Quest for the Holy Grail

This is a brief summary of eucharistic writing "The Holy Grail" by Father Sergius Bulgakov, published in a book The Holy Grail & The Eucharist by Lindisfarne Books in 1997. It is full of the most profound spiritual wisdom that is giving ground for thought for all Christians. I highly recommend it!

Bulgakov begins his study by referring to the Gospel of St. John directing our attention to the feature that is absent in the other Evangelists, how Jesus' side was pierced with a spear and forthwith came there out blood and water. He points out how this story is given a special significance: "The man who saw it [the beloved disciple] has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe" (John 19:35 NIV).

Later on Bulgakov explains the nature of blood: "We know that the soul of animals, the power of life of the body, lies in blood." [...]
"Blood is wholly special substance; what is remarkable about it is that psychical and material, living and nonliving being, the animal soul and body, are united in it. The blood is intermediate between spirit and body, between spiritual and material being, as their living connection." [...]
"In the act of death... With the decomposition of the blood, the animal soul perishes, dies... Only the human spirit is immortal, and it is this spirit that animates the soul and, through the soul, the body."
Then Bulgakov suggests an astonishing fact: Christ's human substance was divided on the cross, the blood and water that had flowed remained in the world, they didn't belong to the resurrected body. Christ's blood expresses his humanity, while water is the protoelement of the cosmic matter out of which the world was created in Gen.1:2, 6. Christ has the Spirit (Logos), the soul (blood), and the body (water) as in 1 John 5:8 it is stated.

Now we come to the main point: Bulgakov describes how... "The blood and water that flowed into the world abide in the world. They sanctify this world as the pledge of its future transfiguration", says Bulgakov and continues: "And the whole world is the chalice of the Holy Grail. The Holy Grail is inaccessible to veneration; in its holiness it is hidden in the world from the world. However, it exists in the world as an invisible power, and it becomes visible, appears to pure hearts who are worthy of its appearance."

What about the Eucharist? In the light of the Grail legend it becomes obvious it is not only a repetition in remembrance of the Last Supper but it is deeply rooted in Golgotha - it is also a celebration of the resurrection! This dual-unity is expressed in the Grail legend as the Grail is said to be the chalice of the Last Supper that ended up in the hands of Joseph of Arimathea and into same vessel he collected the blood (and water) out of Jesus' side. I personally find this symbolism particularly beautiful and significant!
It also reminds of Jesus' own words: "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him" (John 6:53-56 NIV).
Anyway, Bulgakov mentions that as food eucharistic bread and wine are consumed, communion has accomplished its purpose, it ends. However, the Holy Grail (the blood and water out of Christ's side) "abides in the world as the mysterious holiness of the world, as the power of life, as the fire in which the world will be transfigured into a new heaven and new earth."

The meaning of Ascension is brilliantly revealed by Fr. Sergius Bulgakov. Did Christ leave the world orphaned and emptied, he asks; Is the Ascension abandonment? Does the world have a natural connection with Christ besides the Eucharist?
Bulgakov strongly emphasizes the fact that the story of the Ascension is told only by two of the Evangelists, Mark and Luke; in John there is only an indication of the departure in the farewell conversation and St. Matthew is silent about it: Instead Matthew ends with a Lord's promise, "I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen" (Mt.28:20). Bulgakov's conclusion is therefore that "the two testimonies are equivalent or, in any case, compatible: The Lord abides on the earth 'unto the end of the world,' while, at the same time, sitting at the right hand of the Father." Here a remark from James H. Hindes, a priest in The Christian Community, might prove to be helpful: Right is usually seen an active side opposite to passive left. Thus Christ Jesus has united with that side of the Father which actively reaches out to the world!
"Heaven is not a place situated somewhere in astronomical space", says Bulgakov, "Rather, it is the metaphysical state of the perfect glorification and deification of human substance, which thereby becomes inaccessible to human perception."
The Lord appeared to the Apostle Paul even after the Ascension; in fact, His departure from the world would correspond to His total de-incarnation! The Second Coming... "does not signify the arrival from one place to another, from 'heaven' to 'earth'. Rather, it signifies a change in human beings in the case of which the Lord will become accessible to our vision." Indeed, a Greek word parousia means the presence which is revealed!

There is a connection between the Ascension and the Pentecost. The Lord said: "It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, The Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you" (John 16:7 NIV). It might be worth to pay regard to the fact that in Exodus during the journey through the desert, the Lord - identified as I AM - went ahead of Israelites in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night, just like Jesus Christ was taken up into heavens and a "cloud hid him" from the sight of disciples, and at Pentecost there came the tongues of fire. This is the etheric life force. Christ is abiding in the etheric counterpart of the earth, and the Holy Spirit is also Christ in us: when we get in touch with His aura surrounding the earth, the fire of the Holy Spirit fulfills us.

But let's return to Bulgakov once more: "The whole world is the chalice of Christ's blood and water. The whole world partook of them in communion at the hour of Christ's death." [...] "The world has become Christ, for it is the holy chalice, the Holy Grail. The world has become indestructible and incorruptible, for in Christ's blood and water it has received the power of incorruption, which will be manifested in its transfiguration" (New Jerusalem is made of precious stone, that is, ennobled, spiritualised matter). And concerning human beings: "The fullnes of the Incarnation, includes its effectiveness in nature as well (as is witnessed by Christ's miracles and the answering movements of the natural world: the star of Bethlehem, the eclipse of the sun and darkness at the hour of crucifixion, the earthquake, and so on). And by no means can one allow that human nature as such remained deaf and indifferent to the fact of its adoption by the God-man"... "Human nature is healed by the Incarnation inwardly, organically, by a new creation of it, as it were, a creation that will be revealed in its power and glory beneath a 'new heaven' on a 'new earth.'"

