Many historians point out that the love of the Russian Emperor Nicholas II for France at times reached some irrational proportions. For example, in the interests of the French allies, he plunged the Russian army, which was far from ready for large-scale hostilities, into the disastrous First World War. However, this love becomes much more understandable if we consider that our sovereign was under the influence of the French occultists - Rosicrucians and Martinists. And if there is almost no information about his connections with the Rosicrucians, then there is some evidence of friendship with the leaders of the Martinists.
The origin of Martinism
The Masonic tradition links the origins of the Martinist teachings with the activities of the 18th century French mystic Martinez de Pasqualis (1715-1774), a Portuguese Jew. His teaching consisted of an explosive mixture of Gnosticism with Christianized Judaism. After his death, another prominent French mystic, the Marquis Louis Clodt de Saint-Martin, was engaged in the development of the order, sharply strengthening the mystical side of the teaching. After the death of Saint-Martin, the order also died quietly - but not forever. In 1890 it was revived by Gerard Encausse, better known by the esoteric name of Papus, and Auguste Chabosso. At the same time, Papus was also known as a prolific writer and author of numerous articles on occult topics, as one of the founders of the Rosicrucian order in France, and in 1908 he was also elected Grand Master of the French branch of the Memphis-Misraim Masonic rite.known both for its brilliance and inclination to revolutionary activity.
The declared goal of the Martinists sounds quite in the Masonic spirit: the moral rebirth of the individual and of all mankind. This, according to the teaching of the Martinists, can be achieved only by the union of man with God, through the mastery of "secret knowledge" and renunciation of everything sensible and material. Martinists tend to present themselves as the humble knights of Christ and their community as a Christian secular knightly order. Although Martinists are critical of clergy, including popes, these "knights of Christ", not only in deeds, but even in abstract reflection, must remain Christians in the strictest and fullest sense of the word.
Master Philippe's advice
It is believed that Martinism penetrated Russia already in 1894, when the first delegate of the order appeared in St. Petersburg, but the penetration became noticeable when Colonel Count Valerian Valerianovich Muravyov-Amursky, brother of the Minister of Justice, began to work in this field. As a military attaché in France, the count became interested in the occult and in 1895 he was accepted into the ranks of the Martinists by Papus himself. Upon returning home, Muravyov-Amursky founded the Apollonia Martinist Lodge in 1899 in St. Petersburg.
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A year later, Papus himself visited the capital of the Russian Empire for the first time. The official goal was to lecture on the occult and magnetism (Papus himself was a good hypnotist), in fact, he was looking for wealthy and influential patrons. The mission was quite successful: the Grand Dukes Nikolai and Pyotr Nikolaevich and their wives, the daughter of the Montenegrin king Militsa and Anastasia Nikolaevna, became interested in lectures and stories about the extraordinary abilities of Elder Philip of Lyon. Already from them the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna learned about the French guest, who by that time had given birth to four daughters and unsuccessfully dreamed of a son-heir. Papus promised to help.
As a result, the elder Martinist Philip Anselm-Vasho, who was born into a simple peasant family from Savoy, but eventually became known throughout France as a healer and hypnotist, comes to Northern Palmyra several times. There are some contradictions with the dating of these visits, but the fact remains: the Lyon master managed to charm and subdue both the sovereign and his superstitious wife to his influence. Curiously, at the insistence of Elder Nicholas II, he ordered the leadership of the Military Medical Academy in St. Petersburg to issue him a diploma of doctor of medicine. In addition, Monsieur Philip received the rank of actual state councilor. The French crook, using hypnosis, inspired the empress with an obsessive idea of pregnancy, but when she appeared to the doctors, it turned out that this was not so. The old man's embarrassment would be completebut already before leaving, he again predicted to Alexandra Fedorovna the imminent birth of her son. In an outburst of gratitude, she kissed the hand of the "Teacher". Interestingly, on July 30, 1904, the reigning couple really gave birth to an heir - Tsarevich Alexei. True, by that time the sovereign and empress had managed to visit the Sarov desert and bathe at night in the holy spring, in which the Monk Seraphim of Sarov himself bathed a century earlier. So there is every reason to believe that the birth of the heir was primarily facilitated by the good Orthodox forces.by that time the sovereign and empress had managed to visit the Sarov desert and bathe at night in the holy spring, in which the Monk Seraphim of Sarov himself bathed a century earlier. So there is every reason to believe that the birth of the heir was primarily facilitated by the good Orthodox forces.by that time the sovereign and empress had managed to visit the Sarov desert and bathe at night in the holy spring, in which the Monk Seraphim of Sarov himself bathed a century earlier. So there is every reason to believe that the birth of the heir was primarily facilitated by the good Orthodox forces.
