News from the North American College of Gnostic Bishops

Once again, the land of Israel, sacred to Christians, Jews, and Muslims, is torn apart by violence, hatred, and bloodshed.

We, the members of the North American College of Gnostic Bishops, call on all parties to de-escalate immediately in the interests not only of general peace in the region, but of the many innocent victims on both sides of the conflict.

We pray that all parties will remember that Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Arabs, and all the peoples of the world share a common humanity which defines us more than any ethnic, racial, linguistic, or religious distinction.

We pray also that the leaders of the various nations and governments of the region, and of the whole world, will be so filled with the spirit of peace, that they will strive to achieve a lasting international solution that is just, respectful of human dignity, and which preserves the honour and integrity of all parties.

It is our earnest hope and prayer that those who have been victimized by violence and live in oppression and insecurity will be comforted, and those who have been lost will find themselves before the face of the Divine in all its mercy.

http://www.johannite.org/blog/?p=83

It is with grave concern that we note that the Georgia Board of Paroles and Pardons has today turned down the request for clemency in the case of Georgia death row prisoner Troy Davis. Despite significant doubts about the guilt of Mr. Davis, Georgia has scheduled him for execution tomorrow,  September 21,  at 7 p.m. in Jackson, Georgia.

The murder of Savannah Police Officer Mark MacPhail was a horrifying crime, one for which his family certainly deserves to see justice done. But a review of the evidence in the case raises significant doubts about Mr Davis’ guilt: there is no physical evidence linking him to the murder; seven out of the nine eyewitnesses who testified at the trial have recanted, saying that their testimony was the result of police intimidation or coercion; and many witnesses have implicated another individual in the murder, someone who is reported to have boasted of the crime to friends.

There are many unresolved questions about what happened the night of the murder, and only one thing is clear: there is overwhelming doubt. Our prayers are with the family of Officer MacPhail and others who have been impacted by this horrific crime, all of whom have undergone much pain and suffering as a result. However, executing Troy Davis with so little evidence will only add to the injustice.

More than 3,500 members of the clergy have signed the Amnesty International letter to the Board of Paroles and Pardons.  Support for clemency has come from prominent religious figures and government officials across the political spectrum, including Nobel Laureates President Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Jose Ramos Horta; as well as Pope Benedict XVI; Norman Fletcher, former Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court; Bishop Wilton Gregory, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Atlanta; Mark White, Former Governor of Texas; Bob Barr, former Georgia Member of Congress; William Sessions, former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Rep. John Lewis, Georgia Member of Congress and former Chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; and many others.

On July 16, 2007, in the face of growing awareness of the number of people on death row who were convicted and executed despite reasonable doubt, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles adopted the Order Suspending the Execution of Sentence of Death. That statement reads, in part, “The members of the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles will not allow an execution to proceed in this State unless and until its members are convinced that there is no doubt as to the guilt of the accused.”

We believe that in the case of Mr. Davis, there is substantial doubt as to his guilt, and we ask that the Board abide by this commendable statement and take action to halt the execution of Troy Davis.

We ask that all people of good will continue to pray for Troy Davis and his family and for the grieving family of Officer Mark MacPhail and all those who are victims of violence.

The North American College of Gnostic Bishops is saddened to learn of the repose of His Eminence, the Most Reverend Dmitri, retired Archbishop of Dallas and the Diocese of the South of the Orthodox Church in America.

Archbishop Dmitri, who fell asleep in the Lord at his home at 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning, was born Robert R. Royster into a Baptist family in Teague, TX in 1923 and converted to Orthodoxy as a teen. After serving in the Army during WWII, His Eminence worked with the Mexican Orthodox Community of Our Lady of San Juan de Los Lagos. He was later instrumental in bringing members of the Mexican National Catholic Church into the Orthodox Church.

Ordained in 1954, then consecrated to the episcopacy in 1969, his ministry spanned fifty-seven years. His accomplishments include the translation of the Liturgicon into Spanish, the founding of snumerous parishes, and serving as the first Bishop of the OCA’s Diocese of the South. In 2008, following the retirement of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, the Holy Synod of the OCA named Archbishop Dmitri Locum Tenens, a role he filled during a very trying time in the history of the church.

Throughout the 42 years of his episcopal ministry, His Eminence was known as a tireless servant of the Church and a man deeply committed to prayer. In his pastoral letter written to the Diocese of the South on Pascha 2007, His Eminence reminded the faithful of his diocese – and all of us:

“The message is clear enough. Though we have faith and hope, if we have not love, we are nothing. Or to put it in personal terms, related to daily responsibilities: even if we have “our Church” and faithfully perform all that is required of us by the local community; even if we serve long vigils and pray day and night; even if we develop worthwhile ministries and projects within parishes and dioceses; even if we keep all of the fasts and observe every Church holiday; if we do not have love, but rather, are filled with hatred, resentment, pride or arrogance, our efforts are for nothing. We may even profess to have the True Faith, but if love is lacking our efforts to propagate that faith sound like the ravings of fanatics, to those both within and outside the Church.”

