Author Description

With the Edict of Toleration of Religion in 1905, several Russians of a mystical mind took advantage of it to form or resurrect what they considered the ancient forms of esoteric Orders. These were the new Rosicrucians. Their inspired mentors compiled volumes of mystic philosophy, and which they combined with their personal notions of what the ancient Orders were, and so formed groups. This volume investigates 3 principal neo-Rosicrucian Orders of early Soviet Russia: Emesh Redivivus, Lux Astralis, and the Orionist-Manicheans; their origins, leaders and members, beliefs and rites, and their persecution by Soviet authority, including their exiles, imprisonments and even executions, and their testimonies during interrogation. This volume includes a translation from Russian into English of selections of the major compositions of their esoteric mentors: G.O. Mebus, Vladimir Shmakov, Boris Zubakin, Vsevolod Belustin, and Maria Dolgorukova, which further delve into their concepts of the evolution of the universe, the concept of good and bad, the corporeal and the spiritual, purpose and philosophy of life, and the aspiration for truth and moral advancement. A chapter on the enigmatic Anna Mintzlova is also included. Only original Russian sources are used to compile this record. Daniel H. Shubin has written many books on Russian philosophy, religion, biography and history.