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The Philalethes   October 1990  WORLEY.TXT

The Traditional Martinist Order and the
    Martinist Order and Synarchy:

           by Lloyd Worley, MPS

           Introduction

"Martinism" is a system of mystical
Christian Illuminist philosophy and
practice based upon the private instruc-
tion and public writings of French philos-
opher Louis Claude de Saint-Martin
(1743-1803).St.Martin's major publish-
ed works include 'Of Errors and Truth, The
New Man, and The Spirit of Things. (See
Waite's Thc Unknown Philosophcr for a
complete bibliography of St. Martin's
works.) Saint-Martin was initiated into
the Order des Elus-Cohens, an esoteric
and theurgic quasi-Masonic body
founded by Rosicrucian and Freemason,
Martines de Pasqually (?-1774). Saint-
Martin eventually developed a prefer-
ence for mysticism rather than for Pasqu-
ally's theurgy and evolved his own sys-
tem of Christian Illuminism built upon
the foundations of Pasqually and Jakob
Boehme. This Christian Illuminism
Saint-Martin privately propagated by
way of personal initiation and private
instruction of his men and women stu-
dents. These students eventually became
known as "Martinists." After Saint-
Martin's death in 1803, his "disciples"
continued to teach and initiate new dis-
ciples privately and independently, just
as Saint-Martin had taught them to do.
Each Martinist was expected to initiate
others. By the end of the 18th century,
Martinism and Rosicrucianism were
closely identified, an identity which con-
tinues into modern times.

  In 1890-91, the respected French
esotericist and Freemason, Dr. Gerard
Encausse, to prevent irregularities in the
Martinist Initiation, formed the first
Martinist Supreme Council. This Su-
preme Council divided The Initiation (as
Martinists called their initiatic cere-
mony) into its four constituent parts,
(now, the Degrees of Associate, Mystic,
S.I., and Unknown Philosopher), and
established Martinist Lodges with of-
ficers. Not all Martinists at first entered
the newly-organized Martinist Order,
preferring to continue independent
operations. It was these "free" Martin-
ists and former Supreme Council mem-
bers that Victor Blanchard drew upon in
1918 to form his branch of the Martinist
Order. To this day, there are still a few
independent "free" Martinist not as-
sociated with the two largest "regular"
branches of Martinism: the Martinist
Order and Synarchy (1918) and the
Order Martiniste (1951) The Martmlst
Order of the Elus-Cohens (c,a. l940s).is
also considered a regular Martlmst
body, but its methods are the theurglcal
ones of Martmes de PasLually rather
than the mystlcal ones of Louis Claude
de Saint-Martin.  There are other tiny
regular Martmlst Orders, such as the
"Russian branch descended from the
Martmist Lodge founded by Papus at the
Court of Czar Nlcholas II (see Waite's
Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross). Martinist
topics of study in the 18th, l9th, and 2Oth
centuries include Christian mysticism,
esotericism, theosophy, Kabbalah, Her-
meticism, and related Subjects.

