The restoration of the Gnostic tradition may be dated to a specific dark autumn evening in the year 1890 in the residence of the theosophist Lady Caithness, the duchess of Medina Pomar. This night the French Freemason Jules Doinel received a revelation dictating him to revive the Gnostic church and become its modern representative.

Following this event, the Eglise Gnostique was established, manifesting a Gnosticism based on Cathar structures and largely on the teachings of Valentinus and Simon Magus. Doinel’s Gnostic church attracted authoritative people from the esoteric elite of France, such as Gerard Encausse, Paul Sedir, Lucien Chamuel, Leonce-Eugene Joseph Fabre des Essarts og Jean-Baptiste Bricaud.

In this book, Rune Odegaard has collected and translated material from Doinel’s tradition, and gives the reader a glance at the concepts meeting people seeking admission into this church in the late 19th century. He also presents the main characters in the founding process and the milieu that gave rise to the restoration.

This is the first time the tradition of the Eglise Gnostique is presented in a somewhat consistent and thorough fashion to an English-speaking audience.