Ecclesiæ Gnosticæ Catholicæ

Being in the Gnostic Mass

Any member who is interested in being part of the mass is warmly encouraged to pursue this interest. Performing in the mass can be a deeply rewarding experience and is a service to the Oasis.

Generally, being a Child is the first role one learns and performs as part of a mass team. To become part of the mass, contact Horizon's E.G.C. secretary at mass@seattle-oto.org and let them know of your interest. They will give you more information and can help you begin.

Basic Requirements

Everyone performing mass at Horizon must first meet the requirements set by the E.G.C:

• Those filling the role of Children must be baptized in E.G.C.

• Those filling the role of Priest, Priestess and Deacon must be:

  • An initiate OTO member in good standing. 

  • A confirmed member of E.G.C.

  • Under the active supervision of a Bishop. This applies to ordained E.G.C. clergy as well as to novices.

 Horizon sets these additional requirements:

• Priests, Priestesses and Deacons must be 1st degree or above.

• Priests, Priestesses and Deacons must be either a dues current member of the Oasis, or a guest officer with the approval of the Body Master.
  The Oasis defines "not current" as failing to pay Oasis dues for two or more consecutive months without making other arrangements, such as asking for a waiver. For information about dues, see our Dues page. For information about membership in general, see our Membership page.

Each supervising Bishop may (and probably will) have additional expectations. The local body has no authority over the Novice/Bishop relationship; check with your supervising Bishop about their requirements.

General Expectations

Each mass team has their own interpretation and personal way of performing the mass, and Horizon has a long history of encouraging and respecting that. These are Horizon Oasis's expectations about what mass teams, and team members, will do:

• Each mass has an owner – The Priest or Priestess who has committed to that mass date. The mass owner gathers the rest of their team. The Horizon E.G.C. secretary is available to help with suggestions and contact information, but the responsibility belongs to the mass owner.

• Everyone is expected to practice together, to ensure that they work together smoothly.

• Although the Horizon EGC secretary will be there to help, mass teams are expected to arrive early to make sure everything is in order.

• The mass team brings the Cakes of Light. Horizon will provide candles, roses and wine, unless the mass team prefers to bring these items themselves.

• Each member of the mass team is responsible for their own robe and other regalia.

• The negative child has charge of the wine and juice – filling the glasses before mass, washing them afterwards and putting them away.

• The positive child has charge of the candles and the charcoal, making sure they are fresh enough to last all mass, lighting them, and putting them out afterwards.

• The deacon has charge of the congregation, giving the deacon announcements, offering  the missals, bringing the congregation into the temple room, and ensuring that everyone is seated and the temple is secure.
  
  The deacon marshals the people for communion by indicating to each when it’s their turn and making The local body announcements won't be made until starting time when everyone is there, so the deacon should greet the people, indicating mass is about to begin, and then wait until body announcements have been made.
  
  If possible body announcements should be made by the body master or another officer - not the deacon - but the deacon may need to do both when the available body officers are on the mass team.

Cakes of Light

Cakes of Light (CoL) prepared for public performance of the Gnostic Mass contain the ingredients specified in the E.G.C. Manual, Section III B 5a, properly prepared as specified:

For all official celebration of the Gnostic Mass, except for those private celebrations of the Gnostic Mass at which all participants have specifically requested otherwise, the Cakes of Light provided by the celebrants to the congregation shall be made with the following ingredients and with no other ingredients:

• Meal (any ground edible grain)
• Honey
• Leavings of red wine
• Oil of Abramelin (a blend of cinnamon, myrrh, galangal and olive oils)
• Olive oil
• Either of the following:
  • Livestock blood obtained legally from a butcher shop or farm.
  • Ash from cakes of light made according to any reasonable interpretation of CCXX III:23 and which have been burned in accordance with CCXX III:25.

Congregants may prepare and bring their own Cakes of Light, wrapped and labeled, for their personal consumption.

A Cakes of Light Recipe

Courtesy Sr. Tiamat

1/2 cup Kamut flour and 1/4 cup wheat flour (or 3/4 c flour of any kind)

3 Tbls Extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbls Honey

2-3 Drops Abramelin oil

1 Tbls Leavings of red wine (wine goo)*

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. Mix all the ingredients. The dough should stick together, but not stick to your hands or the spoon. Add more flour if it’s too sticky.

Four a large cutting board. Take out a small ball of dough, pressing it flat with the palm of your hand. Roll to 1/8" thick with a floured rolling pin.

Using a small round cookie cutter (or lipstick lid) cut cakes for your congregation. You will probably want to use a larger cookie cutter or bottle lid to cut the priest cake. I score a cross on the priest cake to make it easier to break.

Bake cookies for 4 - 7 minutes. Watch them! They burn easily. The cakes won’t look done when you take them out - just let them cool for a while. Extra dough and extra cookies can be frozen and used later.

* Leavings of red wine refers to the yeast left over from making red wine; this is difficult to come by unless you make wine yourself. Often, a good bottle of port will have residue on the bottom that can be thought of as ‘leavings’. More commonly wine goo is made by simmering a cup or so of red wine on the stove until a thick syrup is created. Use low heat – the wine should steam but not boil.

Another Cakes of Light Recipe

Courtesy Sr. Courtney

This recipe is great for making a single batch of cakes of light for mass. This dough very crumbly, so it is not suitable for freezing raw. However, cooked cakes freeze beautifully for several months.

Kamut flour

All-purpose flour

2 T extra virgin olive oil (choose a very mild-flavored brand)

2 T honey

3-4 drops Abramelin oil (make sure it’s edible, not all kinds are)

1 c tawny port (I use Clocktower brand)

Simmer the wine uncovered in a small sauce pan until reduced to 1-2 tablespoons with a syrupy consistency. This will take about 40 minutes or so. Meanwhile, blend your flours. You want a mixture that is equal parts Kamut and all-purpose flours. Make at least 1 cup of the combination.

Stir this together with honey, olive oil, and Abramelin oil until well blended. The tablespoons of honey will come off the easier if you alternate measuring olive oil between them.

Add 1/2 cup flour to the liquid and stir until it is all absorbed. Keep adding flour gradually and stirring until the mixture is hard to stir. Roll the dough ball in flour and knead by hand, mixing in the flour. Repeat the process until the dough won’t take any more flour. Use your flour mixture to flour your rolling pin and rolling surface. Roll the dough to 1/8” thick and cut into 1/2-3/4” diameter circles with a cookie cutter or small bottle lid. Cut a cake for the priest that is about 1 1/4” in diameter and score it with a cross design so it will break easily. Cook the cakes at 300 degrees for about 6 minutes. I do them in 3-4 batches in the toaster oven so that the kitchen doesn’t get heated up just for 1 batch of cakes. Allow to cool and then take to mass or freeze.