Circle of Transmission: The Living Loom

A Little Hendrik Niclaes & The Familia Caritatis Sampler: Part 2 – Excerpts from the ‘Cronica’ & the ‘Ordo Sacerdotis’

Mar 12, 2026 | Nicolas for Hygeia | No Comments

A portrait of Hendrik Niclaes,

engraving by Christoffel van Sichem,

from the collections of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Today’s sharing from the Blue House of Via-HYGEIA presents the second installment of our series dedicated to the memory of Hendrik Niclaes, the founder and charismatic leader of the Familia Caritatis (Family of Love).

The excerpts below are drawn from Alastair Hamilton’s trailblazing 1988 Brill edition of the three key Familist texts: the ‘Cronica‘, the ‘Ordo Sacerdotis‘, and the ‘Acta HN‘. Like all of Hendrik Niclaes’ works, these documents are preserved in their original Western Low German tongue. Our selection comprises two parts: the first, taken from the ‘Cronica‘ (pp. 98–109), and the second, excerpted from the ‘Ordo Sacerdotis‘ (pp. 209–220). Presented with a new English translation by Via-HYGEIA.

This publication also offers a moment to acknowledge the decisive contribution of the professor Alastair Hamilton to the modern rediscovery of the Family of Love. Through painstaking archival work and the gathering of scattered and often obscure sources, Hamilton reconstructed the textual corpus of the movement founded by Hendrik Niclaes and restored it to scholarly visibility. His editions and studies not only assembled rare writings—frequently printed under veiled circumstances or transmitted through elusive networks—but also situated them within the wider landscape of sixteenth-century spiritualism in the Low Countries, Germany, and England.

In doing so, professor Hamilton provided both the documentary foundation and the interpretive framework that now make it possible to approach the Familists as a coherent current within the religious ferment of the Reformation era. As scholars such as Nicolette Mout have emphasized, his work remains indispensable: it reveals how a movement centered on interior rebirth and the ideal of divine love could exercise a quiet yet far-reaching influence while leaving only a scattered and often cryptic textual trace. This homage therefore accompanies our selection as a gesture of gratitude to the scholar whose patient labors have made the present reading possible.

Hendrik Niclaes’ seal. 1Esdras 5: The Rebuilding of the Temple…

A Contextual Introduction

1. Historical Context: A World in Ferment

The Family of Love emerged during a period of profound religious and social upheaval in Northern Europe. The unity of Western Christendom had been shattered by the Protestant Reformation, leaving the continent a patchwork of competing faiths—Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anabaptism, and Catholicism—often backed by political powers that demanded strict conformity. This was an age defined by confessional conflict, persecution, and war.

It was within this charged atmosphere that Hendrik Niclaes (c. 1501–c. 1580), a prosperous German-born merchant, began his spiritual mission. A man subject to visions from his youth and twice imprisoned for his beliefs, Niclaes claimed to have received a divine calling around 1540 to establish a new spiritual fellowship. He settled in the tolerant Dutch port city of Emden, a hub for Protestant refugees and dissidents, and from there, his ‘Family of Love‘ began to spread.

‘*H.N. and his Elects*‘. From Alastair Hamilton, ‘The Family of Love’. I: Hendrik Niclaes. Bibliotheca Dissidentium. page 169.

The Visionary Founder: H.N.

Niclaes always signed his works with his initials, ‘H.N.’—a fortuitous coincidence, as it could also be interpreted as Homo Novus, Latin for ‘New Man‘. This dual meaning perfectly encapsulates his self-perception and his message. He viewed himself not merely as an author but as a prophet, the herald of a new spiritual age in which humanity could be ‘divinized‘ (theosis, θεώσις) and returned to its original, perfect state before the Fall. This concept of the ‘New Man‘ or ‘New Being‘ is central to Familist theology, which sought to lead its members out of sin and into the very being of God through love.

His teachings were a syncretic blend of various radical currents:

German Mysticism: A focus on the inner experience of God and the perfection of the soul.
Anabaptist Ideas: A voluntary community of believers, though the Family of Love largely rejected literal re-baptism and the violence associated with some Anabaptist groups.
Spiritualism: The belief that the inner ‘Spirit of Love‘ took precedence over outward forms, creeds, and even the literal text of the Bible.

The Family of Love: A Secret Fellowship

The Family of Love was unique in both structure and strategy. It was a hierarchical, communally oriented society, yet its members were encouraged to remain outwardly within their established churches. This practice of Nicodemism—dissembling one’s true faith to avoid persecution—allowed the Familists to operate largely undetected. Consequently, the movement attracted a surprising cross-section of society.

On one hand, it gained followers among the well-educated elite, including the great Antwerp printer Christophe Plantin and the renowned cartographer Abraham Ortelius, who found in Niclaes’s works a spiritual depth that transcended sectarian squabbles. On the other hand, its promise of personal liberation and direct access to the divine resonated with the lower classes and artisans, particularly in England, where the movement took root in places like the Isle of Ely.

It is worth noting that this inner circle also included Hendrik Jansen van Barrefelt, a wealthy merchant and one of Niclaes’s earliest and most devoted supporters. For years, Barrefelt served as a key lieutenant, helping to disseminate the Familist message. However, the movement was not without its internal fractures. Following a profound personal vision in the early 1570s, Barrefelt began to diverge from Niclaes’s teachings, eventually breaking away from the Family of Love. Taking with him a faction of dissidents—including, for a time, Christophe Plantin—he embarked on his own spiritual path. Adopting the initials H.I.E.L. (an acronym for Het Is Al Leven, or ‘It Is All Life‘), he founded a distinct sect that emphasized a more literal interpretation of divine immanence. While his split marked a significant schism in the early history of the movement, it also underscored the intense, visionary nature of the circle surrounding Niclaes. We will soon publish a dedicated Sampler series exploring the life and unique theology of Hiel.

The Familia Caritatis‘ quietist and conformist approach baffled and infuriated orthodox authorities. The Familists were accused of everything from sexual immorality to political subversion. Queen Elizabeth I issued a proclamation against them in 1580, and King James I believed them to be the hidden source of Puritan radicalism. Despite the fear they inspired, the Family of Love largely avoided the gallows by adhering to their principle of outward conformity.

The ‘Luminous Material: The ‘Cronica’ and the ‘Ordo Sacerdotis’

The texts presented here are the movement’s most important internal documents, edited and published in the landmark 1988 volume by Alastair Hamilton. Written in a distinctive Western Low German, they reveal the inner life of the sect.

The ‘Cronica’ (Chronicle): This text serves as the sacred history of the Family of Love. It narrates the visions of H.N., the establishment of the ‘House of Love’, and the divine revelations that structured the community. The excerpts shared today (Chapters 29–32) describe a theophany in which H.N. and his elders witness the Trinity and receive the ‘eight waters‘ and ‘eight ointments’. This elaborate allegorical vision serves to divinely legitimize H.N.’s authority and the sacramental practices of the new priesthood.
The ‘Ordo Sacerdotis’ (Order of the Priesthood): If the ‘Cronica’ is the movement’s myth of origin, the ‘Ordo’ is its constitution and liturgical manual. It lays out, in meticulous detail, the rules for selecting priests, the stages of initiation, and the specific rituals for their ordination. The excerpts provided cover the entire process: from the initial conditions (knowledge of German, obedience, and being at least 30 years old) to the final anointing and the ‘kiss of peace‘.
These texts reveal a community that was not merely a loose fellowship of like-minded spirits, but a highly structured, hierarchical church with a clear chain of command and a sacramental system rivaling that of Rome or the major Protestant denominations.

