George Alexander Sullivan
Encyclopedia
George Alexander Sullivan (1890-1942) was the founder of the Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship
.
Born in 1890 in Liverpool
, Sullivan is believed to have organized a group named the Order of Twelve from 1911-1914 and again from 1920. In about 1924 it became known as the Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship
(Crotona
was the site of Pythagoras
’s school in southern Italy
). As a journalist, playwright and actor George Alexander Sullivan used the name Alex Mathews; in the context of his mystical activities he used the name Frater Aureolis. From 1925-1928 he put out a periodical, The Rosicrucian
Gazette. The ROCF operated first from Liverpool
area of England
and then from the mid 1930s onwards from the Christchurch
area.
The group’s headquarters was a wooden building called the Ashrama Hall, completed in 1936 on the grounds of Catherine Chalk’s house on Somerford Road near Christchurch
, England
. Peter Caddy
became one of Sullivan’s disciples in 1936, introduced by his then brother-in-law Cyril “Jim” Barnes. In the light of future developments at the Findhorn Foundation
, it’s interesting to note that Sullivan’s disciples began to buy bungalows close by his Ashrama Hall.
With Mabel Besant-Scott
, George Alexander Sullivan organized a rosicrucian
theatre
company. In 1938, also on Catherine Chalk’s land, they built Christchurch
Garden Theatre, which called itself “The First Rosicrucian
Theater in England
.” It presented Sullivan’s mystically-themed plays during June-September 1938. Gerald Gardner
(1884-1964), the reviver of British
witchcraft
(“Wicca
”), claimed to have been initiated into traditional witchcraft
through contacts he made at the rosicrucian
theatre
, though there is some debate about this. Gerald Gardner
’s biography by Jack Bracelin (although said by Frederic Lamond to have been written by Idries Shah
) mentions the group. Although the group named itself after the Rosicrucian
tradition, and although its rituals had a Masonic flavour to them, the teachings of George Alexander Sullivan — at least as given by Peter Caddy
— resemble most of all the teachings of the New Thought
movement. George Alexander Sullivan died in 1942.
Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship
The Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship was a Rosicrucian group founded by George Alexander Sullivan in about 1924. It may have existed under the name Order of Twelve from 1911–1914 and again from 1920. The ROCF operated first from the Liverpool area of England and then after the mid-1930s from...
.
Born in 1890 in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Sullivan is believed to have organized a group named the Order of Twelve from 1911-1914 and again from 1920. In about 1924 it became known as the Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship
Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship
The Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship was a Rosicrucian group founded by George Alexander Sullivan in about 1924. It may have existed under the name Order of Twelve from 1911–1914 and again from 1920. The ROCF operated first from the Liverpool area of England and then after the mid-1930s from...
(Crotona
Crotone
Crotone is a city and comune in Calabria, southern Italy, on the Ionian Sea. Founded circa 710 BC as the Achaean colony of Croton , it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages until 1928, when its name was changed to the current one. In 1994 it became the capital of the newly established...
was the site of Pythagoras
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him...
’s school in southern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
). As a journalist, playwright and actor George Alexander Sullivan used the name Alex Mathews; in the context of his mystical activities he used the name Frater Aureolis. From 1925-1928 he put out a periodical, The Rosicrucian
Rosicrucian
Rosicrucianism is a philosophical secret society, said to have been founded in late medieval Germany by Christian Rosenkreuz. It holds a doctrine or theology "built on esoteric truths of the ancient past", which, "concealed from the average man, provide insight into nature, the physical universe...
Gazette. The ROCF operated first from Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
area of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and then from the mid 1930s onwards from the Christchurch
Christchurch, Dorset
Christchurch is a borough and town in the county of Dorset on the south coast of England. The town adjoins Bournemouth in the west and the New Forest lies to the east. Historically in Hampshire, it joined Dorset with the reorganisation of local government in 1974 and is the most easterly borough in...
area.
