Jan van Rijckenborgh (October 16, 1896 – July 17, 1968) was a Dutch-born mystic and founder of the Lectorium Rosicrucianum, a worldwide esoteric

Rosicrucian Rosicrucianism () is a spirituality, spiritual and cultural movement that arose in early modern Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts announcing to the world a new Western esotericism, esoteric order. Rosicruc ...

movement. Jan van Rijckenborgh was born in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

, Holland, as Jan Leene, adopting the name van Rijckenborgh later. With his brother Zwier Willem Leene, he rejected the teachings of orthodox

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and grew up to favour a more mystical approach. Under the influence of Dr. A. H. de Hartogh he read the theosophical works of

German mystic The Friends of God (German: Gottesfreunde; or gotesvriunde) was a medieval mystical group of both ecclesiastical and lay persons within the Catholic Church (though it nearly became a separate sect) and a center of German mysticism. It was founde ...

Jakob Böhme Jakob Böhme (; ; 24 April 1575 – 17 November 1624) was a German philosopher, Christian mysticism, Christian mystic, and Lutheran Protestant Theology, theologian. He was considered an original thinker by many of his contemporaries within the L ...

and in 1924, with Zwier, joined

Max Heindel Max Heindel (born Carl Louis von Grasshoff, July 23, 1865 – January 6, 1919) was an American Christian occultist, astrologer, and mystic. Early life Carl Louis von Grasshoff was born in Aarhus, Denmark, into the noble family von Grasshof ...

Rosicrucian Fellowship The Rosicrucian Fellowship (TRF) ("An International Association of Christian Mystics") was founded in 1909 by Max Heindel with the aim of heralding the Age of Aquarius, Aquarian Age and promulgating "the true Philosophy" of the Rosicrucians. It cl ...

school of

Esoteric Christianity Esoteric Christianity is a mystical approach to Christianity which features "secret traditions" that require an initiation to learn or understand. The term ''esoteric'' was coined in the 17th century and derives from the Greek (, "inner"). Th ...

, eventually becoming the heads of the Dutch branch. Ultimately even Heindel's approach proved not enough for van Rijckenborgh and his brother, who left the Fellowship in 1935 to found their own Rosicrucian movement, the ''Lectorium Rosicrucianum''. By this time they had made acquaintance with female Dutch mystic Catharose de Petri, who co-founded the Lectorium with the brothers.

Ideas

Van Rijckenborgh propounded his own form of

Gnostic Christianity Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: , romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: �nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among early Christian sects. These diverse gr ...

based upon the ''

Rosicrucian Manifestos Rosicrucianism () is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in early modern Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts announcing to the world a new esoteric order. Rosicrucianism is symbolized by the Rose ...

'',

Johann Valentin Andreae Johannes Valentinus Andreae (17 August 1586 – 27 June 1654), a.k.a. Johannes Valentinus Andreä or Johann Valentin Andreae, was a German theologian, who claimed to be the author of an ancient text known as the ''Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Ro ...

's works ''

The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz The ''Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz'' () is a German book edited in 1616 in Strasbourg. Its anonymous authorship is attributed to Johann Valentin Andreae. The ''Chymical Wedding'' is often described as the third of the original manif ...

'' and ''Rei Christianopolotanae Descriptio'' and his own wide-ranging explorations into

hermeticism Hermeticism, or Hermetism, is a philosophical and religious tradition rooted in the teachings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, a syncretism, syncretic figure combining elements of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. This system e ...

alchemy Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, the

Cathars Catharism ( ; from the , "the pure ones") was a Christian quasi- dualist and pseudo-Gnostic movement which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. Denounced as a he ...

(thanks in part to his collaboration with neo-Cathar historian

Antonin Gadal Antonin Gadal (March 15, 1877 – June 15, 1962) was a French mystic and historian who dedicated his life to study of the Cathars in the south of France, their spirituality, beliefs and ideology. Life Gadal was born in 1877 in the Pyrenean to ...

), Christian Gnosticism and other forms of esoteric study. Taking the Rose Cross as his central image of the relationship between the soul and the body, he argued for the transfiguration/gnostic rebirth of the soul in man. The Lectorium was founded to study and proselytize these ideas. Rijckenborgh's books include ''Dei Gloria Intacta'', ''The Coming New Man'' and ''The Egyptian Gnosis''.

Death

Jan van Rijckenborgh died in 1968 and was succeeded by Catharose de Petri as leader of the movement until her death in 1990. The Lectorium Rosicrucianum, also known as the Golden Rosycross continued in worldwide operation .

References

*''Rosicrucians Through the Ages'' Rozekruis Pers/ Rosycross Press *''Dei Gloria Intacta'' Jan van Rijckenborgh. Rozekruis Pers/ Rosycross Press

External links

Jan van Rickenborgh: Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rijckenborgh, Jan van Christian occultists Dutch Christian religious leaders Rosicrucians 1896 births 1968 deaths 20th-century Christian mystics People from Haarlem

Ideas

Death

See also

References

External links