Rosicrucian Forum 2016 Vol. 86, No. 1… · material situation, I had the impression of finding AMORC as it was in the time of Harvey Spencer Lewis and Ralph Lewis: for as you all

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Cover Image - Earthset from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State U./Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

ROSICRUCIAN FORUM

Vol.86, No. 1, 2016

CO N T ENTS

Imperator’s Annual Message 1

2016 Hierarchy Dates 24

Rosicrucian New Year 3369 25

ROSICRUCIAN FORUM (ISSN #1077-4017) is published semi-annually by the Grand Lodge of the English Language Jurisdiction, AMORC, Inc., at 1342 Naglee Ave., San Jose, CA 95126 (fees paid through membership). Copyright 2016 by the Supreme Grand Lodge of AMORC, Inc.

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IMPERATOR’S ANNUAL MESSAGE

Year 2016

Fratres and Sorores,

Under the Auspices of the Rose Cross,

Salutem Punctis Trianguli!

While the year 2016 sees the 400th anniversary of the publication of the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz, what stood out in 2015 for our Order was the World Convention in San Jose, which I referred to on a number of occasions in previous annual letters.

I certainly had an acute sense of the importance of this Convention, and the days shared there with my fratres and sorores were highly enjoyable, especially as some of my children and grandchildren had chosen to attend; by being there, in common with all those taking part, they had either come to see or were returning to magnificent and inspiring Rosicrucian Park. As I said during my address at the “Opening of the Sphinx” Ceremony, I was taking part in my last World Convention as Imperator at this legendary venue, as the next one is due to take place in Rome in 2019, and then it will be the turn of the city of Montreal to host this event in 2023.

As is customary, all the Grand Masters and Administrators played an active role in the Convention’s program, and their contributions were greatly appreciated, all of the feedback I have received being very positive. The Convocation I directed gave me the opportunity to present a preview of the Manifesto The New Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz, a publication that most of you have now seen, either on your Grand Lodge’s website or in the booklet sent through the mail.

I would like to make it clear that this text, which completes a trilogy similar to the one published in the seventeenth century, may be given out to the general public, just like the Positio and the Appellatio may be. I would like to ask you to circulate it widely, please. Indeed, please let as many people know about it as possible, because our Order needs to be known and recognized. Share it as much as you can, with all of the people you know, and use this Manifesto to speak about our Fraternity, and about the benefits you derive from it. As I have often had occasion to say to you, “be proud of being Rosicrucians!”

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The highpoint of the Convention was the opening of the Sphinx. In 1934, Imperator Harvey Spencer Lewis had placed a number of documents there. I performed this act again, and then entrusted each Grand Master and Administrator with finding a secure location within their Grand Lodge or Administration to place a capsule similar to the one put into the Sphinx in Rosicrucian Park, containing various documents bearing witness to Rosicrucian thought in our era for mystics of the future.

In keeping with my obligation to you, I will now give an outline of my diary of activities in 2015, before going on to give you some news from all the Jurisdictions.

In terms of my traveling, the early part of the year was very quiet, as I had some health problems that even meant having to cancel a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa. I was really sorry to our fratres and sorores for this. But is it not said that “no one is expected to do the impossible”? In March, I had the opportunity of meeting some of them in Egypt, together with a group of Rosicrucians who had come from Brazil.

The situation for the Egyptian people is still very precarious, as tourists have pretty much stopped coming to this part of the world and to this stunning country. I have spoken about this with you through my letter on a number of occasions, and I am always acutely sensitive to the plight of this nation and its inhabitants. This is why I continue to go there regularly, to encourage our fratres and sorores to make this initiatory journey while it is still possible. The danger is not only in the Middle East, and we must face up to the situation with courage and with resolve. The land of Israel is also one worth discovering, and Jerusalem is symbolically a city that belongs to the whole world. Our Order occasionally organizes tours there, and I encourage you to go on this pilgrimage under its aegis, if you are able. Contrary to what might be thought, security there is very extensive.

In April, I went for a few days to Brazil for a meeting of the Grand Lodge’s Administrative Board. Various matters needed settling, which was done, and following this brief trip I resumed my other activities.

Up until the summer, I had no major journeys to carry out, but allow me to digress and tell you something more personal, as I have done in the past whenever a grandchild of mine is born. In May, our family welcomed a new member − a little girl, Lily, from China, then aged nineteen months. She is

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going to be growing up in the home of my son, Alexandre, and his wife, who live in the USA, they having chosen to adopt this child who has had a very difficult start to her incarnation, but to whom I wish a warm welcome and all the happiness in the world. It was not until the month of November that I was able to make her acquaintance, but she instantly captured my heart. And so I am now grandfather to twelve grandchildren, four of whom are already Rosicrucians. As you will have been noticing for a number of years, family is a very important part of my life.

At the end of July I left for the Convention in San Jose, prior to which I took part in a tour organized by the French-speaking Jurisdiction to the American West. It was a superb adventure, with almost 180 members of the French-speaking Jurisdiction taking part, and Frater Maximilian Neff joining us.

In August, I met with some fratres and sorores in Romania for the official setting up of our Order there. As is generally the case, an already well-established Grand Lodge is in charge of overseeing the activities of this new Administration: Frater Claudio Mazzucco has taken on this task, and is being assisted in it by Frater Raul Passos, a member of the Portuguese-language Grand Lodge, who speaks Romanian. Frater Ákos Ékes, Administrator for Hungary, was also present and these initial discussions were very interesting indeed. There remains much work to do, but in theory our Order should be able to carry out its activities satisfactorily within the next few months. I expect to be in a position to give you more information on Romania next year.

At the beginning of September, I took part in a Convention in Lisbon, accompanied by Grand Master Frater Hélio de Moraes e Marques, and greatly enjoyed meeting our fratres and sorores from Portugal. I had already had the opportunity of making the acquaintance of some of them in years gone by, and their presence bears testimony to their loyalty to our Order.

