Abstract

Available from UMI in association with The British Library. ;In the course of three integrated prolegomena our research undertakes to document and demonstrate the emergence of Rudolf Steiner's Christian teachings from the tradition of high-grade Freemasonry in Europe. ;Prolegomena I addresses the current identity of the Anthroposophical Society as the community which bears Steiner's Christian teachings, viewed from the standpoint of its internal structures and also from the perspective of the historical development of high-grade Freemasonry, 1723-1906. . ;Prolegomena II clarifies the three esoteric societies which constituted the actual Sitz im Leben of Steiner's publications and lectures, 1902-14, the period which saw Steiner establish the permanent foundations of his Christian teachings. Part 6 uncovers the Masonic origins of nineteenth-century Theosophical Societies, and summarizes the latters' evolution in Germany from 1884 to 1902. Part 7 closely examines the development of Steiner's leadership of the Esoteric School in Germany, 1904-1914. Part 8 discusses Steiner's activities within the irregular Masonic order, Mystica AEterna, from 1906 to 1914, in so far as documentary evidence is available for this deeply clandestine society. ;Prolegomena III establishes the fact that Steiner's Christian teachings may be directly related to Masonic traditions of initiation, of which the archetype is the mystical death and raising of the 3$\sp\circ$ Master Mason. Part 9 emphasizes that the work of Rudolf Steiner will be perceived by the Anthroposophical community as a Christian mission. Part 10 explicates in detail the meditative discipline given by Steiner which leads to initiation and the mystical apprehension of an immanent Christ. Part 11 demonstrates that the foundations of Steiner's Christian teachings, 1905-14, relating to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in history, exemplify in outline a range of concepts generally, and sometimes specifically proper to Freemasonry. ;A final review discusses the implications of these findings