Church of the Eternal Source

The Church of the Eternal Source is a pagan movement dedicated to the ancient gods of Egypt. Established in 1970, the Church of the Eternal Source is the oldest nonprofit church in the world dedicated to the practice of the Ancient Egyptian Religion. The CES presently has five consecrated temples. The CES devotes itself to worship, publication, and instruction. Although each temple is dedicated to one or more gods the Church celebrates all Egyptian gods and goddesses.

The CES is a Federation of Neo-Egyptian Reconstruction Temples 

Principles of the CES

The CES follows the principles of Egyptian spirituality and religion including honoring all of the Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddesses and utilizing the Goddess Ma"at in finding a balance,harmony and order between ones self, the world and the afterlife. The CES reconstructs the Ancient Egyptian Religions as they were practiced by the Egyptian temples and personal worship, in the context of the modern world, and incorporate these beliefs into our daily lives. The CES's knowledge is based on information gathered from studying scholarly sources in Egyptology, translations from ancient texts as well as personal revelation.  

Individual Members:

      The CES members are not forbidden to use other magical traditions while being members of the CES.  The CES is careful in the selection of prospective members of the priesthood (see website page on priesthood)  The CES is interested only in facilitating quality Egyptian practice, not in recruiting vast quantities of priests and priestesses.  A member’s progress in the CES should provide groundwork for those using the Ancient Egyptian Traditions

Further Information:

More information on the Church of the Eternal Source can be found at their website:

https://sites.google.com/site/churcheternalsource/Home

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FAQS on the Church of the Eternal Source

Isthere an age requirement to be a member, initiate or priest/ess of the CES?

The CES encourages and supports study in the ancient religion of Egypt,however you must be 18 years of age or older to become a member, an initiate of a member temple, or a priest/ess of the CES. Those under the age of 18 are also encouraged in their studies.

Doyou perform Egyptian ritual exactly as it was done in Egypt in the ancient times?

So far as is practicable, yes. The Egyptians rarely left complete records of rituals—but they did use components of rituals to write new ones, which the CES also does. The primary purpose of anyreligion is to meet the current spiritual needs of its practitioners and in the CES daily work they use those elements of ancient practice which most directly accomplishes this. Priests and Priestesses in private approach the authentic practice as closely as anyone possibly can.

 Are members of both genders and are all sexual orientations and diverse ethnic backgrounds allowed?

The CES does not discriminate due to gender, sexual orientations or ethnic background.  

Is there a hierarchy and how is it composed?

        The CES has a board of directors, voted on by the Council of Priests, which itself is composed of all of the active priests and priestesses of the CES.  Each temple within the CES has its own individual system.

 Why do you choose a “Federation of temples?”

In ancient Egypt most temples were dedicated to a different set of gods and goddesses, and while their daily ritual and general priesthood were similar, they did have very different festivals and major rituals unique to that temple.  In addition smaller shrines and chapels were generally not administered to by a select priesthood but of the general public or group of individuals of like interests.   That is why the CES selected a federation; each temple has its own administration and composition while adhering to general Egyptian ethics and affiliation with the CES.

What is the group's traditional focus?

 The CES is first and foremost is an attempt to reconstruct as close as possible given this day and age, the ancient Egyptian Temple Tradition as well as personal worship of the Egyptian gods and goddesses.  One of CES’s purposes is to maintain Ma’at in the world (order and balance within a person, society and the universe).  The CES is also a teaching/working church and covers all the ancient Egyptian traditions that we have information on.

The CES is not eclectic Wiccan nor is it Hermeticism.  One of the major differences is that in ancient Egypt the priests acted as a representative of the ruler and when there was no ruler, the priests acted for the people. In the CES the priests represent themselves and/or all mankind.   A complete reconstruction is not possible for some of the ancient Egyptian traditions due to a current lack of information.

There are no prohibitions of being a member of another pagan tradition.   The CES recognizes that some of the people may be wiccans/witches or belong to another pagan group such as the FOI, Hermeticism or Kemetic Orthodoxy and may want to either incorporate some of the material into their own system or perhaps practice the Egyptian Magical Traditions as a separate tradition as well as practicing with a coven or a group.

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Gods and Goddesses

The Church of the Eternal Source is polytheistic. The gods and goddesses include:

Cosmic Gods

The Great Gods include

Ra, the Sun God;

Ma'at, the Goddess of Truth;

Amen, the "Hidden" God;

Horus, Sun God and Defender

The Gods of Human Affairs

Isis, the Goddess of many attributes;

Osiris, the God of the Dead;

Hathor, Goddess of Love;

Thoth, the God of Law and Knowledge;

Sekhmet, the Goddess of Healing and Doctors;

Ptah, the God of Engineers, arts and crafts;

Anubis, the God of the Dead and Guide;

Bes the Spirit of Joy, music and family:

Taurt was Protectress of pregnant women.

Nature of the Gods and Goddesses

There is no absolute supreme God, as in Judaism, Christianity, or Islam.

There are other Gods and Spirits, each with a specific domain of power.

Each human being is in a sense a God or Goddess also.

References

[1] Church of the Eternal Source Web Page