   Evolutlon of the Various
       Martinist Order
 The history of the various Martinist
Orders that followed the formation of the
first Supreme Council is directly con-
nected to the events which followed the
death of Dr. Gerard Encausse (Papus) in
1916. Charles Detre (esoteric name -
"Teder") ascended to the Grand
Mastership after Encausse's death. As
Grand Master, Detre decided that the
Martinist Order (Order Martiniste)
would best be served by limiting mem-
bership to Freemasons, especially those
of the Rite of Memphis and Misraim.
Detre was an ardent supporter of the
Rite of Memphis and Misraim, a huge
collection of Masonic Degrees assembled
into a rite about 1814 by G.M. Mar-
conis. The "RMM" consists, first, of a
variation of the Scottish Rite called the
"Primitive Rite" of 33 Degrees; then the
Rite of Misraim of 90 Degrees; and,
finally, the Rite of Memphis of 96
Degrees. Holders of the Rite place, after
their names, their ranks by grade num-
ber, usually 33, 90, 95, thus giving the
appearance of outranking everybody in
all of world-wide Freemasonry. The
complete history of the Rite is too com-
plex to recount here (see Waite's Ency-
clopedia of Freernasonry), but the Grand
Lodge of France eventually recognized
the Rite in the early l9th century, osten-
sibly so that the Rite could function, but
actually for the purpose of putting the
RMM "to sleep."  Later, J .E. Marconis
(son of G.M. Marconis) revived the
Rite, accusing (rightfully) the French
Grand Lodge of duplicity in falsely de-
claring its purpose for recognition.In the
late l9th century, the "RMM" came
under the jurisdiction of British Free-
mason John Yarker (founder of the Holy
Royal Arch Knight Templar Priests),
and it has survived on the fringes of
regular Freemasonry ever since. Waite
described most of its Degrees as
"puerile," but also acknowledged that
the mammouth Rite did contain some
Degrees of considerable interest and
value.
Detre's decision to restrict membership
in the Martinist Order to Master Ma-
sons was right insofar as Freemasonry
could serve as a membership pool and
insofar as the availability of the resources
of the Masons (use of Lodges for Martin-
ist meetings, for example). The prob-
lem, of course, was that excluding
women from Martinist Initiation vio-
lated a fundamental precept of original
Martinism, not to mention the fact that
there were already numerous female
Martinists who suddenly found them-
selves cut offfrom Martinist activity. The
first result of Detre's action was the exit
of several members from the original
1891 Martinist Supreme Council as es-
tablished by Papus (the original Supreme
Council consisted of Gerard Encausse,
Pierre Augustin Chaboseau, Paul
Adam, Barlet, Maurice Barres, Burget,
Lucien Chamuel, Stanislas de Guaita,
LeJay, Montiere, Josephin Peladan, and
Sedir. Soon after the formation of the first
Supreme Council, Maurice Barres and
Peladan left to develop Rosicrucian
societies, and they were replaced by
Marc Haven and Victor-Emile Miche-
let, about whom more later.)
 A second result of Detre's action was
the renaming of the Masonic branch of
Martinism as the "Martinist Order of
Lyons," the city to which Detre moved,
taking the "headquarters" of the Ma-
sonic Martinists with him. The "Mar-
tinist Order of Lyons" no longer exists,
having merged with the "Ordre Martin-
iste" of Phillip Encausse. According to a
November 10, 1960 document written
by "Fra. Sorath" and issued by the
former MOS Provincial  Lodge of
Canada, in 1951, Philippe Encausse, son
of Papus, gathered together a number of
unattached ("free") French Martinists
and formed the "Ordre Martiniste"
under the original constitution. In Oc-
tober 1960, Henri DuPont, Grand
Master of the Martinist Order of Lyons
died, leaving the Grand Mastership to
Philippe Encausse who was confirmed in
that office. Thus, Encausse headed two
Martinist Orders, the OM and the
OML. Later, the two Orders merged
after the Masonic qualification of the
OML was removed. An undated docu-
ment issued by the former MOS Provin-
cia, Lodge of Canada shows the line of
filiation for the modern OM as: Jean-
Antoine Chaptal (d. 1832); Henri
Delaage (d. 1882); Gerard Encausse (d.
1916); Charles Detre (d. 1918); Jean Bri-
caud (d. 1934); Constant Chevillon (d.
1944); Charles-Henry DuPont (d.
1960); and Philippe Encausse.

A third result of Detre's new Masonic
requirement was the establishing of two
other Martinist Orders. The first of the
two was the Martinist Order and Synar-
chy established in 1918 under Victor
Blanchard. At Detre's death in 1918,
Blanchard was to have become Grand
Master of the OM, but Blanchard re-
fused the office because he did not agree
with the Masonic requirement. In the
same year, Blanchard gathered together
the former Supreme Council Martinists
and the independent Martinists who did
not adhere to or belong to the Masonic
Martinist branch, forming a Martinist
branch under the original constitution
which had no Masonic qualification and
which Initiated men and women. Soveral
years later, in 1934, at a convention of
Martinists called by Blanchard, Blan-
chard's Order changed its name to the
Martinist Order and Synarchy, and
Blanchard was elected MOS Universal
Sovereign Grand Master.

Unfortunately, Chaboseau's candidate
for Universal Sovereign Grand Master,
V.E. Michelet, could not accept the elec-
tion of Blanchard, so the Traditional
Martinist Order came into being, with
Michelet as Grand Master and with
Chaboseau as deputy Grand Master.

Thus, the oldest surviving regular
Martinist Order which has had a con-
tinual existence since its 1918 founding
is the Martinist Order and Synarchy.

  The Formatlon of the F.U.D.O.S.I.

The Martinist Order and Synarchy and
the Traditional Martinist Order both
participated in the FUDOSI. The term
~FUDOSI" is an abbreviation for the
well-known Federation Universelle des
Ordres et Societe Initiatiques, a federa-
tion of the heads of certain initiatic
orders . The FUDOSI's first meeting was
held during August 13-18, 1934, in Brus-
sels, Belgium. The FUDOSI apparently
was the idea of the well-known and re-
spected French Rosicrucian Imperator
"Sar (1) Hieronymous," whose name was
Emile Dantinne. In fact, it appears that
the FUDOSI may have originally been
planned as a general meeting of Martin-
ists. There is no doubt that Victor Blan-
chard, already a Martinist Grand
Master, and soon to be elected Supreme
Grand Master of The Martinist Order
and Synarchy, did call a general meeting
of all Martinists at the same time as the
August 1934 FUDOSI gathering. Victor
Blanchard was also elected an Imperator
of the FUDOSI.

According to the August 1975 issue of
The Rosicrucian Forum (pg. 20), the "initi-
atic orders" which constituted the
FUDOSI were the...