It is remarkable how much in common Sergius Bulgakov's ideas have with those of Rudolf Steiner's. Bulgakov's Sophiology would require a whole new story.

Christianity - Islam; Yahweh - Allah; Atheism - Fundamentalism; Faith - Reason

I believe pre-christian religions were preparation for the coming of Christ: it's not making sense to think that there ever was any nation without God's guidance. To see God's work in history of all humanity just makes Him ever greater! In different ages and in different cultures Godhead was seen differently. Before Christ it was essential what religions taught, in christianity "Word became flesh"!
I think christianity is for the modern western world, but Christ as an objective fact is for the whole world. Christian religion in its present form is merely a vague shadow of its true potential yet to come. Through His death and Resurrection Christ Jesus sowed a seed in Earth: when His blood was bleeding on the cross and His body was lowered into the grave of the earth, the earth itself as a living organism received the spiritual alchemy of the cosmic communion!

Jesus Christ promised to send us a Comforter, the Holy Spirit, and he said that "the time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth". (John 4:23) After Father and Son we need a religion of the Spirit. The Spirit works from within and draws all together as one.

I consider myself a tolerant person and quite liberal minded in religious matters. Yet there is one thing I can not tolerate and that is intolerance! Sadly, I must say I think islam is dangerous religion under luciferic influence. Danish cartoons, Pope's speach... as misunderstood as they might have been, muslims, however, have proved our prejudices right by their violent reactions. And though it's said that 9/11 had nothing to do with true islam, it's not justified to claim that islam had nothing to do with it: no other religion in present day world could have caused that! Sure christian history contains such tragic events as crucades and inquisition, but they are - literally - past history! In its golden age islam was ahead of christianity at the time - there's no doubt of that - but since then it has declined, not developed!
And I have known muslims personally; I have read a lots of books concerning islam, by scholars, muslims, ex-muslims, christians... so, no one can claim I woudn't try to understand!

I don't think Allah is same as God of christians, yet all christians don't seem to know their God either. Some scholars say Allah was originally pre-islamic Moon god (crescent moon symbol!). Same has been said about Yahweh, and I find it easy to believe that Allah and Yahweh - the vengeful God of Israel - are essentially the one and only being: But the loving heavenly Father of Jesus Christ he is not! The heretic of the early church, Marcion of Sinope, made a good point here.

There is one important exception worth to mention: Finnish researcher of islam, Jaakko Hämeen-Anttila, has made an excellent study of sufism, the esoteric branch of islam. His final conclusion was, that in both religions, islam and christianity, mystical experience seems to be very similar. Sufism was often regarded a heretical movement among mainstream islam. It's individual in nature and goes beyond strict doctrines and rules.

Finnish theosophical writer, Väinö Valvanne, points out that Jesus did not speak of "God", except when he was quoting the Old Testament ("Love the Lord, your God..."); instead, he used the name "Abba", Father (or "Daddy" to be more precise). Thus he was not referring to Yahweh with all cruel ideas connected to him. The Tempter who appeared to Jesus in wilderness and offered him all the kingdoms of the world if he worshiped him, was in fact the personification of the old ideal of God - "the ruler of this world". "Be pleased with the same God as everyone else and don't bring any new ideas to people, and I will make you powerful" he said. And Jesus answered: "It is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve" - that is, the voice of the truth within you, even if the whole world was against it!
Sometimes Jesus said the Father is in secret, meaning, that man-made images can't describe this reality. Also he said that no one has seen Father, but Yahveh had been seen by Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abidu, and the seventy elders of Israel (Exodus 24:9-10).

According to German theologian, Adolf von Harnack, keeping of the Old Testament in the christian Bible may lead to impress "the righteousness" and legalism instead of grace and love. Similarly, American scholar Robert Jewett thinks that the wrath of the Lamb described in the Book of Revelation has ousted the redeeming love.

I see both fundamentalism and atheism as two opposites, two etremities. We may remember here Afganistan under Taleban rule and the late Soviet Union. Atheism is a kind of spiritual deficiency desease... (atheism often seems also a kind of religion of science, and very fanatical one - close to fundamentalism) Man is a spiritual being born of God, citizen of two worlds, so religion is a natural realm of life: re-ligio, to reconnect to Divinity, that's what we have to do while living here on earth, or else we enter afterlife as blind because we didn't develope higher senses.
In between goes the narrow path of balance between faith and reason.

Pekka Ervast: Rosy Cross as a Symbol (excerpt translated by Marko)

Rose is a symbol of life and joy, happiness and love, cross on the contrary represents death and suffering, pain and burden. Our view of life is one-sided if it is merely "worldly", care-free, if it only seeks for sensual pleasures and considers death with horror; but it's just as one-sided if it considers earthly life as a valley of sorrow and misery, hating its innocent pleasures, lurking for sin in its most beautiful feelings. In previous case it's asking for roses of life but not the thorns of life and in later case it is not willing to see nothing else than the cross of death everywhere.
Rosicrucian world view seeks to connect the two extremes, to unite a rose to the cross, looking for the golden way in the middle, from the border of joy and sorrow rising over joy and sorrow to the peace that overcomes the world. Rosicrucianism is the renessance of the spirit. It does not support the monk-ascetism of the Catholic Church, but neither the materialism of the worldly people.
It won't seek for joy nor run away from suffering but greets the both as natural gifts of life.
Esotericly it interpretes the symbol of the Rosy Cross like this: When a man takes his cross (both his outer and inner destiny) to carry - and to carry without complaining, even with pleasure, then the rose will bloom upon the cross, a rose of love that brings forth the peace and bliss unto his life. Then the rose has been formed of his heartblood. And the blood is the blood of Christ that has bleeded from his heart when the cross as a sword has been striken in it.