Stephan A. Hoeller

Stephan A. Hoeller, (1931 - ) is a writer, scholar and religious leader. Born in Budapest, Hungary he received a Ph.D. in philosophy with a minor in the philosophy of religion from the University of Innsbruck in Austria.http://www.paranoiamagazine.com/hoeller.html retrieved 2007-08-07]

Career

Richard, Duc de Palatine established a modern-day gnostic church, the Pre-Nicene Gnostic Catholic Church, in England during the 1950s. Duc de Palatine commissioned Hoeller to the United States, settling in Southern California in 1952,http://www.questbooks.net/author.cfm?authornum=14 retrieved 2007-08-07] to continue the work they started in England. After the death of Duc de Palatine in the 70's, Hoeller changed the name to the Ecclesia Gnostica (Latin for "the Gnostic Church"). [http://www.gnosis.org/ecclesia/ecclesia.htm Introduction to the Ecclesia Gnostica ] ]

Hoeller is Professor Emeritus of comparative religion at the College of Oriental Studies in Los Angeles. An author and scholar of gnosticism and Jungian psychology, he is also Regionary Bishop of Ecclesia Gnostica, having been consecretated to the office in 1967 by the Duc de Palatine, and thus is the senior holder of the English Gnostic Transmission in America.

Hoeller is a member of the lecturing faculty of Manly P. Hall's Philosophical Research Society, a national speaker for the Theosophical Society of America, and Director of Studies for the Gnostic Society centered in Los Angeles. He was a frequent contributor to the now defunct "Gnosis" magazine.

Hoeller, a Freemason, has resided in Hollywood for over 40 years. During a 2003 interview, Hoeller talked about Gnosticism:::"I think we could describe it as a very early form of Christianity, very different in many respects from what Christianity became later on. It is much more individualistic. It is much more orientated toward the personal, spiritual advancement and transformation of the individual, regarding figures such as Jesus as being helpers rather than sacrificial saviors. It is a form of religion that has a much more ecumenical and universal scope in terms of its relationship to spiritual, religious traditions other than the Christian. ::I would say that this appears to be, as far as Gnosticism is concerned, the time that the Greeks called the kairos, the time when the Gods are reborn. We live in an age, I think, when certain timeless ideas, which have been submerged and subdued for a long time, are making their appearance once again. In that respect we're living in very interesting times as the Chinese would say. Interesting times, spiritually powerful times, always cast a great shadow. There will also be great difficulties, but I think that Gnostic traditions, along with a number of kindred ideas, are being reborn at this time, and will have a significant influence in the future. Those of us who find ourselves working within that field are singularly blessed that we can do this work at this particular time. So I feel I'm at the right place and at the right time and I am profoundly grateful for all of that."

Partial Bibliography

*"The Royal Road : A Manual of Kabalistic Meditations on the Tarot" (1975), ISBN 0835604659 Second Edition republished as: "The Fool's Pilgrimage, Kabbalistic Meditations on the Tarot" (2004) ISBN 0835608395
*"The Gnostic Jung and the Seven Sermons to the Dead" (1982), ISBN 083560568X
*"Jung and the Lost Gospels" (1989), ISBN 0835606465
*"Freedom: Alchemy for a Voluntary Society" (1992), ISBN 0835606783
*"Gnosticism: New Light on the Ancient Tradition of Inner Knowing" (2002), ISBN 0835608166

References

External links

* [http://www.gnosis.org The Gnosis Archive & The Gnostic Society webpage]
* [http://gnosis.org/bookstore3.htm Catalog of Books by Stephan Hoeller]
* [http://www.bcrecordings.net/store Lectures by Stephan Hoeller, available in MP3 format]
* [http://www.paranoiamagazine.com/hoeller.html Paranoia Magazine 2003 interview with Dr. Stephan Hoeller}]
* [http://www.gnosis.org/LAWeekly.htm LA Weekly 2005 article about Dr. Stephan Hoeller ]