As we mourn and offer prayers for the repose of His Eminence and those he served, we also pray that all of us may be strenghtened by the example of his lifetime of service and compassion.

On March 11 a massive eartquake hit the Pacific Ocean neaby Northeastern Japan.  Some estimate that the earthquake and the tsunami that followed may have cost more than 10,000 lives, in addition to leaving tens of thousand homeless and without access to food, clean drinking water, and essential medical care.

Adding to the tragedy is the growing nuclear disaster at Fukushima, leading to fears of a  large-scale radiation release with potentially catastrophic consequences.

Please join with the North American College of Gnostic Bishops as we offer our prayers and thoughts for the people of Japan. For those who have died, we pray for their eternal rest. For those who are missing or wounded, we pray for their speedy rescue and recovery. And for all who have loved ones still unaccounted for, we pray for their comfort.

As we join in prayers during this crisis, you may also wish to contribute financially to the recovery and relief work.

Donations can be made to the Japanese Red Cross through Google’s Crisis Response site at http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html, which also offers resources and information about the disaster.

Recent events in Egypt and Tunisia, as well as elsewhere in Middle
East have highlighted the importance of governments that are
responsive to the needs and rights of their citizens.  We, the members
of the NACGB, support unequivocally the right of all peoples of to
self-determination and freedom from oppressive government.

Whereas both Gnosticism and Christianity generally have their roots in
the lands of the Middle East and North Africa and

Whereas the Gnostic Churches owe an especial debt to the traditions of Egypt and

Whereas the Gnostic Churches share a unique bond with Coptic
Christians, in whose language many of the Gnostic Scriptures are
written, therefore

We pray that those entrusted with the public good in Egypt and
elsewhere, and those who struggle for freedom in their own nations
will be guided by the Holy Spirit and act in the interests of peace,
freedom and human dignity.  We pray for a peaceful conclusion to the
conflict in Egypt and also that the needs and rights of all Egyptians,
of all faiths, genders and origins, will be respected by the
government of Egypt.

On the Morning of 5th December, 2010, one of the lights of the Martinist and Gnostic communities, His Grace Bishop +Elias Ibrahim of Sydney passed into the absolute from complications related to pneumonia. Bishop Ibrahim suffered a stroke in 2009 from which he never fully recovered. He was remembered on Thursday morning in a Sufi rite in his home town of Sydney, NSW, Australia.

+Elias was a member of +Lewis Keizer’s Home Temple, and was active as a spiritual counselor and initiator. He was an initiated Sufi and was well versed in a wide variety of forms of mysticism. A frequent contributor to a number of forums on subjects related to Martinism, Rosicrucianism, Gnosticism and Sufism, +Elias was a staunch defender of traditional forms of initiatory practise. His contributions were scholarly and passionate, and he will be missed by all in the Gnostic community.

We, the Churches of the North American College of Gnostic Bishops do,
severally and together, affirm the following principles:

That no single Church, or Jurisdiction, or Organisation has a monopoly
on Truth, and that Truth belongs to the common treasury of all men and women of good will throughout the world.

That the diversity of Gnostic Churches in the world at the outset of
the 21st century is neither a necessary evil to be tolerated nor merely a contingent historical
phenomenon, but rather that the diversity of Churches is both necessary and desirable.

That a diversity of Gnostic Churches which actively, through liturgical ministry and service to all seekers
after truth, contribute to the richness and development of the Gnostic Movement as a whole, is salutary
for the accommodation of various spiritual needs on the part of a diverse community of seekers, and for
the pursuit of Unity without constraint of Uniformity.

We affirm further that the desire to win converts from other churches, to expand one Church at the
expense of another, is detrimental to the health and flourishing of the Gnostic Movement as a whole,
and that source of Unity is neither traditional nor legal form but each individual’s fundamental and
unique experience of Gnosis.

The North American College of Gnostic Bishops mourns the passing of one its own- The Most Reverend John Cole, in Ecclesia Tau Ioannes Harmonius.

His Grace was a dedicated and true Servant of the Gnosis, and an accomplished esotericist and Martinist- having served as a Bishop in the Ecclesia Gnostica Apostolica (Bishop of Evansville, Indiana), Presiding Bishop of the Gnostic Church of Christianopolis,  Grand Master of the Ancient Martinist Order (Sar Quaero Lucem) and Grand Commander of the Rosicrucian Order of the Grail.

His Grace joined the NACGB as the delegate for the Gnostic Church of Christianopolis in early 2005 and in 2007 scaled back his participation to Individual Membership. This was owing to his battle with cancer which he would continue to fight bravely in the years to come.

His Grace was widely respected in the Ecclesiastical Gnostic movement, and he enjoyed good relations with many clergy and laity throughout. We all have been blessed by his efforts and contributions, and his presence will be felt and remembered for many years to come.

May eternal light shine upon him.