 Ordre de la Rose + Croix
  Universelle;
 Ordre de la Rose + Croix
  Universitaire;
 Order Pythagoricien;
 Order Martiniste et Synarchique
  (formed in 1918);
 AMORC (Ancient Mystical
  Order Rosae Crucis);
 Ordre Martinist Traditionnel
  (formed at the FUDOSI in 1934);
 Eglise Gnostique Universelle;
 Soci'et'e d' Etudes Martinistes;
 Union Synarchique de Pologne;
  and. . .
 the Ordre de la Militia Crucifera
  Evangelica.

The FUDOSI has been made famous
by AMORC's (2) reproduction in its
advertising literature of various
FUDOSI documents which attest to
AMORC's authenticity as a Rosicrucian
body. Indeed, a common criticism of
AMORC is that it continues to use the
FUDOSI documents to attest to its
authenticity, even though the FUDOSI
ceased to exist in 1951 . AMORC Imper-
ator H. Spencer Lewis was literally fight-
ing for AMORC's life in the 20s and 30s,
fending off virulent and vicious (and ac-
tually slanderous) attacks on both
AMORC and H. Spencer Lewis per-
sonally from Reuben Swinburne Clymer
of the Pennsylvania " Rosicrucian
Society." For example, Clymer made a
great noise about Lewis's claim of being
initiated as a Rosicrucian in 1909 in
Toulouse, France in what is called the
"Dongeon," or city castle. Clymer cor-
rectly said that the "Dongeon" was a
city building and not likely to be availa-
ble for Rosicrucian activity. However,
French occult activity was peaking about
1909, and it is quite possible that govern-
ment workers were occultists who had
access to the picturesque "Dongeon"
and who went in the evening to use its
vacant rooms for ritual activity (See
Eliphas Levi and the French Occult Revival by
Christopher McIntosh or The Occult Un-
derground by Jarnes Webb). Lewis was
quite specific about the time of his "re-
ception" into Rosicrucianism. Ralph
Lewis, in his biography of his father,
'Cosmic Mission Fulfilled', reports H.
Spencer Lewis as saying (page 100) that
the Rosicrucian ceremony occurred
"Later that night" and "at midnight."
If the Dongeon were actually used as a
public building, it would have only been
available at such times. Indeed, based
upon Lewis's expectedly vague descrip-
tions of that "Rosicrucian initiation,"
one might conclude that Lewis was actu-
ally receiving a Martinist/Rose + Croix
ceremony. At any rate, because of the
very public attacks mounted by Clymer
(and doubts about AMORC's authen-
ticity cast by such occult illuminaries as
Paul Foster Case, Rudolph Steiner, and
Manley Palmer Hall), H. Spencer Lewis
desperately needed the FUDOSI docu-
ments to establish his claims to authentic
Rosicrucian teaching and authority,
which may explain why Lewis was
willing to commit AMORC's rather con-
siderable wealth to support the
FUDOSI. Not to be outdone, Clymer
went to France in 1939, formed an alli-
ance with the Ordre Martiniste de Lyons
whose Grand Master was Constant
Chevillon, and assembled his own ver-
sion of the FUDOSI. However, Cly-
mer's organization existed mostly on
paper and was not as successful as the
FUDOSI itself, primarily because Cly-
mer did not have the resources that
AMORC was making available to the
FUDOSI. Also, the outbreak of hostili-
ties in Europe prevented the develop-
ment of Clymer's efforts; in fact, Con-
stant Chevillon, as the head of a pro-
scribed organization - the OML - was
assassinated by the Gestapo during the
early 1940's.

Certainly, in modern times, there is no
reason why AMORC should not use
documents legitimately issued by the
FUDOSI, even if that body no longer
exists. The documents were issued for
the very purpose of display, so displaying
them can hardly be considered improper.
Furthermore, the disbanding of the
FUDOSI does not nullify those docu-
ments. For example, if a person earns a
college degree and then that college is
absorbed by another or the college croses
its doors because of financial problems,
the college degree doesn't suddenly be-
come null and void. The same applies to
the FUDOSI. Its documents are still
valid, whether the FUDOSI exists or not
(and it doesn't, although from time to
time, officers of the original esoteric Or-
ders dream of reestablishing it). Further
there is no doubt that the FUDOSI,
through its officers, recognized
AMORC as an authentic Rosicrucian
body. For example, in AMORC's Rosi-
crucian Documents (p. 20) is a photocopy of
a document which extends such recogni-
tion; the document is signed by Victor
Blanchard, the Imperator of the
FUDOSI. Blanchard also signed another
FUDOSI document authorizing
AMORC to extend its jurisdiction to
South America (p. 15). Even Sar Hier-
onymous acknowledged AMORC's
authenticity (see p. 14). Such recognition
of AMORC ' s authenticity as a
Rosicrucian body cannot and should not
be ignored or belittled. On the other
hand, AMORC weakens it case consid-
erably when it claims So be the only
authentic Rosicrucian body, when
FUDOSI documents are signed entirely
by AMORC members (such as the one
on p. 13 of Rosicrucian Documents), or
when FUDOSI stationery is used well
after the dissolution of the FUDOSI
(such as the one on p. 29 - dated Septem-
ber 6, 1962!)
 To this day, the Ordre Martiniste of
France and the Martinist Order and Syn-
archy world-wide remain on good terms.
The major difference between these two
Martinist Orders is in the language used.
The Ordre Martiniste operates pri-
marily in the French language and serves
French-speaking Martinists, primari,y
in France. The Martinist Order and Syn-
archy operates primarily in the English
language and serves English-speaking
Martinists throughout the world. Other-
wise, the form and content of these two
Orders is substantially identical. How-
ever, the Traditional. Martinist Order is
excluded from fraternal relationship by
the Martinist Order of France and the
Martinist Order and Synarchy.