Significance and Legacy

For centuries, the inner workings of the Family of Love remained a mystery, known only through the hostile pamphlets of its opponents. The survival and modern publication of these three texts—’Cronica’, ‘Ordo Sacerdotis’, and ‘Acta HN’—have finally allowed scholars to understand the Familists on their own terms. They reveal a movement that was neither the pornographic cult its enemies described nor a simple precursor to the Quakers, though it undoubtedly influenced later radical groups.

Instead, these documents portray a sincere, if unconventional, religious community grappling with the great questions of its age: How can one find certainty in a time of competing truths? How can a sinful human become holy? How can a community of love be sustained in a world of violence and coercion?

The texts we share today are thus not just historical curiosities. They are a window into the radical Reformation’s spiritual core, a place where apocalypticism, mysticism, and a yearning for perfection combined to create a ‘unique’ & ‘luminous‘ vision of Christianity.

Frontispiece from ‘Comoedia, a worke in ryme’. 1574.

And now

the texts:

Documenta Anabaptistica Volume 6: ‘Cronica, Ordo Sacerdotis, Acta HN, three Texts on the Family of Love’. Page 2.

1. Excepts from the ‘CRONICA’

Chapter Twenty-Nine

On the same day the heavens opened and the sign of the Son of Man appeared in the sky. HN and his elders saw the Trinity with the saints and angels and the tribes of Israel and all nations. A loud voice was heard saying that the testimonies given to HN were the truth of God, filled with His Holy Spirit, and urging all men to convert to the Service of Love. (6–10) HN and his followers were chosen as a holy people whose duty was to proclaim the divine Word the world over. HN, his first-born, his elders, his seraphims, and his priests would be an eternal Seat of Mercy of the Lord’s Divine Majesty. In order to confirm His testimonies the Lord would declare further wonders. (11–13) During the next eight days He would have eight waters and eight ointments flow over them and their writings to prove that they were a chosen people whose works would be preserved for all eternity.

But in the completion of our harmonious prayer to the Lord our God, on the same Eighth Day of the third month of the year, the heaven opened, and the Sign of the Son of Man appeared in heaven: and over us here, the heavenly clouds of the Lord drifted.

2. And in the same clouds there appeared to us from the heavens, the Perfect Godhead, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, with the great host of the many thousands of His saints and angels, together with the many sealed thousands, out of the twelve tribes of Israel, and out of all heathens and peoples: and we saw and beheld the great clarity and glory of God with all the thousands of His saints.

3. And from the same Godhead, out of the clouds, there went forth a mighty voice: and the same voice came forth with such a sound, like a great terrifying thunder: so that all ears heard it. And thus out of the clouds, with the great sound of the same voice, the Word of the Lord came to HN and to us all, and spoke:

4. These my holy and godly testimonies (which you HN, with the four-and-twenty elders, out of the most translucent clarity of my godly light, have written in this my holy place of the living, and have testified out of my holy Spirit of Love) is my upright truth: and the spirit of the same testimonies, is my true holy spirit, and also of my dear Son Jesus Christ: and the same service (which is ministered out of the same testimonies and out of the same spirit, under the obedience of my Love) is to me a holy and true worship of God.

5. For in the same service of my Love, and in all peoples who, in repentance for their sins, convert to the same service, and humbly submit themselves in obedience, I have a good pleasure: and not in any other services which do not attain to the same service of my Love. And all peoples who hold themselves away from the same service of my Love, or turn themselves away from it, together with all those who outside of the same, have their life and quickening, are an abomination before my eyes.

6. And you HN, and these 24 elders and 4 seraphims, together with your seed, generation, or children, who are begotten of you, and brought up in these my holy and godly testimonies of your writings, to elders of holy understanding, and are found fit to minister the priestly office of my Love, I have chosen for myself as a holy people of my possession: as children or heirs of my kingdom: as ministers of my holy and gracious word: and as priests in the most holy priestly office of my Love, in order through the same, in their service and priestly office, to demonstrate the fulfilment of godliness in Jesus Christ, among all peoples who love righteousness.

7. But the most elder of your seed, and 24 of the elders thereto, and thereto the 4 principal seraphims, together with the entire priesthood of your seed, shall stand continually before me, as an eternal mercy-seat of my divine majesty and godly priesthood on earth.

8. For your government, and the government of your seed, and no other, is for righteousness and peace on earth: and your service, and the ministration of your seed, in the priestly office of the ministration of my holy and gracious word under the obedience of my Love, is for the strengthening of my promises, and for the blessing of all generations of humans, who humble themselves under my Love and its service, and remain steadfast thereby.

9. And for an even stronger strengthening and sealing of these my holy, godly testimonies of your writings, and as an eternal, assured truth of my word, that I the Lord have spoken to you HN and the 24 elders and four seraphims, so will I here on the spot, over you all, and over my holy testimonies, which are written here on the spot by you elders, through my true light of godly wisdom and holy spirit of Love, still reveal and bring to pass some heavenly workings and wondrous deeds.

10. And you HN, together with you 24 elders and four seraphims, shall reveal yourselves today, on this day, altogether with one another, before me, and before my most holy service and priestly office of Love, in naked clarity, just as I the Lord, with my entire heavenly host, have appeared and revealed myself to you in naked clarity.

11. For from me down out of these my clouds of heaven (wherein I, in power and glory, have appeared over you all) shall I now, from this day onward, continuing for eight days one after the other, pour forth abundantly over you all, and over my holy testimonies of your writings, eight kinds of distinct pure waters, and eight kinds of distinct holy anointing oils.

12. And through the same pure waters and holy anointing oils [namely, in their ministration] shall you see and experience, that I have chosen you all together with one another, and the whole congregation of my House of Love, for myself as an upright and holy people, have preserved and sanctified these my holy testimonies of your writings, in all upright righteousness, and have confirmed and sealed them with the powers of my heavenly truth: and that also the same, with the powers of my heavenly truth, shall remain confirmed and sealed, even to eternity.

13. And thereupon, it became the sixth hour of the same day.

Chapter Thirty

HN and his companions praised and thanked the Lord. The clouds let flow their waters and ointments for eight days. Each water, and each ointment, had a special virtue and power, and each was connected to the other. Each ointment came to the surface of each water and the holy testimonies of God came through the waters. HN and his companions were all washed from head to foot so that each man appeared in naked purity before the other and they were all refreshed and fortified. They marvelled at the wonders of the Lord and asked God the meaning of the waters and the ointments. (8–13) The Lord answered with a great voice, saying that the eight waters were the eight virtues or blessings of His testimony, which would bless those who read the elders’ writings. The eight ointments were the ointments of the Holy Spirit of the eight virtues, and they were for the eight orders and services in the priesthood of the Family of Love. Each water was different and supplied a different virtue, as did the ointments.

