Showing posts with label Nicholas III. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nicholas III. Show all posts
Monday, March 31, 2014
An Awakening
Something is stirring within the catacombs of the Holy Nicholean Catholic Church. It may be waking up from its long slumber. Do you think?
Monday, June 4, 2012
Why does the Nicholean Church exist?
Bishop Bryan D. Ouellette in ecclesia Patriarch Nicholas III's homily on the Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time 2012, offered during the Ordination Mass of Very Reverend Michael Thorne.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Requiem Mass for Maria Teresa Casbas Rosillo
Today, Patriarch Nicholas III offered a Requiem Mass at the Hermitage of the Holy Innocents for the repose of the soul of Maria Teresa Casbas Rosillo at the request of her daughter. Services will continue into the evening through the Divine Office of the Dead. We ask our entire community (both laity and clergy) to also include Maria and her family in your prayers.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
The Holy Imperial Russian Orthodox Church is now online!
We have published a preliminary site for the Holy Imperial Russian Orthodox Church. Please feel free to explore it at:
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Happy Laetare Sunday!
A short note from Patriarch Nicholas III...
Today, on this special Sunday of Lent, the Church softens the discipline of the Lenten observances in order to remind us of the great joy that awaits us at the end of this symbolic desolation. The spiritual journey is a difficult and perilous one. It is wrought with dangers on all levels. Some have lost themselves entirely in the process. But for those who remain diligent and persevering, the mystery of Easter awaits us. And it is a mystery that will expand our spiritual awareness beyond the limits of our greatest expectation. Rejoice! Christ is in our midst!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Concerning our Departure from the Greater Gnostic Community
The communities of the Holy Monastic Order En Deus, the Holy Nicholean Catholic Church, and the Holy Imperial Russian Orthodox Church feel that we must formally separate ourselves from any membership in the greater (and somewhat amorphous) contemporary Gnostic community. As some of you may have been aware, we have been members in good standing with the Universal Church of Autogenes, now called the Universalist Gnostic Communion under the leadership of Bishop Mansell Gilmore and to this day we still feel that the UGC is one of the few Gnostic communities of quality currently in existence. They do hold valid apostolic succession under their bishop and through his inspiration they work very hard to share gnosis with the world. We love Bishop Gilmore dearly and we always will.
Our ministries, however, have come to some realizations concerning the contemporary Gnostic community that have left us deeply saddened and concerned. The following list will provide our followers with each specific reason for our departure. While it should be noted that the Universalist Gnostic Communion, as an institution, has not violated any of the principles we set forth below, the very use of the word “Gnostic” in the classical sense is something we wish to no longer apply to ourselves. We are a Christian ministry. We have always been a Christian ministry in the most orthodox sense of the term, but we have chosen to remain non-dogmatic, making Gnostic churches appealing to us. But as we have grown, we have truly discovered that our special charism is not to attach ourselves to what many in our circles consider to be heretical beliefs.
We are not heretics.
We are not apostates.
We love the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church and we wish to heal her wounds. In light of this we offer the following reasons for our solemn decision:
1. We perceive in the greater contemporary Gnostic community a virulent reactionary approach toward the orthodox churches, particularly the Roman Catholic Church. We reject on our own moral principles, and even on the principles espoused by most of the Gnostic community that such frank bigotry is not something we can associate with in good conscience. Further, and as a result of this and other issues, including those outlined below, we feel any formal or even indirect association or affiliation with any Gnostic community at large or in particular inhibits our ability to heal the wounds of the greater One Holy catholic and Apostolic Church. To fail to do so would make it appear to most of those outside the Gnostic community, and in particular those to whom we feel called, that we approve of such bigotry, anger and hatred (whether overt or even unconscious).
2. It has always been our contention that Gnosis never left the Greater Christian Church--it may have been sporadically forgotten, ignored, or repressed, although on occasion (unconsciously) taught and embraced. Our stated mission is not to replace the orthodox churches with a “gnostic system”, but, rather, to help the orthodox churches experience the gnosis they already possess. As such, we feel no new system is needed or required. Instead, we hope to heal the Greater Church from the outside in, recalling to it the teachings it has always held, albeit imperfectly.
3. Further, we perceive, and it seems unable to deny, that the greater contemporary Gnostic community is riddled with religious bigotry and intolerance projected back at the orthodox churches and those who sympathize with their sacred traditions. Our experience in the greater Gnostic dialogue is that the ‘rules’ of Gnostic ‘tolerance’ apply only to those that oppose the Church; anyone who asks the same tolerance for those within the mainstream churches are often ridiculed and chastised. In fact, many Gnostics appear to engage in the very behavior they report to be fighting.
4. Rightly or wrongly, recent history has imbued the word “Gnosticism” with a negative weight of which we have resolved to relieve ourselves for the sake of accurately describing our mission and charism. Again, the greater contemporary Gnostic Community often seems to use words like “heretic” and “apostate” as if it were a badge of honor in some imagined militia against their perceived enemies. We feel this tendency exacerbates an already difficult situation, making healing with the Greater Church impossible, and, frankly, marginalizing the movement unnecessarily. Our goal is to further gnosis---but Gnostics, in our opinion, and as a whole, are making the possibility of gnosis being again accepted by the Greater Church ever more remote. We cannot allow that to happen through any action or inaction of our own.
