The following is in response to a request from the Encyclopedia of American Religions to review and correct their information. We are grateful to the publishers of the Encyclopedia of American Religions for contacting us so that we can correct their entry before publication.

The following may be used by other publishers in good faith that the information is correct. It has been written by the primary founders of The Gnostic Order of Christ.

Gnostic Order of Christ
PO Box 8660
San Jose, CA 95155-8660

The Gnostic Order of Christ was founded in 1988 by members of the Order of the Golden Cross to provide a spiritual structure for those called to the Path of the Western Tradition of the Priesthood After the Order of Melchizedek of the Order of the Golden Cross. The primary founders of the order have the Apostolic Rites of two lineages. The first of the Apostolic Rites stem from Father Paul Blighton, historically known as the primary founder of the Science of Man Church (SOM) and the Holy Order of MANS (HOOM). One of the founders of the Gnostic Order of Christ, Master Timothy D. Harris received the Rite to Ordain from Blighton in 1970. Another founder, Master Jessica C.A. Lucas (formerly Lucas-Burkhouse) in 1988 received her Rite from Harris and Master J Anderson (also of HOOM). Lucas had prior, in 1984 received a Mantle of the Work initiating her as a Master Teacher, and a Mantle of the Sisterhood of the Immaculate Heart Sisters of Mary (a sub-order of HOOM) from Master Marian Carter (former Mother Superior of the sub-order and also one of the founders of the Gnostic Order of Christ).

On separate occasions, in the year 1984, Harris and Lucas also received the lineage of the Wandering Bishops of the Sacred Order of the Episcopate of Jesus Christ stemming from the lineage of Michael Zaharakis who was ordained by Bishop Lewis Keizer of the Home Temple Movement. Keizer received his consecration through Herman Adrian Spruit, Archbishop-Patriarch of the Church of Antioch (Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch, Malabar Rite). The lineage incorporates 16 lineages, one of which can be traced back to Cardinal Scipione Rebiba, Roman Catholic Bishop of Troia (12 March 1566) and from there to the Apostles. The lineage includes that of St.Thomas (Malabar Rite).

The Gnostic Order of Christ is a training body whose purpose is to facilitate the spiritual unfoldment and consciousness of the individual through teaching and initiation and to ordain those called to serve under the spiritual mantle of the Order of the Golden Cross. All vows are taken to God and not to any earthly organization, group, or person(s). There is no formal membership; rather a loose federation exists based upon a desire to associate. Teachings are primarily Christian, but are inclusive of the study of all religions, metaphysics, healing, the sciences and philosophy. Those ordained vary in teaching expression according to the training background of the particular teacher and may include elements of Buddhism, Sufism, Zen, Native American Traditions and so on; teachings are inclusive of, rather than exclusive of, teachings universal to all faiths. What is held in common are initiations and sacraments particular to the Order of the Golden Cross.

While historians trace several existing groups to HOOM, the Gnostic Order of Christ and its affiliates (those ordained through the Gnostic Order of Christ) are the only ones that may claim legitimate Apostolic Rites to Ordain into the Order of the Golden Cross as defined by Father Paul Blighton and Mother Ruth Blighton (Mother of the HOOM order and spouse of Blighton). Harris and Anderson who ordained Lucas were the only ones left of the former HOOM having legitimate Rites to Ordain. Harris was reissued the Rite to Ordain in 1988 by Mother Ruth Blighton according to certain parameters which have been followed.

Membership of the Gnostic Order of Christ consists of the Board of Directors. All priests and teachers ordained through the Gnostic Order of Christ establish their own ministries independent of the Order. As of May 2008, approximately 45 persons have been ordained as Priests: 17 of those were new to the tradition of the Order of the Golden Cross, 8 were former HOOM Christian Community Members, and 20 were former HOOM brothers and sisters; 22 former HOOM priests have studied with the Gnostic Order of Christ and become Master Teachers; 37 of the total number of priests ordained have become Bishops and Master Teachers and 28 of the 37 have received the Rites to Ordain; two of those receiving the Rites to ordain were already Wandering Bishops. An unknown number of people are in training across the country. The Order has affiliates across the United States.

