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Orthodox Catholic Church of the New Age
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| Click on picture to go to site. |
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| St Cecelia's Orthodox Catholic Church |
The Orthodox Catholic Church of the New Age seeks to preserve those few of the original
teachings of Jesus Christ as still survive in the traditional Churches, but it also preaches a number of concepts that have
long been abandoned in the Western parts of Christendom. Partly, of course this is because of its links with the Far East,
particularly its Lines of Succession from the Nestorian Church of Central Asia, Tibet and China, and the St Thomas Christians
of India. It is also because its members
are themselves encouraged to seek Truth wherever it is to be found.
But this is not merely just one more attempt to superimpose the philosophies of the Oriental
mind on a Western foundation or to promote a fusion of Eastern and Western thought. Every teaching of the Orthodox Catholic
Church is founded on the Bible, and also draws support from the writings of the Early Christian Church. Before the Church
became corrupted by Manichaean and Greek philosophies, it clearly taught the same Ancient Wisdom as Jesus Who was Himself
an incarnation of the Divine Salvator, and periodically descends to earth at the ending of each World Age.
After Jesus was born in Palestine
in about 6 B.C., when He lived and Died for the Salvation of Mankind, He gave forth a New Revelation of the Ancient Wisdom.
This was in turn, merely an extension of the Lost Wisdom of Melchizedek of which our knowledge is limited, for only part survives.
This consists mainly of a Study of the Way of Perfection - how the soul of Man travels through the world from life to life.
It shows how it spends many years, often centuries, in the Spirit World between incarnations, where it learns much that helps
to prepare it for its next Earth Life, and how eventually it reaches a stage when it can leave Physical existence behind for
ever.
The links between Jesus and Melchizedek are clearly expressed in the Bible, but they are
also to be found in other early Christian literature, both traditional and Gnostic. They are unmistakable and the Orthodox
Catholic Church sees these two historically-known Comings of the Salvator as merely the latest in a long series of Visits
– a series that will shortly be extended when He returns to rule the whole world as Christ the King.
The beliefs and Teachings of the Orthodox Catholic Church of the New Age are many and
detailed but they can be summed up thus:
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We believe in One God, Unmanifested and Incomprehensible, from Whom and in Whom, all things have their being, even
Time and Space: Who in the Beginning, manifested forth as the Trinity of One Substance, namely, God the Father, the Father
of all souls, God the Holy Spirit, the Mother of all souls and God the Son, the Elder Brother of all souls, Who in turn brought
all Creation into being, from Whom descends continuously a stream of Divine Sparks that enter into matter to gain therein
experience, so they may ultimately return to enrich the Godhead. |
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We
believe in God the Father, the Father of all souls, and Creator of Heaven and Earth who has revealed Himself to Mankind in
a myriad different ways, but Who has revealed Himself to us through the Holy Scriptures. |
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We
believe in God the Son, the Elder Brother of all souls, Who is also their Salvator, and periodically descends into matter,
in order to lead his brethren along the Path of Return, who most recently came to earth as Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ,
who was born of the Virgin Mary and taught mankind the Way of Salvation, Who suffered death on the Cross, descended into Hell
to aid those who had failed, and then raising even His material Body out of the grave, returned to earth life to teach His
disciples and then ascended into Heaven. |
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We
believe in the Holy Spirit, the Mother of all souls, Who descended upon the apostles and disciples of Our Lord in order to
institute the One, Holy, Orthodox and Catholic Church on earth, and Who continues to inspire and guide that Church even to
this day through the spiritual descendants of the apostles, the clergy, saints and mystics. |
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We
believe in the One Holy, Orthodox and Catholic Church founded by Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, led initially
by the apostles of Christ, and ever after by their anointed successors and which teaches His Way of Salvation and shall continue
to do so until He comes again. |
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We
believe in the Way of Salvation, whereby, following in the Footsteps of Our Lord, and making use of the Sacraments of His
Church, we are enabled to obtain forgiveness for our sins and assistance in paying our debts, so that ultimately we may finish
our round of earthly lives and take our place among the Saints of God. |
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We
believe in life after death; that our loved ones await us on the further shore, that they dwell initially on the Astral Plane
in a condition determined largely by their standard of life when on earth, that they then pass to the Spirit Plane in which
their condition is determined wholly by their spiritual state, and which ranges from Hell to Paradise; and that ultimately
they will be reborn again on earth: and that this process shall continue until they earn the right to end their round of earthly
lives. |
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We
believe in the Divine Spark within every spirit, Eternal and indestructible, whereby alone we are enabled to break free from
the shackles of material existence; that we gain experience on the Astral and Spirit planes after death on earth, only to
return again, life after life until we have learned all that earth life can teach us. Even if at times we turn away from God,
He will not abandon us, and ultimately we will be led to realize the folly of our sin; and taking the opportunities afforded
to us, pay off our past debts by sacrifice and service, and following the Way of Salvation earn the right to end our lives
on earth. |
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We
believe that the Tester of Men and Angels, has been appointed by God to tempt and test all who seek to follow the Way of Salvation,
to ensure that none who are unworthy approach the Throne of God. |
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We
believe in Heaven, the abode of the Three Planes of the Saints and Nine Choirs of Angels and that it is the destiny of each
Divine Spark to ascend this great spiritual ladder step by step until ultimately it returns to God, the Source from whence
it came. |
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We
believe in the promised return of Christ to reign as King over all the earth. That the time of His coming is drawing near
and that it is the duty of all his followers to prepare themselves and others for that great Day. |
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We
believe in the ultimate salvation of all Creation, that through sacrifice, suffering, and service all will eventually return
to their Source, and the purpose of Creation thus accomplished, God will again become All in All, and ultimately withdraw
from Manifestation once again. And that this process has been, is, and ever shall be, continually repeated throughout all
Eternity. AMEN |
For further information see the J.S.M.Ward website
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THE DOCTRINE OF REINCARNATION
INTRODUCTION
Many faiths have taught the Doctrine of Reincarnation, and in fact
it is probably true to say that until Zoroaster broke with his contemporaries in the sixth century B.C., there were few, if
any major religions that did not accept some form of the belief. And in fact, many of the ideas which disgraced medieval Christianity,
such as Perpetual Damnation, Original Sin, and the Medieval Devil as a Great Angel who rebelled against God, can all be traced
to Zoroaster or some of the various Gnostic concepts that largely derived from his teachings.
