State of the College Address

This statement was delivered by HE Mar Iohannes, Patriarch of the Apostolic Johannite Church and President of the North American College of Gnostic Bishops at the AGC's 2010 Conventicle.  I was rereading it this morning and though it was delivered more than two years ago, it is still timely and on point.

The following is the text of the State of the College address from the President of the North American College of Gnostic Bishops, delivered at the 2010 Alexandrian Gnostic Church Conventicle:

Your Eminence, Your Grace, Your Excellency, Brothers, Sisters and Clergy of Alexandrian Gnostic Church, the Apostolic Johannite Church, guests and friends.

I want to thank His Eminence and the Alexandrian Gnostic Church particularly for the opportunity to address this Conventicle as well as for your hospitality, fraternity and dedication.

Everything you are gathered here to do reflects the best the College has to offer and most of all embodies the principles of the North American College of Gnostic Bishops.

We can have no greater exemplification of the purpose of the North American College than what we can each see here reflected so plainly in the faces of our brothers and sisters gathered this weekend.

Communion, education, dialogue, respect, the sharing of resources, a common intelligible voice, informed by compassion, guided by reason, fueled by action, framed in diversity and grounded foremost in the experience we call Gnosis.

It is these very things that have driven and enabled the Churches of the College to achieve some remarkable things in the last six years.

The foremost of these things are education and organic communion.

Through the dialogue of NACGB Churches- the member jurisdictions have been better equipped to create on the one hand, and maintain on the other, Active Seminary programs that not only educate and encourage historical, theological and religious exploration, but pastoral exploration as well- working to create true formation for its candidates, with a direct impact on spiritual and social value derived by the good people for whom these candidates are formed. Creating spiritually and socially aware individuals in the Body of Christ, institutionally promoting the exercise of conscience, while leaving its exact determination to the individual themselves.

At the same time, the exchange of ideas found in the halls of the College has enabled its member jurisdictions to promote Gnostic education in a way that helps define, nurture and recognize the individual traditions and customs which each Church brings to the table, while being committed to ensuring the independence of those same Churches, and enshrining the same in the College’s Constitution itself.

Through the exchange of reading lists, course material, event speakers and the continuing education of clergy and laity- the Jurisdictions of the North American College work to bridge the gap between intellectual and scholarly study, responsible for reminding and grounding us in our historical roots and a boots-on-the-ground theology possessed of a transformational quality which brought each one of us here in the first place.

Making a priority of these things in turn better equips the Jurisdictions of the College as we prepare to enter a new decade of mainstream exploration and examination of Gnosticism as an historical movement, a modern religious movement and a personal spiritual path.

We have also seen an unprecedented exchange of information, resources and people- providing community, support, pastoral care and sacramental service in situations where one individual church cannot sufficiently provide alone.

Neither is this exchange limited to clerics, dignitaries and administrative personnel- indeed we have seen the flowering of spiritual exchange and friendship at the heart of each of the NACGB Churches- particularly through our Conclaves and Conventicles- clergy and laity of different churches, each offering all they have freely, to give rise to a unity that transcends the need for uniformity. You don’t have to take my word for it, ask yourself how you feel when our time here this weekend comes to a close.

What defines the North American College of Gnostic Bishops to the rest of the movement and determines the success we have in interacting with it, is how we interact and conduct ourselves with each other.

Through its commitment to common causes- be they social, spiritual or otherwise, and through profound statements of intent followed by examples of action- the North American College has worked through adversity and opposition to create an environment where those jurisdictions and peoples on the margin can be brought into the center- promoting voice and respect alike in equal measure to all within the movement as befits the dignity of each individual Gnostic’s calling.

One such means whereby the Churches of the NACGB have sought to do this, and whose efforts have been validated is the All Saints Accord.

Bringing together twelve signatories from ten very different Gnostic Bodies both within and beyond the NACGB- the All Saints accord embodies the best principles present in its members through the commitment to the respect, equality and openness found at the heart of each of these Churches.

Statements such as this one, combined with regular consultation, interaction and participation have created an organic communion enforced by common respect, common trust and most importantly- a common desire- to see that no one is turned away.

We have gone further than we ever have to make our common tradition a living and open one, accessible by many, bringing together scholars and seekers, philosophers and pilgrims, each enriching the journey of the other.

Yet despite the advances I have already outlined, there remains challenges to the continued success of the College and the Ecclesiastical Gnostic movement in general. These are challenges and impulses that have been created over the last two centuries of our history. Isolationism, one-up-man-ship, backbiting, legalism, revisionism, to name a few.