1. And on the same eighth day of the third month of the year, at the same sixth hour, we all revealed ourselves together with one another, in naked clarity, before the Lord our God, and before His most holy service of Love, and before the saints of His divine majesty, just as the Lord had commanded us: and thus in this, we praised and thanked our God in heaven, for all His goodness which He was showing to us and to His house and service of Love: and the four seraphims gave all laud, honour, and praise, to Him who lives from eternity to eternity.

2. And thereupon, at high noon, at the sixth hour of the same eighth day of the third month, the clouds of heaven gave forth their waters and anointing oils, and thus from the same eighth day of the third month onward, the Lord poured out abundantly over us all, and over the testimonies of God of our writings, continuing for eight days long, wherein no nights intervened, water and oil: and on each day, a particular distinct water, and a particular distinct oil.

3. And although these eight waters were different, and had their distinct outpourings on eight successive days wherein no nights intervened: and that each individual water had a singular virtue and power in itself, they were nevertheless, just like the days also, united one with another, so that they, yet each individually, held themselves by and with the others: and likewise also the anointing oils.

4. But each individual anointing oil floated on top of its own water with which it had flowed out: and the holy testimonies of God of our writings drifted through all the eight waters throughout: and the same waters also flowed among us and around about us: and thus with the same pure waters, the bodies of us all were washed, from the top of the head down to the bottom of the feet: so that we all appeared and became manifest with such pure, naked clarity before one another, that no one among us could see or perceive any unclarity or spot on the others: and we were thus all refreshed in the same pure waters: and also greatly quickened and delighted.

5. But in all this, that the lovely pure waters thus flowed among us and around about us, and we were washed in the same and with the same, and were quickened to the delight of our mind, we marvelled greatly at the same wondrous works of God.

6. And to understand and to know of these wondrous works of God and the meaning of the same pure waters and of the holy anointing oils, and what their ministrations are, we prayed harmoniously together with one another to the Lord, and said:

7. O Lord of hosts, you almighty God of Israel, what indeed is this your wondrous work, of these your lovely pure waters and holy anointing oils, which you, in eight days, have thus poured out so abundantly and graciously over us, and over your holy testimonies of our writings, and for what purpose or for what service are they?

8. When now however we had finished this speech of our prayer, there came to us from the Lord and His heavenly host [down from His clouds] a very great sound: and it was like the sound of the powerful thunder, and of the many thousand voices and trumpets or horns, of a mighty army.

9. Which sound brought with it such great power of noise, that no manner of human building, had it been there, could have remained standing by it. Therefore we also had to, according to the Lord’s word and command, be outside of human building or working: and thus with this great sound, the Lord’s word came to us and spoke:

10. These pure waters, which I have poured out, eight kinds, in eight days, over you all, and over my holy testimonies of your writings, are the eight virtues or godlinesses of my holy testimonies of your writings, with which eight virtues or godlinesses all those are graced and endowed who believe these my holy testimonies of your writings, in their exercise and furtherance, diligently apply themselves obediently thereto, and are thus washed with the same pure waters by the elders of my Household of Love.

11. And the eight kinds of holy anointing oils, which float upon these my pure waters, are the eight anointings of the Holy Spirit of the same eight virtues or godlinesses of my holy testimonies of your writings: and are for all those who are anointed therewith, for an anointing with the eightfold powers of the Holy Spirit of my Love, and for the inheritance of the eightfold virtues or godlinesses of the same pure waters.

12. The same holy anointing oils, are also for eight kinds of distinct orders and services, in my holy priestly office under the obedience of Love, namely for all those who, being well nourished in my holy testimonies of your writings, are obediently brought up in the same to elders of holy understanding, ordained as priests in the service of Love, and whose bodies are washed with the aforementioned pure waters: and then thus, each according to his priestly order, are anointed with the same holy anointing oils.

13. Thus however is each individual water, a distinct water and each individual water, is and brings with it its distinct virtue or godliness: and each individual anointing oil, is also a distinct anointing oil. Whereof, that each one also has its distinct anointing, for the ministration of the priestly office under the obedience of my Love.

Chapter Thirty-One

The first water and corresponding ointment were of the Lord’s Garden, for those who wished to perform His will. The second water and corresponding ointment were those of the Lord’s Ordination, for those who believed in His testimonies. The third water and corresponding ointment were of the Lord’s Righteousness, for those who lived a righteous life. The fourth water and corresponding ointment were of the Lord’s Dominion, for those who wished to rule with Him. The fifth water and corresponding ointment were of the Seat of the Lord’s Majesty, for those who wished to join in it. The sixth water and corresponding ointment were those of the Lord’s Countenance of Peace and Perfection for those who adopted such a countenance. The seventh water and corresponding ointment were of the Anointed with the Oil of Joy, for those who would live in eternal joy. The eighth water and corresponding ointment were of the new life of the Spirit of Eternal Divinity, for those who would inherit the kingdom of God.

1. Now, of these eight pure waters, the preceding First Water is the pure water of my Garden of Pleasure: for all those as a good garden of pleasure of the godly life, who have a desire to do my will, and who believe and love these my holy testimonies, written by you elders, through my true light of godly wisdom and holy spirit of Love, and who thus, harmoniously, with the elders of my Household of Love, apply themselves to the furtherance of the same testimonies.

2. And the same my holy anointing oil, which floats upon the preceding first water, is the holy anointing oil of my Garden of Pleasure: for all those as a holy anointing of the Holy Spirit of my Garden of Pleasure, who turn themselves away entirely from all their own desire, will, and cravings, in order to do or to be obedient to my desire and will: and who thus exercise themselves willingly and obediently, in the service of my Love, according to the requirement of my desire and will, in order thus to be fit, in the willing and faithful obedience, according to the requirement of my desire and will, to enter into the ordinance of the Lord.

3. The Second Water, is the pure water of my Ordinance: for all those as a good ordinance of the godly life, who believe and love these my holy testimonies, written by you elders, through my true light of godly wisdom and holy spirit of my Love, and who thus, harmoniously with the elders of my Household of Love, apply themselves to the furtherance of the same testimonies.

4. And the same my holy anointing oil, which floats upon the second water, is the holy anointing oil of my Ordinance: for all those as a holy anointing of the Holy Spirit of my Ordinance, who exercise themselves willingly and obediently, in the service of my Love, according to the requirement of my Ordinance, in order thus to be fit, in the willing and faithful obedience, according to the requirement of my Ordinance, to enter into my Righteous Ones.

5. The Third Water, is the pure water of my Righteous Ones: for all those for a righteous life of godliness, who believe and love these my holy testimonies, written by you elders, through my true light of godly wisdom and holy spirit of Love, and who thus, harmoniously, with the elders of my Household of Love, apply themselves to the furtherance of the same testimonies.

6. And the same my holy anointing oil, which floats upon the third water, is the holy anointing oil of my Righteous Ones: for all those as a holy anointing of the Holy Spirit of my Righteous Ones, who exercise themselves willingly and obediently, in the service of my Love, according to the requirement of my Righteous Ones, in order thus in the willing and faithful obedience, according to the requirement of my Righteous Ones, to be fit to enter into the Dominion-with-God.

