Velkommen til nytt kapell i Asker (Borgen)

Vi har i løpet av våren 2012 pusset opp et lite lokale på Englagård i Asker (Søndre Borgen 20), med tanke på gjenåpning av Capella Sancta Sophia denne pinsen!

Fredag 25. mai kl. 19:00 holder Rev. Curé Jan Valentin Sæther en introduksjon til vår gjenåpnede virksomhet. Vi innvier også vårt nye kapell.

Søndag 27. mai kl. 12:00 holdes første messe i nytt kapell.

Velkommen!

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday came around after Jesus had upset the money changers and in other ways acted in some disturbing and unusual fashions, - several so called miracles, and generally doing things unexpected of a traditional savior figure who was expected to come, within Jewish traditions, as a warrior Messiah divinely commissioned to vanquish the enemy of Israel. This was of course, at that time, congruous with the common role of Kingship. Since antiquity a good King was one who slayed the enemy and relieved his subjects of the fear of the enemies deadly design upon their culture.

Jesus is about to upset this expectation and introduce a new order of life with the events following through Easter. As a first act of revealing this order he calls the disciples to assemble at the upper room  for a Thursday meal among the friends. This in itself was not unusual for a Thursday night. For some time already, fervent and deeply religious friends had used Thursdays to gather before the Sabbath in what was called the Chabura. The Chabura was an extra-family affair. (See Gregory Dix “The Shape of the Liturgy”, Google Books search. URL: http://bit.ly/HjShXu)

According to Dix Jesus transforms this gathering and its format into what becomes the mass. And as he states; this Chabura was a Thursday affair.

On this occasion Jesus symbolically introduces his new unworldly order of things by bidding first Peter to, presumably, remove his ‘sandals’ so the Lord he can wash his, what in Jerusalem at that time, would be both a pair of dirty and somewhat smelly, feet.  Given that Peter has been privy to some secrets regarding Jesus’ person, and has been brought up in the Jewish culture, he finds this embarrassing and refuses to comply. Where upon Jesus says to him that unless Peter removes his footwear he cannot be his disciple.

 As much as we later in the narrative learns that Jesus indeed is associated with a kingship of a mysterious sort, it is perfectly understandable that this is actually  perceived as both preposterous  and shocking.  A King or a Messiah washing his follower’s feet! This is a reversal of all modes of perceived kingship. It is what we today would perhaps understand as an act of carnivalesque reversal of the course of power. As indeed it was.  A new order of Kingship, a profound and transforming service from the top and down, that went way beyond Plato’s Aristos (the noble civil servant of The Republic’s social revolution).

To look for this new order of things we may look to the so called Didache (Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didache), a text nearly as old as the earliest gospels, wherein this new order, the way of life is juxtaposed with the way of death. ‘The Way’ was one of the earliest self-designations of the Jesus movement. (It is symptomatic of the later developments of the Church that this text would fall out of favor, but that is a topic for discussion in another time and another place.)

As we will see in the following events, the punishment for exposing and standing up to the cult of death was of course: Death.

We may however, consider that  Jesus and his group were not set on this being the consequence and outcome  of the affair that was to follow, though the challenge to both the Roman and Jewish power was skirting close to  a death sentence. Much has been said and speculated about the guilt of the Romans or the Jews, but again, according to the differentiations Didache (or “The Two Ways”, as it is also called) both powers were compromised.

(The other event associated with Maundy Thursday, Judas and the institution of the Eucharist will be touched upon tomorrow, but suffice it now to say that  the way both powers were compromised may cast a different light on the task asked of Judas Iscariot.) 

Palm Sunday

Where and what is the Gnostic understanding of Palm Sunday? It is the gap between the expectations of the masses and the insights of the experienced in regards to redemption and freedom. The gap is this: the masses, people in general, have hopes and places faith in it coming to them from the outside, like Jesus riding into town on a donkey is invested with faith and victory, whereas the gnostic, like Jesus, knows that faith will not come as expected, like a train arriving at a station, but only after the further mystery of Easter is passed. It is this mystery to which we should adhere, and which states that only trusting in the indwelling Christos will take us through; and this trust only. Believing in all kinds of things; the devil, a text or even the given version of God will not bring about redemption or freedom. Sustaining no belief at all while trusting the search for the death-surviving Man of light within,- this is the path of gnosis. So like Jesus, enter the public space with all its options without expectations. No faith, no beliefs is the point of departure. Belive nothing and observe yourself with honesty. That is the beginning of path-gnosis.

More comments will follow throughout Easter.

Kapelldugnad etter påske!

Det ser ut som vi har et lokale for kapell noen tid fremover. Det blir derfor snart sendt ut en invitasjon til en dugnad over Påske. I mellomtiden kan dere tenke etter om dere har malingrester, (vi blander sammen det vi får inn og lager et fargerikt rom ), stoler, tepper, kaffekopper skjeer, vannkoker etc.

Gnostisk jul?

Gnostisk jul?
et essay av Rev. Jan Valentin Sæther

Høsten 2011

Ecclesia Gnostica regner med å ha regelmessige sammenkomster på Sagene i Oslo på søndager fra 1. september og ut november. Sjekk siden i midten av august for detaljer.

March 16th - Montsegur Day

On this day in 1244 the Inquisition burnt more than 200 Cathars at Montsegur with blessings of the Catholic pope.  

 

Read Rev. Steven Marshall's homily on gnosis.org:

http://www.gnosis.org/ecclesia/homily_Montsegur.htm

Gnostisk weekendseminar

Fredag 21.1 kl 19.00 - søndag 23.1 kl 17.00
Englagård, Søndre Borgen 20, 1388 Borgen (Asker)
Kart >
Påmelding: englagaard@gmail.com (kr 800 for hele helgen)


GNOSTISK WEEKENDSEMINAR

ledet av billedkunstner og gnostisk prest Jan Valentin Sæther. Rev. Sæther har studert og praktisert den gnostiske veien de siste 30 årene.
For mer informasjon om Ecclesia Gnostica: www.gnosis.org
(den største informasjonssiden om gnosis på internett)

Fredag 21., lørdag 22. og søndag 23. januar 2011

Program
Fredag kl. 19.00-21.30
En aften uten religions-snakk. Uten å snakke om historie, teologi og myter spør vi hva gnosis er og hvordan denne neglisjerte og historisk forfulgte tradisjon om Jesus (uten å snakke om ham heller denne kvelden), - kan fornye oss i dag.
Og om frihet og tilgivelse, en reorientering.

Lørdag. Kl. 11.00-17.00
Hva slags ideer og erfaringer ut i det åndelige ligger bak den tidlige kirkens frykt for gnostikerene? Vi går gjennom Thomasevangeliet for å se på det radikale innholdet i kristen gnostisk lære.
Lunsj: Ta med mat, men bruk pausen på å være stille, uten samtaler og sosialisering.
Samtaler og spørsmål.

Søndag. Kl 12.00-17.00
Hvem er Jeg, hvor kommer jeg fra og hvor går jeg hen?
Den hemmlige gnostiske lære og myten om nettopp deg, - Du der!
Lunsj.Ta med mat. Kaffe og kaker på stedet. Bruk pausen i grupper på to og tre til samtale om dagens temaer.
P.S. Lunsjtidene faller på tidspunkt der samtalen tillater det.
Kirke og praksis i et gnostisk perspektiv

Gå videre og bli til! (Thomasevangeliet)

VELKOMMEN!

Pris: 800.- for hele helgen

Sted: Englagård
Adresse: Søndre Borgen 20, 1388 Borgen (Asker)
Kart >>
Påmelding: englagaard@gmail.com