‘The Fama in the Reading Room’

    

The Reading Room, the live video facet of Craftsmen Online’s suite of content, will open April 30 to examine one of the Rosicrucian Manifestos. Illustrious Jake will lead the discussion of the Fama Fraternitatis.

The reading material is here and spans pages 1-15.

What is the Fama? Printed in Germany in 1614, Fama Fraternitatis is the first of what would be three founding documents of the Rosicrucian movement. I regard that school of thought as “classical Rosicrucianism,” thanks to the galaxy of self-described Rosicrucian movements that materialized during the past 150 or so years. Of Christopher McIntosh’s fairly recent English translation of the Fama, his publisher says:

“The seminal document known as the Fama Fraternitatis (the Proclamation of the Fraternity) burst like a firework over Europe in the early seventeenth century, igniting the imagination of many with its story of the German seeker Christian Rosenkreuz, his journey through the Middle East in search of wisdom, and his creation of the esoteric Rosicrucian Fraternity.”

What is that fraternity? Primarily, a brotherhood to cure the sick, as in following the example set by Jesus of Nazareth, for the dawn of a new age.

Usually, I am chagrined when a Masonic book club delves into material outside the fraternity—as though there isn’t enough literature on Freemasonry—but I know Cliff will lead an enlightening discussion of this text. Join in here on Wednesday, April 30 at 7 p.m.