7. The Fourth Water, is the pure water of the Dominion-with-God: for all those for a dominion with God, who believe and love these my holy testimonies, written by you elders, through my true light of godly wisdom and holy spirit of Love: and who thus, harmoniously, with the elders of my Household of Love, apply themselves to the furtherance of the same testimonies.

8. And the same my holy anointing oil, which floats upon the fourth water, is the holy anointing oil of the Dominion-with-God: for all those as a holy anointing of the Holy Spirit of the Dominion-with-God, who exercise themselves willingly and obediently, in the service of my Love, according to the requirement of the Dominion-with-God, in order thus in the willing and faithful obedience, according to the requirement of the Dominion-with-God, to be fit to enter into the Seat of my Majesty.

9. The Fifth Water, is the pure water of the Seat of my Majesty: for all those for a godly seat or possession in my Majesty, who believe and love these my holy testimonies, written by you elders, through my true light of godly wisdom and holy spirit of Love: and who thus, harmoniously, with the elders of my Household of Love, apply themselves to the furtherance of the same testimonies.

10. And the same my holy anointing oil, which floats upon the fifth water, is the holy anointing oil of the Seat of my Majesty: for all those as a holy anointing of the Holy Spirit of the Seat of my Majesty, who exercise themselves willingly and obediently, in the service of my Love, according to the requirement of the Seat of my Majesty, in order thus in the willing and faithful obedience, according to the requirement of the Seat of my Majesty, to be fit to enter into my Countenance of Peace and Perfection.

11. The Sixth Water, is the pure water of my Countenance of Peace and Perfection: for all those for a true vision of harmonious peace and of the godly perfection of the upright life, who believe and love these my holy testimonies, written by you elders, through my true light of godly wisdom and holy spirit of Love, and who thus, harmoniously, with the elders of my Household of Love, apply themselves to the furtherance of the same testimonies.

12. And the same my holy anointing oil, which floats upon the sixth water, is the holy anointing oil of my Countenance of Peace and Perfection: for all those as a holy anointing of the Holy Spirit of my Countenance of Peace and Perfection, who exercise themselves willingly and obediently, in the service of my Love, according to the requirement of my Countenance of Peace and Perfection, in order thus in the willing and faithful obedience, according to the requirement of my Countenance of Peace and Perfection, to be fit to enter into my Anointed with the Oil of Joy.

13. The Seventh Water, is the pure water of my Anointed with the Oil of Joy: for all those for a true and eternal joy, who believe and love these my holy testimonies, written by you elders, through my true light of godly wisdom and holy spirit of Love: and who thus, harmoniously, with the oldest and holiest Father of my Household of Love, apply themselves to the furtherance of the same testimonies.

14. And the same my holy anointing oil, which floats upon the seventh water, is the holy anointing oil of my Anointed with the Oil of Joy: for all those as a joyful anointing of the Holy Spirit of my Anointed with the Oil of Joy, who exercise themselves willingly and obediently, in the service of my Love, according to the requirement of my Anointed with the Oil of Joy, in order thus in the willing and faithful obedience, according to the requirement of my Anointed with the Oil of Joy, to be fit to enter into the New Life of the true mind of my eternal Godhead.

15. The Eighth Water, is the purest water of the New Life of the true mind of my eternal Godhead, which is full of all love, graces, and wisdoms, full of all powers of God and of all spiritual goods, and full of all heavenly beauties: and with which I, the Lord, hold my righteous judgment over the whole earth, to judge the same with righteousness: and in which all senses and understandings of the pure hearts, with eternal joy and Christian triumph, shall live and dwell eternally.

16. Which purest water of the New Life, is for all those for an eternal life in my Godhead, and for an eternal inheritance in my heavenly goods, in the Kingdom of God of my heavenly Being, who believe and love these my holy testimonies, written by you elders, through my true light of godly wisdom and holy spirit of Love, and who thus, harmoniously, with the oldest and holiest Father of my Household of Love, apply themselves to the furtherance of the same testimonies.

17. And the same my most holy anointing oil, which floats upon the eighth water, is the most holy anointing oil of the New Life of the true mind of my eternal Godhead: for all those as a most holy anointing of the Holy Spirit of my eternal life and true mind, who exercise themselves willingly and obediently, in the service of my Love, according to the requirement of the New Life of my true mind, in order thus in the willing and faithful obedience, according to the requirement of the New Life of my true mind, to be fit to sit upon the high seat of my Divine Majesty, and with all saints and elders in the Household of Love, to judge the earth with righteousness.

Chapter Thirty-Two

The Lord told HN that he should preserve each ointment in a casket, and the caskets were to be kept for all eternity by the high priest or head bishop of the Family of Love, and used for the ordination of priests. Eight pitchers were to be filled with the eight waters, and these too were to be kept for all eternity since they would be used for washing priests at their ordination. (7–10) HN did what he was told and then the eight waters flowed together forming a lake. The holy testimonies of God came through the water and dried up the lake, then taking their places before the Lord. When HN saw this he was amazed, but the Lord told him not to marvel or to judge His works by the standards of human understanding, but simply to obey His commandments and lead a righteous life. (11–16) The Lord then ordered the elders and seraphims to receive His testimonies in their flasks. This they did, holding their flasks open and letting them fill with water. The flasks turned into flowing springs of living water and the Lord ordered the elders to close their flasks so as to preserve the water for the most suitable occasion. For the purpose of the water was to quench the thirst of the soul and to purify the heart of the repentant sinner. (17–19) HN was instructed to make sure that everything in his possession was righteously preserved and distributed, for the time was near when the enemies of the Family of Love would be punished. HN and his companions thanked the Lord and applied themselves to their work.

1. Then the Word of the Lord came to HN and said: HN, you shall gather from these eight waters, the eight anointing oils which float upon them: and put each individual anointing oil separately into a vessel, cup, or box that one can lock shut.

2. And when you have collected these eight anointing oils, in eight vessels, cups, or boxes, and have made them well tight, so shall you preserve them well: and they shall also thus continually and eternally, be well preserved by the High Priest or supreme Bishop in the Household of Love.

3. For with the same, the elders or priests of the Household of my Love, when their bodies are washed with the pure waters, shall be anointed, each according to his priestly order, and thus ordained to the most holy priestly office of my Love.

4. Then shall you also fill eight pitchers from these eight waters: and put into each individual pitcher, one particular water, and then shut the same pitchers also well tight.

5. And when you have filled eight pitchers from these eight pure waters, and have stopped them up well tight, so shall you also preserve them well: and they shall also thus continually and eternally, be well preserved by the High Priest or supreme Bishop in the Household of Love.

6. For with the same pure waters, the bodies of those shall be washed, who are useful and fit for the service of the most holy priestly office of my Love: and thus thereupon, according to their ordination in the priestly office, be anointed with the holy anointing oils.

7. All this that the Lord commanded HN to do, he accomplished at the same hour. And when he had done it all, according to the Lord’s word and command, then straightaway thereupon, the eight remaining waters flowed entirely together among one another, and became altogether with one another as one water, and as a great sea.

8. And the holy testimonies of God of our writings, drifted through and back through the whole water, and drew the whole water of the great sea entirely into themselves: so that the same great water, entirely vanished therein: and thus laid themselves again, in the same place where we had previously laid them down before the Lord.

