Who We Are

Yeshua said, "I shall choose you as one from a thousand and two from ten thousand; and you will stand as a single one.

The Gospel of Thomas, 23

The Apostolic Gnostic Church in America (AGCA):

Who We Are: An Independent Communion of Neo-Classical Gnostics

Welcome dear brother or sister, and thank you for your interest in the Apostolic Gnostic Church in America! Our prayer is that your steps will be guided by Christ and Sophia as you undertake our human journey toward enlightenment and spiritual liberation. The paragraphs below will tell you more about our Church.

We are an independent communion of neo-classical Gnostics primarily in the United States, but in other countries as well, including Italy, South Africa, and the Philippines. Through the instrument of our Church, founded in 2002, we seek to follow the truths of the Gnostic religion that emerged out of and separated from early Christianity from the end of the first century onward, as recorded in the now famous Nag Hammadi texts that were lost after being buried around the end of the fourth century until their rediscovery in twentieth-century Egypt. Because we are not concentrated in any one geographic area, our denominational church structure exists especially to support individual believers in their spiritual journey, providing them with resources to help them on the journey to gnosis through the practice of liturgical rituals and meditation, and providing a communion of brothers and sisters who are making the journey together. For information on beginning the process of membership in the Church, please scroll to the bottom of this page.

Because we believe in the fundamental spiritual equality of all men and women, the spiritual autonomy of the individual is one of our primary values, and our Church exists as a body dedicated to serving the spiritual needs of individuals who find in Gnosticism a path toward enlightenment and human liberation.We are, in a real sense, a communion of individuals following the call to live as priests, prophets, and spiritual kings/queens, in the pattern of our guide, Christ. Decision-making within the Church is guided by a process of consensus-building and collective participation, and is conducted in partnership between our founder and current Vicar, Brother Matthew Ouroboros, and a democratic decision-making body called a "Synod" (a fancy word derived from the Latin and earlier Greek terms for "assembly" or "meeting") that represents the commitment of our Church to democratic and cooperative discussion and deliberation. Our Vicar also serves as chief administrator and as a teacher for the Church, as discussed below. We believe that we must all work together to discern the spirit of Sophia in the working of the Church made up of her children.

We are an apostolic Church in that we trace our teachings back to Gnostic saints, particularly the schools led by St. Basilides and St. Carpocrates, both of Alexandria (a reconstruction of the great library of Alexandria is seen on the left), who inherited the mantle of leadership and teaching from the generation of Christ’s immediate apostles including St. Thomas, and thus indirectly from Christ himself, under the guidance of the great Lady Sophia. Because of the persecution of Gnosticism after mainstream Christianity became the religion of the Roman empire, the line of apostolic succession from many schools including the Basilidean-Carpocratian tradition was broken. In such cases, where a continued apostolic lineage cannot be firmly identified, we believe that apostolic authority becomes re-vested in the collective people of God themselves, the literal Body of Christ and Spirit of Sophia who are guided collectively by that great Advocate for the people of God (Sophia). We do not claim a specific "apostolic lineage," in contrast to some other Gnostic organizations that use the term "apostolic" in their names. Rather, this is primarily a reference to our fundamental intention of recovering the Gnostic religion of the apostolic era.

For this reason, our Brother in Christ Matthew, as Vicar, functions only as a representative and servant of the fundamental apostolic authority that is vested in the people of God themselves, as indeed does the Synod. The Church as a community has the right in theory to, at a later date, elect Matthew or indeed any other brother or sister as a Bishop to explicitly take up the mantle of apostolic leadership, but such a step is not envisioned in the immediate future.

As Vicar, Matthew (assisted by numerous fellow volunteers) is responsible for teaching and promulgating the basic truths of our Gnostic system. Teachings and writings are officially released by the executive branch of the AGCA, the Office of the Central Vicariate or OCV, to aid members in the articulation of a Gnostic tradition that is both faithful to its past and relevant to the modern world. The most basic statement of faith in the AGCA is the American Gnostic Confession, approved in 2004 and available on our “What We Believe” section. The Vicar also is responsible for releasing issue statements on key aspects of Gnostic morality, particularly with regard to modern ethical questions that may be confusing to those of us attempting to create a coherent Gnostic system of moral philosophy. Finally, he also occasionally writes messages and encyclical letters, sometimes to address important ongoing issues, and at other times in response to questions from members or interested individuals regarding particular Gnostic beliefs or practices (for example, one is currently being prepared based on several questions about whether Sophia was ever physically incarnated into the world); the Encyclical Letter represents, as its name suggests, only the best informed but personal opinion of a fellow brother in Christ. Encyclicals and other messages released by the Vicar and/or Council are considered to have binding effect only in terms of administrative or structural decisions; neither the American Gnostic Confession nor official statements on moral questions or doctrinal issues are considered binding in their particulars on Church members, but all documents released by OCV are constructed to reflect the broadest and most general sensus fidei of the Church, with the advice and consent of the Council, and active members should be able to agree to them at least in their broadest parameters. The Church is committed to intellectual freedom and healthy debate on specific issues within the general framework of our shared traditions.

Early Gnostics and others of the same era were devoted to spreading the message of their faith not by proselytizing or trying to convert others, but by gathering willing students interested in being exposed to the "deep mysteries" of life and the universe under the guidance of a teacher and a family of learners. We in the AGCA feel keenly our call to serve as both teachers and fellow students to those who are seeking new understanding of their lives, their identities, and the world around them. In the twenty-first century, we have the immense benefit of new technologies and the Internet to allow us to create "virtual schools" of neo-classical Gnostics and supportive webs that may spread the liberating message of gnosis to all those who want to learn more about the religion. One of the Vicar's prime activities on behalf of the Church is to conduct regular conversations and teaching in our Internet chatrooms, in audio teleconferences, and anywhere that he may be heard by "those that have ears to hear." We invite you to come and join in our conversations.

