PANNUCHES HOMILY
Saturday, March 19, 2023
Chapel of the Holy Child
The Right Reverend Father Gene Savoy, Jr.
Copyright © International Community of Christ
In 2009, in accordance with Sacred Law and the 19th Saying of Jamil, I formally established the Holy Order of Matriarchs and appointed dedicated women of The Community who had attained age and wisdom, and who had devoted their lives and energies to God, as Matriarchs of the Church. Let’s read from the 19th Saying regarding the Matriarchs.
Because God created man and woman in His Image, both are of God and therefore equal. Man and woman beget children which they do not beget separately, but together, as God intended for them to do under the light of the sun, conjointly with God as co-creators, neither being superior to the other by natural law nor by spiritual law.
In many of the former religions, women were subjected to an inferior role because men were not able to serve both the creative spirit in women and God; therefore, they separated themselves from women entirely, fearing that love for women and family would separate them from God.
This Church is of God, and thus of spirit, but in order for it to be universal, it must include women in the ministry, as well as children reared for the ministry; for a Godly life begins at an early age. Indeed, it begins even before birth, for the parents must be of God if a child is to be of God – in both blood and spirit, as animated by the living Image and the Word of God.
There must be good order in the Church of God, and for this reason those admitted into the Church ministry, both men and women, mustneeds submit to the Codes of the Order if the Church would remain stable and be preserved. Let the men and women of the Church see themselves not as men or women, but as spiritual beings, coworkers with God for the creation of a new Earth under God’s rule. And let the sacred marriages be consecrated in Heaven and ruled by Heaven’s order under God.
I have established the ministry by my person, and God will nurture it by His Light. Therefore, as the first Patriarch of the Church is male, ordained of me, let your successors be male offspring of your seed, joined to me by blood and spirit forever, in order to preserve what I have established.
The females who have been admitted into God’s Community of ministers in the new age shall exemplify the spiritual life as God intended them to do from the beginning; therefore, let them take their stations as ministers, following the order established by my person and by my successors, equal with men in all things….
And if women would follow as disciples of the Order you will have established as Patriarch, let them subscribe to the vows after passing the age of 30 years, holding to the same requirements as the Patriarchs, but being called Matriarchs, an order of Progenitors of a new race of man.
And in this Church, the Matriarchs will exemplify the holiest path of devotion, inspiring their companions and offspring in time to come. And they shall be called Holy Mothers of the Church who will emulate the chaste and Holy Women of ancient times. And they will take the necessary vows as a requirement of this sacred office.
And the Patriarchs and Matriarchs shall assume responsibility for every child of Light of the Community. And they shall be aided by their Brothers and Sisters in Light to assure that the children are nurtured by the Light of God for the new creation of which they are a part.
In 1999, my father established the Holy Order of Patriarchs and appointed the first two Patriarchs, in addition to himself as Head Patriarch. Of course, since his physical passing from the world, the Office of Head Patriarch was vacant until I attained my 52nd year last month. Let us now read from the 18th Saying of Jamil concerning the Patriarchs.
Each of the religions of the world is to be given the Teachings by the Ordained. And by means of these Teachings, the older religions inspired by the Image and the Word of God given to the Prophets and Holy Ones in former ages, will be regenerated and fulfilled. And from within these religions and the Ordained, the Enlightened of God will emerge to form a Holy Order of Patriarchs, an Order of Progenitors of a new race of man.
And they shall be called Holy Fathers of the Church. They will emulate the Prophets and Holy Ones of ancient times, and take the necessary vows as a condition of this Holy Office. And they shall inspire the formation of a True Church, a universal Church, brought out of the many churches of the world. This True Church will live the new laws of God and, by so doing, restore the sun and the earth and the cosmos to goodly order for a New Creation in which God’s Image and Word will manifest openly as in the beginning of the First Creation….
And this Holy Order of Patriarchs shall lead the multitudes of churches of the world, inspiring them by their Light and wisdom. And by these means the Patriarchs will become fathers unto the churches, joining the noble family of Holy Men of times past, protecting and safeguarding those in their charge with love and understanding, justice, sympathy, patience, tolerance, generosity, honesty, peace, goodness, and Light as a unified whole, unseparated from one another; of one mind, one body, one spirit – universal and one.
And the Order of Patriarchs will have its beginnings when, upon a pre-ordained time, you shall withdraw from the activities of man and devote your whole life to God within the Community. And by the sign and color of your vestment, the holy members of the Order will recognize that the Order of Patriarchs has been formed. Once the Order is formed, you shall initiate disciples into it, and they shall subscribe to the vows after the passing of 52 years of age….
And let the Patriarchs of the Church [dedicate] their entire lives to the service of the Community as a glory and a power to God, seeking their origins in Light until their final mergence with God at the conclusion of their lives on Earth. Let the Patriarchs live the Image and Word as did I, the Child, emulating the Way. Let the laws and statutes be impressed upon their hearts and minds and spirits, to be lived and not spoken, for the Word of God is neither found on paper nor revealed by the tongue. And by these means, the Holy Race shall be instructed and taught how to receive God in its midst.
“…This Saying teaches us that from out of the multitude of churches in the world that will teach Cosolargy, such as the Communities of Christ, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Brahmanism, and other religions embracing our concepts, something higher will evolve. We do not know how long this evolution will require, but it will begin in our lifetimes. A True Church will evolve which will be divorced from the popular religions of the day and age. It will be a truly universal religion in which men and women can express themselves as a race of spiritual beings. However, this will require a maturity which people today do not have. Therefore, the Teachings of Cosolargy will be given to the popular religions of the world as amendments and supplemental material so that they can be fulfilled as a higher religion. This Church which will evolve out of all churches will be shared by all races and creeds without favoring any particular religion. This is what the Saying tells us.
“The first Patriarchs of this religion will be a select number of enlightened men who will follow in the footsteps of Jesus, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Lao Tzu, and many of the other prophets of times past. And they will be known by their enlightenment. The office they hold will not be one that will be attained by earthly intelligence, but by spiritual enlightenment which will be discerned by all. And these Patriarchs will divorce themselves from the world so they may be able to counsel the leaders of the world. The Patriarchs will lead man as did the founders of the world religions in ancient times. They will represent a spiritual Order. And this Order will own no material thing….”
These lines are from the commentary on the 18th Saying.
Now that I have attained the age of 52 years, I assume the office of Head Patriarch of The Church, thus re-activating the Holy Order of Patriarchs. I have taken this opportunity to appoint two Ministers of The Community as the first to join me in this endeavor, at this time. They are the Reverend Fathers Robert Petrovich and Ted Staver.
These two appointments, which will be followed by the Rite of Ordination, mark a new beginning as we enter the third 20-year cycle in the 61st year of the Second Advent Calendar. More appointments will be forthcoming for both men and women who meet the required qualifications, which include solemn vows to The Order. These qualification ands requirements can be found in the commentaries of the 18th and 19th Sayings. There is much to contemplate and discuss as we look to Second Advent Easter and Second Advent Pentecost.
Click here to play the audio of this homily.
Click here to read the post about the appointments.
