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THE SERAPHIC ORDER
OF THE FLOWERING HEART
An
Interfaith Spiritual Order
In the
Lineage of the Order of Melchizedek
See the following
articles also:
The Order of
Melchezedek,
Mystical
Christianity
&
Centering Prayer
And
Check Out Interfaith Communion with the
Cosmic Christ
St. Bonaventure,
one of the first followers of St.
Francis, described a huge spiritual
order, much larger than all other
existing orders
and transcending all boundaries.
He called it the Seraphic Order. Seraphs
are angels of the highest order whose
hearts burn with the fire of Divine
Love. The Seraphic Order, according to
St. Bonaventure, unites all mystics of
all times, traditions and places whose
hearts burn with the fiery
Love of God!
In that Spirit we have established the
Seraphic Order of the Flowering Heart,
to be an Interfaith monastic spiritual
order that is open to married, single,
ordained and lay members from many faith
traditions, including Christian, Jewish,
Sufi, Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist and
others.
The Seraphic Order of the
Flowering Heart is a vehicle for legal &
spiritual ministerial ordination, as
well as for fellowship and community
connectedness for people who are mystics
centered in Christ Consciousness with hearts which
have flowered and burn with the love of
God. These mystics often find themselves
"outside of the box" relative to
established religious and spiritual
groups which could ordain them to the
ministry or provide them with the
support of spiritual community.
We are a "lay monastic order": A "lay order" because
we welcome all people (the "laity")
as well as ordained ministers and celibates. It is a
"monastic order" in the sense that, with the proper understanding, "monk" (from the Greek
word "monos")
means "One/single/whole", someone
on the path of Oneness, whose
heart is "single" in devotion to God
or who is
One in Union with God, not necessarily
single or celibate in the human sense.
You might consider
joining us if:
1. You are a
contemplative mystic and your Heart has
Flowered!
2. You want be ordained
and/or be in a spiritual order with
other kindred
spirits.
3. You feel you are of
the Spiritual Lineage of Christ, either
as your indweller or in
your lineage or manifest through you as
Christ Consciousness, the anointing of
the Holy Spirit or
simply in your flowering heart which
radiates the
Unconditional Love of Christ!
4. You are a
way-shower, probably on
the Bodhisattva path, whether you
realize that now or not.
5. The Lord Jesus is
bringing us together for this purpose.
The Order
of the Flowering Heart is
not
a governing, hierarchical body which
would seek to rule over you or your
ministry, nor will it compromise your
membership in other spiritual orders
and organizations. This Order is
strictly for the purpose of conferring
ordinations and initiations, providing
teachings and tools to assist
your transformation and your mission,
and connecting us in an
esoteric monastic community with others
of like-heart.
Some of you are already
fully "formed" and mature in your
ministries. Some will need
additional "formation" & training to
help you fulfill your calling (dharma).
We will provide that. When you first
enter the Order you are a postulant,
later a novice, then after your
formation is complete, you become a
fully professed member of the Order. Our
ordinations are in the
Power of the
Holy Spirit flowing from Jesus
through
Apostolic Succession down through
the centuries to the present time, and
through me, a successor to the Apostles,
to you.
Help us to envision and
give birth to this new Order together.
Share your insights and ideas with us.
Your Servant in Christ,
+Michael
Most Rev. Dr. Michael
Milner, PhD, ThD, DMin
Bishop & Abbot, Seraphic
Order of the Flowering Heart
Interfaith Minister
Ordination to Universal
Ministry
(adapted from an article
by Dr. Thomas Hickey, Ph.D.)
Universal ministry in
core spirituality involves bringing the
message of the ageless wisdom to others
through the timeless teaching found in
the universal spirituality at the core
of all religions and wisdom traditions.
In order to do this effectively,
universal ministers must be grounded in
these principles as they find expression
in the various teachings and traditions.
They must also strive to put these
teachings into practice themselves,
admitting their shortcomings and
weaknesses when they fail, as all who
are not yet perfect at least
occasionally do.
The purpose of ministry
is to serve the spiritual needs of
others. This includes mentoring in core
spirituality, as well as performing
traditional rites of passage. The
essence of ministry is to serve others
spiritually. Universal ministers serve
universally, recognizing that the
Eternal Way is one; yet, every
individual's path along this Way is
unique.
Calling
The fundamental
requirement for ministry is a spiritual
calling, or "vocation," as is often
said. The call to serve others by
ministering to their spiritual needs is
an inner calling. It is a personal
vocation such that only those called can
know to what service they are called.
Formation for ministry involves, first,
discrimination regarding this calling
and, secondly, preparing oneself to meet
the challenges this calling presents.
Competence
A spiritual calling alone
is generally not a sufficient basis for
ministry. Adequate preparation is also
necessary. This preparation is
ordinarily accomplished through a
formation process. An essential aspect
of this formation is ascertaining
competence. Those who wish to undertake
a universal ministry are so ordained. In
addition to universal ministry,
ordination to sacramental orders
(deacon, priest, bishop) in the
apostolic lineage of the Jesus tradition
is also available for those who are
called to it.
Qualifications
Candidates for universal
ministry should demonstrate that they
are of good character, have a spiritual
calling, and be willing to undertake the
necessary formation. Ministerial
candidates should be prepared to show
that they are psychologically stable,
emotionally mature, and intellectually
astute. They should also be reasonably
well educated, but they need not be
learned, love and the desire to serve
being superior to learning.