Source:
The Gnostic Order of Christ
Rt. Rev. Timothy D. Harris: President
Rt. Rev. Jessica C.A. Lucas: Director of Education
05/12/2008

Longer Historical Version

Gnostic Churches

Gnostic Order of Christ
PO Box 8660
San Jose, CA 95155-8660

The Gnostic Order of Christ (GOC) was founded in 1988 by members of the Order of the Golden Cross to provide a spiritual structure for those called to the Path of the Western Tradition of the Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek of the Order of the Golden Cross. One of the founders Master Timothy D. Harris received Apostolic Rites from Father Paul Blighton, historically known as the primary founder of the Science of Man Church (SOM) and the Holy Order of MANS (HOOM). Jessica C.A. Lucas (formerly Lucas-Burkhouse) received her Rite from Harris and Master J Anderson (also of HOOM). On separate occasions in the year 1984, Harris and Lucas also received the lineage of the Wandering Bishops of the Sacred Order of the Episcopate of Jesus Christ stemming from the lineage of Michael Zaharakis who was ordained by Bishop Lewis Keizer of the Home Temple Movement. Keizer was consecrated by Herman Adrian Spruit, Archbishop-Patriarch of the Church of Antioch (Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch, Malabar Rite).

The Gnostic Order of Christ is a training body whose purpose is to facilitate the spiritual unfoldment and consciousness of the individual through teaching and Initiation and to ordain those called to serve under the spiritual mantle of the Order of the Golden Cross. All vows are taken to God and not to any earthly organization, group, or person(s). There is no formal membership; rather a loose federation exists based upon a desire to associate. Teachings are primarily Christian but are inclusive of the study of all religions, metaphysics, healing, the sciences and philosophy. Those ordained vary in teaching expression according to the training background of the particular teacher and may include elements of Buddhism, Sufism, Zen, Native American Traditions and so on; teachings are inclusive of rather than exclusive of teachings universal to all faiths. What is held in common are initiations and sacraments particular to the Order of the Golden Cross.

The founders of the Gnostic Order of Christ include Harris, Carter, Lucas and several others. Harris was ordained a Priest in the SOM in 1967, and was acknowledged as a Master by Father Paul Blighton (HOOM) in 1968; he received the Rites to Ordain from Blighton in 1970. Harris held the office of Spiritual Director of the HOOM from 1968 (on the death of Sufi Murshid Samuel Lewis who held the post originally) until his departure from the HOOM in 1972. Harris' membership in the SOM and HOOM spanned five years and during that entire time he was a personal student of Blighton. Harris was the primary author of the Christian Community Charter under which lay communities resembling the format of the early Christian Churches were established; these communities subsequently became established across the United States. Harris broke with the HOOM in 1972 when that organization began requiring its members to take a Vow of Obedience directly to the organization and its Esoteric Council hierarchy rather than directly to God, as had been the previous tradition. In 1984, Harris was ordained as an Independent Bishop of the Sacred Order of the Episcopate of Jesus Christ by Mar Nathaniel Cortigan (Cortigan had received this ordination through the lineage of Michael Zaharakis (ordained by Bishop Lewis Keizer).

Lucas was never a member of the inner order of HOOM; she was a member of the Christian Community (the lay organization of the HOOM) of Chicago from 1972-76. During that time she became a personal student of Master Marian Carter. Carter was ordained into the Priesthood and Initiated into Mastery by Blighton. Carter was the Mother Superior of the Immaculate Heart Sisters of Mary (IHSM) established by Blighton in 1972 as a sub-order of the HOOM devoted to Mary. Lucas is one of a few lay members to be initiated outside of the structure of the inner Order. Lucas remained a private student of Carter's after they both left the HOOM and the HOOM Christian Community in 1976 respectively, until her (Carter's) death in 1985. On April 19,1984, Mother Marian, acknowledged Lucas as a Teacher in her Own Rite and informally through a specific blessing of the Holy Spirit and the laying on of hands, blessed Lucas two fold with: a Mantle of the Work initiating her as a Master Teacher and with a Mantle of the Sisterhood of the Immaculate Heart Sisters of Mary. In that same year, Lucas was also ordained as an Independent Bishop of the Sacred Order of the Episcopate of Jesus Christ by Mar Nathan Colvin (through the lineage of Zaharakis). In 1984, Lucas met Harris who initiated her through formal ritual as a teacher on January 11,1985. In 1988 with the concurrence Anderson (also formerly of HOOM), Harris passed the Rites to Ordain to Lucas according to the tradition of the Order of the Golden Cross.

