Grail Movement

The Grail Movement is a millenarian new religious movement^[1] which originated in Germany in the late 1940s, inspired by the work of the self-proclaimed Messiah^[2] Oskar Ernst Bernhardt (also known by his pen name Abd-ru-shin), principally In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message. Abd-ru-shin did not establish the organization; the Movement as it exists today was formally organized by followers. Most members reside in 16 countries across Europe, primarily Germany and France, with the Grail Movement reporting hundreds of members in Britain and in the USA. It can also be found in Canada, Brazil, and is currently established in 22 African countries such as Nigeria, Zaire (DR Congo) and Côte d'Ivoire, as well as in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Ecuador amongst others.

Worldwide, there are approximately 10,000 members of the Grail Movement. A declaration of the personal commitment to adhere to the principles of the Grail Message can be made by a request for the "Sealing", a Grail Act (ceremony) that takes place during one of three annual Grail Festivals. This, however, is a personal decision on the part of the individual and leads neither to commitment to an organization nor to formal links with other adherents.

Background

The Grail Movement had its beginnings when Oskar Ernst Bernhardt took up residence in Vomperberg, Tyrol (Austria) in 1928 in order to focus on the writing of his major work "In the Light of Truth" - The Grail Message (as Abd Ru Shin), which was then followed by other works.

The establishment of the Grail Settlement on Vomperberg came about when groups of readers of The Grail Message, wishing to live and work in his immediate vicinity, took up residence there. The Settlement developed gradually; adding residences, work, and administration buildings, then a small hall with seating for about 300 people. This hall was used by Abd-ru-shin for Sunday Hours of Worship and for the three annual Grail Festivals, Easter Festival etc., to which adherents of the Grail Message also journeyed.

This development was interrupted in 1938 when the Nazi regime annexed Austria and expropriated the Grail Settlement. Abd-ru-shin was arrested on the first day of the annexation and taken to Innsbruck prison. All residents were expelled so that the Settlement could be used as a Nazi training camp. Abd-ru-shin was eventually released but kept under house arrest and surveillance until he died in 1941 in Kipsdorf, Germany.

The cult leader (Bernhardt) announced an imminent coming of God's Kingdom on Earth, and his adepts were baffled why that failed to happen.^[1]

He was described in newspapers as the Messiah of the Tyrol and the Prophet of Vomperberg.^[3] He admitted in the Grail Message that the "leading newspapers" did describe him so.^[4]

It was not until late in 1945 when the Allies returned the Settlement to his widow Maria Bernhardt that new development began. During this time, the term "Grail Movement" was in common use, as a group designation for adherents of the Grail Message. Over the years, national Grail Movements have formed in many countries, some of which, (e.g., Canada, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Congo (Zaire), and Nigeria) have built their own Halls of Worship although Abd-ru-shin had explicitly stated in his writings that he had not come to establish a new religion.^[5]

In France this movement is suspected of being a cult. Present in the first report of the Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France in 1995, it will be regularly singled out by the governmental agency MIVILUDES for quackery and its practices aimed at separating its followers from their families if they are not believers.^[6]^[7]

Publications

Grail Movement books

In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message, Vol. 1 (Paperback). Abd-ru-shin, Grail Foundation Press, 1998,ISBN 1-57461-000-7
The Ten Commandments of God and The Lord's Prayer, Abd-ru-shin, Grail Foundation Press,1995, ISBN 1-57461-004-X
Knowledge for the World of Tomorrow, Herbert Vollmann, Grail Message Foundation, Germany, 1975, ISBN 3-87860-074-7
What Lies Behind It...?, Herbert Vollmann, Grail Message Foundation, 1977, ISBN 3-87860-083-6
Concerning Grail Activities, Herbert Vollmann, Grail Acres Publishing Co Ltd, 1998, ISBN 3-87860-116-6
From the Heart of Africa, Irmingard Bernhardt, Grail Message Foundation, Grail Acres Publishing Co Ltd, 1981, ISBN 3-87860-101-8

