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Rosicrucian organization From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ancient and Mystical Order Rosæ Crucis (AMORC) is a Rosicrucian organization founded by Harvey Spencer Lewis in the United States in 1915. It has various lodges, chapters and other affiliated bodies in several countries. It operates as a fraternal order in the mystical Western Esoteric Tradition.
| |
| Formation | 1915 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Harvey Spencer Lewis |
| Founded at | United States |
| Type | Rosicrucian order |
| Headquarters | San Jose, California |
Imperator | Claudio Mazzucco |
Formerly called | Rosicrucian Research Society, Ancient Mystical Order of the Rosy Cross |
Harvey Spencer Lewis in 1904 founded the Rosicrucian Research Society. Lewis was an advertising agent from New York and the founder of another group called the New York Institution for Psychical Research.[1][2] He founded the organization after a trip to France, claiming that he had been initiated into Rosicrucianism there in what he called an "old tower" in Toulouse.[2] He presented this as a revival of the original, partially mythical and ancient Rosicrucian Order.[3]
The Ancient Mystical Order of the Rosy Cross (AMORC) was founded in 1915.[2][4] Lewis was the "imperator" of the group.[1] The group later moved to San Francisco, Tampa, and San Jose; it would establish its world headquarters in the latter.[2] Its headquarters there include a museum, a planetarium, and a temple. The group was successful in the USA, leading to the founding of several branches in Europe, which were mostly independent from the main branch of AMORC. Several of these groups would later schism into their own organizations, but Lewis kept the significant French branch of AMORC tied to the parent by collaborating with Jeanne Guesdon.[2]
Lewis died in 1939. Following his death, Lewis was succeeded by his son, Ralph Maxwell Lewis.[1][2] Ralph Lewis would die in 1987, succeeded by Gary L. Stewart; Stewart was young, at 34, but was able to be elected with the support of the leader of the powerful French branch, Raymond Bernard. However, Stewart later fought with the AMORC Board of Directors, and was ousted from the organization in 1990; he would later found a splinter group, the Confraternity of the Rose Cross. Bernard also distanced himself from AMORC and himself founded many other groups. Stewart was replaced as imperator by Bernard's son Christian Bernard.[2] He was replaced as imperator by Claudio Mazzucco in 2019.[5]
As of 1995, the group reported that it had 1,200 lodges in 86 countries, with 250,000 members being reported in 1990.[1]
Many aspects of its teachings and symbolism are taken from other occult groups that H. Lewis had frequented. Chief among these is the Ordo Templi Orientis, led by Aleister Crowley.[4] Other symbols of AMORC were taken from other periodicals.[4] While predominantly Rosicrucian, some later AMORC degrees also incorporate neo-Templar elements.[3]
The symbol of the group is a red rose on a gold cross, with the cross representing the concepts of death and resurrection and the rose representing love as well as secrecy. Together, they represent the usage of reincarnation progressing towards perfection.[1] The emblem of the group, the Rose Cross, was taken from a periodical run by Crowley (Equinox III).[4] The group maintains it is not a religion, instead saying it has members (who it calls "students") from many different religious origins.[2]
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