The Masonic Degree of Rose-Croix and Chrstianity
of Christianity that has the strongest initiatory dimension . It has , besides that , indubitable links with the mysteries of Antiquity .
C . The Communion Supper
Quite obviously , the agape of the
Rose-Croix that follows the ceremony emerges as one of the ritual sequences to be analyzed in order to attribute inspiration of the degree to one current or another of Christianity and reflect on its priestly dimension . One can say right away that it would display in the context of Roman Catholicism a thoroughly blasphemous character . The eucharistic ceremony , or the holy sacrament since this is what is in question , can only be conducted by a priest within the framework of mass . Moreover , at the simple level of vocabulary , in a French context , the word Supper [“ Cène ” versus “ Communion ” for Roman Catholics ] that is applied to it belongs unambiguously to the Protestant domain . 31 The sharing of bread and wine among all the Chevaliers Rose- Croix can also be compared with the Protestant Communion Supper , whereas in that era , in Catholic “ communion ”, consuming the flesh and blood person of Christ was reserved for the priest alone . In their passionate debates , the Freemasons , gathered in Paris in 1785 in the Convent des Philalèthes had moreover stressed this : “ The Rose- Croix , above all , is remarkable for [...] its relation with an essential ceremony of Lutheran liturgy .” 32 Connecting the Rose-Croix degree with Lutheranism this way presents several difficulties , however . Of course , the rose and the cross are the main features of Luther ' s coat of arms . Granted , like all the currents of the Reformation , Lutheranism criticizes the priesthood ' s clerical monopoly and emphasizes the universal priesthood to which all men are called . However , on many points , the ambience that seems to emerge from the Supper of the Chevaliers Rose-Croix seems closer to Calvinism or to certain currents of the radical Reformation than to Lutheran positions . It is probably necessary moreover not to focus on the qualifier “ Lutheran ” used by the Philalethes . Luther being German and therefore foreign , we should probably see it , in the context of 18th century Paris , as simply a pejorative term in origin , which later came through use to refer to all Protestants .
The description of the Supper of the Chevaliers Rose-Croix is rather short . Can one , however , push the “ theological ” analysis of the ceremony further ? Its very sobriety and the simplicity of its forms seem to exclude every idea of real presence . Moreover , no allusion is made to this . The Communion Supper is , the ritual specifies , “ a commemoration of Easter and the appearance of J . C . to his disciples in Emmaus .” 33 There again , the words have their importance . Even beyond the debates — famous , if not known — on the real presence , on transubstantiation … situating the Communion Supper of the Rose- Croix in the realm of commemoration places it definitively in the wake of the Reformation and more particularly of Calvinism or the radical Reformation . One of the major controversies between Catholics and Calvinists in 16th- and 17th-century France
31
For this “ theological analysis of the Rose-Croix ritual , we extensively used André Gounelle ’ s book , La Cène , sacrement de la division , Paris , Les Bergers et les Mages , 1996 . The author manages the tour de force of
presenting these , to say the least , austere controversies , in a clear , didactic , and interesting way !
32
Charles Porset , Les Philalèthes et les Convents de Paris , une politique de la folie , Honoré Champion , Paris , 1996 , Quatrième circulaire , début 1786 , 478
33
Document : a ritual from the degree of Rose-Croix dated 1765 , op . cit ., 241 .
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