While historians trace several existing groups to HOOM; the Gnostic Order of Christ and its affiliates (those ordained through the Gnostic Order of Christ) are the only ones that may claim legitimate Apostolic Rites to Ordain into the Order of the Golden Cross as defined by Father Paul Blighton and Mother Ruth Blighton (Mother of HOOM order and spouse of Blighton). Harris and Anderson who ordained Master Lucas were the only ones left of the former HOOM having legitimate Rites to Ordain.

Membership consists of the Board of Directors. All priests and teachers ordained through the Gnostic Order of Christ establish their own ministries independent of the Gnostic Order of Christ. As of May 2008, approximately 45 persons have been ordained as Priests: 17 of those were new to the tradition of the Order of the Golden Cross, 8 were former HOOM Christian Community Members, and 20 were former HOOM brothers and sisters; 22 former HOOM priests have studied with the Gnostic Order of Christ and become Master Teachers; 37 of the total number of priests ordained have become Bishops and Master Teachers and 28 of the 37 have received the Rites to Ordain; an unknown number are in training across the country. The Order has affiliates across the United States.

Source:
The Gnostic Order of Christ
Rt. Rev. Timothy D. Harris: President
Rt. Rev. Jessica C.A. Lucas: Director of Education
05/12/2008

1. The Gnostic Order of Christ is one of several groups founded by former members of the Holy Order of MANS who dissented from the Holy Order's merger into the Greek Orthodox Missionary Archdiocese of Vasiloupolis in 1986.

The Truth: The Gnostic Order of Christ had its beginnings long before Orthodoxy was even an issue.

The members who founded the Gnostic Order of Christ left the HOOM between 1972 and 1976 over the vow of obedience; the parties disagreed with the imposition of the vow of obedience upon the Holy Order of MANS membership. The Gnostic Order was founded in 1988 by HOOM members who left the order between 1972-1976 and others to provide a format and credentials for those who wished to continue their Spiritual Path according to the original form of the HOOM.

2. The Holy Order had been founded by Fr. Earl W. Blighton (1904-1974) who modeled the group on a Roman Catholic order, but who poured mystical and esoteric material into its teachings.

The Truth: The HOOM was formed by twelve people and was not modeled on the Catholic Church; it was modeled on the Early Church and other spiritual traditions; any HOOM similarities to the Catholic Church were coincidental.

The format of the HOOM was adopted over a several month period considering the structure of the Early Church, the Essenes, the present day Church(es) and the structure of the Hindu, Sufi and Buddhist orders. The teachings were universal and included the study of philosophy, metaphysics, mysticism, and all religions. The sacraments and initiations were adaptations of the sacraments and initiations used in the Early Church, especially by the Essenes and more Eastern Orders. Blighton was an Evangelical Christian who had been initiated in several spiritual traditions; he was also a scientist with a degree in Electrical Engineering, a Christian Mystic and was self-educated in the history of the Christian Church and its evolution.

To say that the HOOM was modeled on the Catholic Church is incorrect; rather, both the HOOM and the Catholic Church were initially of the format of the Early Church; any similarities noted between the HOOM and Catholic Church is in appearance only due to the fact that few people have in depth knowledge of the format of the Early Church.

