An editor has nominated this article for deletion. You are welcome to participate in the deletion discussion , which will decide whether or not to retain it. |
 |
Bishop Wilkins College No.58 is a Rosicrucian College of the SRIA meeting in Cheshire, within the Province of Western Counties and North Wales.
The College was founded on September 7, 1994 and currently meets three times in each year on the 4th Tuesday in April, 3rd Tuesday in September and 1st Wednesday in December.
It takes its name from John Wilkins, Bishop of Chester. Wilkins was educated at Magdalen, Oxford and in 1648 he became warden of Wadham College. In 1659 he was appointed as Master of Trinity College, Cambridge by Richard Cromwell. In 1668 he became Bishop of Chester.
A champion of science, he expounded the discoveries and theories of Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler. He was a founder and first Secretary of the Royal Society. Wilkins died in 1672 in London.
The College motto is "Venite Gradatim Repetamus Opera Dei" (Come, let us gradually seek the works of God).
The Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (Society of Rosicrucians in England) is an independent society. Admission is limited to Master Masons who are subscribing members of a Lodge under the Grand Lodge of England or a jurisdiction in amity with Grand Lodge and who accept and believe in the fundamental principles of the Trinitarian Christian faith.
Rosicrucianism is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in early modern Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts announcing to the world a new esoteric order. Rosicrucianism is symbolized by the Rose Cross or Rosy Cross. There have been several Rosicrucian organizations since the initial movement was founded, including the Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross (1750s–1790s), the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (1865–present), and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (1887–1903).
The Ancient and Mystical Order Rosæ Crucis (AMORC), also known as the Rosicrucian Order, is the largest Rosicrucian organization in the world. It has various lodges, chapters and other affiliated bodies throughout the globe, operating in 19 different languages. It operates as a fraternal order in the mystical Western Esoteric Tradition.
The Societas Rosicruciana is a Rosicrucian order which limits its membership to Christian Master Masons. The order was founded in Scotland, but now exists in Scotland, England, Canada, Portugal, and the United States. While a prospective member must be a Trinitarian Christian Master Mason in good standing with a Grand Lodge that is recognized by the Grand Lodge of the jurisdiction in which the Society meets, the various Societies have no other Masonic links, ties, or official recognition. Additionally, in some jurisdictions, membership is by invitation only. As the Society offers assistance to all its members in working out the great problems of nature and science, it functions in some respects as a research society.
William Wynn Westcott was a coroner, ceremonial magician, theosophist and Freemason born in Leamington, Warwickshire, England. He was a Supreme Magus (chief) of the S.R.I.A and went on to co-found the Golden Dawn.
The Rose Cross is a symbol largely associated with the legendary Christian Rosenkreuz, a Christian Kabbalist and alchemist said to have been the founder of the Rosicrucian Order. The Rose Cross is a cross with a rose at its centre, which is usually red, golden or white. It symbolizes the teachings of a Western esoteric tradition with Christian tenets.
Christian Rosenkreuz is the legendary, possibly allegorical, founder of the Rosicrucian Order. He is presented in three manifestos that were published early in the 17th century. These were:
Johannes Valentinus Andreae, a.k.a. Johannes Valentinus Andreä or Johann Valentin Andreae, was a German theologian, who claimed to be the author of an ancient text known as the Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz anno 1459. This became one of the three founding works of Rosicrucianism, which was both a legend and a fashionable cultural phenomenon across Europe in this period.
Fama Fraternitatis Rosae Crucis is an anonymous Rosicrucian manifesto published circa 1610 in Kassel, Hesse-Kassel. In 1652, Thomas Vaughan translated the work into English. An Italian edition was published as an appendix of the 77th Advertisement (part), under the title Generale Riforma dell' Universo, from a German translation of Bocallini's Ragguagli di Parnasso. The Fama was soon published in a separate form.
Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia or SRIA is a Rosicrucian esoteric Christian order formed by Robert Wentworth Little between 1865 and 1867. While the SRIA is not a Masonic order, aspirants are strictly confirmed from the ranks of subscribing Master Masons of a Grand Lodge in amity with United Grand Lodge of England.
The Confessio Fraternitatis, or simply The Confessio, printed in Kassel (Germany) in 1615, is the second anonymous manifestos, of a trio of Rosicrucian pamphlets, declaring the existence of a secret brotherhood of alchemists and sages who were interpreted, by the society of those times, to be preparing to transform the political and intellectual landscape of Europe.
Albert Karl Theodor Reuss also known by his neo-Gnostic bishop title of Carolus Albertus Theodorus Peregrinus was a German tantric occultist, freemason, journalist, singer and head of Ordo Templi Orientis.
There are many organisations and orders which form part of the widespread fraternity of Freemasonry, each having its own structure and terminology. Collectively these may be referred to as Masonic bodies, Masonic orders, Concordant bodies or appendant bodies of Freemasonry.
Dr. William Robert Woodman, was Supreme Magus of the S.R.I.A and one of three co-founders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Woodman was a medical doctor, horticultural expert and occultist. He was also a member of several metaphysical orders in England.
Robert William Felkin FRSE LRCSE LRCP was a British medical missionary and explorer, a ceremonial magician, member of the S.R.I.A, member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a prolific author on Uganda and Central Africa, and early anthropologist, with an interest in ethno-medicine and tropical diseases.
Harold Van Buren Voorhis was a chemist, noted Masonic author, and executive at Macoy Publishers and Masonic Supply Company.
Robert Wentworth Little was a clerk and cashier of the secretary's office at the United Grand Lodge of England and later secretary of the Royal Institution for Girls. He was a well-known founder of Masonic orders in the 1860s and 70s, being responsible for four: the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (1867), the Red Cross of Constantine (1862), the Ancient Archeological Order of Druids (1874) and the Rite of Memphis-Misraim (1870). He is credited with the structural design of the S.R.I.A. with the rituals acquired from the store room of Freemasons Hall. He was also a founder of the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Misraim in England.
The Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross, was a German Rosicrucian organization founded in the 1750s by Freemason and alchemist Hermann Fictuld. Candidates were expected to be Master Masons in good standing. Alchemy was to be a central study for members. Much of the hierarchical structure for this order was used in Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (SRIA) and from there, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
Frederick Leigh Gardner (1857–1930) was a British occultist and member of various initiatory orders, among them the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz is a German book edited in 1616 in Strasbourg. Its anonymous authorship is attributed to Johann Valentin Andreae. The Chymical Wedding is often described as the third of the original manifestos of the mysterious "Fraternity of the Rose Cross" (Rosicrucians), although it is markedly different from the Fama Fraternitatis and Confessio Fraternitatis in style and in subject matter.
Museum of Freemasonry, based at Freemasons’ Hall, London, is a fully accredited museum since 2009, with a designated outstanding collection of national importance since 2007 and registered charitable trust since 1996. The facility encompasses a museum, library, and archive.