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MITHRAEUM
HISTORY
MITHRAISM
FOR TODAY
RECONSTRUCTED
ANCIENT MITHRAISM
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It
is not possible for the ancient Mithraic Mysteries to live
again
in
their exact ancient form. Too much information has been lost.
Even if it were possible that somewhere, somehow, Mithraism had survived
as an "underground" secret brotherhood, after so many
centuries it would be vastly different from Mithraism as known by the
Roman Empire from the 1st to 4th Centuries CE.
Is
it possible then for a reconstruction of ancient Mithraism to exist at all? Yes,
so long as we keep in mind that there is a difference between
modern historical recreation and something that claims to BE
ancient Mithraism in it's entirety. Efforts to rebuild Mithraism as
accurately and faithfully as possible are noble and worthwhile so long
as we do not confuse what we build with history itself. Our goal is to
produce a working historical path for our own use, not to rewrite the
history of Mithraism.
What
then is meant by Mithraic Reconstructionism?
Our concept of
Mithraic Reconstructionism entails:
- Reverence for Mithras as a living God of
Light.
- A connection with the Mithraic past. We
strive to be as historically (and theologically) accurate as the
state of the evidence allows. When gaps in the evidence, or the
realities of modern life, make it necessary to create something new
it should be:
- As consistent as possible with what we
do know about the ancient Mithraic Mysteries.
- Clearly presented as a recent
innovation. We frown on attempts to advertise something modern
and invented as ancient and historical in order to give it an
authority (and marketability!) it does not deserve.
- A balanced approach to understanding
classical Mithraism which relies on both sound scholarship and
poetic inspiration without mistaking one for the other.
- Inclusiveness. It is known that there were
different "traditions" of Mithraism in the ancient world,
and we acknowledge that this can be done today without crisis.
- Allowing historically focused groups a
"modern" option to accept women if they choose.
- A moral code which stresses truthfulness,
honor, personal responsibility, as expressed in the Mithraic
initiatory Grades.
What Mithraic
Reconstructionism is not about:
As a path expressing as much historical
accuracy as possible, this branch of Mithraism does not include:
- Influence from "modern" traditions such as
Wicca.
- Eclecticism (as opposed to historical
syncreticism); combining classical Mithraism with elements from other
cultural traditions that weren't combined historically; such as New
World religions.
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