Later in September, I left for Cuba. I had had the opportunity of meeting our fratres and sorores on two occasions before, but only in Havana. This time, I traveled throughout the island for two weeks, accompanied by Frater Roland Brisson, the Grand Master responsible for this Jurisdiction, and by Frater Alexis Bulgari, who has agreed to oversee our Order’s activities on this island that is such an individualistic one. Our frater had already taken part, over twenty years ago, in the “revival” of the Italian-language Grand Lodge,


laying new foundations for our Order in Italy and carrying out a considerable amount of translation work. A speaker of several languages and a great traveler, he found himself in contact with some fratres and sorores from Cuba, and was moved by their situation and by how isolated they were.

Even though I was already familiar with Cuba, I was deeply moved when I met our fratres and sorores. In terms of their thinking as well as their material situation, I had the impression of finding AMORC as it was in the time of Harvey Spencer Lewis and Ralph Lewis: for as you all know, Cuba is somewhat cut off from the rest of the world, in material terms at least, due to the American embargo that has been in force for over fifty years.

For various reasons, I will not go into the political situation in this letter, but I can tell you that our fratres and sorores have been able to keep the Rosicrucian flame going for decades, in the face of all odds. I would like to officially thank the Cuban Government, which has always allowed Rosicrucians to meet, and which has now been facilitating our endeavors to have AMORC officially recognized.

Rosicrucianism’s history and Cuba have always been closely linked. In 1913, Soror Jeanne Guesdon, well known in the French-speaking Jurisdiction because she was its Grand Master in the 1950s, had left France to work in Cuba, where she stayed until 1930. During this time, she acted as interpreter and intermediary for our late Imperator and our Cuban fratres and sorores. She played an active part in establishing the first foundations of our Order on the island. Following the acquisition of a piece of land several years earlier, in 1955, on September 29 to be precise, the first stone of what was intended to be the Temple of the “Lake Moeris” Lodge was laid. The Imperator, Frater Ralph Maxwell Lewis, had made the journey to Havana for the occasion; at the time, the name of the Master of the Lodge was Frater Alberto L. Gayoso. On this spot, after the Cuban national anthem, the Rosicrucian Chant was sung in unison by several dozen people. Our Order was already holding activities in Cuba prior to this event and, despite the problems that arose at the beginning of the 1960s, these have never stopped.

Unfortunately, the project to build a Temple in Havana has thus far never been realized. But plans have just been drawn up, and everything possible is going to be done so that we can at last have our own premises in this city, and perhaps even in others later on. Nowadays, openness is increasing, and numerous possibilities are going to be presenting themselves to us.

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Up until now, it has not been possible for anyone in Cuba to have sole ownership of a building, and organizations usually share premises; and so the Convocations I led during my trip took place in very welcoming, but quite unusual, venues. To my surprise I met large numbers of highly enthusiastic fratres and sorores, which made me think of all the other Rosicrucians in the world, and in particular those who are lucky enough to meet in their own premises, as is frequently the case. I naturally found myself comparing, and while I have never really understood why some fratres and sorores appeared to be demanding or even difficult at times, I can now accept their attitude even less. Let me give you an example: in Paris, our Order owns a beautiful building that houses its Lodges; many activities take place there, and it is also open to the profane world; our fratres and sorores benefit from spacious premises that are very well equipped, where they can peacefully conduct their activities (Convocations, Initiations, etc.); in spite of this, some of them (fortunately very few) complain of some slight occasional noise or other sort of disturbance, and would like even more facilities and comfort, forgetting that we have to adapt to material and external happenings, such as for example having work regularly carried out, or sharing part of our premises with other activities.

I therefore imagined them in Cuba and, deep inside, it amused me somewhat. Our fratres and sorores there meet under material conditions that are very insecure. Most of the premises have no windows or air-conditioning. Several times, I conducted the Convocation and read out a discourse in the midst of car noise, honking, and street music, which holds a very important place in Cuba. None of this in any way prevented our spiritual communion, and my recollection of these times will forever be a moving one.

Therefore, fratres and sorores, when you come up against a few small inconveniences within your Affiliated Body, think of all our fratres and sorores throughout the world who do not even have the chance to meet together, or who have to do so in extremely difficult circumstances.

After this little aside, I shall now return to my visit to Cuba. While all of our fratres and sorores have been loyal to our Order for decades and are doing everything they can to perpetuate our activities, some of them who are particularly motivated are establishing lots of contacts with the authorities. Most of our Affiliated Bodies exist officially, or will by now, and if all goes well, things will continue to improve over the next few years.


Our goal is now the building of our own premises in Havana. To this end, numerous processes have been set in motion, and I have great hopes of seeing our Temple built at last. Sixty years, to the exact day, after the laying of the first stone by Frater Ralph Lewis, on a piece of land belonging to our Order since the beginning of the 1950s, I trod on this soil that will be accommodating and welcoming our future Lodge. Several fratres and sorores were with me, and it was a special moment. Thanks to the many steps they have taken over the course of the last several decades, some of the members have succeeded in ensuring that this piece of land acquired by AMORC has remained in the hands of our Fraternity.

During this trip I also had a meeting with some of the public authorities, and we were able to organize a lovely ceremony in a well-known square in Havana, which leading local figures attended; as part of this, a wreath of flowers was placed on behalf of AMORC in front of the statue of José Martí, a great figure in Cuba’s history.

The whole of this trip was not only full of emotions and wonderful surprises, but also packed with activities. I met hundreds of fratres and sorores, and have to say that I was not expecting to see so many. The way things operate is somewhat different from the other Grand Lodges, of course, and most of our fratres and sorores are unable to pay their dues. They study collectively, using documents that are several decades old. But that does not prevent them from feeling in every way members of our Order, who belong to the great Rosicrucian family. Our fratres and sorores may be short of everything in the material sense, but they have immense commitment.

