The Christian Mystery I. ~ Christian initiation

 Christian initiation

 

 

"Christian initiation has existed since the founding of Christianity Through the Middle Ages and in our own time it has remained the same among a number of religious Orders as well as among the Rosicrucians. It consists of a spiritual training which culminates in certain identical and invariable symptoms. The Brotherhoods where, in profound secrecy, this
training used to be given, are the home of all spiritual life and religious progress.

In certain respects the Christian initiation is more difficult of attainment than the initiation of ancient times. It is bound up with the essence and mission of Christianity which came into the world at a time when man had descended most deeply into matter. This descent was to imbue him with a new consciousness, but the struggle involved in rising from the depths of materialism demands greater effort and renders initiation more difficult. That is why the Christian masters demand intense humility and devotion of their pupils.

The Christian initiation has always consisted of seven stages, four of
which correspond to four of the Stations of Calvary. The stages are: -
The Washing of the Feet
The Scourging
The Crowning with Thorns
The Bearing of the Cross
The Mystic Death
The Entombment
The Resurrection." ( Rudolf Steiner, An esoteric cosmology, VIII: The Christian Mystery, 34 )

 

That is why the Christian masters demand intense humility and devotion of
their pupils.