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Esoteric Christianity is a mystical approach toChristianity which features "secret traditions" that require an initiation to learn or understand.[1][2] The termesoteric was coined in the 17th century and derives from the Greek ἐσωτερικός (esōterikos, "inner"). It stands in contrast toexoteric (ἐξωτερικός, exōterikos, "outer" or "public"), a distinction already noted byAristotle, who referred to ἐξωτερικοὶ λόγοι ("exoteric discourses") intended for a general audience.[3][4] Esoteric teachings were often transmitted orally to a small inner circle of initiates rather than through written publications, a pattern consistent with other religious "secret traditions".
Scholars note that esoteric Christian movements often emphasize alternative interpretations of Christian theology that differ from established orthodoxy. These currents frequently draw upon the canonical gospels, apocalyptic writings, and certainNew Testament apocrypha as sources of hidden or symbolic meaning.[5] Some traditions also refer to thedisciplina arcani, a concept describing secret teachings or liturgical practices transmitted in the early Church, although mainstream scholarship generally understands it as limited to liturgical secrecy rather than esoteric doctrine.[6][7]
Scholars debate the relationship between esoteric Christianity andGnosticism. While some see Gnostic movements as among the earliest expressions of esoteric Christian thought, others argue that esoteric Christianity developed distinctively throughAlexandrian theology, medieval mysticism, and later currents such asRosicrucianism andTheosophy.[8][9][7]
There are also esoteric Christian Societies such as theSocietas Rosicruciana in Anglia.[10]
Some modern scholars believe that in the early stages ofproto-orthodox Christianity, a nucleus of oral teachings were inherited from Palestinian andHellenistic Judaism.[7] In the 4th century, it was believed to form the basis of a secretoral tradition which came to be calleddisciplina arcani.[7] Mainstream theologians, however, believe that it contained only liturgical details and certain other traditions which remain a part of some branches of mainstream Christianity.[7][11][12] Important influences on esoteric Christianity are the Christian theologiansClement of Alexandria andOrigen, the leading figures of theCatechetical School of Alexandria.[13][need quotation to verify]
Adenomination of esoteric Christianity isThe Christian Community.[14] It focuses on the experiential aspect ofsacraments, with theEucharist serving as "the Rite of the Consecration of Man".[14]
ScholarJan Shipps describesthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as having esoteric elements.[15]
Influenced by thePlatonic doctrine ofmetempsychosis,reincarnation of the soul was accepted by mostGnostic Christian sects such asValentinianism and theBasilidians, but denied by the proto-orthodox one.[citation needed] While hypothetically considering a complex multiple-world transmigration scheme inDe Principiis,Origen denies reincarnation in his workAgainst Celsus and elsewhere.[16][17]
Despite this apparent contradiction, most modern esoteric Christian movements refer to Origen's writings (along with otherChurch Fathers and biblical passages) to validate these ideas as part of the esoteric Christian tradition outside of the Gnostic schools, who were later considered heretical in the 3rd century.[18]