During the time of the Early Church, individual schools evolved headed by independent teachers. At the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. the format of the Early Church was rejected and the form of the present day Catholic Church was adopted. At that time Independent Bishops: Gnostic, Valentinian, Marcionite, Arian, Ebionite and so on were expelled from the Catholic Church and at that time, Bishops (Independent Teachers, many heads of their own Schools) who did not subscribe to the rulings of the Nicene Council were called heretics and excommunicated; in many cases they were both persecuted and killed.

The HOOM intentionally rejected the "Catholic" format and most especially mainstream Christian dogmas, the lack of freedom of speech, celibacy and the non-ordination of women who who had been, in the Early Church, ordained both as Priests and Bishops. From the very beginning, the HOOM was democratic, family orientated, and ordained both men and women. The HOOM was only semi-monastic; men and women held jobs in the world, married and had children. The choice of clerical garb was adopted in lieu of eastern style robes, as in keeping with what most modern day Christian ministers wore, whether Protestant or Catholic; present day Christian garb is not exclusive to the Catholic Church, nor are the rituals and sacraments.

3. The merger with the Greek archdiocese was backed by those members who felt their greatest attachment to a traditional Christian approach to belief and practice.

The Truth: The merger occurred after a takeover by four teachers supported by the students of those teachers who subscribed to the vow of obedience. By this time, most of those who disagreed with the vow of obedience and the "new" direction of the order towards orthodoxy had left the HOOM.

4. Timothy D. Harris was one of the original members of the Holy Order, having been a member of the Science of Man Church that preceded it. He was ordained by Blighton in 1970, though two years later he left the Order to become an independent metaphysical teacher. In 1984 he accepted consecration as a bishop from Bishop Lewis S. Keizer of the Home Temple Movement whose orders came through Adrian Spruit and the Church of Antioch.

The Truth: The dates are wrong and the name of the Bishop is incorrect. Harris was a member of the Science of Man Church (SOM) and one of the architects of its successor, the Holy Order of MANS (HOOM). Harris was ordained a Priest in the SOM in 1967, and was acknowledged as a Master by Father Paul Blighton (HOOM) in 1968; he received the Rites to Ordain from Blighton in 1970. Harris held the office of Spiritual Director of the HOOM from 1968 (on the death of Sufi Murshid Samuel Lewis who held the post originally) until his departure from the HOOM in 1972. Harris' membership in the SOM and HOOM spanned five years and during that entire time he was a personal student of Blighton. Harris was the primary author of the Christian Community Charter under which lay communities resembling the format of the early Christian Churches were established; these communities subsequently became established across the United States. Harris broke with the HOOM in 1972 when that organization began requiring its members to take a Vow of Obedience directly to the organization and its Esoteric Council hierarchy rather than directly to God, as had been the previous tradition. In 1984, Harris was ordained as an Independent Bishop of the Sacred Order of the Episcopate of Jesus Christ by Mar Nathaniel Cortigan (Cortigan had received this ordination through the lineage of Michael Zaharakis (ordained by Bishop Lewis Keizer).

5. Joining him in the founding of the Gnostic Order of Christ was Jessica Catherine Burkhouse-[Lucas] who had taken vows with the Holy Order in 1978. Known as Sister Jessica, she took a leadership role in the Immaculate Heart Sisters of Mary, a suborder for females within the Holy Order. She also was consecrated a bishop in the Keizer-Spruit lineage.

The Truth: Lucas was never a member of the inner order; she was a member of the Christian Community (the lay organization of the HOOM) of Chicago from 1972-76. During that time she became a personal student of Master Marian Carter. Carter was ordained into the Priesthood and Initiated into Mastery by Father Paul Blighton. Carter was the Mother Superior of the Immaculate Heart Sisters of Mary (IHSM) established by Blighton in 1972 as a sub-order of the HOOM devoted to Mary. Lucas is one of a few lay members to be initiated outside of the structure of the inner Order. Lucas remained a private student of Carter’s after they both left the HOOM and the HOOM Christian Community in 1976 respectively, until her (Carter’s) death in 1985. On April 19,1984, Mother Marian, acknowledged Lucas as a Teacher in her Own Rite and informally through a specific blessing of the Holy Spirit and the laying on of hands, blessed Lucas two fold with: a Mantle of the Work initiating her as a Master Teacher and with a Mantle of the Sisterhood of the Immaculate Heart Sisters of Mary. In that same year, Lucas was also ordained as an Independent Bishop of the Sacred Order of the Episcopate of Jesus Christ by Mar Nathan Colvin (through the lineage of Zaharakis). In 1984, Lucas met Harris who initiated her through formal ritual as a teacher on January 11,1985. In 1988 with the concurrence of Anderson (also formerly of HOOM), Harris passed the Rites to Ordain to Lucas according to the tradition of the Order of the Golden Cross

