2006 Conference

Gnosticism, which was closely related to the Hermetic Tradition, arose within the Church in its identifiable forms in the second century, as a group of heterodox schools of thought that had originally developed within earlier pagan religious circles. The diverse forms of Gnosticism are characterised by their dualist beliefs, and by their reliance on revealed knowledge (gnosis) rather than on grace as the means of salvation. However, in the course of the last century the term Gnosticism has been applied to the philosophy and spirituality of a far wider range of esoteric movements. It is anticipated that the range of papers presented at the conference will reflect this broader view.

This conference will therefore seek to consider, in a scholarly manner, not only approaches to Gnosticism and related movements as an historical phenomenon, but also in its broader sense, as a continuing philosophical and religious influence on present day spiritual movements — including Freemasonry.

Saturday 4 November

9.15	Registration and coffee
9.50	Opening: CMRC Trustees Introduction: Carole McGilvery CIPR CMRC Manager/Conference Organiser CHAIR: Robert Gilbert BA Hons P.M. Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076; Author/editor; Prestonian Lecturer 1997
10.00	Richard A Crane MA LGSM ACMI Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076. Millennium Prestonian Lecturer A Brief Insight Into Christian & Islamic Mystical Experience
10.40	Dr Roger Dachez Lecturer, University of Paris; President, Masonic Institute of France Martinist Orders & Freemasonry in France Since Papus’ Time
11.20	Morning coffee
11.45	Tobias Churton MA, Hon. Fellow of Exeter University Lecturer in Freemasonry & Rosicrucianism, Exeter University Film maker/author: Gnostic Philosophy from Ancient Persia to Modern Times Freemasonry: A Gnostic Tradition?
12.25	Speakers’ Panel — Questions and discussion
1.00	Lunch break
2.30	Professor Roelof Van den Broek Professor Emeritus of History of Christianity, University of Utrecht, Netherlands Hon. Doctor École Pratique des Hautes Études, Sorbonne, Paris Spiritual Transformation in Ancient Hermetism & Gnosticism
3.10	Professor Philip Davies Professor Emeritus, Department of Biblical Studies, University of Sheffield Gnosticism & the Dead Sea Scrolls
3.50	Afternoon tea
4.20	Colin Wilson Philosopher/Author; books include The Outsider, Beyond the Occult The Geography of Consciousness
5.00	Speakers’ Panel — Questions and discussion
5.30	Close

Sunday 5 November

9.00	Coffee
9.50	Welcome & Introduction CHAIR: Tobias Churton MA, Hon. Fellow of Exeter University
10.00	Robert Gilbert BA Hons Author/Editor; P.M. Q.C. Lodge 2076; Prestonian Lecturer 1997; Library Consultant Follies of the Wise: Two Centuries of the Western Vision of Gnosticism
10.40	Professor James M. Robinson BA BD DTheol PhD (Princeton) Professor Emeritus of Religion, Claremont Graduate University, USA General Editor of Nag Hammadi Library The Sethian Gnostic Gospel of Judas
11.20	Morning coffee
11.45	Dr Madeleine Scopello HDR National Centre of Scientific Research (CNRS) (Paris IV Sorbonne) Doctor in Humanities & Philosophy, University of Turin, Italy The Temple as Symbol of the Soul in the Nag Hammadi Scriptures
12.25	Speakers’ Panel — Questions and discussion
1.00	Lunch break
2.30	Dr Peter Forshaw BA MA PhD (London) British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London The Early Modern Reception of the Corpus Hermeticum
3.10	Professor Thierry Zarcone National Centre of Scientific Research (CNRS) (Paris IV Sorbonne) Gnostic/Sufi Symbols & Ideas in Turkish & Persian Freemasonry
3.50	Dr Leon Schlamm Lecturer in Religious Studies, University of Kent at Canterbury Jung: Gnostic or Kabbalist?
4.30	Speakers’ Panel — Questions and discussion
5.00	Afternoon tea
5.30	Close

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