Since ministry is a
spiritual calling, ministerial
candidates should be established on a
spiritual path of their own choosing,
but one which leads to genuine
transcendence. They should be willing to
serve others selflessly, and they should
also be acquainted with the subjects and
disciplines relevant to their proposed
ministry.
Formation
Since ministry is based
on calling, each person's needs will be
determined by their unique calling.
Therefore, the formation process is
necessarily individual, and previously
acquired qualifications need not be
repeated. However, all candidates must
demonstrate competence in core
spirituality.
Apostolic Succession
(optional)
“Sacramental” Churches”
churches have a highly developed
“Mystical” or “Spiritual” Theology and a
long tradition of “Contemplative Prayer”
(Christian Meditation) and Contemplative
Spiritual Orders (monasticism). Their
history is full of mystics, saints and
sages.
These churches focus on 7
“Sacraments” as channels of Grace
(Baptism, Confirmation, Reconciliation,
Holy Communion, Anointing of the Sick
with Oil, Holy Matrimony & Ordination to
Holy Orders). The Holy Orders of Bishop,
Priest & Deacon (ordained leaders of
Sacramental churches)) derive their
authority from something called
“Apostolic Succession”, an empowerment
of the Holy Spirit transmitted by Jesus
(a form of Christian Deeksha) to the
original Apostles and through them by
the laying on of hands to the first
bishops, then through the bishops to
their successors in an unbroken line
down to the present day. The lineage of
a bishop in the traditional Apostolic
Succession can be traced on paper back
to the original Apostles and through
them to Christ. Bishops confer the
empowerment of the Holy Spirit to
believers to equip them for Christian
service through the Sacrament of
Confirmation, a form of deeksha or
initiation (called “Chrismation” in
Eastern Orthodox churches).
Old Catholic Lines
A.H. Matthew
Lines (4)
I. Frederick Samuel
Willoughby Line
(Matthew,
Willoughby, Wedgewood, Cooper, Hampton,
Spruit)
II. W. H. F. Brothers
Line (via R. A. Sicard)**
III. C. H. Carfora
Line (via R. A. Sicard)**
IV. J. M. Kowalski
(Polish Mariavite) Line (via R. A.
Sicard)**
Roman Catholic Lines
I. Brazilian Roman
Catholic Line:
Carlos Duarte Costa
Line, Roman Catholic Bishop
(1924-1945), first of Botucatu , Brazil
and later Titular Bishop of Maura
(via R. A. Sicard)**
II
Mexican Roman Catholic
Lines (2):
1. Eduardo
Sanchez y Camacho
Line, Roman Catholic Bishop of
Tamaulipas, Mexico, 1880-1896, founding
Bishop of the Mexican National Catholic
Church (MNCC)
(Sanchez y Camacho
(allegedly consecrated),
Donkin, Herford & Heard,
Newman, Maxey, Wadle, Spruit)
Anglican Lines
I. Samuel Seabury
Line
II. J. Moore - William
White Line
Syrian “Jacobite”
(Patriarchate of Antioch)
Joseph Rene Villate Line
(Villate, Lloyd, Lines,
Boyle, Wadle, Spruit)
Greek Orthodox
Joachim Souris & Walter
Myron Propheta
Line (via R. A. Sicard)**
Russian Orthodox
(Patriarchate of Moscow)
Abdullah (Aftimios)
Ofiesh
Line
Coptic Orthodox
(Patriarchate of Alexandria)
Mar Georgius I (Hugh
George de Wilmott Newman)
& Richard, Duc de
Palatine (Ronald Powell)
Line
Church of the East
(Catholic Patriarchate of Assyria)
Mar Georgius I (Hugh
George de Wilmott Newman)
Line
Albanian Orthodox
(Metropolitan-Archbishops of Albania)
Peter A. Zurawetsky
Line
Melkite Uniate (Greek
Melkite Patriarchate of Antioch)
Antoine Joseph Aneed
Line
Chaldean Uniate (Chaldean
Patriarchate of Babylon of Baghdad)
Mar Georgius I (Hugh
George de Wilmott Newman)
Line
Catholic Uniate (Armenian
Catholicate-Patrichate of Cilicia)
Mar Georgius I (Hugh
George de Wilmott Newman)
Line
Order For Corporate
Reunion
Mar Georgius I (Hugh
George de Wilmott Newman)
Line
*
Except where noted above
(as "via R. A. Sicard"), all of
the above lines were passed on by
Archbishop Herman Adrian Spruit,
principal consecrator for Timothy
Barker (April 23, 1989), who was
principal consecrator for Michael
Milner (July 28, 1991) assisted by
Brian Turkington, Joseph Souza and Lewis
Boynton.
**
Additional lines (noted
by a double asterisk**
above) were conferred upon Michael
Milner through subconditione
consecration by R. Augustin Sicard
with Owen Augustin, Philip Lisuzzo,
Heron A. Sam, Daniel Gincig & Michael
Owen, September 17, 1995
Taoist Lines
Tao Ahn Pai Lineage
of
Grand Master Share K. Lew
from
Wong Lung Kwan (Yellow Dragon
Monastery), Guangdong,
China
Priest
Ordination by Khigh Alx Dhiegh & Share
K. Lew - Taoist Sanctuary, Los Angeles
Abbot
Ordination by Master Carl Totton -
Taoist Institute, Los Angeles
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