9. When now HN saw all this wondrous work of God thus with his own eyes, he marvelled greatly at all this.

10. But in his marvelling at the Lord’s works, the Word of the Lord came to HN and spoke: HN, do not marvel at my works, nor undertake to comprehend them according to the knowledge of your human reason, much less to judge them; but simply think upon that which I command you, to do the same with a simple heart: and that you thus, before God and humans, may live and walk in all upright righteousness and holiness.

11. And thus with this speech, the Lord required of HN and of us 24 elders and 4 seraphims, that we all together with one another, should come to His holy testimonies of our writings, and that each one of us should hold his flask open before the holy testimonies of our writings.

12. And we did just as the Lord required of us, and came all together with one another, to the holy testimonies of God of our writings: and immediately, holding our flasks open before the same testimonies of God of our writings, there flowed out of the same testimonies of our writings, living waters, and the same living waters flowed with great power into our flasks, so that all our flasks were filled with the same living waters.

13. When now however we had thus received these living waters into our flasks, and that all our flasks were filled with the same living waters, then at the same hour, all our flasks also became flowing fountains of living water. And thus with this, the Word of the Lord came to us and spoke: let each one have a cover over his flask, wherewith he can keep his flask shut, so that the waters of life do not flow out uselessly: For they are holy waters, which everyone who has received them into his flask, shall regard as very precious and worthy and preserve as the best treasure and dearest riches, in order thus not to use them uselessly, nor at an unsuitable time, but for the benefit and fruitfulness of the good life.

14. For the same living waters, are for all thirsty souls, who thirst exceedingly after righteousness, and drink of the same, for a great quickening in themselves, and for a great refreshing and satisfying of their thirst.

15. They are also for all penitent sinners (who are sorrowful because of their sins, and are washed with the same in my service of Love) for a cleansing and justification of their hearts and thoughts from sins: and for a great consolation and peace, in their conscience.

16. Then the Lord spoke to HN: upon all that I here command and enjoin you in this my holy land of the living, shall you HN give good heed: and also diligently apply yourself, that it all be done accordingly.

17. You shall also use all oversight, that all these holy things which you have here on the spot, with the 24 elders and 4 seraphims, in your keeping, be always and eternally well preserved in the Household of my Love, used according to my holy ordinance, and that thus all lovers of the truth, together with all who hunger and thirst after righteousness, may be provided for and served with the same holy things, brought into the House of my Love, and thus nourished in upright righteousness for their salvation in godliness, and brought up in all love.

18. For the time (of which I formerly spoke, through my prophets, and through my Christ, and his apostles and evangelists) is now close at hand, that the evil world, together with all those who cleave to and maintain the evil world, and who oppose themselves against the House of my Love, shall be consumed and rooted out with fire, and be condemned with soul and body to hell.

19. And thereupon, when the Lord had thus spoken all this to HN, HN thanked the Lord for His grace, and for the judgment of His righteousness: and the four seraphims gave all laud, honour, and praise, to Him who lives from Eternity to Eternity, and thereupon, HN applied himself with all willing heart, to do all accordingly, just as the Lord had commanded him.

Documenta Anabaptistica Volume 6: ‘Cronica, Ordo Sacerdotis, Acta HN, three Texts on the Family of Love’. Page 206.

2. Excerpts from the ‘Ordo Sacerdotis’

(The Order of the Priesthood)

The Ordinances of the Priesthood, together with the Priestly Services, Offices, or Functions, in the Household of Love, as HN [Hendrik Niclaes] has written them down in the Land of the Living, from the mouth and word of the Lord, and delivered them to the elders and ministers in the Household of Love.

CHAPTER ONE

Conditions for Ordination: The conditions for ordination are that the ordinands must know German [i.e., the language of Hendrik Niclaes] and be acquainted with the testimonies of the Spirit of Love. They must be able to read and write, and be obedient and willing, having abandoned their own lives for the sake of Love. When they are thirty years old, they shall be selected for the priesthood by the senior elders of the Order of the Countenance of Peace and Perfection, and they must make a confession before stating their readiness to obey.

The elder or bishop shall then instruct the ordinands on the path to ordination and rebirth. He shall tell them that they must possess no property on this earth and may claim nothing for themselves—neither senses, nor knowledge, nor anything earthly and transitory—but must acknowledge that all things belong to the Lord. They must be content with the food and clothing pertaining to their order, accepting only what is granted by their elders and leaving all else. They must possess pure and innocent hearts and consent to surrender themselves completely. The bishop will then instruct them on how to proceed to priestly ordination and rebirth in Christ.

1. Mark well my speech, you elders and ministers in the Household of Love: give good heed to the Priestly Ordinances, which I testify and present to you in writing, from the mouth and word of the Lord. Maintain them, according to the ordinance of God described herein, continually and eternally, in the service of Love, for the sake of all harmony, peace, and righteousness on earth. Minister them for the good edification of yourselves and the congregation. For it is the Lord’s Ultimate Will that this, His most holy priestly office, under the obedience of His Love, be ministered thus, eternally. It is true.

2. If now, among the disciples and subjects of the holy and godly testimonies of God found in our writings, any willing ones are found for the Priestly Office of Love—and if these same are well learned, exercised, and practiced in our German language and in the godly testimonies of the Holy Spirit of Love, and can also read and write well—and if they thus apply themselves obediently to be well and uprightly grounded in the holy testimonies of God of our writings, brought up to the eldership of holy and godly understanding, and found useful or fit for the Priestly Ordinance:

3. Then, those who have thus attained a zealous desire and good will to become pregnant or fruitful with the godly wisdom of the Holy Spirit of Love and His testimonies—and whom the senior elders in the Countenance of Peace and Perfection recognize or hope are useful and fit for the Priestly Ordinance—shall be received into the service of the priestly office. They shall be approached with the distinction of the Priestly Ordinance and, according to the requirement of the holy and gracious word and the testimonies of the Holy Spirit of Love, be instructed in the true obedience of God. They shall be taught not to live for themselves nor according to their own senses, but to renounce and forsake themselves and their own life for the sake of Love, and to obediently enter into upright righteousness, in order to be found fit to enter into the priestly office.

4. When these same willing ones are well instructed and exercised herein, and are thirty years old, they shall be chosen by their senior elder in the Countenance of Peace and Perfection for the entrance into the Priestly Ordinance, and be received and ordained for the service of the Priestly Office.

5. If then the willing ones find themselves well-disposed towards the service of the Priestly Office, its ordinances, and the transition to the New Birth in Jesus Christ, they shall, at the appointed time, appear in the fellowship of the elders before their elder or bishop. The bishop shall set before them the upright entrance to the Priestly Ordinance of the Household of Love and to the New Birth in Jesus Christ, and demand their confession: whether they truly mean to hold the priestly office in the service of Love with their whole heart, and have resolved to minister the same obediently. And he shall say to them:

6. ‘Hear, you who are approaching the eldership of holy and godly understanding, and you willing ones called to the Priestly Office in the Household of Love. I will today, before the fellowship of the elders, set before you the upright and true school-law of the entrance to the priestly ordinances in the Household of Love, and the true transition to the New Birth in Jesus Christ. Experience and feel within yourselves, through this my speech, whether you are also thus well-minded and disposed towards the ordinances of the priesthood‘.

