Thelema is a philosophical, mystical and religious system elaborated by Aleister Crowley, and based on The Book of the Law.
The chief function of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica is the public and private performance of the Gnostic Mass (Liber XV), a eucharistic ritual written by Crowley in 1913.
According to William Bernard Crow, Crowley wrote the Gnostic Mass "under the influence of the Liturgy of St.
[2] Its most notable separation from similar rites of other churches is a Priestess officiating with a Priest, Deacon, and two Children.
I prepared for the use of the O.T.O., the central ceremony of its public and private celebration, corresponding to the Mass of the Roman Catholic Church.
[5] Membership in Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica is similar to the Roman Catholic Church, with some important differences.
The Priesthood is responsible for administering the sacraments through the Gnostic Mass and other ceremonies as authorized by their supervising Bishops.
The principal ritual of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica is the Gnostic Mass, a Eucharistic ceremony written by Aleister Crowley in 1913.
Crowley left some notes towards a baptism ritual, and his "Liber CVI" was written for use in a last rites circumstance.
The Bishops of the contemporary Church have developed rituals for all of these purposes, as well as infant benedictions, consecration of holy oil, funerals, and home administration of the Eucharist to the sick.
The Gnostic Saints of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica are a series of historical and mythological figures revered in the religion of Thelema.
[11] The Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica descended from a line of French Gnostic revival churches that developed in the 19th century.
In 1907, Gerard Encausse, Jean Bricaud and Louis-Sophrone Fugairon founded their own, simply called the Gnostic Catholic Church.
[citation needed] In 1979, Hymenaeus Alpha X° (Grady McMurtry) separated Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica from Ordo Templi Orientis, and made it into an independent organization, with himself at the head of both.
And I believe in one Gnostic and Catholic Church of Light, Life, Love and Liberty, the Word of whose Law is THELEMA.
The Creed ends with the Thelemic form of the Pranava, equivalent to the sacred Vedic syllable "Aum" or to the "Amen" of the Judaeo-Christian tradition.
On the basic form of the Creed, Tau Apiryon and Helena (1998) write: The first 4 clauses are attributed to the four letters of Tetragrammaton YHVH: the Father (Chaos); the Mother (Babalon); the Union of Father and Mother in the Son (Baphomet); and the Daughter, the Bride of the Son (the Church).
The final two clauses are in the form of confession rather than belief and describe parallels between the occurrences in the Mass and the life of the individual.