VARIOUS TYPES OF BELIEF IN REINCARNATION
However, although belief in Reincarnation was widespread in Antiquity,
the exact form of the Doctrine varied widely. In some cases, there was no clear distinction made between the afterlife and
a new life on earth. In others, the soul was held to come to earth again and again, with or without a period spent in an afterlife,
and without any real hope of ending the cycle. Yet others saw karma as affecting all things, so that men might be reincarnated
as animals, insects or plants as a punishment for some minor misdemeanour, whilst those who were weary of mortal strife were
encouraged to pay of their past debts by penances and good deeds and pursue perfection as a means of passing beyond the mortal
stage into some form of heaven.
Again, some faiths saw each soul as being given a limited number of
earthly incarnations to prove itself. If it did well in any it would pass to Heaven, whilst those who did not were sent back
to try again. After the spread of Zoroastrianism, some even suggested that after a limited number of lives, those who still
failed to live well would face Eternal Damnation without any further opportunity of redemption, clearly the grossest possible
corruption of the Doctrine of Reincarnation short of actual abandonment.
THE BASIS OF THE DOCTRINE OF REINCARNATION
There is no time in this brief article to discuss these ideas in detail,
but it is important to note that whilst the Doctrine of Reincarnation is the Key to the Ancient Wisdom, properly understood
it is a Doctrine based on knowledge of the Divine Plan and the Twin Laws of Divine Justice and Divine Love. Souls may go backward
as a result of bad deeds, and they may even fall into hell for a space, but this is no Divine Punishment. It happens as a
natural result of their own actions and enables them to learn from their mistakes. No soul can be lost eternally, because
within each there lies a Spark of the Divine Fire, which can never be lost or destroyed.
REINCARNATION AS WE TEACH IT.
As taught by the Orthodox Catholic Church, the Doctrine of Reincarnation
is both logical and just. It is founded in the teachings of Christ Himself and finds support in many other parts of the Old
and New Testaments. In its broadest scope the Doctrine of Reincarnation includes the whole journey of the Divine Spark from
God back to God. This Journey begins when it leaves God and passing rapidly down through all the various spirit Planes, finally
enters gross matter in some part of the Physical Universe. We know little about life on other planets, but on earth, the Divine
Spark develops through countless lives spent in the vegetable and animal Kingdoms as well as the lives we spend as human
beings. But apart from saying that it is most uncommon for a human soul ever to fall back into the animal kingdom after once
having become human, we will for now concern ourselves only with its human incarnations.
EARLY LIVES AS A HUMAN
It is impossible to say how many of these it may have to endure, because
the number will vary widely, depending largely on the amount of effort it makes at various key points in its development.
When it first enters the human state, the primitive human spirit is often quite unable to care for itself. In its first life
it may not even be carried to term – it may be aborted – or it may be a cretin – a human so sub-normal that
it can hardly move, let alone speak properly. In such circumstances it learns mainly through its sub-conscious contact with
those humans who care for it and after what is usually only a short time on earth it returns to the Astral and Spirit Planes,
where it remains often for many centuries. Then it returns to earth once more.
It is still a primitive soul, but it is much less so than in its first
incarnation and so can learn more. For a number of further incarnations it then cycles between life on Earth, life on the
Astral Plane and life on the Spirit Plane, only to return to Earth again. Sometimes it may do wrong, and incur bad karma which
holds it back – at other times it may do well and travel swiftly towards its goal. It may fall into Hell and have to
struggle out again, and it may reach towards Paradise, only to have some hidden fault dash the cup of perfection from its
lips just as it is about to drink and achieve its goal.