 An Examination of the charges
   Against the Traditional
       Martinist Order
 The Lodge Officer'r Handbook of the Mar-
tinist Order and Synarchy (abbreviated
 MOS ) iS very clear about the Tradi-
tiona, Martinist Order (abbreviated
"TMO"): the TMO is not recognized
as "legitimate" Martinism, even though
the traditional Martinist Order is both
successful and widespread, operating as
it does under the sponsorship of the An-
cient and Mystical Order Rosael Crucis
whose See is at San Jose in California,
USA (and hereafter known by the famil-
iar initials "AMORC").  What are the
objections to the Traditional Martinist
Order that the "Ordre Martiniste" (or,
"OM") of France and the 'Martinist
Order and Synarchy (or, OMS )
throughout the world make. To answer
this question, an examination of the ob-
jections normally made against the
TMO will be required. Then, the book
'Martinist Documents', published by
AMORC Will be examined to further
answer any questions concerning the
TMO's "regularity."
 The charges llsted agamst the Tradl-
tional Martinist Order are these:
1--after Chaboseau s death, the
supreme council refused to confirm
Jean Chaboseau as Grand Master;
therefore the TMO had no Grand
Master.
2--Jean Chaboseau, acting under hls
  inherited right as TMO Grand
  Master, dissolved both the TMO
  and the TMO Supreme Council;
3--a "Regency Council" within the
  FUDOSI, apparently made up of
  the former TMO Supreme Council,
  attempted to rule the TMO after
  Jean Chaboseau's actions of dissolu-
  banded in 1951, so did the Regency
    Council, thus ending the TMO;
 4--(a)the only surviving branch of the
  TMO after its dissolution by Jean
  Chaboseau was the American
  branch originally founded by
  Supreme Legate H. Spencer Lewis
  of AMORC, who was not a Grand
  Master;
  (b) furthermore, Ralph M. Lewis
  was not a Grand Master and neither
  Lewises held the Degree of Un-
  known Philosopher (the degree of
  "Initiator");
 5--the AMORC TMO extended its ac-
  tivity without authorization;
 6--the AMORC TMO began to
  charge for its degrees;
 7--the AMORC TMO began to offer
  its initiation by mail, which method
  of passing on The Initiation was not
  and is not legitimate;
 8--and that the Degree of Unknown
  Philosopher was discontinued by the
  fourth portion of the original Mar-
  tinist Initiation was omitted, thus in-
  validating all Initiations given by
  TMO Officers.

  Let us examine each of these charges

 1 _ after Chaboseau's death, the
   Supreme council refused to confirm
  Jean Chaboseau as Grand Master;
  therefore, the TMO had no Grand
  Master.
  The first Grand Master was V.E.
 Michelet who was either elected or ap-
 pointed in 1934 when the Traditional
 Martinist Order was founded. Michelet
 Chaboseau. The TMO Supreme Coun-
 cil after Michelet's death consisted of
 FUDOSI members Pierre Augustine
 Chaboseau, his son Jean Chaboseau, O
 Beliard, and Georges Lagreze (their
 names can be found listed on the TMO
 "Chart of the Initiatique Filiation" on
 page 11 of AMORC's Martinist Docu-
 ments.
   After the death of Augustine
 Chaboseau, his son, Jean, was to have
 been elevated to the Grand Mastership
 of the TMO; however, the Traditiona,
 Martinist Order Supreme Council re-
 fused to confirm Jean as Grand Master,
  apparently because there was something
 in Jean Chaboseau's personal life or
 morals of which the Supreme Council did
 not approve Since he was uncon-
 firmed," Jean was not installed as TMO
 Grand Master. That is to say, Jean
 Chaboseau appears to have been a
 Grand Master-elect, by right of inheri-
 tance and appointed by his father, but it
 also appears that a requirement was that
 the TMO Supreme Council play a vital
 part in the establishing of the succession
 by installing the Grand Master-elect.
 How do we reach this conclusion? It is
  clear that the Traditional Martinist
Order would have had a constitution or
some similar "operating document."
Without having access to and examining
the original TMO document, it is diffi-
cult to say for certain what the correct
procedures should have been, but it does
appear that the correct procedure as re-
quired by the constitution was for the
Grand Master-elect to be "confirmed"
by the Traditional Martinist Order Su-
preme Council, i.e., for the Supreme
Council to empower the Grand Master-
elect by a confirmation vote. Had the
TMO Supreme Council. acted illegally, it
is certain that Jean Chaboseau would
have protested the Supreme Council's
right to prevent his taking the office and
that he would have appealed to the Tradi-
tional Martinist Order members to rally
around him. However, so far no evidence
of such protests has surfaced, so the pre-
sumption is that the TMO Supreme
Council followed correct procedure.