As you probably know, Cuba is going to open up to the rest of the world, and the economic embargo that the people have been undergoing for half a century should be completely lifted in the future (so we hope). Things are going to change a lot in this country. I could have asked for your financial help, but for the moment I am only going to appeal for your good thoughts, because legally it is not possible for the Supreme Grand Lodge to come to the aid of Cuba financially, due to the embargo that is still in force at the time I am writing this letter. The Supreme Grand Lodge’s lawyer is strongly advising us not to take any action at present, because AMORC could come under investigation by the American authorities, which the Supreme Grand Lodge comes under. In the meantime, we are going to make sure that our fratres and sorores can study their monographs under improved conditions,

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by giving each Affiliated Body a complete set of documents for our fratres and sorores to share. We have to abide by the law, but I believe that solutions can nevertheless be found that will help Rosicrucians in Cuba. If they get the opportunity to read my letter, I would like them to know how much I appreciated meeting them, and sharing these fraternal moments with them. Despite how it appears, may our fratres and sorores in Cuba be assured that they are not alone, and that they belong to the great worldwide Rosicrucian Family.

On leaving Havana, I went straight to Canada for the meeting of the Supreme Grand Lodge, which was held the first week of October, as it has been every year for a number of years now, at the Rosicrucian Domain at Lachute in Canada.

Frater Serge Toussaint, Grand Master of the Jurisdiction for French-language countries, was reappointed to his office at this meeting. I was also able to pass on the Manifesto The New Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz to all the Grand Masters, and give them the instructions concerning it, since I wanted the release of the Manifesto to both you and the public to be held back until the beginning of this year 2016, January 6 to be exact. There is no major announcement to make to you, but as is customary, many matters were addressed and dealt with.

Still in the month of October, I joined some members from the USA and from the Congo in Egypt.

I would like our new fratres and sorores who are reading this annual letter for the first time to be reassured: my various travels are not all that I do. The rest of the time, I work in the office provided for me at the headquarters of the French-speaking Grand Lodge in Normandy, France, from where I am in contact with all the Grand Masters and Administrators via email, telephone, or letter.

Having just made reference to the Officers of our Order, I would like to use this letter to officially thank every one of them for the work they carry out. Along with their office, they have taken on the role that goes with it, and have undertaken to have an open ear for you. You should have no hesitation about contacting them if you are having difficulties in your personal life, as well as if you are having any problems to do with your membership, if one of the services provided by your Grand Lodge or Administration is not to your


satisfaction, for example, because those in charge are expected to be overseeing all activities and are committed to making sure that everything goes smoothly. Of course, in different countries there can be administrative impediments that are beyond the control of our Order’s Grand Lodge Officers, such as disruptions to the postal or banking services or other similar problems, but on the whole everything works pretty well. In the same way that you should not hesitate to write to or contact your Grand Master directly, you can also write to me for the purpose of drawing my attention to an important matter. I cannot guess at everything, or even deal with everything, but what I can do as soon as someone confides in me, is calmly and carefully receive and “welcome” everything.

As mentioned at the beginning of this letter, here now is a summary of the activities of each Grand Lodge and Administration, based on the reports sent to me.

Despite an economic situation that is particularly difficult, the Spanish Grand Lodge is putting all its energy into getting our Order better known by the public, and into making members’ experience a more fraternal and welcoming one. Much effort is being put into developing Internet presence and social networks. A number of books are available in electronic format. The Rosa-Cruz magazine has been completely modernized, and is now available through the major online sales websites. 2015 saw the completion of a scaled-down pyramid in the garden at the Grand Lodge, built to the proportions of the Great Pyramid of Giza; there is room for several people to sit inside and meditate.

Grand Master Frater Hugo Casas took part in numerous activities throughout the year. He regularly leads silent retreats at the Grand Lodge’s headquarters, and there are even dates reserved specifically for French-speaking members. Seminars, talks, mystical retreats, and Conventions all formed part of the program.

The work of the Russian-language Administration proceeded on a normal course in 2015. The translation of the monographs is continuing and they are now sending the monthly bulletins electronically. Convocations take place regularly in Moscow, Ekaterinburg, and St. Petersburg. The Pronaos in Riga has had some problems with the premises that the Convocations are held in, and its work has been disrupted as a result; a similar problem has

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also occurred for Initiations in Moscow. The search for suitable premises is continuing, however, and it is hoped that this will prove successful.

In June, a week-long camp was organized near Moscow, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of AMORC. A publicity campaign to help with the expansion of our Order was mounted in the autumn in libraries and by means of articles in esoteric magazines. Frater Vladimir Koptelov is still in charge of this AMORC Administration.

Grand Master Frater Serge Toussaint remains very active within the French-speaking Jurisdiction. During 2015 he has taken part in several Conventions in different countries, and on each occasion he uses this as an opportunity to give a public talk. As well as these Conventions, the Grand Master has carried out official visits, and run seminars for members who have reached the Twelfth Temple Degree. Seminars also take place for the other Degrees, each of them led by members selected for their expertise.

On October 31 in Paris, a Symposium was held on the theoretical and practical aspects of meditation, and three lecturers from Rose-Croix University International (RCUI), as well as the Grand Master, spoke at this; the event was held at our premises in Paris, and was such a success that applications from would-be participants had to be refused because it was fully booked. In the French-speaking Jurisdiction, RCUI has 57 lecturers who speak on some 300 cultural themes, presented from a Rosicrucian angle; and in that Jurisdiction, AMORC has 60 lecturers, all of them doing outstanding work in their respective fields.

As ever, Frater Serge Toussaint is continuing to write articles on mystical subjects he considers important, such as death, education, meditation, the meaning of life, happiness, etc. He also regularly updates his blog (www.blog-rose-croix.fr), and among the many items that can be found in this, I would mention the Call for Tolerance, Call for Non-Violence, and Commitment to the Planet (written in French); many people have already subscribed, both members and non-members. The blog is not only for the use of the French-speaking Jurisdiction, so by all means visit it, and take an active part in it.

