Mysticism below the Throne

Rev Jenny Miller, Interfaith Minister

Last year, the coronation of Charles III took place on the famous Cosmati Pavement, in Westminster Abbey, London. The Cosmati Pavement was actually carpeted over in the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, but instead revealed in all its glory for the crowning of King Charles III. The Coronation of the King or Queen, as the symbolic 'Head of State', more deeply symbolises the centuries old tradition of 'royal priesthood', as was mentioned, if not fully explained, during the actual coronation service. During the annointing ritual of the Coronation Service, the monarch becomes crowned as King, heralded by the king's royally-yet-priestly annointment behind private screens, to the musical glory of Handel's 'Zadoc the Priest'. The Archbishop of Canterbury then kneels before the monarch in recognition of his position of service to the Crown which Charles III avowedly serves in the public interest. The Archbishop of Canterbury it seems serves the Crown, as Symbol, not really Charles as a fallible human being, who is vowing to serve his tenure of the Crown in the Royal Priesthood and is therefore guided by the Archbishop of Canterbury as High Priest or Archbishop.

This ancient tradition of the combination of Crown and Priesthood deserves more respect than a post-modern cynicism of mere 'Church and State', as valid as that may be in the modern day, because what I feel is of particular interest is to recognise that this tradition of Royal Priesthood extends back in time as far as Egyptian monarchs, who were Pharos, the holders of the Spiritual Light, and as such, the leaders, chiefs, kings/pharoahs, whilst also being priests in a so-called Royal Priesthood that served the Nation. So, we can see revealed in the modern day Coronation, a tradition of Royal Priesthood that extends from antiquity, from Ancient Egyptian Pharoahs, through Ancient Rome, to the present day. Roman Caesars were similarly regarded as Ponifex Maximus, the Supreme Ponifex and Chief High Priest of the College of Pontiffs of Ancient Rome, a title later also held by the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Of course, in the Romanisation of the early Catholic Church, the (exclusively male) Priestly hierarchy of Pope, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops and Priests, replicated the Roman Political hierarchical structure of Rome's Caesar and hierarchy of (exclusively male) Senators. Unification of the Holy Catholic Church aided the unification, re-unification and consolidation of the Roman Empire.

The esoteric knowledge of the Crowning within the Royal Priesthood is further revealed by Dr Margaret Barker, Biblical Scholar and retired Methodist Preacher, in her fabulous books and talks on Temple Mysticism, in which the esoteric mystical knowledge of the Christian tradition is traced back to Solomon's Temple of the Old Testament (a symbolic microcosm of Creation, representing the days/process of Creation, the sacred, inner, 'Holy of Holies', beyond time) and, I would suggest, further back still in the lineage of the Temple Mysticism within the Ancient Wisdom or what might be termed the Perennial Philosophy. After Solomon's anointing the people said, 'Long Live King Solomon' (1 Kings 1:39) and this tradition still resounds today!

Of particular interest is that the Cosmati Pavement, made by craftsmen from Rome, depicts hidden symbolism of the Cosmic Order, known only to initiates of the oral tradition of Temple Mysticism; such initiates are depicted in an altar retabule as holding a palm branch as a symbol of the holding of the esoteric priestly knowledge, which we might understand as holding the spiritual light or life-energy. Dr Margaret Barker reveals that The Cosmati Pavement is a form of mosaic that 'sets in stone' a hidden mystical royal theology before the High Altar of Westminster Abbey, where Monarchs have been crowned for about one thousand years and contains an inscription inserted into the Cosmati patterns, in order to help decipher its hidden mystical meaning.

Royal theology makes a theological statement about the nature and rôle of a monarch in the Royal Priesthood, based on the secret of the Old Testament Soloman's Temple. Behind the High Altar was a retabale  (which I understand is now in the abbey museum), in which there is a central panel depiction of Christ attended by his mother Mary and St John, both holding palm branches. Barker suggests that Mary and St John are deliberately illustrated with palm branches in order to show that Jesus first passed the tradition to his mother, appearing to her post-resurrection as an angel of light, as guardian of the esoteric teaching, symbolised by the golden palm branch from the Tree of Life. Mary then passed the tradition to St John on her death, who subsequently holds the palm branch. This story is apparently documented in early Christian texts from Ireland and in Ethiopic and Syriac. Holding a palm branch is a common theme in Christian Art.

In the Book of Revelation, the Virgin gives birth to Christ, the Son/Sun of God, who is enthroned in the Holy of Holies of the Temple of Solomon. This tradition extends to Egyptian mythology where the throne of the Pharoah is depicted as held aloft on the head/crown of the Goddess Isis, whose name means 'throne' (See, Head of Isis, sarcophagus of Ramesses III, 12th Century BCE). Therefore there is a nicety in the traditional Christian symbolism of the Christ Child being depicted as seated on his mother's lap, like Horus on the lap of Isis, which symbolises that the Christ (or we might say, the Christed Ones or Pharoahs) are enthroned on the greater, firey and winged Mother Principle of God.  The sons/suns of God were the divinised or illumined ones, who held the light as Pharos and are raised up on the crown of the Mother aspect of God.

The throne in the Holy of Holies is also sometimes described as a Chariot with four wheels, which is what Barker suggests is symbolised in the circular patterns of the Cosmati Pavement, as 'wheels within wheels' or 'eyes', representing the living one or ones (which we might think of as Divine Consciousness or Christed ones or Illumined/Enlightened Beings) symbolised as the feminine divine mother, the Holy Spirit, the Great Mother, the Great Lady Wisdom Sophia, the Queen of Heaven, or the principle of Incarnating Divine Being, who was known as 'the One within the Four'.

Barker reveals that the central circular globe within the four circles of the Cosmati Pavements represents the 'archetypal universe', symbolised as 'the One within the Four', or the Fourfold One in the centre. The central circular globe is made of swirling marble, symbolising the primal chaos of life within Divine Creation, with the feminine Holy Spirit, as the Mother of God and all incarnated Creation, at the heart of the holy of holies. Temple Mysticism held the sacred secret of the incarnation of God, in the sense that God's Presence is incarnate in the whole Creation/World. This divine truth was heavily guarded by Roman Catholicism and many 'mystics' were burned as 'heretics' for a direct revelation of God's Presence; such theologies as pantheism or panentheism or even paganism which held such beliefs openly were regarded as dangerous heresies.

The proportions of the Cosmati Pavement represent the proportions of the Temple of Solomon and the Holy of Holies is full of stars and includes an inscription, now incomplete, that reads '...if the reader reflects carefully on all that is set here, he will discover the meaning of the primum mobile', the archetypal universe...So, in a post-modern resurrection of the hidden esoteric mysteries of ancient temple mysticism:

'Long Live the King!', as royal symbol on earth of the crowning Sun of God...

Source: Dr Margaret Barker, Talk at the Friends of Sophia Fifth Annual Conference, You Tube.

First published in The Inquirer, Issue 8083, May 2024 www.inquirer.org.uk