References

^ ^a ^b Vojtisek 2006.
^
Sources for 'Messiah', 'true Christ', 'Son of Man', or 'biblical Immanuel':
- Wilson, Bryan R. (1975). The Noble Savages: The Primitive Origins of Charisma and Its Contemporary Survival. University of California Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-520-02815-9. ... but their prominence and relative success when compared with such figures as Louwrens van Voorthuizen (Lou) in Holland, Georges Roux in France, and Oskar Ernst Bernhardt in Germany and Austria, all of whom claimed to be the messiah—is striking.
- Vojtisek, Zdenek (February 2006). "Millennial Expectations in the Grail Movement" (PDF). Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 9 (3): 61–79. doi:10.1525/nr.2006.9.3.061. ISSN 1541-8480. In order to calm the public and hide his messianic claims, in 1937 Bernhardt ordered that the "Conclusion" be cut out of all unsold In the Light of Truth books. ... Four lectures and the "Conclusion" published in 1931 are omitted in the authorized postwar version. The reason for dropping three of the lectures is probably the same as the reason for omitting the "Conclusion" in 1937: they were too explicit in pointing to Bernhardt (Abd-ru-shin) as the Messiah. Of the omitted lectures, the fourth was probably unacceptable after the war due to ideas that might be considered racist.²⁸
- Calvache, Antonio Carlos; Junior, Roberto C. P. (14 February 2021). "Refutation of the text 'Millennial Expectations in the Grail Movement' by Zdenek Vojtisek" (PDF). ODSA - O Dia Sem Amanhã. Retrieved 18 January 2024. Vojtisek's claim that "In order to calm the public and hide his messianic claims, in 1937 Bernhardt ordered that the 'Conclusion' be cut out of all unsold In the Light of Truth books." is false. Every author does have the right to revise his work when he sees fit, and when circumstances indicate such a need. Back then, removing the "Conclusion" had no intention to "calm" anyone, much less to hide anything. The statement "Of the omitted lectures, the fourth was probably unacceptable after the war due to ideas that might be considered racist." is plain slanderous. (...) Abd-ru-shin has always indicated that all peoples should progress on their own, without foreign interference. He specifically describes this concept in the lecture "The beauty of the peoples". None of the dissertations taken from the original edition has the slightest racist nature; besides, they would be in direct contradiction to the previously mentioned lecture "The beauty of the peoples".
- Kürti, László (April 2001). "Psychic Phenomena, Neoshamanism, and the Cultic Milieu in Hungary". Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 4 (1): 322–350. doi:10.1525/nr.2001.4.2.322. Cultic milieu books, long familiar to Westerners, are being translated into Hungarian and sold in legitimate bookstores. The latest examples are Akashic Records by Victor Charon and The Message of the Grail by Abd-Ru-Shin [Oskar Ernst Bernhardt (1875-1941)]. Both are fashionable books involving esoteric worldviews with messianic claims, and both are widely distributed on the Hungarian publishing market.
- « Etwa seit 1923 spürte O. E. Bernhardt seinen besonderen religiösen Auftrag. Er betrachtete sich selbst als Gottesgesandten und als den verheißenen "Menschensohn", der das unvollkommene Werk des "Gottessohnes" Jesus Christus vollenden sollte. 1924 ließ er sich scheiden und begann wenig später mit der Veröffentlichung von Abhandlungen in der von ihm herausgegebenen Zeitschrift "Gralsblätter". Dabei nannte er sich "Abd-ru-shin". » (Plagge 2003: 120-122).
- « Abd-ru-shin (= Oskar Ernst Bernhardt; 1875-1941), ein Deutscher, sah das Werk Jesu Christi als gescheitert an und verkündigte sich selbst als den „wahren Christus“, welcher der Menschheit die rettende „Gralsbotschaft“ übermittelt. » (Gassmann 1999).
- « Das dreibändige 1926 erschiene Werk Im Lichte der Wahrheit – Gralsbotschaft von Abd-ru-shin ist eine Sammlung von 168 Vorträgen und enthält die Hauptgedanken des Mannes, der sich als „Menschensohn“⁸² verstand und in einer Pyramide auf dem Tiroler Vomperberg begraben ließ. » Diemling (2012: 153).
- EPILOGUE
  Abdruschin has now completed His Message to mankind. In him has arisen
  IMANUEL,
  the Envoy of God, the Son of Man, whose coming to judge and to save those who have not cut themselves adrift from salvation, was foretold by Jesus the Son of God in corroboration of the prophecies of the prophets of old. He carries the insignias of His high Office: the living Cross of the Truth radiating from Him and the Divine Dove above Him, the same in-signias as were borne by the Son of God.
  Awaken, oh man! For your spirit is asleep!
  — Abdruschin, In the Light of Truth. GRAIL MESSAGE. GREAT EDITION 1931
- Janson, Marloes (2021). "6. Beyond Religion. The Grail Movement and Eckankar". Crossing Religious Boundaries: Islam, Christianity and 'Yoruba Religion' in Lagos, Nigeria. The International African Library. Cambridge University Press. p. 154. doi:10.1017/9781108979160.007. ISBN 978-1-108-83891-7. LCCN 2020055275. Retrieved 6 July 2024. The Grail Movement was founded by the self-proclaimed Messiah Oskar Ernst Bernhardt...
- King, Jamie (2024). Cults: Coercion and Control: The World's Most Notorious Cults (And the People Who Escaped Them). Summersdale. p. unpaginated. ISBN 978-1-83799-281-2. Retrieved 6 July 2024. Newspapers described how Bernhardt now called himself the Messiah of the Tyrol, and the Prophet of Vomperberg.
^ King 2024.
^ Abd-ru-shin (1 June 1995). "Chapter 7: The Distorted Tool". In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message. Vol. III. Grail Foundation Press. p. 754. ISBN 978-1-57461-006-2.
^ "For your guidance!". Archived from the original on 14 April 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
^ "Dérives thérapeutiques et dérives sectaires : la santé en danger (Auditions) - Sénat". Sénat (in French). 3 April 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
^ Mission interministérielle de vigilance et de lutte contre les dérives sectaires (8 April 2011). "Rapport au Premier ministre 2006" (PDF) (in French). pp. 224–227.