Conclusion: the TMO Supreme Council
was within its rights to refuse to "con-
firm" Jean Chaboseau as TMO Grand
Master.

2--Jean Chaboseau, acting under his
inherited right as TMO Grand
Master, dissolved both the TMO
and the TMO Supreme Council;
After the TMO Supreme Council re-
fused to act on Jean Chaboseau's claim
to the TMO Grand Mastership, he took
a radical step: he simply declared the
Traditional Martinist Order dissolved,
then stepped down from the "office" of
"Grand Master" and withdrew
completely from the Martinist move-
ment. Was Jean Chaboseau within his
rights to "dissolve" the TMO? Accord-
ing to one MOS Grand Master, a Grand
Master does have the power and author-
ity to close down an entire Grand Lodge
simply by withdrawing its Charter. How-
ever, Jean Chaboseau was not a con-
firmed Grand Master and, lacking that
confirmation, any action he might have
taken could have had no effect, or, at
least, such action did not have to be
acknowledged as effective.

Conclusion:Jean Chaboseau had neither
the power nor the authority to declare the
Traditional Martinist Order dissolved.

3--a "Regency Council" within the
FUDOSI, apparently made up of
the former TMO Supreme Council,
attempted to rule the TMO after
Jean Chaboseau's actions of dissolu-
tion; and when the FUDOSI dis-
banded in 1951, so did the Regency
Council, thus ending the TMO;
Without complete documentation, it is
difficult to ascertain exactly who consti-
tuted the "Regency Council" within the
FUDOSI, other than O. Beliard and
Georges Lagreze. It is certain that
neither of the Chaboseaus were a part of
the Regency Council - Augustine was
dead and Jean had resigned from Mar-
tinism. It might be assumed that the
former TMO Supreme Council and the
Regency Council were the same, al-
though one MOS grand officer has told
me that the two bodies were not the
same. The same officer said that when
Jean "dissolved" the Supreme Council
it did, indeed, disband, and that certain
TMO members within the FUDOSI
formed the Regency Council.  However
as yet no written evidence has surfaced
to support those statements. But, no
matter who was on the TMO Supreme
Council or FUDOSI Regency Council,
if Jean Chaboseau had no right to dis-
solve the Supreme Counci, then the
FUDOSI Regency Council was within
its rights to attempt to hold together the
Traditional Martinist Order while
searching for a new Grand Master, for
the assumption is that while Martinism
needs no Grand Masters, Martinist Orders
must have them. In the case of the Mar-
tinist Order and Synarchy, there are
various indedendent jurisdictions, each
with its own Grand Master, so the MOS
regulation is that a Grand Master of one
jurisdiction installs the new Grand
Master of another. However, because the
TMO Sovereign Grand Master heads a
single branch of Martinism that has no
other jurisdiction and because that
Sovereign Grand Master also holds the
office ad vitam, then it is obvious that he
cannot install his successor and that such
installation must be done by someone or
something else. For example, no Pope
installs his successor. That Job falls to the
College of Cardinals. In like manner, a
Supreme Council could properly elect
and insta,l a Grand Master. However,
one high MOS officer has told me that
installation authority would actually be
vested in a Council of Unknown Phllos-
ophers, not a "Supreme Council." It
may be that, for the TMO, the Council
of Unknown Philosophers, the Supreme
Council, and the Regency Council were
all the same. It is not clear why the TMO
Regency Council did not proceed to find
a replacement for Jean Chaboseau.
Some possibilities might be: (a) the "dis-
solution" pronounced by Jean
Chaboseau, despite its likely nullity, may
have had a chilling effect on then-current
and prospective TMO members; (b) no
one could be found who was interested
in taking an unpaid job that promised to
be enormous and unrewarding; (c) the
TMO membership itself may not, at that
point, have been large enough to sustain
the work.
Further, even if the TMO Supreme
Council did disappear with the FUDOSI
in 1951, there was a fully functioning
TMO jurisdiction in the United States,
headed by a Provincial Grand Master
(Ralph M. Lewis of AMORC) and a
provincial TMO Council (all AMORC
officers). If all other jurisdictions of the
TMO vanished (and there is no evidence
that there were any other TMO jurisdic-
tions), then, ipso facto, the American jur-
isdiction would become independent
(which it did).

Conclusion: whatever its reasons for not
vigorously pursuing a replacement for
the Grand Master's office, the TMO
Regency Council was probably within its
rights to oversee the Traditional Martin-
ist Order during the interregnum.
Further, when the Regency Council dis-
banded with the FUDOSI, the TMO
remained alive through its American
operations.

