Wha

t is I

CE

S?

ICES

is a

non

-pro

fit e

duca

tiona

l ins

titut

ion

devo

ted

to t

he a

dvan

cem

ent

and

mys

tical

enl

ight

enm

ent

of

Man

kind

. I

CES

is

a C

olle

ge,

not

a se

cret

ord

er.

ICES

dis

tribu

tes l

ectu

res f

rom

the

tradi

tiona

l ini

tiatic

st

ream

. Man

y of

the

se l

ectu

res

wer

e or

igin

ally

in

a fo

reig

n la

ngua

ge

and

requ

ired

trans

latio

n in

to

Engl

ish.

Som

e of

the

se l

ectu

res

once

bel

onge

d to

fr

ater

nitie

s th

at w

ere

disb

ande

d du

ring

WW

II a

nd

are

no lo

nger

ava

ilabl

e el

sew

here

.

ICES

has

no

teac

hing

s of

its

ow

n, a

nd i

s no

t th

e au

thor

of

the

mat

eria

l it

circ

ulat

es.

Each

lec

ture

in

each

Lib

er c

arrie

s id

entif

icat

ion

indi

catin

g its

orig

in.

Som

e of

the

lect

ures

may

eve

n be

con

tradi

ctor

y si

nce

they

are

com

ing

from

diff

eren

t sou

rces

.

Mem

bers

sh

ould

take

wha

t the

y ca

n us

e, a

nd s

et th

e re

st a

side

, no

t fo

rget

ting

that

it

was

the

sto

ne t

he b

uild

ers

reje

cted

tha

t ev

entu

ally

bec

ame

the

corn

ersto

ne o

f th

e te

mpl

e.

ICES

firs

t sta

rted

as th

e IC

OM

, whi

ch a

t tha

t tim

e,

was

est

ablis

hed

to d

isse

min

ate

Mar

tinis

t te

achi

ngs.

La

ter

it br

oade

ned

its c

urric

ulum

to in

clud

e m

ater

ial

from

Alc

hem

y, F

reem

ason

ry, G

nost

icis

m, t

he G

rail,

th

e H

erm

etic

a, t

he K

abal

a, a

nd t

he R

osic

ruci

an�s

, et

c. B

ecau

se o

f th

is e

xpan

sion

of

subj

ect m

atte

r th

e na

me

was

cha

nged

from

the

Inte

rnat

iona

l Col

lege

of

Mar

tinis

t St

udie

s to

the

Int

erna

tiona

l C

olle

ge o

f Es

oter

ic

Stud

ies

in

1985

. ht

tp://

ww

w.ic

es-

colle

ge.o

rg

ICES

is

plea

sed

to s

hare

its

her

itage

of

esot

eric

te

achi

ngs

with

all

since

re a

spira

nts

who

hun

ger

and

thirs

t fo

r sp

iritu

al e

nlig

hten

men

t. I

CES

is f

or t

he

neop

hyte

on

the

esot

eric

pat

h as

wel

l as

for

the

ve

tera

n so

jour

ner.

Am

ong

our

mem

bers

hip

can

be

foun

d pi

lgrim

s of

bo

th

sexe

s fr

om

over

fif

ty

coun

tries

, an

d fr

om a

ll re

ligio

ns a

nd r

aces

. M

any

alre

ady

belo

ng

to

othe

r or

gani

zatio

ns

incl

udin

g;

AM

ORC

, Ast

ara,

ARC

, BO

TA, C

IRC

ES, E

ckan

kar,

Free

mas

onry

, Co-

Free

mas

onry

, Gno

stic

s, M

artin

ists

, R

ose+

Cro

ix,

Serv

ants

of

th

e Li

ght,

SRF,

Th

e Th

eoso

phic

al S

ocie

ty, a

nd o

ther

s. I

CES

doe

s N

OT

enco

urag

e m

embe

rs

to

drop

ou

t of

an

y ot

her

orga

niza

tion

they

may

bel

ong

to.

The

fact

is n

o pe

rson

or o

rgan

izat

ion

know

s ul

timat

e tru

th!

Ulti

mat

e tru

th e

xist

s on

ly i

n G

od.

Eac

h pe

rson

/org

aniz

atio

n is

giv

en to

kno

w o

nly

a re

lativ

e pa

rt of

the

tru

th,

for

one*

s tru

th c

hang

es,

as o

ne

beco

mes

mor

e en

light

ened

or

cons

ciou

s. A

bove

all

how

ever

, IC

ES m

embe

rs h

ave

lear

ned

to t

hink

for

th

emse

lves

, no

t to

m

erel

y as

sim

ilate

an

d re

peat

so

meo

ne e

lse�

s tru

th.

The

Ord

er

of

the

Gra

il pr

ovid

es

a fra

tern

al

com

pone

nt

for

thos

e m

embe

rs

who

de

light

in

ce

rem

onia

l. Its

ritu

als

and

Initi

atio

ns a

re b

eaut

iful

and

pow

erfu

l. W

e ho

pe y

ou w

ill e

njoy

and

ben

efit

from

you

r so

jour

n w

ith u

s. M

ay h

e w

ho g

ives

us

Life

, Lig

ht a

nd L

ove,

gui

de y

our

foot

step

s an

d le

ad

you

to t

he G

lorio

us K

ingd

om!