Bibliography

Kurt Hutten: Seher - Grübler - Enthusiasten. 1997, ISBN 3-7918-2130-X, S. 531–549
Helmut Obst: Apostel und Propheten der Neuzeit – Gründer christlicher Religionsgemeinschaften des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts. 4., stark erweiterte und aktualisierte Auflage. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2000, ISBN 3-525-55438-9
Andreas Plagge: "Bernhardt, Oskar Ernst". In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Band 22, Bautz, Nordhausen 2003, ISBN 3-88309-133-2, Sp. 120–122, BERNHARDT, Oskar Ernst (Abd-ru-shin).
Georg Schmid: Kirchen, Sekten, Religionen. 2003, ISBN 3-290-17215-5, S. 219–221
Lothar Gassmann: Zukunft, Zeit, Zeichen. Aufruf zur Wachsamkaeit, Verlag für Reformatorische Erneurung, Kaiserstr.78, D-42329 Wuppertal, 103 Seiten, Laßt Euch nicht verführen!.
Patrick Diemling: Neuoffenbarungen Religionswissenschaftliche Perspektiven auf Texte und Medien des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts, Universitätsverlag Potsdam, 2012, Neuoffenbarungen.

External links

[FOOTNOTEVojtisek2006-1] Vojtisek 2006.