4--the only surviving branch of the
TMO after its dissolution by Jean
Chaboseau was the American
branch originally founded by
Supreme Legate H. Spencer Lewis
of AMORC, who was not a Grand
Master and not an Initiator; further-
more, Ralph M. Lewis was not a
Grand Master and did not hold the
Degree of Unknown Philosopher;
There is no question but that H.
Spencer Lewis was a " Regional Supreme
Master" (i.e., a kind of Grand Master)
for "California et pour les Estate-Unis
d'Amerique" (California and the
United States of America). Further, it is
perfectly clear that H. Spencer Lewis was
an Unknown Philosopher, and the docu-
ment that proves both assertions will be
astonishing to MOS members, for the
document attesting that Lewis held both a
Grand Mastership and the Unknown Philoso-
pher degree was issued from the Martinist Order
and Synarchy over the signature of Victor Blan-
chard! This Decree, dated July 9, 1937,
appears on page 13 of AMORC's Mar-
tinist Documents over the signature of
"Paul Yesir" (Victor Blanchard's eso-
teric signature). It is clear that H.
Spencer Lewis never headed a TMO
branch. In a letter (October 18, 1978) to
me, James R. Whitcomb, then Sovereign
Inspector and Secretary of the Tradi-
tional Martinist Order, wrote:

The schematic drawing to show our
Grand Master's succession would be
quite brief since the Traditional Martin-
ist Order had its revival in 1934, having
been inactive and non-existent from the
time of the transition of Papus during
World War I. Dr. H. Spencer Lewis was
initiated by Victor Blanchard in 1934;
Ralph M. Lewis by Blanchard in 1936
my wife and I by Blanchard in 1937.

How the TMO could have been both
"non-existent" and a "revival" is not
explained. Whitcomb was then a full-
time employee of AMORC at San Jose,
California. He has since retired. Whit-
comb's letter clearly shows that neither
of the Lewises were initiated by
Augustine Chaboseau, even though
Chaboseau later granted Ralph M.
Lewis authority as a TMO grand officer.
But the letter is not wholly reliable. For
example, Whitcomb goes on to say:

"The FUDOSI recognized Blanchard
as the legitimate Grand Master of the
Traditional Martinist Order and Presi-
dent of the Supreme Council in Paris,
France. However, in 1939, he was re-
moved from that office by the Federa-
tion, and replaced by Brother Chab-
oseau, who was a member of the first
Supreme Council when Papus was
elected President and Grand Master. "

These assertions by Whitcomb cannot
be correct. Blanchard had been, since
1918, Supreme Grand Master of what
would later be named "The Martinist
Order and Synarchy, " so he was not and
could not have been "recognized" as
head of the TMO, nor could he have
been "removed" as Grand Master, since
the French monarchists who founded the
first Supreme Council made no provision
for "removing" a Martinist Grand
Master. To date, no records supporting
Whitcomb' s statements have come to
light, so the presumption is that Whit-
comb was simply misremembering
events. Indeed, in a September 1, 1978
letter to the author, Whitcomb claims
that the MOS "came into being in the
decade of the 1950's." There is no evi-
dence to support that statement. Whit-
comb may have been thinking of Philip
Encausse's Ordre Matinist which he
founded in 1951. Records of the former
MOS Provincial Lodge of Canada show
that Blanchard's 1918 Martinist Order
was renamed the Martinist Order and
Synarchy in 1934 at the FUDOSI gather-
ing. The purpose of the slightly longer
new name, "MOS," was to distinguish
Blanchard's Order from the "Masonic"
Martinist body at Lyons.

Since the Traditional Martinist Order
was founded and represented at the 1934
FUDOSI meeting, why weren't the
Lewises initiated by that branch of Mar-
tinism? There is no definite answer, al-
though it is possible that the Lewises saw
the Traditional Martinist Order as the
"new" branch of Martinism (which it
was), as opposed to Blanchard's older
Martinist Order, and, at the time, the
Lewises were interested in "prestige"
more than opportunity. (Later, it ap-
pears that the reverse was true. ) Another
possibility is that even though the
'founding year" of the TMO is 1934,
the organization may not have actually
operated until some years later.

Ralph M. Lewis also held a Martinist
Order and Synarchy Fourth Degree (Un-
known Philosopher) initiation certificate
from Blanchard (see page 5 of Martinist
Documents) . Ralph' s TMO Grand
Mastership for California and the
United States was confirmed by
Augustine Chaboseall in a Martinist
Order document dated "October 1939 "
(page 15 of Martinist Documcnts) .