The various websites and Facebook page of the French Jurisdiction get a lot of traffic. For example, the official website of AMORC France receives


over 1,000 visits per day, across all headings. Realizing that the Internet is indispensable for getting our Order known, the French-speaking Grand Lodge regularly produces video clips designed to attract the attention of Internet users to the existence of our Order. The latest is entitled: “Ancient wisdom for a Modern World.” This clip has been translated into English and is available on YouTube.

The number of Affiliated Bodies (Lodges, Chapters, and Pronaoi) remains stable in the French-speaking Jurisdiction. Some are seeing an increase in their membership numbers whereas in others there is a trend downwards, which at times is making it difficult for them to function, but all the members who attend Affiliated Bodies are committed to seeing them thrive, and to making them vehicles for the Rose-Cross to radiate through.

This coming October (2016), I am going to be accompanying some French-speaking Rosicrucians on a journey to Peru. This will be a new experience, and I invite you to join this trip if you are able to, as long as there is still room by the time you read this. I will give you a report on it next year.

During the course of 2015, the fifteen lecturers of the Traditional Martinist Order have been very active. This has resulted in an increase in the number of Martinists, and consequently made it necessary to start up Ateliers. Here too, a video clip presenting the Traditional Martinist Order has been produced and put up on the Grand Heptad’s website, as well as on YouTube.

In Finland, like everywhere else in the world, the economic situation is strained, but the Administration’s finances are nonetheless stable as expenditure is quite limited. All work is done on a voluntary basis. Publications and documents such as the magazine Rosa et Crux, the monographs, and so on are all continuing to be printed.

In the spring, our Administrator Frater Ilkka Laaksonen and his wife were invited for an official visit to the Administration in Hungary. Grand Master Soror Live Söderlund was also present for this event. During 2015, two days were organized on the theme “Rosicrucianism every day,” and mystical days took place in January and November in Toijala. The Pronaos in Helsinki and the Atrium Group in Tampere are quietly continuing their activities. The main objective of our Administration in Finland is to make our Order known to the general public, and consequently to organize regular meetings.

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In Estonia, a part of the world that comes under the supervision of our Finnish Administration, our Order is unfortunately not growing due to a difficulty with language, because the monographs have not as yet been translated into Estonian. But who knows, perhaps this will be possible at some point.

Over a period of several years, the English Grand Lodge for the Americas had been preparing for the 2015 World Convention, under the supervision of Grand Master Soror Julie Scott.

The new Alchemy Exhibit, the Labyrinth, and the Rare Books Room in the Rosicrucian Research Library were all unveiled in 2015, giving non-members as well as members fresh reasons for taking advantage of the peacefulness and inspiration that Rosicrucian Park provides.

The new exhibition on alchemy includes a journey through the seven stages of the alchemical process, a meditation chamber, and a real-size reproduction of an alchemist’s workshop.

The Rosicrucian Labyrinth is based on the pattern of the one in Chartres Cathedral in France, which has been an inspiration for pilgrims for at least 800 years. The Labyrinth’s pathways are bordered by native plants, which form the outline of the pattern, and are wide enough for wheelchair-users to be able to get around the bends easily. A grove of oaks, which are sacred trees in many ancient mystery traditions, surrounds the Labyrinth.

The new Rare Books Room has on display some of the most important books and documents in the Rosicrucian Research Library, including the Rosicrucian Manifestos of the beginning of the seventeenth century, rare editions by Jacob Boehme, Michael Maier, Robert Fludd, Francis Bacon, and Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin, and other outstanding works.

Over 2,200 members, from 70 countries in the world, took part in the AMORC World Convention, which saw the opening of the time capsule that was placed in one of the Sphinxes in Rosicrucian Park in 1934 by H. Spencer Lewis. A new capsule was placed there for future generations, containing various Rosicrucian documents.

The English-language Grand Lodge for the Americas is continuing its commitment to the environment, with the planting of thousands of native


plants at Rosicrucian Park including more than 100 trees, to help capture atmospheric carbon dioxide and stabilize the planet’s temperature.

The members of that Jurisdiction are also contributing to environmental protection in a new and innovative way: the use of online only monographs. According to a calculation of the environmental cost of transporting mail, printing of monographs and so forth, this initiative is preventing the release of over 120 tons of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and 100 pounds of dangerous polluting gases into the atmosphere. It also means that more than 1 million gallons of water and 700 trees are being saved every year! As you can see, Soror Julie Scott is an admirable protector of our planet and is very committed to the environmental cause, as many of us are.

The Grand Lodge has also converted books from the Roscicrucian Library into electronic form (ebooks) and made them available to the public on iBooks, Kindle, etc., which has resulted in between 300 and 400 downloads per day of those books. This year, inspiring material in the form of videos, books, etc. has been made available to both members and non-members, some of it free of charge, and this has been visited by hundreds of thousands of people over the course of 2015.

It is a lso worth noting that this Grand Lodge’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/Rosicrucian.Order.AMORC) now has over 260,000 fans, and this is putting members and seekers throughout the world in contact with one another. For my part, I still like holding a book in my hands and not being constantly in front of a screen. This is just an aside, though, and I can only congratulate our soror on her public-spirited actions.

In August, members of the English Grand Lodge for the Americas took part in a pilgrimage along the Route of Santiago de Compostela, and in so doing traveled the Primitivo (Original) Route in Spain, from Oviedo to Santiago de Compostela. In the autumn, members of this Jurisdiction were also able to experience the initiatory journey to the land of Egypt, which had an optional extension into Jordan.

I will finish my report on this Grand Lodge with an excellent piece of news. The Library of Congress in America has selected the Rose+Croix Journal (www.rosecroixjournal.org), the Order’s trans-disciplinary, peer-reviewed journal, for inclusion in its web archives. The Library of Congress preserves the United-States’ cultural artifacts. Its functions are traditionally to acquire,

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catalog, and preserve the content of publications that are important from a historical point of view and to provide the American people enduring access to them.