Ord

er o

f th

e G

rail

web

site

: w

ww

.ord

erof

theg

rail.

org

The

Ord

er o

f the

Gra

il is

a tr

aditi

onal

ord

er o

f mys

tic

Chi

valry

. Th

roug

h a

line

of f

iliat

ion

near

ly o

ne

thou

sand

yea

rs o

ld,

we

are

heirs

to

such

aug

ust

orde

rs a

s: L'

ORD

RE D

E LA

CRO

SSE

DE

GEN

ET,

L'O

RDRE

DE

SAIN

T M

ICH

EL, L

�ORD

RE D

E LA

TO

ISO

N

D'O

R,

and

L'O

RDRE

D

E SA

INT

LAZA

RRE

DE

JER

USA

LEM

am

ongs

t ot

hers

. Fo

r ov

er a

dec

ade,

the

Ord

er o

f th

e G

rail

(OTG

) ha

s se

rved

as

the

frate

rnal

bod

y of

the

Int

erna

tiona

l C

olle

ge o

f Es

oter

ic S

tudi

es (

ICES

). T

he I

CES

cu

rric

ulum

form

s th

e ba

sic

educ

atio

nal s

ubsta

nce

of

our w

ork.

The

OTG

ha

s tw

o fo

rms

of

oper

atio

n;

Com

man

derie

s an

d Pr

iorie

s. Ea

ch C

omm

ande

ry o

r Pr

iory

is

un

der

the

loca

l ju

risdi

ctio

n of

a

Com

man

der,

or P

rior,

and

all

are

acco

unta

ble

to a

G

rand

Com

man

der

who

ove

rsee

s op

erat

ions

, an

d gr

ants

ye

arly

di

spen

satio

ns

to

legi

timat

e O

TG

Com

man

derie

s and

Prio

ries.

The

Gra

il ha

s be

en

desc

ribed

as

m

any

thin

gs

incl

udin

g a

cup

(or

a di

sh)

and

a st

one

�falle

n fr

om

heav

en.�

In

the

mid

dle

ages

th

e G

rail

beca

me

iden

tifie

d w

ith th

e cu

p of

the

Last

Sup

per,

whi

ch w

as

acco

rdin

g to

leg

end

the

vess

el i

n w

hich

Jos

eph

of

Arim

athe

a ca

ught

Chr

ist�s

blo

od a

t th

e cr

ucifi

xion

. W

e m

ay e

ven

thin

k of

the

Gra

il as

the

Cup

of

Gno

sis.

We

find

hint

s of

thi

s in

writ

ings

of

the

Gno

stic

Oph

ites,

an e

arly

Sch

ool o

f Gno

stic

ism

, who

poss

esse

d a

bow

l with

a c

oile

d an

d w

inge

d se

rpen

t, w

hich

was

the

Oph

ite s

ymbo

l of

the

Red

eem

er a

nd

Son

of G

od. T

he G

nost

ic N

aass

enes

als

o po

sses

sed

a cu

p kn

own

as th

e A

nacr

eon

havi

ng m

uch

the

sam

e m

eani

ng. I

n th

e C

eltic

Mab

inog

ion,

fro

m w

hich

the

Chr

istia

n G

rail

Myt

hs a

re a

t lea

st pa

rtly

deriv

ed, t

he

Gra

il co

uld

be C

erid

wen

�s c

auld

ron

of i

nspi

ratio

n,

from

whi

ch G

wio

n is

rebo

rn a

s Tal

iesin

.

The

Que

st fo

r th

e G

rail

is a

jour

ney

in s

earc

h of

the

divi

ne s

oul.

It is

thi

s el

usiv

e m

yste

ry t

hat

lead

s us

ev

er o

nwar

ds t

owar

ds �

a st

ate

of G

race

�, a

nd t

he

reco

very

of

a sp

iritu

al p

osse

ssio

n of

the

hig

hest

wor

th;

one

whi

ch c

an b

e fo

und

with

in u

s. T

houg

h w

e ar

e be

set

with

man

y tri

als,

tem

ptat

ions

, an

d da

nger

s in

this

life

, it i

s po

ssib

le t

o ev

entu

ally

fin

d ou

r w

ay

thro

ugh

this

fo

rest

of

er

rors

. Ev

en

if pr

esen

tly w

e ca

nnot

see

the

fore

st fo

r the

tree

s!

Stat

emen

t of T

he O

rder

of t

he G

rail

We

mai

ntai

n th

at t

he i

nstit

utio

n of

mys

tic c

hiva

lry

embo

dies

th

e hi

gh

idea

ls

of;

nobi

lity

of

hear

t, ch

arity

, fid

elity

, int

egrit

y, u

prig

htne

ss, m

oral

ity a

nd

cour

age.

Abo

ve a

ll, a

Kni

ght o

r D

ame

is a

per

son

of

thei

r w

ord.