The obvious fact is that both Lewises at first
derived whateuer Martinist authority they had,
not from the Traditional Martinist Order, but
from the Martinist Order and Synarchy under
its founder, Victor Blanchard. The photoco-
pies found in Martinist Documcnts are per-
fectly clear. However, neither Ralph M.
Lewis nor AMORC ever claimed Mar-
tinist Order and Synarchy authority,
despite the obvious MOS source of both
Lewises' original initiations and, in the
case of H. Spencer Lewis, elevation. But
why? Why didn't Ralph Lewis, after the
death of his father, operate the Martinist
Order and Synarchy? Why did Ralph
Lewis choose the Traditiona, Martinist
Order? The answer will be fully
developed later, but basically, the MOS
authority of H. Spencer Lewis died with
him, and Ralph M. Lewis could not
obtain MOS authority because of a fal-
ling out with FUDOSI and MOS of-
ficers. Another reason for shying away
from the Martinist Order and Synarchy
may also have been Ralph M. Lewis'
aversion to theurgy and ritual. Ralph
Lewis, who was something of an "ex-
istentialist," much preferred to "demy-
thologize" the complex rituals which he
was taught and which he inherited from
the various bodies into which he was
initiated, including Martinism. Where
he kept theurgical practices, Ralph re-
named them as "experiments" or "de-
monstrations." Ralph Lewis' "demy-
thologizing" was detailed and complete;
it was he who replaced the term "God"
with the phrase "the Cosmic" in all
AMORC teaching and literature. Of
course, he deleted all invocations and
references to angelic beings in Martinist
(and other) rituals. (It may have been at
this time that the Initiator Degree of
Unknown Philosopher was dropped,
thereby, according to regular Martinist
Orders, invalidatmg TMO initiations.)
Simply put, Ralph Lewis (who never
allowed Martinism to compete with
AMORC) may have found the flexibility
of the Traditional Martinist Order more
to his liking, especially after the
FUDOSI and the TMO Regency Coun-
cil disbanded in 1951 . Thus, he would be
able to remove, without protest from any
other authority, whatever theurgical
practices the Traditional Martinist
Order may have had, then simplify the
remaining practices, and finally leave
only the philosophy and ethical lectures
of Martinism to be distributed to TMO
members. Members of the TMO know
that there are very few "exercises" and
no theurgy whatever in the TMO teach-
ings. As one TMO member once told
me, "I was disappointed in TMO meet-
ings. They seemed rather tame. "

With this opportunity, of course, Ralph
Lewis could also make "Martinism"
available by mail order. Before the "dis-
solution, " letter photocopies in Martinist
Document suggest that Chaboseau him-
self was old, sick, and failing and that
most of the TMO work was being per-
formed on Chaboseau's behalf by
Georges Lagreze. Further, certain
papers reproduced in Martinist Documents
show that Traditional Martinist Order
activity, whether in the USA or in
Europe, was financially assisted by
AMORC, suggesting that Ralph Lewis
was, as the very least, economically in
control of the Traditional Martinist
Order. Lagreze welcomed such financial
assistance, especially considering the
post-war economy of Europe, and his
letters to Ralph Lewis often contain pleas
for financial help. The fact is that Jean's
dissolution decree and the inattention
and later disbanding of the TMO Su-
preme Council in the FUDOSI left the
Traditional Martinist Order in America
under the wing of a well-organized and
wealthy Rosicrucian body and with a
strong, standing Regional Grand Master
(Ralph Lewis) who unexpectedly found
himself free from the restraints of either
Supreme Council or Supreme Grand
Master and, therefore, rightfully felt per-
fectly free to act as he thought best in
regards to his branch of Martinism, the
Traditiona, Martinist Order. (3)

Conclusions: it is indisputable that both
Lewises were Unknown Philosophers
and were Grand Masters; the American
branch of the Traditiona, Martinist
Order was correct in ignoring Jean
Chaboseau's "dissolution" decree; once
the Traditional Martinist Order was dis-
banded elsewhere, the surviving Ameri-
can Grand Master acted properly in con-
tinuing the Traditiona, Martinist Order
and in elevating himself to a position of
Sovereign Grand Master of the Tradi-
tional Martinist Order.

5--the AMORC TMO extended its ac-
tivity without authorization;
In a letter dated August 25, 1945

George Lagreze, TMO Principal In-
spector, acting on behalf of Augustin
Chaboseau, inquired of Ralph Lewis as
to whether or not the AMORC TMO
could extend TMO activity to both South
America and Canada. Lewis needed
little encouragement and proceeded to
arrange and execute the extension both
south and north. Later, after the death of
Augustine Chaboseau and the so-called
"dissolution" order of Jean, and after
the TMO Supreme Counci, within the
FUDOSI disbanded, the AMORC
TMO, with its own jurisdictiona, Grand
Master, acted independently to extend
its jurisdiction throughout the world.

