Christian Rosenkreuz

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Christian Rosenkreuz, also Christian Rosenkreutz, Christianus Rosencreutz or Christian Rose Cross (* 1378; † 1484[1]) is, according to Rudolf Steiner, one of the highest Christian initiates and legendary founder of the Rosicrucian initiation, who is of fundamental importance for the present consciousness-soul age, and thus also for anthroposophy.

Christian Rosenkreutz and the writings of Johann Valentin Andreae

The name Christian Rosenkreutz was first publicly mentioned in three works that were initially distributed in manuscript and then published anonymously, namely the Fama Fraternitatis (Allgemeine und General Reformation, der gantzen weiten Welt. Beneben der Fama Fraternitatis, deß Löblichen Ordens des Rosencreutzes, an alle Gelehrte und Häupter Europae), the Confessio Fraternitatis (Confession oder Bekandnuß der Societet und Brüderschaft R. C. An die Gelehrten Europae) published in 1615 and in the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz published in 1616 by Lazare Zetzner in Strasbourg under the title Chymische Hochzeit des Christiani Rosencreutz Anno 1459 , which describes the initiation of Christian Rosenkreutz in the form of an alchemical novel. Earlier handwritten versions of the Chymical Wedding may have been circulated from around 1604. In this year, according to the account of the Fama, the tomb of Christian Rosenkreutz was rediscovered and at the same time, according to Rudolf Steiner, the mission of the Buddha on Mars initiated by Christian Rosenkreutz was also fulfilled.

„The outer world has been repeatedly pointed to Rosicrucianism by the two writings which date from the beginning of the seventeenth century. In 1614 the so-called 'Fama Fraternitatis' appeared and a year later the so-called 'Confessio' - two books about which there has been much dispute among scholars. And not only about what is usually disputed with so many books, whether that Valentin Andreae, who in his later years was a quite normal superintendent, really wrote the book - but with these books it has also been disputed whether they were taken seriously by the authors or whether they were only meant to be a mockery of the fact that there was a certain mysterious Rosicrucian brotherhood which had such and such tendencies and aims. Then, in the wake of these writings, there is a whole series of others which tell all kinds of things about Rosicrucianism. If you take the writings of Valentin Andreae and also other Rosicrucian writings in your hand, then, if you do not know the actual basis of Rosicrucianism, you will find nothing special in these writings. For it has not been possible until our time to become acquainted with even the most elementary aspects of this spiritual current, which has really existed since the fourteenth century and still exists today. All that has passed into literature, all that has been written and printed, are individual fragments, individual lost things which have come to the public through betrayal, which have been inaccurately and in many ways perverted through charlatanry, swindling, ignorance and stupidity. The true, genuine Rosicrucianism has, ever since it has existed, only been the subject of verbal communication to those who had to take an oath of secrecy. For this reason, nothing of significance has passed into the public literature. Only then, when one knows what can be communicated publicly today - for certain reasons which would go too far to explain now - in elementary Rosicrucianism and what we will be able to speak of today, can one find some sense in the often grotesque, often merely comic, but often also dizzy and seldom harmonious communications of literature.“ (Lit.:GA 55, p. 176f)

All three works are attributed to Johann Valentin Andreae (1586-1654) and his circle of friends in Tübingen. Concerning the spiritual authorship of these works, Rudolf Steiner states:

„But no one who knows the biography of Valentin Andreae will be in any doubt that the Valentin Andreae who later became a philistine pastor and wrote unctuous other books did not write the " Chymical Wedding." It is sheer nonsense to believe that Valentine Andrea wrote the "Chymical Wedding". For just compare the "Chymical Wedding" or the "Reformation of the Whole World" or the other writings of Valentinus Andrea - physically it was already the same personality - with the unctuous, greasy-oily things that the pastor Valentin Andrea, who only bears the same name, then wrote in his later life. That is a most strange phenomenon! We have a young man, who has hardly finished school, who writes down such things as the "Reformation of the Whole World", like the " Chymical Wedding of Christiani Rosencreutz", and we have to make an effort to fathom the inner meaning of these writings. He himself does not understand any of it, because he shows that later: he becomes an unctuous oily pastor. That is the same man! And if you only take this fact, you will find plausible what I have just described: that the "Chymical Wedding" was not written by a man, or was written by a man only in so far as, well, Napoleon's secret secretary, who was always full of fear, wrote his letters. But Napoleon was, after all, a human being who stood strongly with his feet, with his legs on the ground, was a physical personality. The one who wrote the "Chymical Wedding" was not a physical personality, and he made use of this "secretary" who later became the oily Pastor Valentin Andrea.“ (Lit.:GA 232, p. 143)

In contrast to Rudolf Steiner, Gerhard Wehr argues that Christian Rosenkreuz was not a historical personality but an invention by Johann Valentin Andreae. (Lit.: Gerhard Wehr, Christian Rosenkreuz, p. 24). This thesis loses its force, however, with the detailed descriptions by Rudolf Steiner (in GA 130), which clearly reports of a real person who also appeared historically under the name Christian Rosenkreutz.

See also

Literature
References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated.
Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com.
Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books
A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works
Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English.
Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold
steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA)
Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF.

Weblinks

References

  1. ↑ In the Confessio Fraternitatis the birth and death dates of Christian Rosenkreutz (C.R.) (1378-1484) of that incarnation are mentioned for the first time, in which he received the initiation through which he could become the founder of the Rosicrucian movement. In this life on earth Christian Rosenkreutz reached the remarkable age of 106 years.
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