ENDING ITS EARTHLY LIVES
Eventually, however, after many lives, totalling hundreds of years
spent on earth and thousands more spent on the Astral and Spirit Planes the human soul is ready to pass to higher realms.
Then and then only is it able to be re-united with its "Overself" - that vast accumulation of knowledge and experience it
has been gathering throughout all its many incarnations and which its Angel Guide has kept safe until that moment. Then, thus
augmented it is at last able to advance into those Higher spiritual realms where it is no longer needful for it to return
to earth in a physical body.
HEAVEN AND THE RETURN TO GOD
It is those Higher Planes of Existence that we on earth call Heaven
– or more properly the Lowest part of Heaven, the Realms of the Saints, for note that even here the spirit has only
just begun its journey back to God. Beyond the Planes of the Saints there lie Nine further Planes of Angels, through each
of which the spirit must advance in succession, until at length, aeons of ages hence, the Divine Spark within it is able to
bring it back to God from whence it came.
Stripped of much that helps to round out our understanding of the details
of human existence, this is a brief summary of the doctrine of Reincarnation. For those who would seek further there is much
more that could be told, for the Truth is All-Encompassing. And whether it is to be found in the Lost Wisdom of Melchizedek
or in the visions of later mystics, the Truth will always be sought by the Orthodox Catholic Church of the New Age.
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WHO IS THIS MELCHIZEDEK?
It is perhaps unusual to start an article with a question
and yet if you have begun to read this, it is undoubtedly because you are interested in the answer. Probably, in fact, there
are many questions you would like answered, but let us start with this one:
Historically Melchizedek was the priest-king of the old citadel-city
of Salem, and lived in the 21st century B.C. According to the Biblical Account He was a contemporary of Abraham
and this is generally recognised. But if our understanding of the ancient records is correct, He was also the "Form" assumed
by the Divine Salvator when He came to earth at that time. As such, it appears that He brought a new and higher revelation
of the Truth to the people of that day, just as two thousand years later, in His Incarnation as Jesus of Nazareth He was to
bring yet another such revelation to those of the First Century A.D.
WAS MELCHIZEDEK AN INCARNATION
OF THE SALVATOR?
There are many reasons for believing that Melchizedek
was an Incarnation of the Salvator and there is time to present only a few of them here, and those only briefly, yet taken
together they provide a forceful argument. To the Christian, undoubtedly the most valid reason is that Christ Himself tells
us that He had been on earth in the time of Abraham. (St John 8; 56) And although He does not specifically identify Himself
as Melchizedek in that passage, St Paul seems to have been in no doubt, as to the link between the Two and of the Divinity
of Melchizedek Whom he describes as Eternal in Hebrews 7; 3.
And lest any should still be uncertain, I would
also point out that the Bible also makes it clear that the Divine Salvator has also come to earth on many previous occasions.
This is demonstrated by the reference in Micah, (5:2) which St Matthew (chap 2. 4-6) applies to Christ.
"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be
little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings
forth have been from of old, from everlasting."
The first section of the passage is clearly the
important part for the purposes of St. Matthew – it indicates where the Messiah would be born. Yet it is the latter
part (in bold) which is important to our subject. It tells us plainly that the same Messiah who "shall come forth unto Me"
from Bethlehem, had gone forth many times before - from time immemorial!
Hence it seems plain that when Christ referred
to His Day at the time of Abraham, (when He came as Melchizedek) He was referring only to the most recent of His many visits
to earth. And although we may have little knowledge of those earlier visits, we know that he had descended many times before
then, in order that again and again He might bring to mankind a fresh and usually higher, revelation of the Truth. This He
has done till at last the human race was ready to receive the teachings He gave forth as Jesus of Nazareth.
BUILDING FOR THE NEW AGE
For it seems clear that although much of the Work
of the Salvator is normally lost before He comes again, when He does, He is still able to find some remnant on which He can
build for the New Age. Thus each revelation is at least a little higher than the one before it. Much of the Ancient Wisdom
of Melchizedek was lost, and certainly there was no Church of Melchizedek surviving, when Jesus came, but still He was still
able to build upon that which remained. As a result the Church that He then founded has been able to survive, and although
clearly most branches of it do not proclaim more than a few fragments of His Ancient Wisdom, some aspects yet remain.
Perhaps the most widely-taught Truth is that which
is undoubtedly the most important – the fact that He will come again. He will come to replace that which has been lost,
renew that which has been corrupted and once more lay the spiritual foundations of a New Age. And to us who seek to help in
that task – to prepare the way for the return of Jesus Christ, just as the Essenes worked to prepare for the return
of Melchizedek - He has given at least some part of that Wisdom and commanded us to begin displaying it to the world again.
THIS IS WHAT THIS WEB-SITE IS ALL ABOUT
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For Further information
Contact: Rt. Rev. John Cuffe
St Cecelia's Orthdox Catholic Church
Caboolture Qld 4510 Australia.
Telephone 61 7 5495 3393
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