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The Holy Order of MANS (HOOM) was a Mystery School (see Western esotericism and Esoteric Christianity and holy order), that was grounded in the esoteric teachings of Christ. The founder, Rt. Rev. Earl Blighton aka Master Paul, followed the tradition of many mystery schools and taught from a variety of sources. The curriculum included intense bible study, basic science courses, religion from around the world, religious history, astrology, tarot, psychology, and an intense internship. The internship was designed to give the student experience in dealing with the “real” world while having a spiritual experience. The internship consisted of many hours of prayer, meditation, working for an employer outside of the HOOM, and street missions.

One of the unique qualities of the HOOM that set it apart from other new religious movements of the 1970s was it did not solicit donations from those outside the HOOM nor did the HOOM require an aspirant to deed over their personal property to the organization. Rather the members were required to get full time paying employment and a large portion of their earnings was given to the organization. This was not without precedent, since the members of HOOM were all under vows, one of which was the vow of poverty.

Although education was a continuous process throughout a member’s life, a great deal of emphasis was placed on each member actually experiencing the mysteries. There was not a regimented requirement to believe in a particular manner. In fact, members were encouraged to question and discover for themselves if what was being taught was true. Learning to rely on the wisdom that only comes from within was the goal.

The Holy Order of MANS could be described as apostolic catholic or some used the term “Pauline catholic”. Prescribed liturgy was used for the sacraments and the hierarchy consisted of Master Teacher, Brother or Sister Teacher, Priest, Minister, Life-vowed Brother or Sister, First-vowed Brother or Sister, Novitiate, Discipleship member and Christian Community member. Placement in each category was determined upon a combination of initiation, revelation, and accomplishment. Men and women were given equal status and did rise within the ranks to the Master Teacher level.

Founders

Earl W. Blighton "Director-General" & Ruth Blighton - "Mother of the Order." Murshid Samuel L. Lewis, "Spiritual Director" Delbert (Master Timothy) Harris "Director of Education"

Mission and purpose

The Holy Order of MANS was an organization of men and women who followed a mission described as being "banded together to promote a more thorough understanding of the Divine laws of God and of Creation, and the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, with the ancient Christian Mysteries as a revealed teaching of this day, in accordance with the Testament and words of our Lord Jesus." The Motto of the Order was "By their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them." The Order maintained that in its modern times, "All mysteries shall be revealed."

The reason and purpose of this Order was for the teaching of the Universal Law of Creation, in accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ and the other great avatars, and for the bringing together of all men, one in united purpose and brotherhood for the service of all men to each other and to God, through a framework of the Order and groups of all men in teaching a Universal approach to God, Creation and Man.

This was accomplished through Seminary Training and by a series of centers or Brother Houses, for the purpose of establishing chapels for sacramental practice, devotional and initiatory functions, spiritual healing, teaching, other ecclesiastical and administrative functions. Cities and towns were provided with street missions and service to the general public, with attention paid to teenagers, the homeless, the poor, battered women, and service to people in all walks of life.

History

The Holy Order of MANS grew out of a group called the Science of Man (also founded by Earl W. Blighton), and was officially incorporated in California on July 24, 1968. This organization flourished in the 1970s and early 1980s (despite the death of its founder in 1974). With headquarters in San Francisco, CA and eventually an Abbey in Forestville, CA, the Order established additional large training centers known as "Brother Houses" in Boston, MA, Chicago,IL, Detroit, MI Indianapolis IN, Wichita, KS, and Philadelphia, PA. Mission centers were also established in many smaller cities. Later expanding to Europe, the Order established further centers in Germany, and Holland. Similar to worker-priesthoods in France and other parts of Europe, members lived a semi-monastic common life where Life-Vowed members generally worked in secular jobs and devoted their lives to their sacred calling. Lay students of HOOM lived loosely together in Christian Communities, in various major American metropolitan areas, or were independently affiliated through a mail-based educational branch of HOOM called the Discipleship Program. The HOOM reached an active membership of several thousand in the late 1970s and 1980s. During the mid 1980s a leaning towards Orthodox Christianity began to emerge and be implemented gradually, in the form of daily religious practices, by the then-Director General, Vincent "Father Andrew" Rossi. This began a schism in the membership, leading many to depart from the group. Many still-active members converted to Orthodox Christian beliefs and practices. This led to the eventual formation of a new organization, Christ the Savior Brotherhood, thus dissolving the outer organization that had been known as the Holy Order of MANS.

The Holy Order of MANS has recently (2012) been reincorporated in the State of California, by a group of Priests and Teachers that still actively use and promulgate the teachings and rituals set up by Father Paul Blighton and the original Holy Order of MANS.

Now common across America, The Holy Order of MANS was the first spiritual/religious community to establish shelters for victims of domestic abuse. These were known as "Rafael House" with the largest facility in San Francisco, CA.

