "Superior Judge", one of its senior-most officers.

Concerned about the dissension in the order after the death of De Pasqually, Willermoz in 1778 together with two other Superior Judges formulated the idea of creating two additional degrees for the Auvergne Province of the Strict Observance, which exemplified the philosophy, though not the theurgic practices, of the Elus Cohens, whilst working in the Knight Templar-oriented millieu of the masonic rite. The name of the rite was changed to Chevaliers Beneficient De La Cité-Sainte (CBCS). The degree structure of the rite was thus:

  1. Apprentice
  2. Fellowcraft
  3. Master
  4. Maître Ecossais/Scotch Master
  5. Ecuyer Novice/Squire Novice
  6. C.B.C.S.
  7. Chevalier-Profès/Professed Knight (added by Willermoz)
  8. Chevalier-Grand Profès/Grand Professed Knight (added by Willermoz)

Having reformed the French branch of the order, Willermoz in 1782 succeeded in persuading the German mother-branch to adopt his reforms - though not without meeting considerable opposition from other branches of the Strict Observance, such as the Bavarian Illuminati of Adam Weishaupt.

The French Revolution curtailed the activities of the CBCS in France, although it was preserved in Switzerland. Today the CBCS, or "Scottish Rectified Rite" (Rite Ecossais Rectifié) has six "grand priories" throughout the world: Switzerland, U.S.A., France, England, Germany, and Belgium.

The occultist A.E. Waite said of the Scottish Rectified Rite that he "had come to see the Régime Ecossais et Rectifié as maintaining, more than any other rite, the essence in ritual form of that secret tradition that 'tells us not alone that the Soul "cometh from afar" and that the Soul returns whence it came, but it delineates the Path of Ascent'." It was, for him, truly the secret tradition in practice.[7]

[edit] Papus & Chaboseau: the founding of the Martinist Order

The disciples of de Saint-Martin spread the Doctrine of the Unknown Philosopher in France, Germany, Denmark and above all in Russia. It was through one of them, Henri Delaage, that in 1880 a brilliant young Parisian doctor, Gerard Encausse (Later to be known as Papus), became acquainted with the doctrines of Saint-Martin and decided to become their champion. For this purpose, in 1884, together with some of his associates, he established a Mystical Order which he called the Ordre Martiniste or the Martinist Order.[8]

The founding of the Order came about when Encausse met August Chaboseau in 1884. They discovered that they had both apparently received Martinist initiation through two different chains of succession which linked back to Saint-Martin and his original disciples. Papus claimed to have come into the possession of the original papers of de Pasqually and to have been given authority in the Rite of Saint-Martin by his friend Henri Viscount Delaage.[9] However, Encausse realised that there was a "missing link" in his own chain of succession: he and Chaboseau therefore "swapped initiations" in order to consolidate their lineages.

The Martinist Order which Papus founded was organised as a Lodge system, which worked three degrees:

  1. Associate
  2. Mystic
  3. Unknown Superior.

Of these, the first two introduce the Candidate to key Martinist concepts, whilst the third supposedly confers the actual Initiation which Saint-Martin gave to his original disciples. Martinists generally believe that to be an authentic initiate, one must be able to show a chain of Initiatic Succession which goes back to Saint-Martin himself.

About the rituals themselves, the following general points may be made:

  • The mystical Christianity aspect of Martinism is emphasised by the fact that all lodges are opened by invoking Yeheshuah (Hebrew: hwchy) i.e. the Tetragrammaton with the addition of the Hebrew letter Shin, which was first suggested by Reuchlin as a Qabalistic way of spelling Jesus.
  • Despite the Lodge structure of Martinism, the rituals themselves do not bear any resemblance to any of the symbolic degrees of Freemasonry. The rituals have their own millieu of dramatic and esoteric content: however it has been claimed that some of the rituals are derived from the Egyptian Freemasonry of Cagliostro, and indeed the Scottish Rectified Rite of Willermoz.[10]
  • The rituals contain elements of Martinez De Pasqually's philosophy, and passing references to the Qabalah, in addition to principles derived from Saint-Martin's own teachings.
  • The candidate at key points throughout the rituals is expected to answer on his or her own initiative. He or she is constantly encouraged to meditate on the symbolism presented.
  • The rituals often rely on the element of surprise to reinforce the points they make. It is thus inappropriate to go into further detail about the content thereof.

Later branches of the Martinist Order worked a fourth degree which conferred on the candidate the power to initiate others himself, and to establish an independent Lodge.

[edit] Modern Martinism

Under construction


[edit] External links

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