In the occult and esoteric tradition of the West, the innate power of a priestly caste formed by persons born with an ancestral energetic force - radiant and magnetic - called the order of Melkizedek (Melkizedec) (from the Aramaic Mlk-Tzdk = King of Kings - Justice and Solidarity) is called the Line of Successors of the Apostles or the Royal Genealogy of the Envoys.
This energy gives his successors the ability to transmit it genetically and to awaken or activate it by verbal irradiation and imposition of hands (masculine way); or to bequeath it by mitochondrial inheritance (feminine way). This power is perpetuated in time, century after century, millennium after millennium and eon after eon, thanks to a chain of patriarchal succession (from the Greek patria = ancestor and archô = to be the first), carried out by direct activation from parents to children or from masters to disciples, in a sacred, conscious act called initiation and ordination.
In the outer or non-initiatic teachings there is much talk of the various successions and apostolic lines of early Kristianity (Christianity); Peter, James, John, Thomas, Philip, Paul, etc. But in the occult and traditional teachings of the West, only three lines are considered authentic, born of the Essene (so-called apocalyptic) Judaeo-Khristianity (Judaeo-Christianity), headed by John the Baptist, who subsequently bequeathed it to his first cousin, the Master Jesus, the Khrist (Christ); and who, in an act recorded in the New Testament as the "Transfiguration on Mount Tabor", also delegated it to three of his Apostles or Envoys: Jacob (better known as James or Saint James), John the Evangelist (the beloved disciple) and Simon (Cephas or Peter). Their apostolic work gave rise to the three initiatory and traditional lines of the West.
Saul of Tarsus (St. Paul), a fierce opponent and aggressor of primitive apocalyptic Kristianity (Christianity), was converted to it and initiated into the line of Peter by the Apostle Ananias, Bishop of Damascus, in the city of the same name. And then the apostle Paul founded the Gentile (or pagan) redemptive Kristianity (Christianity) of Antioch, which claimed to include non-Jews in its apostolate; this doctrine later became Mithraistic Christianity in 325 A.D. when its main leaders accepted a doctrinal reform demanded by Emperor Constantine in exchange for acceptance as the official religion of the Roman Empire, and later transformed and spread throughout the world under the name of Catholicism (from Gr. kata = above and holo = all, originally translated as "that which is above all other faiths"; today it is translated as "universal" because its doctrine is unique and homogeneous, leaving no room for other interpretations).
According to occult tradition, Jesus the Khrist (Christ) appointed his disciple and apostle James as Patriarch or Bishop of Jerusalem to lead his ministry after the Master's departure: and the apostles Peter, John, and Paul turned to James to resolve the doubts and differences that had arisen among them, mainly due to the increasingly irreconcilable philosophical and ideological positions that existed between the teachings of apocalyptic Judaeo-Khristianity (Judaeo-Christianity) and redemptive Gentile Kristianity (Christianity).
It is important to note that the three initiatory lines mentioned practiced and transmitted the teachings of apocalyptic Essene Kristianity (Christianity) to a greater or lesser extent, but adapted to their own needs and conveniences.
What marked the difference between them, and defined the orientation of their work in the task of guiding the present post-diluvian civilization, was the "particular objective" that each was to pursue, namely: the followers of Peter and Paul were to promote in society "the development and practice of morality"; the followers of John: "the development and practice of ethics"; and the followers of James: "the development and practice of Khristic (Christic) consciousness", but as a "common goal" all were to protect and preserve for future generations the knowledge of the end times.
Therefore, there has never been a real break between the three lines formed by the Master of Masters, the Priest, the Prophet, and the King of Kings. They have only been unfortunate circumstances caused by the abuse of power by some uninitiated priests and kings who, taking advantage of the achieved hierarchy, have tried to create chaos and destruction among them. But they have never succeeded, nor will they ever succeed, because there is an invisible link that prevents it. And although it is true that both the line of Peter and that of John are today far removed from the initiatory tradition, and in some cases have even broken with it, we will always find in their ranks some true initiates, almost always isolated and relegated, who prevent the tradition from being lost in them.
For the power to ordain priests and priestesses is possessed only by a true initiate and bishop, and this authenticity is conferred by whether or not one possesses the gift of discernment, the gift of inner vision, and the gift of justice and solidarity. These are the qualities that distinguish a true priest, prophet or king.
Ultimately, the lack of these gifts has been the cause of the degeneration of the priesthood and the traditional and ancestral kingship, a fact that will be even more evident in the future with the ordination of women bishops, a topic I will address in the next article.
Prof. Publio S. Colmenares B.