ECCLESIA GNOSTICA CATHOLICA

What  is the E.G.C.

"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law."

Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (E.G.C.), is the ecclesiastical arm of Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.). The E.G.C. is a Thelemic religious environment, dedicated to the advancement of Light, Life, Love, and Liberty through Thelema.

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The central activity of the E.G.C. is the celebration of the Gnostic Mass, as set forth in Liber XV, for the O.T.O. and E.G.C. in 1913. No membership is required to attend the Gnostic Mass, however lay membership in E.G.C. is available through baptism and confirmation. Initiate members of O.T.O. in good standing are eligible for clerical ordination in E.G.C. Members of II° and higher are eligible for ordination as Deacon, and those who have reached the K.E.W. degree are eligible for ordination as Priest or Priestess. Many O.T.O. local bodies celebrate the Gnostic Mass on a regular basis.

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In 1890 Eglise Gnostique was founded by Jules–Stanislas Doinel du Val Michel and the Gnostic Catholic Church was founded in 1907 e.v. by Jean Bricaud, Gérard Encausse and Louis-Sophrone Fugairon; the latter two having been bishops of Jules Doinel’s Gnostic Church (1890) before Doinel’s abdication as Patriarch. In 1908 e.v., Theodor Reuss, one of the founders of the O.T.O. received episcopal consecration and primatial authority in the Gnostic Catholic Church from Encausse, Bricaud and Fugairon in gratitude for his issuance to Encausse of a patent for the Masonic Rites of Memphis and Mizraim. The same year, Encausse, Bricaud and Fugairon changed the name of their church to the Universal Gnostic Church, leaving Reuss exclusive authority in the Gnostic Catholic Church, (E.G.C). As with all his other affiliations, Reuss incorporated the Gnostic Catholic Church into the system of the O.T.O.

At Serpent & Lion Oasis, O.T.O., we carry on these traditions, we inspire individuals of all ages and backgrounds to discover & accomplish their true wills, and we are here to spread the word of Thelema in this new aeon of time in society, where "Love is the law, love under will."