Spiritual initiation, sacramental initiation, administration of vows, and ordinations

Spiritual Initiation was practiced consistently in the Order, just as had been the widespread practice of Yogis, Tibetan Buddhists, Sufis, Kabbalists and many other major and minor adherents to mysticism and spirituality worldwide. These initiations were not merely symbolic rites of passage, but involved transmission of and confirmation of spiritual experiences. Father Blighton vigorously asserted that the life of Jesus Christ directly exemplified developmental steps every soul must take to attain complete realization of God. For the Order, "The Way" was not merely a moral dictum, but a series of increasingly potent experiential and metaphysical elevations towards direct experience and realization of God. In this sense the Order was Gnostic, but rather than expressing an imitation of Gnostic Christianity from antiquity, the Order invoked deep levels of spiritual realization which led to "Knowing." Members of the Order's focus on Knowing was considered far advanced of mere "belief." Hence the Order's training methods were primarily Experiential education rather than characterized as Didacticism. While baptism was performed by Master Teachers, Priests, Deacons, and some Missionary Brothers or Sisters, only Master Teachers administered the initiation of Self Realization.

Sacramental initiation

The Order essentially regarded its spiritual practice as one of Sacramental Initiation, in which the human being is first and foremost a living temple of the Divine. The Order considered the life of Jesus Christ as a complete and unspoiled expression of how the human being is to return to the full function of living as a Temple of the Divine, or "word made flesh" in imitation of Christ. As such the Order's approach considered all earthly temples to be symbolic representations of the structures which comprise the entirety of a human being, manifesting at increasingly higher and subtler metaphysical levels of vibration. Within the essential framework of the Order's experientally-based philosophy of Sacramental Initiation, as the Initiate became more and more congruent with the Light of Christ within, the veil between heavenly and earthly dimensions became progressively less a constraining factor. The veil, as referred to here, has its primary analogy in the Parochet or Curtain in the Tabernacle and later the Temple in Jerusalem. The Veil is the separation between the undivided presence of God and the Creation, and the opening or "rending" of the veil represents fulfillment of the Divine plan of Redemption. Via the path of sacramental initiation, through continued and persistent devotion to Christ, the Initiate became capable of traverse between realms of creation and would learn to "function" in concert with the Heavenly host. The Order's approach was not to concentrate on the Chakras which it considered to exist in less subtle spiritual body, but to focus attention directly on the core of Being which is only Divine, non-dual, the Self, or the God Self. Frequently, Order emphasis cited that the verses in Mat 6:22 and Luke 11:34 "If thyne eye be single thy whole body also is full of light" should be taken quite literally. The primary initiations the Order promulgated were three, Baptism, Illumination, and Self Realization. All of them involved the Laying on of hands. Following Illumination and Self Realization it was common practice for the Initiate to remain in an order Chapel day and night without interruption for three days in order to absorb and begin the integration of the experience.

Baptism

First, Baptism was given with holy oil Chrism applied on the head followed by Holy water, which was applied to the eyes and tongue. In this ritual, the Crown Chakra known in Sanskrit as Sahasrara was opened, the Holy Spirit and the Light of Christ were invoked, and cleansing rituals were performed, the person received a name, or the person's existing name was affirmed, and the Initiate made verbal acclamations. In this context, the Initiate dedicated his/her life to Christ. Following Baptism and in the context of routine practices of meditation, prayer, service to others, and dedication to Christ, the initiate typically would begin to see light within him or herself. This eventually led to the Order's second Initiation of Spiritual Illumination.

Illumination

The scriptural foundation for Illumination in the life of Christ was the Transfiguration of Jesus in which, consistent with his demonstration of "The Way" Christ became fully illuminated by white light. The Order insisted that the scriptural term "Light" was not symbolic of wisdom or intelligence, but rather, it was specific to concentrated Divine Presence that could be known and experienced directly. In the Illumination, the Priest or Master Teacher invoked the Light of Christ with great intensity. Typically the Initiate was able to see and feel the Light of Christ shining brightly throughout the body with "no darkness remaining whatsoever." Once the Initiate affirmed this was so, the Light was "Sealed" within the body of the Initiate. This was considered to be a metaphysical rebirth. However, the Order viewed common Evangelical Christian associations to being Born Again as spiritually incomplete. Blighton felt "Churchianity" as he called it was limited to intellectual or emotional levels. In Illumination, this metaphysical rebirth took place literally, not merely theoretically. Famed spiritual Master from India Kirpal Singh upon seeing members of the Order marveled, and asked "Where did you get your light?" In illumination, the spiritual structure of the Initiate was changed by the direct spiritual and energetic input. This led to conscious awareness of the actual Light of Christ. In the Epistles of Paul, Illumination is mentioned in the original Greek and translated as the "Light of the Gospel," and referenced specifically in the Epistle to the Hebrews 10:32. Illumination made it possible for the Initiate to develop a "Body of Light" associated to the Subtle body mentioned in many traditions.

