Prokofieff draws on the whole extent of Rudolf Steiner s work and combines it with his own original spiritual research to form an intricate picture of the cosmic forces at play between Christmas and Epiphany. We are led on a tour through the circle of the zodiac and spiritual hierarchies, and shown how they form a path from Jesus to Christ. The author further explains that the Starry Script is a key to anthroposophical Christology, and shows how it relates to the conception of the First Goetheanum. Prokofieff guides us imaginatively through the interior of Steiner s architectural masterpiece (destroyed by fire at the end of 1922), whose structure and decorations are seen to constitute a coherent esoteric map. Our task now, he suggests, is to rebuild the First Goetheanum within ourselves and, through a new form of self-development, work toward a truly modern path of initiation. Supplementary essays focus on the cosmic aspects of Sophia as well as the being of Michael. Prokofieff s seminal study offers a rich source of inspiration for those wishing to penetrate the mysteries of the Twelve Holy Nights and their relation to spiritual beings."

The Holy Days and Nights is the period between Christmas Eve, which celebrates the birth of Jesus (described by Luke) and January 6th which is called Epiphany, which celebrates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan by John the Baptist.This period is like the germinating seed in the depths of the earth which will sprout and finally bloom at the Resurrection of the Christ-ened Jesus after the crucifixion. During these days and nights we have the opportunity to reach a new level of understanding of this, the most profound mystery known to man, and indeed in the whole universe. This book contains short contemplations written between 2016-17 and 2020-21 during the Holy Days and Nights. These contemplations are based on indications given by Rudolf Steiner to Herbert Hahn for the twelve Holy Nights - twelve because that ties them to the twelve months of the year.

‘And however paradoxical it may seem today, the “Grail mood” is in the fullest sense to be found in Russia. And the future role that Russia will play in the sixth post-Atlantean epoch... rests firmly upon this unconquerable “Grail mood” in the Russian people.’ – Rudolf Steiner Although Eastern Europe has been part of the Christian world for more than a thousand years, its spiritual identity remains a mystery. This mystery, says Sergei Prokofieff, can only fully be solved by looking behind external events and seeking spiritual – meta-historical – dimensions of reality. In illuminating the maya of outer history, Prokofieff reveals the forces that have been at work to hinder the progress of mankind: the materialistic Brotherhoods of the West and the occult aspects of both Jesuitism and Bolshevism. These adversary groups have created a ‘karma of materialism’, that the eastern Slavic peoples have taken upon themselves out of their ‘exalted willingness for sacrifice’. Prokofieff shows how, from the earliest times, the future ‘conscience of humanity’ flowed from hidden mystery centres in Hibernia, to the eastern Slavic peoples. As a result, qualities of ‘compassion, patience and willingness for sacrifice’ developed in their souls, creating a truly Christian ‘Grail mood’. Despite incalculable suffering – from the persecutions of the Mongol hordes to the Bolshevik experiment of the last century – this quality has become an unconquerable force. Will humanity be able to use the present opportunity granted by this sacrifice to fulfil the primary purposes of the present cultural epoch? Can the future mysteries of the Holy Grail be fulfilled? In this momentous work, breathtaking in its scope and detail, the author attempts a truly esoteric approach, penetrating to the spiritual wellsprings of Eastern Europe in the light of Rudolf Steiner’s research.

In this revised and expanded edition of his classic debut, Sergei O. Prokofieff investigates the deepest mysteries of Rudolf Steiner’s life and individuality, from ‘the years of apprenticeship’ and ‘the great Sun period’ to ‘the path of the Teacher of Humanity’ and ‘the birth of the New Mysteries’. He discusses the earthly and supersensible aspects of the first Goetheanum, the implications of the Christmas Conference of 1923-24, and the Foundation Stone meditation that Steiner left as a legacy to members of the Anthroposophical Society. In his very personal Introduction, Prokofieff describes, in moving detail, the events in his life which led to his discovery of anthroposophy whilst living in Communist Russia, and how eventually he came to write this extraordinary study of Rudolf Steiner. The resulting volume – a work of secondary anthroposophical literature unprecedented in its depth and significance – was first published in Germany in 1982, meeting with equal amounts of acclaim, astonishment and controversy. It is published in this paperback edition to mark the 35th anniversary of the original publication.

In this first volume of his study of two influential Eastern streams, Prokofieff considers the spiritual movement of Agni Yoga, as presented to the world by Helena Roerich and her husband, the painter Nicholas Roerich. Helena Roerich developed Agni Yoga, or "Living Ethics, " in fourteen published volumes, which she believed to have been directly dictated by Eastern Masters. By relating the inspiration Helena Roerich received to that of the later teachings of H. P. Blavatsky, Prokofieff is able to penetrate the occult foundations of this stream. In the light of modern Christian esotericism, particularly the research of Rudolf Steiner, he pinpoints the principal spiritual errors of Agni Yoga, which include the teaching of a future physical incarnation of Christ. Along the trail, he uncovers ominous connections with Lenin and Bolshevik Russia, the American president F. D. Roosevelt, and the bringer of Glasnost, Michael Gorbachov -- who referred to Nicholas Roerich as "a representative of our civilization and of its culture, one of its pillars."