The headquarters of the English Jurisdiction for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, is housed in a three-story building called Greenwood Gate, which is nestled in the heart of the Ashdown Forest in southeast England. This is a location of outstanding natural beauty, where many species of birds can be found, as well as deer, foxes, reptiles, insects, and other animals. Members can feel the peacefulness and tranquility of this place when they come to visit. Since the Order moved in, thirty-nine years ago now, many inspiring and memorable events have taken place here. A great deal of maintenance and renovation is required for such an old building and this is done incrementally each year within the means of the Grand Lodge.

From this building Grand Master Frater Sven Johansson, assisted by a small team, oversees the monthly mailing of monographs and bulletins to the members, along with six color and six black and white magazines per year. These documents are all printed in-house, and made available to members online as well. Books are also increasingly being produced on site, to meet the clear demand for works relating to Rosicrucian philosophy and teachings.

It has been found that the best way of enabling the public to come in contact with the Order is by creating opportunities for members to meet non-members, at meetings open to the public. These meetings are held on a monthly basis throughout the year, in the UK and in South Africa. Forums are also organized every month on subjects connected to the Rosicrucian teachings. Our Order is also well represented in Ireland when there are esoteric events or exhibitions, and these are producing very encouraging results.

Online sales of works by Rosicrucian authors have always been an important source of revenue for the Grand Lodge, and members can also order incense, essential oils, Rosicrucian jewelry, and other items. Seminars and mystical weekends or days take place throughout the Jurisdiction, and attract substantial numbers of members.

In Cameroon, a part of which is English-speaking, the members are working very enthusiastically to try to acquire new buildings in which to meet, or to increase the size of the existing buildings. It is hoped that the background work being carried out to increase membership numbers will soon bear fruit.


In Ghana, Affiliated Body meetings are very important for the members who borrow their monographs from two AMORC libraries, whose purpose is to lend monographs to those who do not have the means to pay the Grand Lodge dues. In some areas, members make long journeys in order to support a local Rosicrucian group and benefit from the monthly teaching. The dedication and enthusiasm displayed towards our Order in Africa is phenomenal, and many of the members in other parts of the world should take their inspiration from it.

Rosicrucian activities in Nigeria are continuing, under the supervision of Grand Administrator Frater Kenneth Idiodi and the English Grand Lodge for Europe and Africa. During the first quarter of the year, five Conclaves with the theme “Toward National Security and a Better World” were held in different locations, and each of these saw several hundred members take part. R.C.U.I. and T.M.O. seminars over several days were also organized throughout the year. In April, the annual meeting for all Affiliated Body Officers in Nigeria and Ghana was attended by over 300 Officers and members.

A new two-story building to house the Temple of “Zohar” Chapter has been erected at Yenagoa in Rivers State, Nigeria; the Temple has capacity for 400 members. Upstairs, the Oratory of the Traditional Martinist Order can hold 200 members. Frater Kenneth Idiodi conducted the Rosicrucian Temple’s Consecration Ritual on September 26 with over 150 members present. “Zohar” Chapter has fulfilled all the conditions for becoming a Lodge.

A new Atelier of the Traditional Martinist Order was also opened in January 2015 at Benin City in Edo State, meaning that we now have 7 Ateliers in Nigeria. AMORC in Nigeria sponsors two organizations, namely the Sisters of the Rose-Cross (SIROC) and the Light-Bearers Association (LBA). The former is an organization for women who are members or friends of AMORC in Nigeria, and its activities complement those of the Order. In July, five seminars were held in different parts of Nigeria on the theme “Self-Mastery – Key to Successful Living.” The Light-Bearers Association is an organization for young people under the age of 25 who are members of AMORC, related to members, or friends of the Order; its activities are likewise complementary to the Order’s mission. The 2015 National Convention took place in April on the theme “Self Mastery – Key to Youth Development,” and this saw over 200 participants from Affiliated Bodies throughout the country. 50 new members were welcomed into the organization. Later in the year, in August, Regional

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Seminars on the theme “Shaping the World Through Youth Education and Service” were attended by dozens of participants.

This year, the English-language Grand Lodge for Australia, Asia, and New Zealand has experienced lots of fluctuations in its membership. This is due to a number of factors that are difficult to analyze. However, we have a strong and loyal core of Rosicrucians who are carrying the light of our Order in that part of the world. Here are a few of the activities that our fratres and sorores engaged in during 2015.

The “Mastery of Life” brochure has been completely revised and sent out to the members, and the feedback has been very positive. Fraternal days were organized in Sydney in February, Brisbane in September, and Melbourne in November, and a Convention took place in October in Sydney, which was well attended. Also, Rosicrucians from Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, along with Grand Master Frater Paul Panikian and Grand Administrator Frater Robert Kogel, made the journey to take part in the World Convention in San Jose.

In Italy, and more generally in the Italian-language Jurisdiction which also includes an Affiliated Body in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, our activities are all continuing enthusiastically under the supervision of Grand Master Frater Claudio Mazzucco. Talks open to the public, seminars, Initiations, and so forth were organized throughout the year.

In November a mystical day took place in Venice, with 90 members taking part. It was very well planned, and enabled mystical locations to be visited, such as the Church of Francesco Zorzi, where one member gave an excellent explanation of the meaning of the building in Kabbalistic terms. The group was welcomed by the monks, who were surprised by the level of interest shown towards their church, and showed members ancient works by Giordano Bruno and Francesco Zorzi which form part of their library.

Two Seminars were organized at the Grand Lodge. In August, a large number of members took part in the one led by Grand Master Emeritus, Frater Jean-Philippe Deterville, who spoke about the most important Rosicrucian techniques. In December, another Seminar was held on dreams, and the members were all very enthusiastic about taking part in it.

