Robert Ambelain (2 September 1907 – 27 May 1997) was a French

essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

ist. He was involved in the

esoteric Western esotericism, also known as the Western mystery tradition, is a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas and currents are united since they are largely distinct both from orthod ...

Masonic 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 ...

Martinist Martinism is a form of Christian mysticism and esoteric Christianity concerned with the fall of the first man, his materialistic state of being, deprived of his own, divine source, and the process of his eventual (if not inevitable) return, cal ...

movement and claimed to have revived the Primitive Scottish Rite. He has written several works, such as ''The Masonic Secret'', in which he tells the most relevant aspects of Masonic lodges.

The reawakening of the Élus Coëns

In 1943, Robert Ambelain, whose mystical name was ''Aurifer'', revived the Order of the ''

Élus Coëns The Order of Knight-Masons Elect Priests of the Universe () or simply Élus Coëns (sometimes misspelled ‘Elus Cohens’ or ‘Kohens’, Hebrew for ‘Elect Priests’), was a theurgical organisation founded by Martinez de Pasqually. It appea ...

.'' The other two esotericists who signed the Charter to revive the Order were Robert Amadou (1924 – 2006) and Roger Ménard. Georges Bogé de Lagrèze (1882-1946) was elected Grand Master and Ambelain his Deputy Grand Master. The degrees of this new Order were the Operative degrees of the original ''Élus Coëns'', reconstituted with the scarce material Ambelain had in his hands. The name of the Order was later changed in ''“Ordre Martiniste des Élus Cohens”'', where candidates were also initiated into the usual three degrees of Martinism; this was the ‘outer order’ which formed the ante-chamber of the Operative degrees. Ambelain, seeking ways to expand the Order, incorporated elements that were not part of the original Élus Coëns system—such as

Neo-Gnosticism Gnosticism in modern times (or Neo-Gnosticism) includes a variety of contemporary religious movements, stemming from Gnostic ideas and systems from ancient Roman society. Gnosticism is an ancient name for a variety of religious ideas and systems, ...

Qabalah Hermetic Qabalah () is a Western esotericism, Western esoteric tradition involving mysticism and the occult. It is the underlying philosophy and framework for magical societies such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, has inspired esoter ...

and the Rite of

Memphis-Misraim The Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm is a masonic rite combining Western esotericism, esoteric spirituality with humanitarian ideals. Created in Naples in September 1881, it emerged from the fusion of two distinct masonic systems ...

. He resorted to these additions largely due to the scarcity of original materials necessary to complete all the degrees, finding suitable substitutes in other esoteric traditions. This process was made easier by his leadership of several closely connected initiatic organizations, including The Martinist Order, the

Rite of Memphis-Misraim The Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm is a masonic rite combining Western esotericism, esoteric spirituality with humanitarian ideals. Created in Naples in September 1881, it emerged from the fusion of two distinct masonic systems ...

, the Élus Coëns, the Kabbalistic Order of the Rose+Cross, the Ecclesia Gnostica Apostolica and the Gnostic Catholic Apostolic Church. Ambelain entrusted its leadership to Ivan Mosca (1915 – 2005) – mystical name ''Hermete'' – who made the Order dormant in 1968 and then reawakened it in 1995. Upon the death of Mosca, who did not designate successors, two groups claimed the legitimate succession, a Spanish and an Italian-French one. A third group also reconstructed its ‘regularity’ within the Order of the United Rites of Memphis Misraim, through an Ambelain-Kloppel-Castelli lineage, and proceeded with a philological reconstruction of the original rituals and operations.

Writings

* "Spiritual Alchemy". ''The Inner Path'' * "Martinism". ''Man Myth and Magic'' 62 (London: Purnell, 1971), 1746–47. * ''Jésus ou le mortel secret des Templiers'', Paris, Robert Laffont, «Les Énigmes de l'Univers», 1970.

References

External links

Robert Ambelain - The Origins of Kabbalah
1907 births 1997 deaths French Freemasons French male essayists 20th-century French essayists 20th-century French male writers {{France-nonfiction-writer-stub