Information has been preserved that the role of Master Philip at the Russian court was not limited to advice on the medical part. At mediumistic seances at the request of the king, the Elder of Lyons allegedly summoned the spirit of his father, Alexander III. He advised his son to strengthen friendship with France and in every possible way incited him to war with Japan. These advice was not given by chance, because the master Philip was not only a healer, but also a major occultist and freemason, a member of the Supreme Council of the Martinist Order, a kind of spiritual father of Papus. And in the letter of Alexandra Feodorovna to Nicholas II dated December 14, 1916, one can read: “Remember that even Mr. Philip said that you cannot give a constitution, as this would be the death of Russia and yours. And all truly Russian people say this."
Perfume and Lodge
Papus, who visited Russia several times, was also engaged in evoking the spirit of Alexander III. In October 1905, in the midst of the Russian turmoil, the spirit of Alexander III, evoked in Tsarskoe Selo, instructed his son: “You must at all costs suppress the beginning revolution. But it will still be reborn and will be the stronger, the more severe the repression must be now. Whatever happens, cheer up, my son, do not stop fighting."
The intriguing problem of Nicholas II's involvement in Freemasonry is also connected with the royal couple's enthusiasm for the French occultists Dr. Papus and the master Philip. After all, Martinists are essentially the same Freemasons, only "wrong", esoteric. We are talking about the "royal" box "Cross and Star" in Tsarskoe Selo, in which Monsieur Philip allegedly ordained the Russian sovereign to the Masons. There is no unequivocal opinion among researchers about the time of this initiation, just as there is no consensus on the role of the sovereign in this lodge. According to Prince Vladimir Leonidovich Vyazemsky, Nicholas II personally presided over this lodge. Papus' son Philippe Encausse wrote about the same chairmanship of the sovereign in the “Cross and Star” lodge, albeit not quite confidently. On the other hand, the poet and prose writer of the "first wave" of Russian emigration, freemason and Martinist Yuri K. Terapiano noted:“Another person was the chairman. Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna were only members of the lodge."
A Russian diplomat, and at the same time one of the founders of the Astrea No. 500 Masonic lodge, Leonty Dmitrievich Kandaurov, a very, very well-informed person, wrote about the Cross and Star lodge: “Among the members of the lodge was Emperor Nicholas II. Meetings were opened and closed with prayers. The ritual was worked out of its own. The lodge was interested mainly in religious and moral issues. The convening of the first Hague Conference (1899) is said to have been largely influenced by this policy. Later the tsar turned away from the occult and turned to Saint Seraphim of Sarov, ceasing to attend the association."
However, in October 1910, the sovereign decided to shake off the old days and invited to Tsarskoe Selo the new leader of the Russian Martinists - the Polish rogue Count Cheslav Iosifovich Chinsky, the author of the book "Suicide Suicide in the Otherworld," a lover of extrasensory treatment of women of Balzac age by laying hands on their stomachs, and known as the hero of many scams and adventures. The count was again to evoke the spirit of Alexander III. Dressed in the ritual clothes of a magician and imprisoning the tsar and the rest of those present in a magic circle, Minsky took up a sword and tried to summon an otherworldly force that determined the fate of Russia. In the end, he succeeded, and the spirit predicted a terrifying war and unprecedented upheavals for his son. The king was extremely intrigued and inquired about his own fate. When he began to insist on an answer,according to Chinsky's recollections, there was a terrible noise, the light went out and the magic altar toppled over. Nicholas II was disappointed. On this, his communication with the Martinists seemed to end.
Magazine: Secrets of the 20th century №33
