To: alt.magick
From: bheidrick@aol.com (B Heidrick)
Subject: EGC/OTO/OTOA (Gnostic Catholics)
Date: 49941104
Quoting: |Martin E. Jacobs (mjacob1@orion.it.luc.edu) 

|Bill, you completely forgot to address the French lineages which 
|became the OTOA and the Franco-Haitian OTO and are now operating as in 
|the USA uder the directorship of Michael Bertiaux.

No.  The French and Russian O.T.O. lineages (two) died out.  They were
lateral branchs of O.T.O. under Papus (G.Encausse).  Bertiaux claimed to
head the Franco-Haitian element of that, but never has shown any
documentation or evidence of probity on the claim.  In any event, this
aspect did not perform the initiations and did not survive long enough to
be under Crowley's authority.  The Russian O.T.O. operated as a
Rosicrucian order under Count Orlof in St.Petersburg (under Papus).  The
revolution destroyed it, and the last Grand Master of that branch died
without successor in exile a decade or two ago.  O.T.O. considered
Bertiaux's claims seriously in the late 1970's, but they failed to prove
out.  There are many contradictions of known history, and no evidence to
back those claims up.  A couple of fake "O.T.O." groups in Italy and
France base on paper from this source.  Some of them have tried to
supplement this sort of thing by trancing libers and additional charters
from Crowley's ghost.  It's ludicrous.

   OTOA is unrelated to the Franco-Haitian OTO and Papus.  Dr. Krumm
Heller (known as Huiracocha) was Head of O.T.O. for Latin America, and his
provincial portion of O.T.O. became known as Ordo Templi Orientis Antiqua,
O.T.O.A. for short.  The OTOA never performed OTO initiations, either
under Reuss or Crowley, and principally manifested as a Rosicrucian order
and the Gnostic Catholic Church.  OTOA still exists in derivative
fragments, and the son of Dr. Krumm Heller is still living privately
(after closing down the main branch of OTOA).  Activity in Florida (Cuban
exile branch, documentation physically lost) and in Peru, Bolivia and
Columbia (restart with archives but no charter).  As late as the 1950's, a
member of OTOA was referred up to OTO in California (Agape Lodge, not
meeting formally but still able to muster for a rare initiation) from
Mexico by OTOA for initiation.

|There was some new subtle initiatiory interplay instigated between
|the two entities when Michael reconcecrated Hymenaeus (sp?) Beta
|into the linneage of the Ecclesia Gnostica Spiritualis

Michael Bertiaux did not consecrate Hymenaeus Beta, but did provide part
of a lineage that passed through other hands to the individual now known
as Hymenaeus Beta some years before his OTO membership.  That lineage is
to the Wandering Bishops through a line involving at least one astral
consecration (done by a living and validly consecrated Bishop, but either
over the phone or by letter, not in physical presence --- William Webb). 
Such astral or non-present consecrations are not universally recognized,
but H.B. has since received co-consecrations to more than bridge any gap
that might be attributed to an irregularity via Bertiaux.  That is one of
several lines of Gnostic Catholic Church co-consecration that parallels
the McMurtry-Crowley-Reuss-Papus line in O.T.O.  This is also discussed in
the _Magical Link_ a few issues back (don't recall which one).

93 93/93
Bill Heidrick