Some Characteristics of the Interior Church, is I.V. Lopukhin's account of his exploration of the "inward spiritual man." Ivan Vladimirovich Lopukhin (1756-1816) was a Russian statesman, writer and philanthropist. He was one of the leading Freemasons and Rosicrucians in Moscow during the late 18th century and published many mystical, Masonic, and alchemical books through his "I.V. Lopukhin Free Press." Lopukhin was not only a printer and publisher, but also an accomplished author. The idea of a spiritual "inner church" was a prominent theme in many of his writings. Arthur Edward Waite, provides a lengthy Introduction to this book and analyzes Lopukhin's work and his contribution to Hermetic literature. The first Russian edition of Some Characteristics of the Interior Church appeared in 1798. A French translation was made by Lopukhin and published in 1799. A German translation followed. The first English version was published by the Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1912. Scriptoria Books has transcribed this edition word for word from the 1912 English translation by D.H.S. Nicholson. It was then edited, formatted, typeset, and proofread through each revision. This book is not a facsimile, nor does it contain OCR interpreted text. This is a carefully created new edition of a classic work.

The present volume discusses Christian initiation and various esoteric organizations, with special reference to Dante, as well as a study of St Bernard.

In Symbols of Sacred Science, Guénon, a master of precise, even 'mathematical' metaphysical exposition, reveals himself as a consummate exegete of myth and symbolism as well, superior in many ways to Mircea Eliade, and comparable perhaps only to his respected friend Ananda K. Coomaraswamy. This extraordinary text unveils the cosmological meanings of root symbols organized under such general headings as: The Center of the World, Cyclic Manifestation, Symboic Weapons, Axial Symbolism and the Symbolsim of Passage, The Symbolism of Building, and The Symbolism of the Heart. Far more than a simple catalogue of myths and symbols from many traditions, Symbols of the Sacred Science lays the foundation for a universal esoteric symbology. In this work, Guénon demonstrates the fundamental unity-across all cultures and ages-of the images with which the Absolute clothes itself in its cosmic self-revelation.

Although biblical texts were known in Church Slavonic as early as the ninth century, translation of the Bible into Russian came about only in the nineteenth century. Modern scriptural translation generated major religious and cultural conflict within the Russian Orthodox church. The resulting divisions left church authority particularly vulnerable to political pressures exerted upon it in the twentieth century. Russian Bible Wars illuminates the fundamental issues of authority that have divided modern Russian religious culture. Set within the theoretical debate over secularization, the volume clarifies why the Russian Bible was issued relatively late and amidst great controversy. Stephen Batalden's study traces the development of biblical translation into Russian and of the 'Bible wars' that then occurred in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Russia. The annotated bibliography of the Russian Bible identifies the different editions and their publication history.

An eye-opening introduction to the complex world of esoteric Christianity—perfect for the general reader This guide to mystical and esoteric Christianity speaks from a nonsectarian point of view, unearthing insights from the whole of the Christian tradition, orthodox and heretical, famous and obscure. The esoteric tradition has traditionally searched for meanings that would yield a deeper inner knowledge of the divine. While traditional Christianity draws a timeline from Adam's Fall to the Day of Judgment, the esoteric often sees time as folding in on itself, bringing every point to the here and now. While the Church fought bitterly over dogma, the esoteric borrowed freely from other traditions—Kabbalah, astrology, and alchemy—in their search for metaphors of inner truth. Rather than basing his book around exponents of esoteric doctrine, scholar Richard Smoley concentrates on the questions that are of interest to every searching Christian. How can one attain direct spiritual experience? What does "the Fall" really tell us about coming to terms with the world we live in? Can we find salvation in everyday life? How can we ascend, spiritually, through the various levels of existence? What was Christ's true message to humankind? From the Gospel of Thomas to A Course in Miracles, from the Jesus Prayer to alchemy and Tarot, from Origen to Dante to Jung, Richard Smoley sheds the light of an alternative Christianity on these issues and more.