5. It is clear to us that most, if not all, contemporary Gnostic communities do not wish to be reunited with or recognized by the Mother-Church—far from it. While we see this as unfortunate, we of course respect the right of those individuals to maintain it. Our ministries, however, are only concerned with healing old (and new) wounds, not with cutting deeper ones.
We hope this helps to better define our position. We will continue to speak positively of Gnosis and Gnosticism as a philosophy, but from this point forward, only through the lens of our own authenticity, that is, as Christians. Again, we wish to affirm that these observations are general in nature and do not apply to any one group or institution. As we move forward, we hope that the world will be ready for what we have to share. The time for extremism is over. It is time to heal. Now.
With love and blessings,
Patriarch Nicholas III in mundo +Bryan D. Ouellette, Ph.D.
Holy Imperial Russian Orthodox Church
Holy Nicholean Catholic Church
Holy Monastic Order En Deus
Our ministries, however, have come to some realizations concerning the contemporary Gnostic community that have left us deeply saddened and concerned. The following list will provide our followers with each specific reason for our departure. While it should be noted that the Universalist Gnostic Communion, as an institution, has not violated any of the principles we set forth below, the very use of the word “Gnostic” in the classical sense is something we wish to no longer apply to ourselves. We are a Christian ministry. We have always been a Christian ministry in the most orthodox sense of the term, but we have chosen to remain non-dogmatic, making Gnostic churches appealing to us. But as we have grown, we have truly discovered that our special charism is not to attach ourselves to what many in our circles consider to be heretical beliefs.
We are not heretics.
We are not apostates.
We love the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church and we wish to heal her wounds. In light of this we offer the following reasons for our solemn decision:
1. We perceive in the greater contemporary Gnostic community a virulent reactionary approach toward the orthodox churches, particularly the Roman Catholic Church. We reject on our own moral principles, and even on the principles espoused by most of the Gnostic community that such frank bigotry is not something we can associate with in good conscience. Further, and as a result of this and other issues, including those outlined below, we feel any formal or even indirect association or affiliation with any Gnostic community at large or in particular inhibits our ability to heal the wounds of the greater One Holy catholic and Apostolic Church. To fail to do so would make it appear to most of those outside the Gnostic community, and in particular those to whom we feel called, that we approve of such bigotry, anger and hatred (whether overt or even unconscious).
2. It has always been our contention that Gnosis never left the Greater Christian Church--it may have been sporadically forgotten, ignored, or repressed, although on occasion (unconsciously) taught and embraced. Our stated mission is not to replace the orthodox churches with a “gnostic system”, but, rather, to help the orthodox churches experience the gnosis they already possess. As such, we feel no new system is needed or required. Instead, we hope to heal the Greater Church from the outside in, recalling to it the teachings it has always held, albeit imperfectly.
3. Further, we perceive, and it seems unable to deny, that the greater contemporary Gnostic community is riddled with religious bigotry and intolerance projected back at the orthodox churches and those who sympathize with their sacred traditions. Our experience in the greater Gnostic dialogue is that the ‘rules’ of Gnostic ‘tolerance’ apply only to those that oppose the Church; anyone who asks the same tolerance for those within the mainstream churches are often ridiculed and chastised. In fact, many Gnostics appear to engage in the very behavior they report to be fighting.
4. Rightly or wrongly, recent history has imbued the word “Gnosticism” with a negative weight of which we have resolved to relieve ourselves for the sake of accurately describing our mission and charism. Again, the greater contemporary Gnostic Community often seems to use words like “heretic” and “apostate” as if it were a badge of honor in some imagined militia against their perceived enemies. We feel this tendency exacerbates an already difficult situation, making healing with the Greater Church impossible, and, frankly, marginalizing the movement unnecessarily. Our goal is to further gnosis---but Gnostics, in our opinion, and as a whole, are making the possibility of gnosis being again accepted by the Greater Church ever more remote. We cannot allow that to happen through any action or inaction of our own.
5. It is clear to us that most, if not all, contemporary Gnostic communities do not wish to be reunited with or recognized by the Mother-Church—far from it. While we see this as unfortunate, we of course respect the right of those individuals to maintain it. Our ministries, however, are only concerned with healing old (and new) wounds, not with cutting deeper ones.
We hope this helps to better define our position. We will continue to speak positively of Gnosis and Gnosticism as a philosophy, but from this point forward, only through the lens of our own authenticity, that is, as Christians. Again, we wish to affirm that these observations are general in nature and do not apply to any one group or institution. As we move forward, we hope that the world will be ready for what we have to share. The time for extremism is over. It is time to heal. Now.
With love and blessings,
Patriarch Nicholas III in mundo +Bryan D. Ouellette, Ph.D.
Holy Imperial Russian Orthodox Church
Holy Nicholean Catholic Church
Holy Monastic Order En Deus
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Consecration Reception of Bishop Bryan D. Ouellette, Ph.D. in ecclesia Sovereign Patriarch Nicholas III
Consecration Reception of Bishop Bryan D. Ouellette, Ph.D. in ecclesia Sovereign Patriarch Nicholas III from Holy Monastic Order En Deus on Vimeo.
After the Consecration and Patriarchal elevation of Bishop Bryan D. Ouellette, Ph.D. in ecclesia Sovereign Patriarch Nicholas III, Tsar Peter Alexander Mikhailovich Romanov performed a rare esoteric ceremony to celebrate the occasion before the reception which has been preserved on video here.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
The Holy Nicholean Catholic Church is now online!
Please come and learn about the special tradition of the Holy Nicholean Catholic Church.
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