7. ‘On this earth, you shall have nothing as property nor take anything to yourselves—neither yourselves, nor your senses or knowledge, nor anything that is earthly and transitory. Instead, dedicate it all to the high throne of grace of the Majesty of God and give it over entirely. Acknowledge that it is all the Lord’s. Thus, according to the requirement of your priestly ordinance, you shall content yourselves with food and covering, or with your necessities, for your priestly ordinance‘.

8. ‘Of yourselves, or from your own will, desire, and counsel, you shall do or undertake nothing, except that which is brought to you and ordained for you by your elders or superiors, out of the counsel of the Lord and the testimonies of His Holy Spirit of Love. Nor shall you forsake anything, nor separate yourselves from anything, except that which is thus demanded of you and forbidden, or from which you are separated. To this you shall apply yourselves, that all this may also be your will and good pleasure, therein showing obedience‘.

9. ‘Therefore, my dear children and those approaching the eldership of holy understanding in the Household of Love: Take freely to heart that which is presented to you today by God’s grace. Search and examine your hearts with all diligence, to see whether you also stand single-heartedly in all things that are held before you, to follow them obediently. Do this so that in your approach to the Majesty of God, Jesus Christ, you may never come with any duplicity, hypocrisy, or deceit, but are minded, with a simple and unfeigned heart, to be able to enter into the divine Majesty. Give hereupon a willing answer: Are you also well-minded and disposed to all the same?‘

10. If then the ordinands and those approaching the Priestly Ordinances feel themselves willing in all things and stand simply bowed, they shall make their affirmative confession thereupon and say: “O Yes, to all that is all our will and inclination, and we give ourselves entirely over thereto.”

11. Upon this affirmative confession of the willing ones, the Bishop shall declare to them how they shall betake themselves to the entrance of the Priestly Ordinances and to the transition of the New Birth in Jesus Christ, and say to them:

CHAPTER TWO

Preparation for the New Life: The bishop tells the ordinands that in order to reach the new life, they must relinquish all friendships and leave all blood relations for a time, preparing for the way of suffering. They must cut themselves off from worldly splendor and the arrogance of the flesh, cultivating humility and patience. They must not eat the flesh of anything living and must not drink any wine or strong drink. They must pray and read edifying works in preparation for being received as fellow elders. They must become as infants to be reborn to a new life and to understand the mysteries and beauties of the heavenly kingdom.

They must confess all and reveal themselves entirely to their elders, follow Christ and His saints in the way of suffering, and admit that all is of God. The ordinands must then abase themselves before the Lord, saying that, unworthy as they are, they surrender themselves to God and wish to be brought up to rebirth in Christ and to be elders in divine understanding. Their elders will then kiss them on the cheek and bless them.

1. ‘So listen then, concerning the Exodus from yourselves and all flesh, together with all that wherein the unborn and disobedient, and wherein the unbelieving and self-righteous human, seeks and loves his desire and own life; and concerning the Passage of the narrow way to overcome the same, and thus to enter into the New Life and into the Kingdom of God and Land of the Living‘.

2. ‘You shall separate yourselves entirely, for a time, from all your friendships and blood-relatives according to the flesh. Thus, in the meantime, prepare yourselves and willingly allow yourselves to be prepared for the Passage to the New Birth in Jesus Christ. Apply yourselves obediently to overcome, obediently, the way of true patience which leads to life and the Kingdom of God’.

3. ‘You shall also turn yourselves entirely away from all worldly pomp and pride of the flesh. Allow yourselves to be disadorned of all worldly adornment and be adorned with true righteousness. Thus, in all this, have then, in all humility, your access to the true service of God in Jesus Christ. Prepare your souls for temptations, to suffer them patiently, and to be able to apply yourselves obediently to the godly teaching of your elders with complete willingness. Do this so that you may, in your preparation for the Passage to the New Birth in Jesus Christ, remain steadfast against all temptations and be found fit for the Priestly State of Love’.

4. ‘You shall also, in the meantime of your preparation for the Passage to the New Birth, not eat or use anything that has ever received any life and breath in itself, nor drink any wine or strong drink for your refreshment‘.

5. ‘And after the overcoming of the same Passage, you shall exercise yourselves in prayer to God, and in reading and writing concerning that which pertains to Divine things and human edification. Thus appear before us at the convenient time, to be gathered into our fellowship of elders in all harmony and love, and therein to be received as fellow-elders‘.

6. ‘In all this, my dear children and those approaching the eldership of holy understanding, you shall give yourselves entirely over to the Passage to the New Birth in Jesus Christ, to be turned into little children, and thus to be born anew out of the pure water and out of the Holy Spirit. Do this so that you may, out of the old life of death, enter into the new life of the living mind of God and into the Kingdom of Heaven; understand the hiddenness of the Kingdom of Heaven; live in His righteousness; and thus, out of your New Birth in Jesus Christ, may testify and proclaim the true Gospel of the Kingdom, together with its pure beauties and riches of heavenly goods‘.

7. ‘Therefore, so that you may attain all this in the Spirit and Truth, you shall, with free will, as willing and obedient little children, according to the counsel of your elders, apply yourselves entirely to the Passage to the New Birth. Reveal your whole heart, together with all your doing and leaving undone, nakedly. Confess all that you still have and feel of the old human of error and sin before your elder, and cast it out or vomit it up entirely. Give it all over to be trodden down and rooted out, until it is completely and utterly brought to naught and is no more‘.

8. ‘And from now onwards, you shall apply yourselves humbly and obediently to all this, in order thus to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and His saints in the Passage of the way of patience, until you have come to the new birth and to the land of the living, and are united with the divine being of Jesus Christ‘.

9. ‘And thereto you shall give over or dedicate yourselves, together with all that is under your hand or power, to the God of Heaven and to the elders and ministers of His high seat of the divine Majesty, with a willing heart. Acknowledge that it is all the Lord’s, for thus shall it then all, before God, be received as a freewill offering and be well-pleasing or acceptable to the Lord for preservation in godliness‘.

10. And thus after this speech, the willing ones for the Priestly Ordinance shall humble themselves before the Lord and the ministry of His gracious word, and say, or think in their heart:

11. ‘O we unworthy of the great grace and mercy that is shown to us, give Ourselves with all that is under our hand or power, freely, to God and His high seat of the divine Majesty, as a willing offering, entirely over. And all our desire is, that we, received into the grace of the Lord with humble heart, our willing offering may be accepted, brought to the high seat of the divine Majesty, and we thus, nourished and maintained with the goods of the Lord, and brought up to the New Birth in Jesus Christ, and to elders in holy and godly understanding’.

12. And thus thereupon, their elder in the Countenance of Peace and Perfection shall kiss them on the cheek and say to them:

13. ‘Blessed are you to the God of Heaven, you dear little children in Love. Give all laud, honor, and praise to the God of Heaven, who has prepared your hearts for this good will. And may the same God, who lives from eternity to eternity, give you all mercy to remain steadfast in your good will, even to the New Birth and to the most senior eldership of the most holy understanding of godly perfection‘.