The group’s headquarters was a wooden building called the Ashrama Hall, completed in 1936 on the grounds of Catherine Chalk’s house on Somerford Road near Christchurch
Christchurch, Dorset
Christchurch is a borough and town in the county of Dorset on the south coast of England. The town adjoins Bournemouth in the west and the New Forest lies to the east. Historically in Hampshire, it joined Dorset with the reorganisation of local government in 1974 and is the most easterly borough in...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Peter Caddy
Peter Caddy
Peter Caddy was a British caterer, hotelier, and founder of the Findhorn Foundation community.Educated at Harrow, he apprenticed as a director with J. Lyons and Company, and was a member of the Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship...
became one of Sullivan’s disciples in 1936, introduced by his then brother-in-law Cyril “Jim” Barnes. In the light of future developments at the Findhorn Foundation
Findhorn Foundation
The Findhorn Foundation is a Scottish charitable trust registered in 1972, formed by the spiritual community at the Findhorn Ecovillage, one of the largest intentional communities in Britain....
, it’s interesting to note that Sullivan’s disciples began to buy bungalows close by his Ashrama Hall.
With Mabel Besant-Scott
Mabel Besant-Scott
Mabel Emily Besant-Scott was a Theosophist, Co-Freemason and Rosicrucian....
, George Alexander Sullivan organized a rosicrucian
Rosicrucian
Rosicrucianism is a philosophical secret society, said to have been founded in late medieval Germany by Christian Rosenkreuz. It holds a doctrine or theology "built on esoteric truths of the ancient past", which, "concealed from the average man, provide insight into nature, the physical universe...
theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
company. In 1938, also on Catherine Chalk’s land, they built Christchurch
Christchurch, Dorset
Christchurch is a borough and town in the county of Dorset on the south coast of England. The town adjoins Bournemouth in the west and the New Forest lies to the east. Historically in Hampshire, it joined Dorset with the reorganisation of local government in 1974 and is the most easterly borough in...
Garden Theatre, which called itself “The First Rosicrucian
Rosicrucian
Rosicrucianism is a philosophical secret society, said to have been founded in late medieval Germany by Christian Rosenkreuz. It holds a doctrine or theology "built on esoteric truths of the ancient past", which, "concealed from the average man, provide insight into nature, the physical universe...
Theater in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.” It presented Sullivan’s mystically-themed plays during June-September 1938. Gerald Gardner
Gerald Gardner
Gerald Brousseau Gardner , who sometimes used the craft name Scire, was an influential English Wiccan, as well as an amateur anthropologist and archaeologist, writer, weaponry expert and occultist. He was instrumental in bringing the Neopagan religion of Wicca to public attention in Britain and...
(1884-1964), the reviver of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
(“Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
”), claimed to have been initiated into traditional witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
through contacts he made at the rosicrucian
Rosicrucian
Rosicrucianism is a philosophical secret society, said to have been founded in late medieval Germany by Christian Rosenkreuz. It holds a doctrine or theology "built on esoteric truths of the ancient past", which, "concealed from the average man, provide insight into nature, the physical universe...
theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, though there is some debate about this. Gerald Gardner
Gerald Gardner
Gerald Brousseau Gardner , who sometimes used the craft name Scire, was an influential English Wiccan, as well as an amateur anthropologist and archaeologist, writer, weaponry expert and occultist. He was instrumental in bringing the Neopagan religion of Wicca to public attention in Britain and...
’s biography by Jack Bracelin (although said by Frederic Lamond to have been written by Idries Shah
Idries Shah
Idries Shah , also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimi , was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition who wrote over three dozen critically acclaimed books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies.Born in India, the descendant of a...
) mentions the group. Although the group named itself after the Rosicrucian
Rosicrucian
Rosicrucianism is a philosophical secret society, said to have been founded in late medieval Germany by Christian Rosenkreuz. It holds a doctrine or theology "built on esoteric truths of the ancient past", which, "concealed from the average man, provide insight into nature, the physical universe...
tradition, and although its rituals had a Masonic flavour to them, the teachings of George Alexander Sullivan — at least as given by Peter Caddy
Peter Caddy
Peter Caddy was a British caterer, hotelier, and founder of the Findhorn Foundation community.Educated at Harrow, he apprenticed as a director with J. Lyons and Company, and was a member of the Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship...
— resemble most of all the teachings of the New Thought
New Thought
New Thought promotes the ideas that "Infinite Intelligence" or "God" is ubiquitous, spirit is the totality of real things, true human selfhood is divine, divine thought is a force for good, sickness originates in the mind, and "right thinking" has a healing effect.Although New Thought is neither...
movement. George Alexander Sullivan died in 1942.