My Path Back to Christianity

Monsignor Erik
Associate Dean, Ekklesia Epignostika Seminary

https://northernway.org/seminary/holyorders/index.html 

I never expected to return to Christianity; my path back was a searching, uncertain, "lost in the desert" exploration traversing several decades. It is for this reason I feel I may appeal to others as they make their own spiritual journey, perhaps also assuming Christianity was a dry well for them, and then discovering this spiritual tradition offers more than they knew! Such has been my experience.

The book that awoke me to the esoteric ("hidden" or "inner") meaning of Christianity was Smoley's "Inner Christianity." Reading this book awoke me to the possibility of true inner spiritual searching in the Christian religious tradition. It truly is possible to seek a mystical, esoteric connection with Spirit, expressing as a Christian. And this tradition is ancient, valid, and real, reaching back 2,000 years! (Several thousand years more distant, in fact, once one includes our ancient Hebrew heritage.)

I entered the priestly formation program offered by the Ekklesia Epignostika Seminary, undertaking the serious reading of a great many critical texts, and inner searching required of one seeking formation as a priest. It was a life-changing encounter for me, as it may be for you.

Aged 50 years, I became an ordained priest in the Ekklesia Epignostika church on Sunday, February 25th, 2013, on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, the Apostle. I felt the rising "crown of flames" as my crown chakra opened during the Celebration of the Holy Eucharist in which I became a priest in the order of Melchizedek. (As it turns out, "crown" chakra does not just mean the top of one's head!)

"Spiritual, but not religious?"

Perhaps, like me, you just didn't know there is a rich, time honored tradition of mysticism in the Christian faith. If you have been raised in the West, like me, and especially in the United States, one of the important reasons to consider returning to a vital experience of esoteric Christianity is that it is in our bones, and blood, and our very cultural experience; we cannot escape it, is it the water in which we swim, like it or not. Thus, we will naturally resonate with Christian symbolism far more readily than those from another culture; when it comes to activating the unconscious, through which the divine is experienced by us, this is an important consideration.

All valid spiritual traditions which sponsor peace and the seeking of inner illumination speak to the same transcendent, ultimate truth: there is only One God; a singular reality. However, many are best served by seeking this transcendent truth embodying terms and symbolism in which one has been raised; this offers the deepest unconscious connection to this transcendent reality, which is quite useful to you in practical ways.

What do I do now?

I am an Associate Dean and Monsignor in the Ekklesia Epignostika church, assisting with the formation of those inspired to become priests. If you find a kinship with the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit at work in this world, perhaps we will be fortunate enough to work together in the near future.

What should you do now?

As you read this, if you are feeling the call of the Holy Spirit, I suggest you contact the Ekklesia Epignostika Seminary to discern whether you are being called to the priesthood. The Ekklesia Epignostika church has ordained as priests, men and women, married and single persons, and we share the same ancient Apostolic lines of succession as the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches.

Pax Christi,

Erik++