14. ‘O my dear children in the Love of our God and Christ, be ever well-disposed in all your progress, and also willing for the entrance into the good life, and have no fear. But trust in the Lord and His goodness. For your steadfast constancy in a good will shall ever be a holy gift and acceptable offering to the God of Heaven and to the high seat of grace of His divine Majesty: for a sweet savor to Him. It is true‘.

CHAPTER THREE

The Ordination Prayer: The bishop and all present pray to God for mercy and help, asking Him to receive, purify, and enlighten the ordinands, strengthen them, and help them to eternal life. After the prayer, the ordinands are admonished by the bishop.

1. Now after this humble surrender by the willing ones for the service of the Priestly Office, the Bishop shall say aloud:

2. ‘Let us pray harmoniously to God, for His grace and help’.

3. And all those who are present, together with the willing ordinands, shall bow down and betake themselves to prayer. And thereupon, the Bishop shall speak aloud the following prayers and say:

4. ‘O eternal almighty God, You highest Godhead, You who are our Father or Begetter to the new birth in Your divine Being; Also our Lord, Jesus or Savior, for the cleansing or justification from sin; and our Holy Spirit, for an eternal inheritance and confirmation in the spiritual and heavenly goods, and in eternal life‘.

5. ‘O our God and Father, just as You were in the beginning a Creator of the race of humans, which, through the fall of Adam, turned away and became estranged from You, so You are now also at the end, O God full of grace, through the service of Your holy and gracious word under the obedience of Your Love, a Restorer of the same race of humans to its upright being and form‘.

6. ‘For those who now, in this day of Your Love, turn themselves away completely and utterly from all counsel of the devil and of the flesh, and from all their own senses, will, and rest, and thus, O gracious God, betake themselves entirely to Your mind, will, and rest, in order, under the obedience of Your Love, to do Your will; and do not trouble themselves to judge Your works, nor Your ordinances in the service of Your Love, nor to think anything evil thereover; but in all things stand simply bowed to obedience: You receive them all as Your dear children, and as Your acceptable sons and daughters‘.

7. ‘And with the holy and gracious word of the testimonies of Your Holy Spirit of Love, You nourish them up to elders and seniors in Your holy and godly understanding, and make them thus fit to minister Your holy and gracious word and the ordinances of the priestly office of Your Holy Spirit, under the obedience of Your Love‘.

8. ‘In all this Your goodness, O God our heavenly Father, look now upon this, and let their willingness be well-pleasing to You. Be gracious to Your accepted people, and will to receive and accept these willing ones, just as we receive them into us and our members in the service of Your gracious word and priestly office of Love. Also receive and accept them into the childhood of the New Birth and of the new and true testament, and thus adjoin them to You as fellow members of Your Christ, into the heavenly being, in Your hereditary land of the living. So that they may thus, O God, in all truth of our Lord Jesus Christ, minister Your holy service of Love uprightly with us, and proclaim the grace and godliness of Your Holy Spirit of Love among many others‘.

9. ‘Then we pray You, O eternal Godhead, that You, through Your pure water, will entirely cleanse from all spots of sin these willing ones who are chosen and ordained for Your service and priestly office of Love and are willing to do Your will. Turn away from them all blindness of heart, all bewitchment of senses and thoughts, together with all false judgments of the flesh and all evil inclinations, so that they, thus released from the snares of the devil and of the self-willedness of the deceitful flesh, may enter the righteous life of Your Love undamaged‘.

10. ‘O Yes: Let Yourself be entreated for this, O heavenly Father, and open to them, through Your Holy Spirit, the upright entrance to the righteous life of Your Love. Strengthen them with a simple heart to enter the same life obediently, so that they, thus entirely estranged from the desires of the flesh, may be to You, continually and eternally, for a sweet savor, increase in the godly understanding of Your Love, and be filled with Your spiritual and heavenly goods to love and serve You, O God, and their neighbor, with all fervor in the Spirit, in all upright righteousness and holiness, through Your Holy Spirit of Love of Jesus Christ‘.

11. ‘O God, heavenly Father, a Redeemer of the captives who call to You to be loosed or set free from the prison of sin and the devil, and an eternal life of the believers of Your resurrection in Jesus Christ: we worship You and call to You humbly in our prayer. That You, O God, will have mercy upon these willing ones, Your servants, pour out Your upright and true being of Love over them, and thus beget them anew out of Your pure water and out of Your Holy Spirit, and strengthen them with the spiritual and heavenly goods, since they also desire the same from You, O God, heavenly Father, and humbly pray to You therefor‘.

12. ‘Therefore, O God of life, will now, according to the word of Your dear Son Jesus Christ, hear those who pray for Your righteousness. Let those who seek Your righteousness find Your righteousness, and open the door of Your life to those who knock, to be let into Your life. So that they may thus, O God, in Your mercy, obtain the blessing of Your pure waters, inherit the true being of the Holy Spirit of Your holy anointing oils, and thus, with upright heart, approach You and be incorporated‘.

13. ‘This, O God heavenly Father, is all our prayer and supplication to You for these willing ones for Your service of Love, so that they may all be found fit to enter Your promised Kingdom and hereditary land of the living with Your saints and children of the Kingdom, and that You, O Living Godhead, might have an eternal dwelling with them, and that they might minister the gracious word, the testimonies of Your Holy Spirit of Love, uprightly‘.

And all those who are present shall say: ‘Amen, may it be so’.

14. And thereupon they shall all together with one another rise up from the prayer. At the same time, the Bishop shall let the same ministration rest there and add a short admonition thereto.

15. And thereupon, the ordinands for the Priestly Offices shall, with their elder in the Countenance of Peace and Perfection, enter upon the Passage of the preparation for the New Birth in Jesus Christ and for the Priestly Ordinance, and therein go forward and remain steadfast until the end.

16. And shall thus thereafter be received into the Office of the Priesthood.

CHAPTER FOUR

The washing and the anointing of the elders of the Order of the Lord’s Garden: The bishop blesses them and admonishes them, reminding them of the spiritual powers conferred on them and of the obedience necessary. The ceremony is concluded with the kiss of peace.

When now the proper time of their entrance into the priestly ministration has arrived, then these same Well-Willing Ones shall, in the assembly of the priests or elders in the holy understanding, with humble heart, appear before their bishop, by the water-bath of the service of Love, in order to be bathed or washed with the pure water of the Pleasure-garden of the Lord.

And in the washing, the Bishop shall say to each one individually:

2. ‘Be washed in thy spirit and mind, with the pure water of the Pleasure-garden of the Lord, in the name of the Love of the Holy Spirit of our God and Father and of our Lord Jesus Christ‘.

3. ‘And from this day onward, thou shalt, by God’s grace, be ordained to the holy service and priestly office of the Pleasure-garden of the Lord‘.

4. ‘In which service of the Pleasure-garden of the Lord, the Lord requires of thee that thou, through the love of upright righteousness and holiness, entirely leave and forsake all opinions of good and evil, together with all own lust and will, exercise thyself with thy whole heart in the pleasure and will of the Lord (so that the same may have an essential form in thee), and that thou thus shalt obediently live and walk in all that which the Lord and His gracious Word require of thee‘.