Self realization

The Third Initiation involving an initiate's complete reunification with inner Divine personality as practiced in the Order was Self Realization, or Removal of The Veil. In the life of Christ as reported in scripture this Initiation was exemplified by the Crucifixion and Resurrection. Essentially, by the time a person became ready for this Initiation, the person had reached a level of spiritual alignment and unity with the Divine sufficient to entirely re-unite himself or herself to the Divine Personality. The renunciation necessary for this reunification to occur was tantamount to the crucifixion and death elements of the Gospel depiction of "The Way." In the Order's view of the Self, the only way to enter the Self, or the Holy of Holies within was to renounce the entirety of one's individual ego while remaining entirely attentive to the divine, by focusing the eyes and all awareness to the region just below the Xiphoid process below the heart. Yogis refer to this locale below the Anahata commonly known as the "Heart Chakra." This is the Hrit/Hridaya/Surya Chakra or The Wish-fulfilling Tree. Differing somewhat from initiatory practices of Yogis and other Masters, who used Breath practices known as Pranayama and/or Sound to open the gates of this experience, the Masters of the HOOM focused intense spiritual energies in the form of a "ball of Light as bright as the Sun" on this area. Thus, they unbound it, cleansed it, and restored it to its proper function. This practice is consistent with the removal of a Lock, or Blockage Bandha in Yoga, and it is specifically associated to the release of the Uddiyana Bandha, though the Sanskrit terms used here were not used in the Order. The release of this Knot, in conjunction with activation of an energetic bridge between the Pineal gland and Pituitary gland in the brain and the remainder of the system of Chakras made it possible for the entire energetic system deep within the human being to manifest a full range of direct spiritual experiences. From the Order's viewpoint, this description was absolutely not merely tantamount to a Kundalini awakening because it followed long after such an awakening of spiritual forces within a person. The experience of Self Realization was regarded as a necessary step in the development of a human being, allowing that being to function in the full range of realms consistent with the teaching of Jesus Christ that "The kingdom of God is within you." Luke 17:20-21. The experience of Self Realization involves pure joy, pure knowledge and pure love. As such the Resurrection of Jesus is the direct demonstration of this initiation from the standpoint of the Order's view of Sacramental Initiation as depicted in the Gospels.

Administration of vows

A Novitiate period of three months began a person's involvement within the Order itself. A vow of Obedience was given. Subsequent to this period, if the person sought to remain in the Order and was approved to do so, First Vows were given. These were vows of Purity, Poverty, Obedience, Humility and Service. After a minimum of one year living within the Order community, and conditional upon the person having attained Illumination, if a person sought full membership in the Order, and was accepted, Final Vows were given. The same Five vows were given, but were binding for the entire lifetime. The HOOM also established two sub-orders which administered vows, both dedicated to veneration of and service to the Virgin Mary. Final Vows were prerequisite to entrance into the Sub-orders. Males entered the Brown Brothers of the Holy Light and Females entered the Immaculate Heart Sisters of Mary. In both sub-orders a temporary but renewable vow of Celibacy was given, typically for one-year intervals. In the context of Ordination to the Priesthood, the Five Vows were affirmed again, but in the case of the Priesthood, the vows were given as eternal commitments. All non-priest members of the Order were called either Brother or Sister regardless of whether they were First or Final Vowed. However, only Final Vowed members wear full clerical garb including the full clerical collar and long robes.

Ordinations

Often following several years as a Final Vowed member of the order, candidates for Priesthood spent an additional year or more in Priest Class training. These classes involved education across topics such as theology, spiritual direction, counseling, homiletics, and related topics. Approved candidates for Priesthood were ordained following a three day fast (with only water consumed), and were invested with the authority to perform all sacraments. Priests were called Rev. in the case of Males or Females. Most ordinations involved changing the name of the person. All persons ordained Priest in the HOOM were Self Realized.

Later in its development, the HOOM saw a need to ordain Ministers or Deacons, who were known as Rev. Brother or Rev. Sister. Candidates for this ordination were considered to be on the path towards Priest ordination. These Ministers were invested with limited sacramental authority including Baptism, Consecrate the Eucharist, Holy Matrimony, and administration of Last Rites. However they were not invested with the ability to perform Illuminations as were Priests.

The HOOM rarely ordained Master Teachers. A Master Teacher Ordination involved recognition of a man or woman as a spiritual Master, and where rights of ordination were given, as an Apostle of Jesus Christ with all attending responsibilities, blessings and authority. Master Teachers were addressed as "Master" or "Right Reverend," were intensely involved in training others, and accorded with much respect. Along with the Director General and Mother of the Order, they comprised a "Privy Council." A small number of the Master Teachers were given the Right to Ordain. These included Masters Timothy, "J," Andrew, Phillip, and Marthelia. Other Master Teachers who did not receive the rights of ordination included Masters Elonia, Isjesian, Joseph, "M," Matthew, Raeson, and Raul.

External links

• Holyorderofmans.com
• Holyorderofmans.org
• Fatherpaul.info
• Scienceofman.org

Category:Christian mystics Category:Christian orders Category:Esoteric Christianity Category:Esotericism Category:Western culture