A meeting of the Traditional Martinist Order was held in Milan, and this


was very well attended as well. Two Pronaoi have been created this year in Italy: one in Sardinia (the second on the island), and the other near Genoa, in Liguria. The Grand Master continues to meet Neophytes and their families once a year. Initiations into the First and Twelfth Degrees were performed at the Grand Lodge at Ornano Grande; those who took part were deeply moved, and the setting would no doubt have played a part in this. Also, a Convocation took place at the Grand Lodge at midnight on New Year’s Eve; this was a very special and moving ritual, and those taking part all sensed a deep connection mystically. Another Convocation took place in July in order to give members in the south and center of Italy the chance to take part. As you probably know, the Grand Lodge is located in an old building dating from the year 1700, and much work is required. In August, additional restoration work was carried out so that the office could be transferred to another part of the house.

A property has been purchased by the Pronaos in Vicenza. This is the result of the determination and enthusiasm generated by our Egregore. Half of the sum of money required was raised by the members themselves, and it so happens that the members found the premises in the location where the Pronaos had started its activities nineteen years ago.

In August, as I mentioned earlier, Grand Master Frater Mazzucco went with me to Romania for the official opening of our Order, in Bucharest. The first part of this visit consisted of a meeting with a lawyer to complete all the administrative formalities, and then we met with our fratres and sorores. Any Romanian members wishing to contribute to this project may contact the Italian Grand Lodge, in Romanian, at [email protected].

Under the supervision of Grand Master Frater Hélio de Moraes e Marques, the Grand Lodge of the Portuguese-language Jurisdiction is continuing to grow, in spite of the political and economic conditions in Brazil. Being a large country, numerous Conventions were organized in different regions during 2015. As I said earlier, I met the Grand Master in Portugal for one of these Conventions in September. A number of groups have been officially set up as part of the Rose-Croix University International; these are particularly active, and are making a considerable contribution to the extension of our Order.

The Portuguese-language Grand Lodge has acquired a statue of the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar from the English Grand Lodge for the Americas;

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originally given by Frater Ralph Maxwell Lewis to his father Harvey Spencer Lewis while the latter was Imperator, this piece of art has made the journey from the USA to Brazil to serve as an embellishment to the gardens at the Grand Lodge.

In addition to Conventions, many activities are organized in Brazil, including meetings for members of the Twelfth Temple Degree, mystical retreats, etc. In common with all the other Grand Lodges, the Grand Lodge here is expanding communication a lot using social networks and the Internet. Virtual meetings between the Grand Master and Grand Councilors take place from the Grand Lodge. Brazil is a large country, and to meet physically is difficult at times, so this means of communication and discussion is very helpful.

Our Order is well established and recognized by the public authorities, and it is not rare for AMORC to be honored with different awards. In 2015 this led to special tribute being paid to our Order by the City Council of Ponta Grossa (Paraná), and we were given the Achievement Award of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Pará. We also received the same award from the Civic Authority of Belém. The highest award given by the city of Rio de Janeiro to those that stand out in Brazilian society or internationally is the Pedro Ernesto Achievement Medal, and the City Council of Rio de Janeiro awarded this to AMORC.

As you know, Brazil has a very large number of young people, and that is how the “Order of the Guardians of the Grail” was created. This structure is developing very well within our Order, and was represented at the “UP! ABC” festival in Santo André, a current affairs and music-based humanitarian and cultural gathering for young people, which had over 14,000 participants. There are now seventy Affiliated Bodies that have a branch of the Order of the Guardians of the Grail.

The Brazilian Grand Lodge has put in place a special system for admission to Conferences: rather than requesting a financial contribution, it asks each participant to bring a kilogram of non-perishable foods, which are then given out to charity organizations. As you will have noticed, the Portuguese-language Grand Lodge is very dynamic and active.

In Germany, our activities are following their course, still under the direction of Grand Master Frater Maximilian Neff. Let me also remind you that our frater is Treasurer of the Supreme Grand Lodge, and he and I are therefore in


very regular contact.

Some twenty Seminars in total were organized throughout 2015 at the Grand Lodge, and others were held in the Affiliated Bodies in Germany, Austria, and Croatia. The sixty or so Affiliated Bodies enable members to take part in Convocations, and thereby study the oral teachings of our Order. Four mystical days as well as conferences took place at Basel in Switzerland, Belgrade in Serbia, and Berlin.

The Convention of the German-language Jurisdiction was held over four days in the hills of Hunsrück. The Berlin Lodge has now moved into a new building; this is going to be used for cultural activities and conferences, as well as for our Rosicrucian activities.

In Croatia, the number of members is stable and the Administration in Zagreb, supervised by the German-language Grand Lodge, has been doing a very good job. They endeavor to make our Order known to the general public through advertising, and by putting on talks. The Affiliated Body in Zagreb is a Chapter: Frater Maximilian Neff goes twice a year for mystical days and Initiations, and the Traditional Martinist Order started up its activities there two years ago. There is also a very active Pronaos in Rijeka, on the Adriatic coast.

An Affiliated Body has started activities in Belgrade in Serbia, which comes under the Administration at Zagreb in Croatia. The Grand Master had the opportunity to give an interview on a very well known TV channel that is also broadcast in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He conducted a mystical day and gave a public talk in Belgrade, an experiment that was carried out on a number of occasions over the course of the year.

Let us come back to sunny climes now with the Spanish Grand Lodge for the Americas, whose headquarters is in León, Mexico. As in the other Grand Lodges, social networks are expanding rapidly, and Grand Master Frater Roland Brisson takes an active part in them by putting up daily messages. Contact has been set up with 40,000 people, and the website of this Grand Lodge has achieved a 5-star rating. The use of social networks is a significant help to our Order’s extension in Latin America. Online talks are organized, and around 1,000 people regularly listen to and watch them.

Venezuela has gone through a 300 percent devaluation in its currency,

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resulting in an abrupt increase in the costs of sending out monographs in this country. The Spanish Grand Lodge for the Americas has therefore decided to develop the possibility of fratres and sorores in Venezuela receiving their monographs online.

In addition, as I said at the beginning of my letter, Frater Roland Brisson went with me on my trip to Cuba.

