Aleister Crowley wrote The Gnostic Mass — technically called Liber XV or "Book 15" — in 1913 while travelling in Moscow, Russia. He described it as representing "the original and true pre-Christian Christianity."

Jun 11, 2005 · Part of the Thelema & Religion series. Aleister Crowley wrote The Gnostic Mass—technically called Liber XV or "Book 15"—in 1913 while travelling in Moscow. In many ways it is similar in structure to the Mass of the Roman Catholic Church. However, the comparison ends there, as the Gnostic Mass is a celebration of the principles of Thelema ...

In the Gnostic Mass, the Priestess makes the sign of an equal-armed cross 9 times, the Priest 39 times, and the Deacon makes one for each Saint, between 21 and 69 times. The Priest makes it when he gives the “Sign of Light” in Part IV of Liber XV, during his third oration before the Veil.

The Mass shows a radical adaptation of the ritual to a more modern presentation and concept, acting as a core demonstration of ways in which inspired individuals can produce new concepts to be adopted into the official body of liturgy.

The Gnostic Mass, a central ritual in Thelema, mirrors traditional religious services but conveys Thelemic principles. Thelemites also observe specific holy days, such as the Equinoxes and the Feast of the Three Days of the Writing of the Book of the Law, commemorating the writing of Thelema's foundational text.

And I believe in one Gnostic and Catholic Church of Light, Life, Love and Liberty, the Word of whose Law is THELEMA. And I believe in the communion of Saints. And, forasmuch as meat and drink are transmuted in us daily into spiritual substance, I believe in the Miracle of the Mass.

The Gnostic Mass is a beautiful ritual that celebrates the mysteries of Thelema and our Order. It is a magical rite that exemplifies the union of the individual soul with the Absolute, culminating in a Eucharistic sacrament embodying Life and Joy.

The E.G.C. is a Thelemic religious environment, dedicated to the advancement of Light, Life, Love, and Liberty through alignment with the Law of Thelema. The central activity of the E.G.C. is the celebration of the Gnostic Mass, as set forth in Liber XV, written by Aleister Crowley for O.T.O. and E.G.C. in 1913. Lay membership in E.G.C. is ...

Crowley composed the O.T.O. Gnostic Mass on a visit to Moscow in 1915 E.V. It is the central ritual of the O.T.O., public and private. He gave it its first publication in New York in The International several years later.

Aleister Crowley wrote The Gnostic Mass —Liber XV — in 1913 while travelling in Russia. The structure is similar to the Mass of the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church, but communicating the principles of Crowley’s Thelema.