For many looking on and looking in, the face of Ecclesiastical Gnosticism as it has been known in the last two centuries appears by a casual glance to have been dominated not by spirituality but by rote religion, not communion but recognition. Egocentricity in the guise of individuality, tolerance in the clothing of acceptance, a supplanting of the organic with the organizational, and prizing the cult of personality over the veneration and sanctity of personal experience. Machination over metanoia, arrogance over amity, narcissism over nepsis.

When our Churches provide a thousand words about our pedigree and ten words about where we can be found or what we can do for our brothers and sisters, we have a problem.

When our Churches talk strongly about the rightness of our cause, the wrongness of our enemies, but offer no opportunity, ear or hand for the poor in spirit, we have a problem

When our histories are wielded like weapons to fight imaginary wars from the slights of the past,  we have a problem

When our Churches refuse to dialogue, because we feel that offering a seat at the table to a brother or sister church is beneath us, we have a problem

While the NACGB neither created nor sought these problems, we are and must ever be, opposed to them with every resource at our disposal, but more importantly we must be resolved to be a part of the solution.

The North American College of Gnostic Bishops began as a counter-impulse to these all too human tendencies, working to create mutual assistance, amity and communion.

There is no quick or easy solution to banishing the negative characteristics in our movement but the path to overcoming where our movement is not at its best is through this same counter-impulse.

When we realize that our lineages exist not merely to honour our past but to motivate our future, we have the makings of a solution. When we realize that in turning our backs to those in need, that no one is right, and everyone is wrong, we have the makings of a solution. When we realize our histories are to be laid out like landmarks to guide towards wholeness, compassion and understanding,we have the makings of a solution. When we realize that honouring another’s vocation honours our own and that never is anything lost by listening, we have the makings of a solution.

Just as the experience of Gnosis is the beginning, so too are these realizations a beginning.
How we meet them in the world, on the streets and between the pews is where the real work unfolds.

In order to meet these challenges we must expand and develop the efforts of the College, started six years ago and continuing here in this very gathering: dialogue, education, respect and cooperation.

We must reach beyond the limits of territorial instinct through efforts like the All Saints Accord, and work to strengthen our relationships with those Churches, Bishops and organizations outside of the College’s boundaries and mandate- recognizing where our brothers and sisters labour sincerely and with love to the betterment of their fellows. Churches like the Ecclesia Gnostica Mysteriorum and the Ecclesia Gnostica, without whom, much of these efforts would not be possible, and the Gnostic Church of Mary Magdalene, Communities like Palm Tree Garden and Spiral Inward, where Gnostics at great distance, can meet, discuss and share their experiences.

In the coming years, the North American College of Gnostic Bishops will open its doors in new directions, establish new relationships, and strengthen the ties it already participates in- the last of which we’ve already begun through Constitutional changes to allow a jurisdiction to submit clergy and lay representatives for the formation of Advisory Council to the College. This will, in time, ensure that the College always has resource of perspective in how its projects, and policies impact the people who labour the most directly towards making our movement a better, more inclusive, more responsible movement.

We’ve also implemented a standing constitutional committee to guarantee that the College always serves the best interests of its members by protecting it from potential abuses from those who are elected to serve those members. A North American College that is grounded in process, reason and compassion in working with its existing members, is all the better equipped to face the challenges that are presented to it.

Finally, and most importantly- beyond legislation, committees, and accords, there remains a more powerful tool to ensure the success of the College and Ecclesiastical Gnosticism in the years to come. It is made all the more powerful by the fact that it is something that is shared by the entire movement, The NACGB, Gnostic Churches and each individual Gnostic- and that is the power of our example.

More powerful than the words of scripture are the actions inscribed on the parchment of our lives. More pervasive than lineage and succession are the connections we can make and maintain with each other. More moving than ancient tradition, custom or rite, is the communion of humanity and divinity through the power of community. Our scriptures, our lineages, and our tradition are not replacements for these things, but exist to serve them and taking them out into the world is the most powerful alchemy we possess.

I want to thank each of you here, as well as many of our brothers and sisters who couldn’t be here, for your commitment, hard work, and most of all, for your example. We’ve come a good distance, and our work here is by no means complete, but with your continued help and dedication to not only your own spiritual journeys but to our collective journey as well- complete it we shall.

May the Divine Beloved Bless you: +Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.