6. The merger of the Holy Order left those members who followed the more mystical stream of its teachings more or less cut off and scattered.

The Truth: The merger occurred in 1988 long after the founding members of the Gnostic Order had left [they left between 1972-76].

7. They began to communicate with each other; and Harris and Brukhouse, along with Stephen R. Thibideaux (1942-2000), who had been consecrated as a bishop by Burkhouse, assumed leadership roles in forming two organizations, the Euphotic Foundation (a for-profit business) and the Gnostic Order of Christ.

The Truth: Stephen Thibodeau was not a part of founding the Gnostic Order of Christ nor the Euphotic Foundation; he was never a member of the Gnostic Order of Christ; he used the organizational names without permission. The Euphotic Foundation name was registered by Jessica C. Lucas in California as the name of her business entity. Thibodeau is deceased, but his website for whatever reason remains on the web.

8. Membership Membership: Not reported. The order has various affiliated communities across the United States, including Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Vernon, Texas; Witchita, Kansas; and Rapid City, South Dakota.

The Truth: Membership consists of the Board of Directors. All priests and teachers ordained through the Gnostic Order of Christ establish their own ministries independent of the Gnostic Order of Christ. As of May 2008, approximately 45 persons have been ordained as Priests: 17 of those were new to the tradition of the Order of the Golden Cross, 8 were former Christian Community Members, and 20 were former HOOM brothers and sisters. 22 former HOOM priests have studied with the Gnostic Order of Christ and become Master Teachers; 37 of the total number of priests ordained have become Bishops and Master Teachers and 28 of the 37 have received the Rites to Ordain; an unknown number are in training across the country. The Order has affiliates across the United States.

While historians trace several existing groups to HOOM; the Gnostic Order of Christ and its affiliates (those ordained through through the Gnostic Order of Christ) are the only ones that may claim legitimate Apostolic Rites to Ordain into the Order of the Golden Cross as defined by Father Paul Blighton and Mother Ruth Blighton (Mother of HOOM order and spouse of Blighton). Harris and Anderson who ordained Lucas were the only ones left after the demise of the former HOOM able to pass the Rites to Ordain to others.

9. Sources:

Gnostic Order of Christ. http://www.gnosticorderofchrist.net/. 1 February 2002.

The Truth: This web page no longer exists; however when it did exist it never stated any of the above. Most of the incorrect info seems to come from misunderstandings of the information that was written or from other incorrect sources.

10. Lucas, Philip Charles. The Odyssey of a New Religion: The Holy Order of MANS from New Age to Orthodoxy. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1995.

The Truth: Philip Lucas [no relation to Jessica Lucas] did not represent the early order properly, nor at any length in his book [title above]. The book was primarily about the latter order, much of the information used was limited in scope and what was stated was largely inaccurate in terms of nuance, although most facts as to numbers of people and so on appear to be accurate. An analysis of interviews and citations indicate the information came from mostly biased and/or uniformed individuals, some of whom were only in the order for a short period. The book is a poor resource for anyone wanting to know about the actual beginnings and middle of the order. Lucas also made poor use of primary sources; in some cases these were even ignored although listed in the index. In still other cases, reliance upon single sources for information distorted events. We can’t say anything about the transition period to Orthodoxy and what was written about that however, because we were not there.

Sincerely,
The Gnostic Order of Christ
Rt. Rev. Timothy D. Harris: President
Rt. Rev. Jessica C.A. Lucas: Director of Education
05/12/2008