Our fundamental belief in the spiritual equality of all men and women means that we believe all individuals are called by Christ

and Sophia to exercise priestly functions both in their own religious life and in any local gnostic circles. All members of the Church, and indeed all people who identify with the Gnostic tradition, are welcome to celebrate our liturgical traditions either on their own or in small groups with the full encouragement of our Church, in accordance with our fundamental principle of radical open communion . There is one cup of knowledge and one bread of life, one faith, one Lord, one baptism, freely open for all to share. The centerpiece of our liturgical life is the ritual of the Divine Service, in which we celebrate the Eucharist (Holy Communion) of Christ and Sophia.

“Solitary” members, who live in areas with no other nearby Gnostics, usually serve as their own priest or priestess for the celebration of the Gnostic Divine Service; the guidelines of the Church suggest that the Service be celebrated at least once a week by each individual, and there is a shorter version for practicing as an individual devotion on weekdays, which is highly recommended as often as you feel spiritually beneficial to your religious life. In areas where a small group of brothers and sisters can gather, the Church similarly urges them to come together every week if possible, or, if this proves difficult, at least once a month, to celebrate the Divine Service. The group is free to choose a regular celebrant to serve as priest or priestess for the group’s liturgies, but the Church encourages individuals to rotate this function among the brothers and sisters each time the Service is held. As this should make clear, the liturgical and ceremonial life of the Church is strongly based on a “grassroots” participation by the brothers and sisters of the Church who are called to be priests and prophets in their own lives by the spirit of Sophia and the calling of Christ.

These basic ideas lead us to invite all people, both members of our Church and non-members to feel free and welcome to participate fully in our liturgical life, meaning that even non-members are welcome to function as celebrants of our liturgical services. This is ultimately wha we mean by radical open communion. We do, however, offer two classes of membership in the AGCA. The first consists of regular members -- we welcome all people who feel they can agree with the basic contours of our neo-classical Gnostic faith. Regular members, after learning about our Church and some basic themes of Gnostic theology, are recognized in the Solemn Reception of the Neophyte ceremony. They then are exposed to a short course of study and conversation that introduces them to Gnostic history and theology, and pursue two initiatory sacraments, baptism and confirmation or chrismation. In baptism, the individual is immersed in water symbolizing the "dye" of divine knowledge into which we are dipped through our pursuit of gnosis or spiritual knowledge. In confirmation or chrismation, the individual is anointed with oil on the head and receives the laying on of hands to recognize the threefold mission of the Gnostic seeker as priest, prophet, and king/queen. If you would like to become a regular member of the Church, please contact us by e-mail.

In addition to regular membership, the AGCA has a second level of membership known as the Messengers. Messengers are members who pursue a much more expansive and intensive study of our classical Gnostic heritage, including extensive readings of Gnostic primary texts and writing and artistic projects. They are usually people who are able to devote extensive time and work to pursuing a deeper understanding of Gnostic spirituality. The preparation process for Messengers begins with the Solemn Call of the Messenger ceremony, and ultimately concludes with the third and final of our initiatory sacraments, the sacrament of the bridal chamber. The sacrament of the bridal chamber consists of an overnight prayer vigil similar to the vigils that were once held when individuals joined chivalric orders in medieval Europe.

Generally speaking, there are no fundamental distinction made between regular members and Messenger members. Messengers, however, generally devote their time and talents to taking on teaching or administrative roles within the Church (although such roles are open to regular members as well). As we continue to expand and begin to open new local parishes and Gnostic communities, local administrators will be drawn primarily from among the Messengers. Such leadership functions should be understood in the context of our fundamentally democratic church structure, so you may want to look at this article on AGCA liturgical theory.

There are never any financial costs or expectations from any Church members on any level, at any time. Members may incur some minor personal expenses from wishing to purchase books and liturgical materials, but we have a limited amount of resources with which we can assist people if they find this to be a significant hardship. We are devoted to ensuring that financial issues will never stand between the individual and the pursuit of gnosis in our Gnostic family.

We do not insist that members of the Church be exclusive in their institutional affiliations. Members of other churches or religious organizations are welcome to join our Church as well

We are not a dogmatic Church, so we do not ask or demand members to agree with other members on every single point of Gnostic theology. We accept and indeed welcome a rich diversity of opinions and beliefs within the basic contours of Gnostic thought. We are not here to dictate the mode of your spiritual journey, but rather to assist you on the way.

All sacraments of initiation are public liturgies, open to all who want to attend. There are no secret ceremonies, private rituals, or hidden rites.

Members who do not live near other members of the AGCA can receive their initiatory sacraments by proxy, and then, if they wish, later have them repeated by the Vicar or another member of the Church whenever time and geography makes this possible.

To reemphasize, all individuals of good will, whether Gnostic or not, whether members of the AGCA or not, who "do not take offense at us," are free and welcome to participate fully in the AGCA’s liturgical and ceremonial life, and are invited to celebrate as priest or priestess for the Divine Service including the Holy Communion or Eucharist both for themselves and for local family or community groups, in accordance with our fundamental theory of radical open communion. For more information on the reasoning behind this, please visit our discussion of AGCA liturgical theory.

If you are interested in joining the AGCA at this time, we welcome you with great joy! Please contact our Vicar, Brother Matthew, by e-mail, to begin the membership process.

Copyright 2006-7 by the Apostolic Gnostic Church in America
We Are An Independent Communion of Neo-Classical Gnostics Around the World
For questions or comments, please contact us at any time