Today the Church celebrates the Seventh Century victory of Emperor Heraclius of Constantinople in his success of recovering the relic of the True Cross stolen by the King of Persia, Chosroes II, restoring it to its original placement in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
The faithful recall this history as they reflect upon the meaning of the Cross of Jesus Christ. As Gnostics, we often find it tempting to dismiss this conventional soteriology, but I strongly caution against such oversights. Gnostic wisdom traditions that only reflect upon "the Revealer" aspects of Jesus Christ can very quickly lose the Jesus Christ of faith altogether. Perhaps this is what they are hoping to do, but such an approach often leads to an unbalanced result. I suspect that this might have been why so many early Christians of antiquity attempted to separate the person Jesus from the Aeon Christ. Keeping this firmly in mind, however, it is my contention that the ancient Gnostics didn't have a literal Separationist Christology as is commonly assumed; rather, I would argue that this was a metaphorical way of indicating that the historical Jesus and the Savior Christ should be dealt with equally, but differently.
On this feast of the Cross, I invite all of you to ponder what this 2,000 year old Sacrifice means to you.
Fr. Bryan
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
The Historical Jesus with Fr. Bryan D. Ouellette, Ph.D.
The Historical Jesus with Fr. Bryan D. Ouellette, Ph.D. from Universal Church of Autogenes on Vimeo.
Fr. Bryan speaks about the significance of the Historical Jesus within the framework of religious practice and salvation. Was the historical Jesus important? Did his historical actions matter or is the Gospel message a function of archetypal reality?
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Basic Soteriology with Fr. Bryan D. Ouellette, Ph.D.
Basic Soteriology with Fr. Bryan D. Ouellette, Ph.D. from Universal Church of Autogenes on Vimeo.
Fr. Bryan discusses a Gnostic approach to the doctrine of Christian salvation. Is salvation necessary? It is important? Is it even compatible with the Gnostic world-view? Find out!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Gnosis and Enlightenment
Gnosis and Enlightenment from Universal Church of Autogenes on Vimeo.
Fr. Bryan D. Ouellette, Ph.D. offers four rudimentary axioms for the “attainment” of Gnosis.
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