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A BISHOP WILKINS COLLEGE JOURNEY
In this self-focussed 21stCentury we have become obsessed with
the concept
of the personal Journey be it celebrities on Strictly come
ancin!"
leaders of political parties" or contestants on #he $pprentice
and %i!
%rother& So why not an S'I$ or %ishop (il)ins Colle!e
Celebrant*s +ourney,
I was initiated into reemasonry in 1./0 and found it fascinatin!
as a social
institution in which to participate which also happened to have
a most
remar)able history& In particular I was to discover the
close connections
between the history of science and the n!lish nli!htenment
before" durin!
and after the Civil (ar" 'estoration and lorious 'evolution&
3avin! spent
most of my career doin! and4or mana!in! e5perimental '6 pro+ects
and
technical consultancy" I was fascinated to find that not only
had the 17 th
century produced the mainstream disciplines of maths" physics"
chemistry"
biolo!y etc&" but that a small merry band of people
8includin! Christopher
(ren" Seth (ard" %en ran)lin" Isaac 9ewton and our own John
(il)ins:
had driven it alon! in a strate!ic multi-disciplinary
fashion& #hese and other
leadin! worthies were much en!a!ed with reli!ion" increasin!ly
from a
;rotestant perspective& #he 9atural Sciences and metaphysics
were how
one mi!ht hope to understand how *ods
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$lthou!h fascinated by all those *%eyond the Craft* masonic
orders outlined by
?eith %& Jac)son" 8'ef& 2: I have come to realise" by
trial and error" that I am
not a collector and performer of ritual outside the basic orders
of *$ntient
reemasonry*& #he one notable e5ception is the Societas
'osicruciana in
$n!lia 8S'I$: which fascinated me by its difference" modernity
and
philosophical outloo)" particularly in re!ard to its active
discourse and
research bias& C= )indly proposed me and" seven !rades
later" here I am
as Celebrant
Joinin! %ishop (il)ins Colle!e of course led me to the Duestion
of *who he,*
and an on!oin! interest in the whole Civil (ar4'estoration 'oyal
Society
n!lish nli!htenment period 8'ef*s 80 6 A:& $ !reat
*networ)er* as well as a
rational and tolerant thin)er and or!aniser" (il)ins remains a
!reat personal
hero& Ether freDuent Duestions arisin! durin! my S'I$
so+ourn have been -
(ho were the 'osicrucians 6 their theolo!y4philosophy, (ere they
children
of the Counter 'eformation, (hat has been their influence on
later societies,
$re there hints of Socialism - e&!& free medical care in
their thin)in!, (hy
such a selective membership-cell structure" with only ei!ht
members, inally
the need to find your own successor" struc) a particular chord
in this former
>od!e secretary
$nother on!oin! fascination is the very worthy ame rances $melia
Fates"
8'ef& G: distin!uished cultural historian of the 'enaissance
and 'eformation"
also introduced to me by C=& 3er masterpieces such asH #he
'osicrucian
nli!htenment 8'ef& :" iordano %runo 8'ef& 7: and #he $rt
of =emory 8'ef&
/: reveal the variety and stran!eness of 'enaissance and
'eformationmindsets to the modern world& $fter her death in
1./1 ;rofessor 3u!h #revor-
'oper in the #imes obituary described her *as the most
life-enhancin!
historian he had )nown*& Fates e5plored the interwoven
strands of
Christianity both before" durin! and after the reformation and
the endurin!
influences of ancient 3ermeticism" nosticism and
9eo-;latonism& ame
Fates was educated durin! ((II at %ir)enhead 3i!h School li)e my
twin
dau!hters" was a !raduate in rench" li)e my wife" and spent most
of her life
livin! near uildford" where our dau!hters were also at 3i!h
School& 3er
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!reat insi!hts into 'enaissance culture and mindset have been a
continuin!
revelation to me and a stimulus to my studies of metaphysics and
its history&
#hese areas continue to be mined e5tensively followin! the
pioneerin! wor)
of Fates& ven !iants of 9atural ;hilosophy such as 9ewton
and %oyle"
predominantly viewed by us throu!h a modern lens" studied
alchemy and the
occult for e5ample datin! the *Creation* and the desi!n of ?in!
Solomon*s
temple& (e are poor at !raspin! the mindset of the 1.th
century let alone
escapin! from our lar!ely analytical and secular 21st century to
the 1Gth or
1th centuries say& Social historians such as #homas and ebus
8'efs& . 6
1@: are fortunately revealin! this to us via their academic yet
hi!hly
accessible research into ma!ic and the occult&
References
1& *n!lish Speculative reemasonryH Some ;ossible Eri!ins"
#hemes 6developments*& $& #revor Stewart" $BC vol& 117"
pp 11-1/2" 2@@A&
2& *%eyond #he Craft* >ewis =asonic %oo)s" 1../&
0& *%ishop John (il)ins 11A - 172* ;aper !iven to %ishop
(il)insColle!e 9o& G/" Societas 'osicruciana in $n!lia"
Christleton" Chester" ecember 2@@0& rater r& &C&
Strachan" III
A& *%ishop John (il)ins 11A - 172 - $n Intellectual
%io!raphy*" %arbaraShapiro"