U

nder

the

rul

es o

f K

nigh

thoo

d an

as

pira

nt p

asse

s th

roug

h th

e ra

nks

of P

age

or S

erva

nt,

to S

quire

, an

d fin

ally

to

Kni

ght

or D

ame

in e

ach

succ

essi

ve g

rade

an

oblig

atio

n is

req

uire

d.

The

tradi

tiona

l Kni

ghtly

vow

s of

: obe

dien

ce, p

over

ty a

nd

chas

tity

are

an i

mpo

rtant

par

t of

the

se o

blig

atio

ns,

but N

OT

as th

ey a

re u

nder

stoo

d in

the

Lite

ral s

ense

. D

urin

g In

itiat

ion

the

cand

idat

e w

ill b

e in

struc

ted

as

to th

e es

oter

ic m

eani

ng o

f eac

h vo

w.

Aim

of t

he O

rder

of t

he G

rail

The

aim

, or

mis

sion

of

our

orde

r is

em

bodi

ed in

the

follo

win

g go

als:

1)

To p

rom

ote

the

mys

tical

and

es

oter

ic C

hris

tian

teac

hing

s an

d th

e ex

alte

d Sp

iritu

al

and

mor

al id

eals

of t

he R

osy

Cro

ss. 2

) To

pro

mot

e th

e in

stitu

tion

of

mys

tical

ch

ival

ry

by

mak

ing

Kni

ghts

and

Dam

es in

acc

orda

nce

with

our

trad

ition

, th

ereb

y en

cour

agin

g m

embe

rs t

o liv

e an

hon

orab

le,

deco

rous

an

d no

ble

life.

B

y ac

ting

in

such

an

ex

empl

ary

way

, no

t on

ly a

re t

he m

embe

rs t

hem

se

lves

upl

ifted

, bu

t al

so t

hey

beco

me

a m

odel

and

in

spira

tion

to e

very

one

in s

ocie

ty.

As

a re

sult

the

who

le s

ocie

ty is

rai

sed.

3)

To a

llevi

ate

som

e of

the

distr

ess

in s

ocie

ty th

roug

h gi

ving

aid

and

ass

istan

ce

to b

ona

fide

orga

niza

tions

. Esp

ecia

lly th

ose

who

he

each

com

man

dery

or

prio

ry i

s re

spon

sibl

e fo

r it�

s ow

n pr

ogra

m, a

nd n

o m

embe

r is p

aid

Sala

ry

Mem

bers

con

tribu

te y

early

or m

onth

ly �d

ues�

to th

eir

com

man

dery

, an

d at

the

end

of

each

gra

il ye

ar a

ll ex

cess

m

onie

s be

yond

op

erat

ing

expe

nses

ar

e do

nate

d to

cha

rity.

How

you

can

bec

ome

a K

nigh

t or

Dam

e

You

may

app

ly f

or m

embe

rshi

p af

ter

atte

ndin

g at

le

ast

3 C

onvo

catio

ns a

s a

visi

tor.

To b

ecom

e a

Kni

ght o

r Dam

e yo

u m

ust b

e at

leas

t 21

year

s of

age

an

d a

curr

ent I

CES

mem

ber.

Mem

bers

of t

he O

TG in

th

e fir

st a

nd s

econ

d de

gree

s sh

ould

als

o be

aw

are

that

they

mus

t als

o at

tend

Mas

s and

take

com

mun

ion

with

in a

wee

k pr

ior

to t

heir

third

deg

ree

Initi

atio

n.

The

Mas

s th

at th

ey a

ttend

cou

ld b

e G

nost

ic, R

oman

C

atho

lic,

Orth

odox

, A

nglic

an,

etc.

, ho

wev

er,

if ci

rcum

stanc

es

allo

w,

a G

nost

ic

Mas

s w

ould

be

pr

efer

able

for o

bvio

us s

ymbo

lic re

ason

s.

Ever

yone

adm

itted

into

the

high

er d

egre

es h

as c

ome

up th

roug

h th

e lo

wer

ran

ks, a

nd h

as r

ecei

ved

his

or

her p

revi

ous g

rade

s in

an O

TG C

omm

ande

ry o

r fro

m

a K

nigh

t or

Dam

e In

itiat

or.

Mem

bers

hip

is o

ffer

ed

to a

ll sin

cere

see

kers

18

year

s or

old

er, r

egar

dles

s of

se

x, ra

ce, r

elig

ion

or s

exua

l pre

fere

nce.

We

only

ask

th

at

you

ackn

owle

dge

a tra

nsce

nden

t fo

rce

or

�Sup

rem

e C

omm

ande

r� b

eyon

d eg

o or

per

sona

lity

and

the

mun

dane

lev

el o

f ph

ysic

al e

xist

ence

. A

nd,

that

w

hile

in

ou

r co

mpa

ny,

your

be

havi

or

dem

onstr

ates

resp

ect a

nd to

lera

nce

tow

ards

all

othe

rs

pres

ent

rega

rdle

ss

of

any

of

thes

e or

ot

her

diffe

renc

es in

phi

loso

phy

or o

pini

on.