Conclusion: the extension of AMORC
TMO activity throughout the world was
and is proper.
6--the AMORC TMO began to
charge for its degrees;

The peculiar aversion to money held by
the OM and the Martinist Order and
Synarchy is an oddity inherited from pre-
OM Supreme Council days when Mar-
tinist Imtiation was passed on from per-
son to person in the Initiator's private
home. No money changed hands then
because there was no "overhead" (oper-
ating expenses) and because the Martin-
ist Initiation was freely given from friend
to friend (Saint-Martin often called his
gatherings "a society of friends"). Even
Papus boasted that no Martinist was ever
expelled for non-payment of dues and
that the matter of money was to be ig-
nored. Such an attitude about money
was acceptable when there were no Mar-
tinist bills to pay. However, after the
formation of the Martinist Order, mo-
nies were needed for room rent, utilities,
and supplies. Unless the Masters of the
Order are to pay all the expenses, dona-
tions from Members are needed. No one
seems to mind paying for subscriptions
to L'Initiation, a monthly Martinist jour-
na, that has been in continuous publica-
tion since it first saw print under the
direction of Dr. Gerard Encausse
(address: L'Initiation/6, rue Jean-Bou-
vin/9 2100 Boulo gne-Billaucourt/Paris) .
Nor does anyone object to paying for the
study materials issued by the Inter-
national College Of Martinist Studies, a
correspondence school sponsored by the
MOS Grand Lodge of Barbados/Worth-
ing W31/Barbados, West Indies. The
ICOMS offers graded correspondence
courses in mysticism and ritual magic,
history of Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism,
Martinism, Kabbalah, and spiritual and
Hermetic practice. The ICOMS offers
no "initiation" by mail, nor does one
become a Martinist by subscribing to the
ICOMS correspondence courses.

Further, no one objects to providing for
the rent that must be paid to house Mar-
tinist activities of the OM or Martinist
Order and Synarchy. Of course, this
should not be taken to imply or to mean
that regular Martinism should demand
initiation fees or dues, but it does mean
that all regular Martinist should be ex-
pected to support the Work of the Order,
not only with their time, but also with
their pocketbooks. Therefore, no one can
or should blame or cast aspersions on the
AMORC TMO for asking its members
for money to pay the expenses incurred
in mailing the Traditiona, Martinist
Order materials and otherwise paying
Traditional Martinist Order operating
costs .

Concltlsion: asking for dues, while not
traditional, does not impair the regular-
ity of the Traditiona, Martinist Order.
7--the AMORC TMO began to offer
 its initiation by mail, which method
 of passing on The Initiation was not
 and is not legitimate.
 The mail-order "initiation" method of
the Traditional Martinist Order is one of
the two major problems with the legiti-
macy of the Traditional Martinist Order
(the other being the dropping of the Un-
known Philosopher Degree). Papus said
that he founded the original Martinist
Order primarily because he wanted to
insure that The Initiation would not be
lost. To what "loss" did Papus refer?
How could such a loss occur? In his book
Saint-Martin: The French Mystic and the
Story of Modern Martinism, Arthur Edward
Waite provides an important clue:
 The mode [of initiation] adopted [by
Martinists previous to the formation of
the Supreme Council] was usually that
which is known technically as "com-
munication," that is to say, personally
and not in Lodge or Temple. To my certain
knowledge, recption was arranged even by post
(pp. 73-74; emphasis added).
 The answer is clear. Papus was aware
of the mail-order "initiations," an aber-
rant method of "initiation" that Papus
knew would destroy the succession of The
Initiation. Hence, Papus formed the first
Supreme Council of Martinism in order
to preserve the primary requirement that
The Initiation be passed on from person
to person, directly, with Initiator physi-
cally standing directly before Candidate.
No other method will work, especially
not a "mail-order" type of self-initiation
as practiced by the Traditional Martinist
Order. A private MOS publication4 car-
ries the following question and answer:
 Can a person be a Martinist if they have not
been inducted by an Initiator?
 No! And I'm glad you asked because
there are some people who have been
sent "do-it-yourself" instructions by a
certain correspondence school [sic] wherein
they are directed to utter some words and
tap themselves on their heads with some
object such as a stick. After having done
this, they send a "report" to the school,
and, in return, they receive a "member-
ship card!" These unfortunate people
are then misled into believing they are
Martinists! Please be always cautious of
people you meet who say they are Mar-
tinist. . .if you ever meet anyone who has
been misled as a result of such fraudulent
practices, please in love, direct these in-
nocent masqueraders to the true Light.

The reference is, of course, to the TMO
of AMORC. However, in all fairness, it
really isn't strictly accurate to refer to
AMORC as a " correspondence
school." Although AMORC does offer
Rosicrucian instruction and even
Rosicrucian initiation by mail, it also has
Pronaoi, Chapters, and Lodges located
throughout the world. In these bodies,
AMORC Rosicrucians meet for instruc-
tion, practice, and the conferral of
Rosicrucian Degrees. The same is true
of the TMO which AMORC supports.
The TMO also has Heptads and Septa
where TMO Martinists who are willing
and able actually meet and confer initia-
tion, valid or not. But it must be noted
that the majority of TMO "Martinists"
are "Home Sanctum Members" who
have "initiated" themselves via a mai,-
order ceremony.

(This article will be continued in the
December issue of The Philalethes)