Let us now turn back eastwards, with the Hungarian Administration. In April a mystical day took place at which Soror Live Söderlund, Grand Master of the Scandinavian Jurisdiction which sponsors the Administration in Hungary, was accompanied for the first time by General Administrator for Finland, Frater Ilkka Laaksonen, and his wife. Forty members were present at the headquarters of our Administration for this event, and all had an excellent day. Three new Colombes were installed, which brings the number of them to seven.

In 2015 a Rosicrucian retreat focusing on meditation was also organized. In a general sense, it is worth noting that voluntary work continues to be very important for the activities of this Administration. Expenditure this last year was lower, shelves for storing the Twelfth Degree monographs and the replacement of the wooden flooring in one of the rooms being the only investments made.

Administrator Frater Ákos Ékes is aware of the importance of developing online information, and has put in place a new project for this.

The Affiliated Bodies are going to be putting on an increased number of Open Days for the public; two were organized, at Tata and Zalaegerszeg, and the one in Tata was an immediate success! Degree Forums started up in Budapest.

Things are also progressing on the legal level, as it was necessary to update the old regulations in order to make them consistent with modern law and the principles of the Supreme Grand Lodge. This has now been done.

It is also planned to update the technical equipment in the Temple, which includes things such as a box for the Technician and new lighting and sound systems. Frater Ákos Ékes is putting his heart and soul into developing our Fraternity, which is to his great credit, because financially things are not easy.


Remaining in the East, I will now give you some news of the Czech and Slovak Grand Lodge.

For several years, a reduction in numbers and in members’ energy had been noticed in the Affiliated Bodies, resulting in difficulty finding Officers for the ritualistic posts, but during 2015 a degree of stability has settled in. Work is continuing to be done at the Grand Lodge in Prague, and the Temple located in a private building in North Bohemia continues to be used for the “Jacob Boehme” Lodge’s monthly Convocations and for Initiations. Our fratres and sorores may be few in number, but they are doing everything they can to ensure that the Rosicrucian flame carries on in their country. While the only Lodge in the Jurisdiction is in North Bohemia, the premises of the Grand Lodge in Prague are home to a Pronaos, and the Council of Solace ritual takes place every day here as well.

Important translation work has been carried out on a voluntary basis by members, covering the monographs as well as the “Forum” and other publications. Grand Councilor Frater Stanislav Altner continues to organize the Seminars and mystical days.

Grand Master Frater Michal Eben had a six-page interview published in a well-known esoteric magazine, following which the interviewer, who is also its chief editor, decided to cross the portals of our Order. Among the projects in progress is the restructuring of the website.

The little news there is from the Dutch Grand Lodge is good, since despite the recession and financial crisis, the number of members in the Jurisdiction remains stable. The task for 2015 was the preparation for putting the AMORC and TMO monographs online. The book The Rosicrucians Reveal the Secret has now been translated from the French, and is available to download on the Grand Lodge’s website. Frater Klaas-Jan Bakker remains Grand Master.

The year 2015 was a very active year for our Greek-language Administration. More and more conferences are taking place, and Pronaos Convocations continue to be held in Thessalonika and in Athens. For the first time in eight years, a First Temple Degree Initiation was conferred. This event was a very important one for our Greek fratres and sorores, and ten or so longstanding members attended, among them the first Colombe in Greece, who officiated

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thirty years ago. Everyone present charged this Initiation with positive energy. The Officers came from all over the country, including the island of Crete even though it is a long way away. Twelve members were initiated, and the ritual went perfectly. Our Administrator Frater Iakovos Giannakopoulos was very moved by it; he even confided to me that he was brought to tears, as he felt again the exhilarating atmosphere that he had experienced at the beginning of his Rosicrucian journey. Along with three other members, he took part in the World Convention in San Jose. In my letter last year, I appealed for your generosity and asked you to help the Greek Administration financially, and some of you responded to this; our Frater Iakovos was very moved by this gesture of solidarity, and gives you his thanks.

In Poland, it is still Soror Marie Metzler who is guiding our Order’s destiny. AMORC gave up its status as an association in 2015, and opted to be a foundation, which is more suitable for the situation and culture in Poland. Being a foundation gives us greater operational flexibility and peace of mind.

The main event was the opening of new premises that are larger and more modern, with enough room for the administrative offices and also a small permanent Temple, which was consecrated by the Grand Master of the German Jurisdiction, Frater Maximilian Neff, during his annual visit in June. At the end of July, Soror Marie Metzler attended the San Jose Convention, accompanied by one other member. The number of members is stable, and some of the fratres and sorores are very proud as their active presence within AMORC now goes back thirty years.

The Japanese Grand Lodge and Frater Atsushi Honjo continue their work. Electronic bulletins are posted for the public once a week, and whereas the number of readers was only 1,000 at the beginning of 2015, by the end of the year it had almost doubled. The quarterly Rosicrucian magazine Barajuji is made available using the same platform, and can be requested free of charge at: www.amorc.jp/mlmg.html. Seven members accompanied the Grand Master to the San Jose Convention, and enjoyed this international gathering. Frater Atsushi Honjo delivered a message about the Ainu, an indigenous people in Japan, and the audience was very interested by this rather unusual presentation. August saw the publishing as an e-book of “Self Mastery and Fate with the Cycles of Life” by Harvey Spencer Lewis; there have been over 400 downloads of it, and this has contributed to making our Order better


known in Japan. It is planned to publish three other works in the same way.

There are three Atrium Groups in Japan, at Nagoya, Okayama, and Kanazawa. Not that many members attend them, but everything is working well. In September the Chapter in Hokkaido ran a mystical weekend over two days, the first event organized on the banks of Lake Shikotsu, which contains the clearest water in Japan, in a natural setting that lends itself to outdoor meditation. The activities and rituals were held in a youth hostel, the first one built in Japan, and the Second Temple Degree Initiation was conferred here.