5. And thereupon the Bishop shall further say to him:

6. ‘Receive and put on in thy spirit and mind, the holy immaculate purity of the Pleasure-garden of the Lord, which was prepared from the beginning for the man Adam, and for all men, and is now given at the last time to the Elect of God and to the lovers of His pure simple being, to put on and to wear, in order to live and walk in the same, with upright and pure immaculate love, in the Pleasure-garden of the Lord: and thus to inherit the Kingdom of God our heavenly Father, together with the pure beauties and riches of His spiritual and heavenly Goods, even unto all eternity‘.

7. And thereupon, the Bishop shall say to him for a blessing:

8. ‘The Lord bless thee in His love, and preserve well, in all meekness, the holy immaculate purity of the Pleasure-garden of the Lord: and grow up therein in all purity and simplicity of heart, even unto the most perfect purity and beauty of the divine Being, so that thou mayest minister immaculate before the judgment seat of Christ, and in thy part or service, mayest be found fit, with God and His saints, and with the elders of the holy understanding, to judge the earth with righteousness‘.

9. And after this washing, he who is washed shall endeavor to be anointed with the holy anointing oil of the Pleasure-garden of the Lord.

10. And thus, for his blessing, in his anointing, the Bishop shall say to him:

11. ‘Be anointed in thy spirit and mind, with the holy anointing oil of the Holy Spirit of the Pleasure-garden of the Lord‘.

12. ‘Today is set in thy heart, mind, and memory, the remembrance of the Holy Spirit of the Pleasure-garden of the Lord, so that thou mayest be strengthened with the same Holy Spirit of the Pleasure-garden of the Lord, that in thy heart, mind, and memory, no other or strange lust or will may be or dwell, but only the Lord’s lust and will, and to be obedient to the same: and that thus the same lust and will of the Lord may remain written or implanted in thy heart, mind, and memory eternally: and that thou thus mayest be found fit to enter the eldership of the ordinance of the Lord, and to minister the holy divine service and priesthood of Love, in the ordinance of the Lord‘.

13. And thereupon, the Bishop shall further say to him:

14. ‘Receive and put on over all thy thoughts, senses, and memory, the faithful and steadfast obedience, for a covering of the strong and true enclosing of thy thoughts, senses, and memory, in the Pleasure-garden of the Lord‘.

15. ‘Which obedience is given or set before thee and thy thoughts, senses, and memory, for their good preservation, against all approaching assaults of deceitful lusts and desires or enticements to disobedience and transgression, so that thou shouldest remain constantly and eternally steadfast in the holy and gracious Word, and in the testimonies of the Holy Spirit of Love, and shouldest not become unfaithful to the same, even unto eternity‘.

16. ‘Therefore, enclose thyself, and thy thoughts, senses, and memory, with the faithful and steadfast obedience, in the Pleasure-garden of the Lord: and strengthen thyself thus, with thy thoughts, senses, and memory, in the anointing of the Holy Spirit of the Pleasure-garden of the Lord, so that no strange spirits or self-pleasing wisdoms may ever enter into thee, to commit fornication with thy thoughts, senses, and memory, and to make thee unfaithful from thy good lust and will, which thou hast to be obedient to the Lord and the ministers of His holy and gracious Word. For doing thus with a willing heart, the faithful obedience shall be to thee a helmet of salvation, for all deliverance from evil, and from its assaults‘.

17. And thereupon the Bishop shall further say to him:

18. ‘The Lord give thee strength, and strengthen thee with the anointing oil of His Holy Spirit of Love, so that thou, against all assaults of evil and its servants, mayest stand firm in thy desire and good will for the obedience of the Lord, and thus grow up from thy childhood of the new birth, to the manly age of the holy understanding, and to the ripeness of the godly being of Jesus Christ, and mayest inherit the crown of eternal life‘.

19. And all those who are there, shall say: ‘Amen. May it be so‘.

20. And the Bishop shall kiss him on the cheek, and say to him:

21. ‘Go in unto the eternal peace of our Lord and God, and minister the service of thy priestly ordination, well and uprightly, in all unity of the godly service of Love‘.

22. And all priests or elders who are there, shall also receive him with a kiss of peace.

CHAPTER FIVE

The washing and anointing of the elders of the Order of the Lord’s Ordination, who are chosen from the elders of the Order of the Lord’s Garden: The bishop blesses them and admonishes them, reminding them of the spiritual powers conferred on them and of the faith necessary to protect them from the forces of evil. The ceremony is concluded with the kiss of peace.

1. From the elders for the divine service and priesthood of the Pleasure-garden of the Lord, who exercise themselves with zeal and diligence in the lust and will of the Lord, shall the elders for the service and priesthood of the Ordinance of the Lord be chosen and ordained.

2. Which Chosen and Ordained Ones for the service of the Ordinance of the Lord, shall appear in the assembly of the elders and superiors, before their bishop: and be ordained to the service and priesthood of the Ordinance of the Lord.

3. And the Chosen and Ordained Ones for the service and priesthood of the Ordinance of the Lord, shall, with humble heart, betake themselves to the water-bath of the service of Love, in order to be washed with the pure water of the Ordinance of the Lord.

4. And in the washing, the Bishop shall say to each one individually:

5. ‘Be washed in thy spirit and mind, with the pure water of the Ordinance of the Lord, in the name of the Love of the Holy Spirit of our God and Father and of our Lord Jesus Christ‘.

6. ‘And from this day onward, thou art ordained to the holy service and priestly office of the Ordinance of the Lord‘.

7. ‘In which service of the Ordinance of the Lord, the Lord requires of thee, that thou, through the love of upright righteousness and holiness, entirely leave and forsake all opinions of good and of evil, bow thy neck and shoulders to the ordinance of the Lord and bear patiently: and thus betake thyself entirely to the obedience of the Lord, in order to walk in His ordinance, with all equity‘.

8. And thereupon the Bishop shall say to him:

9. ‘Receive and put on in thy spirit and mind, the holy righteous Ordinance of the Lord, which from the beginning is given to the Elect of God and to the lovers of His upright righteousness and ordinance, for an eternal rule and being, in order to direct oneself according to the same, in all equity and righteousness, and thus to inherit the Kingdom of God our heavenly Father, in right ordinance‘.

10. And thereupon, the Bishop shall say to him for a blessing:

11. ‘The Lord bless thee in His ordinance, and preserve thee, in all righteousness and truth, in the holy righteous Ordinance of the Lord: and grow up therein, in all equity and righteous being, even unto the most perfect ordinance and righteousness of the divine Being, so that thou mayest be found fit‘.

12. And all those who are there, shall say: ‘Amen. May it be so‘.

13. And the Bishop shall kiss him on the cheek, and say to him:

14. ‘Go in unto the eternal peace of our Lord and God, and minister the service of thy priestly ordination, well and uprightly, in the covenant of the godly service of Love, and in the faith of the same, against all the assaults of evil‘.

15. And all priests or elders who are there, shall also receive him with a kiss of peace.

Source

Professor Alastair Hamilton, on August 7, 2015 .

Further Reading

Alastair Hamilton, Documenta Anabaptistica Volume 6: ‘Cronica, Ordo Sacerdotis, Acta HN, three Texts on the Family of Love‘, edited with an introduction and summaries in English. E-Book ISBN: 9789004381940. Publisher: Brill. Print Publication Date: 01 Jan 1988.