To finish with, here are some details from the Scandinavian Grand Lodge, still being run by our kindly and efficient Grand Master, Soror Live Söderlund. But first, I would like to mention our Frater Irving Söderlund who, as most of you will know, was not only Grand Master of this Jurisdiction but also Treasurer of the Supreme Grand Lodge for many years. Although now retired, he continues to provide valuable support to the Grand Master. In September he unfortunately had an accident, which meant that he had a long spell in the hospital followed by intensive rehabilitation, as he had a bad fall that required a major operation. Those who were told about this have, of course, supported him with their good thoughts, and for my part I have been regularly checking how he is. Our frater has great willpower and, by the time you read this letter, he will no doubt have regained all of his strength.

The restoring of the Grand Lodge buildings is continuing. The oldest parts of the administrative building go back to the seventeenth century, and the first reference to their history can be found in an official document from 1614, a year well known to Rosicrucians. Since 1982 they have accommodated our Order’s activities for Scandinavia, and this is thanks to all the voluntary work done by our fratres and sorores and to the activities that bring them together over the years. The project for 2015 was to lay new floor joists, renovate most of the basements, and finish the repairing of the building’s facade. This work has all been done in the traditional style, using natural materials and the same methods used at the time the house was built. Thanks to the renovation the cost of heating has been greatly reduced, with a positive effect not only on the Grand Lodge’s finances but also in environmental terms.

As they do every year, some fratres and sorores met in June for a week working as volunteers, the aim this year being to complete the garden and the terrace; despite the hard work going on, all the Rosicrucians who were there found the time for regular meditations. The websites have all now been updated and

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are up and running. A blog has been set up, and a new video produced. For your information, here are some web addresses that you may like to visit:

www.amorc.dk (Danish) www.amorc.no (Norwegian) www.amorc.se (Swedish) www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVtbkpjzlzc (Danish) www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJdfMHGBU78 (Norwegian) www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hlKp8X3F-8 (Swedish)

With the aim of making our Order better known to the public, the Scandinavian Jurisdiction is putting on twelve-week courses on different themes: the courses are presented in the form of short letters, and deal for example with concentration, stress, natural laws, the mastering of life, etc. The response so far has been fairly positive, and the challenge now is to get the existence of these courses known. To watch the introductory video, you can visit www.mysterieskolan.se. As they do every year, Seminars, Initiations, Convocations and various other activities took place. On October 18, a special Ceremony took place at the Grand Lodge, in which the capsule that I had entrusted at the World Convention to Soror Live Söderlund, as I had to all the Grand Masters, was placed underneath a mosaic rose forming part of the paving stones in the main entrance to the administrative building. All the members of the Management Board and the Grand Council were present for this occasion, together with a number of members. The Ceremony was streamed live on Facebook.

Fratres and sorores, this completes my overview of our Order’s activities. No doubt some of you will be amazed at my not referring to the state of our world, all the dangers that threaten it in general, and the terrorist attacks that took place in Paris in 2015. There would be so much to say and, above all, so much to lament, that I prefer not to approach this issue directly, because that would be going beyond the remit of my office as Imperator and failing to show the restraint that I must do. I have, of course, felt these tragedies like everyone has, just as I always do when I hear about a catastrophe, and I immediately sent my good thoughts to those suffering, the victims and those close to them. But you know, I am a Rosicrucian yet I am also a human being, and I find it very hard to hold back my anger, because the situation is not a new one and it could have been avoided. This long “descent into hell” started after the Second World War, in the 1960s especially. As a result of naivety,


the need to show how tolerant we are, “do-goodism,” and so on, our societies have ended up in a state of breakdown, clearly excessively lenient and easy-going. Does one have to show tolerance, when faced with what is intolerable? The real problem is that our leaders talk a lot but generally do little, and even when they pass laws on security or the environment, they do not ensure they are enforced. To still be the pawn of religions in the twenty-first century is truly saddening.

Fratres and sorores, my heart weeps when I think of what is at great risk of happening to our world, and particularly to our daughters and our granddaughters; for we can credit those who wish to destroy the western values with at least something positive, which is that their intentions have been clearly announced. There is no ambiguity: so let us in our turn be clear-headed. While we cannot act in concrete terms on the material and political levels to stop all of this, let us at least act as Rosicrucians and as mystics. There may not be weapons for fighting the darkness physically, but you have all the necessary tools for building peace mentally. I am often asked how I see the world and what my opinion is. As I said earlier on, I cannot and must not give it honestly and openly, and it is my duty to be positive and to encourage you to be positive as well. I shall therefore finish this letter on this note, with the hope that at the end of next year I will be able to talk only about things that are pleasant, and above all, that what is best about our world will still be in existence. In the meantime, despite my comments, which may seem alarmist to you, I shall endeavor to remain confident, and from the bottom of my heart I hope that you have a very good Rosicrucian Year 3369.

With my best wishes for Peace Profound,

Sincerely and fraternally,

2016 Hierarchy DatesThursday, February 18

Thursday, May 19Thursday, augusT 18

Thursday, NoveMber 17

No. 1, 2016 Page 25

The ImperaTor proclaImsRosicrucian New Year 3369

Rosicrucian Year 3369 officially begins at the moment of the Spring Equinox on March 19 at 9:31 pm Pacific Time, when the Sun enters the zodiacal sign of Aries. Thus begins a new cycle when Rosicrucians reflect on the ideals that have kept our Order alive and distinctive for centuries. This glorious event is celebrated with the traditional New Year Ceremony and Feast conducted in all Rosicrucian affiliated bodies throughout the jurisdiction as close as possible to March 19.

Celebrate the rosiCruCian new Year at rosiCruCian Park!

Saturday, March 19

Meditation for Peace and

Labyrinth Walk

Meet in the Peace Garden at 7:30 pm

New Year Ceremony begins

at 8:30 pm in the Grand Temple.

All members are welcome and encouraged to participate!

The Traditional Martinist Order

For more information and to apply for membership, please visit:

www.martinists.org

Printed on 100% recycled post-consumerfiber using soy-based ink.

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Rosicrucian Forum 2016 Vol. 86, No. 1… · material situation, I had the impression of finding AMORC as it was in the time of Harvey Spencer Lewis and Ralph Lewis: for as you all