[Wilson1975-2] Sources for 'Messiah', 'true Christ', 'Son of Man', or 'biblical Immanuel':
Wilson, Bryan R. (1975). The Noble Savages: The Primitive Origins of Charisma and Its Contemporary Survival. University of California Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-520-02815-9. ... but their prominence and relative success when compared with such figures as Louwrens van Voorthuizen (Lou) in Holland, Georges Roux in France, and Oskar Ernst Bernhardt in Germany and Austria, all of whom claimed to be the messiah—is striking.
Vojtisek, Zdenek (February 2006). "Millennial Expectations in the Grail Movement" (PDF). Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 9 (3): 61–79. doi:10.1525/nr.2006.9.3.061. ISSN 1541-8480. In order to calm the public and hide his messianic claims, in 1937 Bernhardt ordered that the "Conclusion" be cut out of all unsold In the Light of Truth books. ... Four lectures and the "Conclusion" published in 1931 are omitted in the authorized postwar version. The reason for dropping three of the lectures is probably the same as the reason for omitting the "Conclusion" in 1937: they were too explicit in pointing to Bernhardt (Abd-ru-shin) as the Messiah. Of the omitted lectures, the fourth was probably unacceptable after the war due to ideas that might be considered racist.²⁸
Calvache, Antonio Carlos; Junior, Roberto C. P. (14 February 2021). "Refutation of the text 'Millennial Expectations in the Grail Movement' by Zdenek Vojtisek" (PDF). ODSA - O Dia Sem Amanhã. Retrieved 18 January 2024. Vojtisek's claim that "In order to calm the public and hide his messianic claims, in 1937 Bernhardt ordered that the 'Conclusion' be cut out of all unsold In the Light of Truth books." is false. Every author does have the right to revise his work when he sees fit, and when circumstances indicate such a need. Back then, removing the "Conclusion" had no intention to "calm" anyone, much less to hide anything. The statement "Of the omitted lectures, the fourth was probably unacceptable after the war due to ideas that might be considered racist." is plain slanderous. (...) Abd-ru-shin has always indicated that all peoples should progress on their own, without foreign interference. He specifically describes this concept in the lecture "The beauty of the peoples". None of the dissertations taken from the original edition has the slightest racist nature; besides, they would be in direct contradiction to the previously mentioned lecture "The beauty of the peoples".
Kürti, László (April 2001). "Psychic Phenomena, Neoshamanism, and the Cultic Milieu in Hungary". Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 4 (1): 322–350. doi:10.1525/nr.2001.4.2.322. Cultic milieu books, long familiar to Westerners, are being translated into Hungarian and sold in legitimate bookstores. The latest examples are Akashic Records by Victor Charon and The Message of the Grail by Abd-Ru-Shin [Oskar Ernst Bernhardt (1875-1941)]. Both are fashionable books involving esoteric worldviews with messianic claims, and both are widely distributed on the Hungarian publishing market.
« Etwa seit 1923 spürte O. E. Bernhardt seinen besonderen religiösen Auftrag. Er betrachtete sich selbst als Gottesgesandten und als den verheißenen "Menschensohn", der das unvollkommene Werk des "Gottessohnes" Jesus Christus vollenden sollte. 1924 ließ er sich scheiden und begann wenig später mit der Veröffentlichung von Abhandlungen in der von ihm herausgegebenen Zeitschrift "Gralsblätter". Dabei nannte er sich "Abd-ru-shin". » (Plagge 2003: 120-122).
« Abd-ru-shin (= Oskar Ernst Bernhardt; 1875-1941), ein Deutscher, sah das Werk Jesu Christi als gescheitert an und verkündigte sich selbst als den „wahren Christus“, welcher der Menschheit die rettende „Gralsbotschaft“ übermittelt. » (Gassmann 1999).
« Das dreibändige 1926 erschiene Werk Im Lichte der Wahrheit – Gralsbotschaft von Abd-ru-shin ist eine Sammlung von 168 Vorträgen und enthält die Hauptgedanken des Mannes, der sich als „Menschensohn“⁸² verstand und in einer Pyramide auf dem Tiroler Vomperberg begraben ließ. » Diemling (2012: 153).
EPILOGUE
Abdruschin has now completed His Message to mankind. In him has arisen
IMANUEL,
the Envoy of God, the Son of Man, whose coming to judge and to save those who have not cut themselves adrift from salvation, was foretold by Jesus the Son of God in corroboration of the prophecies of the prophets of old. He carries the insignias of His high Office: the living Cross of the Truth radiating from Him and the Divine Dove above Him, the same in-signias as were borne by the Son of God.
Awaken, oh man! For your spirit is asleep!
— Abdruschin, In the Light of Truth. GRAIL MESSAGE. GREAT EDITION 1931
Janson, Marloes (2021). "6. Beyond Religion. The Grail Movement and Eckankar". Crossing Religious Boundaries: Islam, Christianity and 'Yoruba Religion' in Lagos, Nigeria. The International African Library. Cambridge University Press. p. 154. doi:10.1017/9781108979160.007. ISBN 978-1-108-83891-7. LCCN 2020055275. Retrieved 6 July 2024. The Grail Movement was founded by the self-proclaimed Messiah Oskar Ernst Bernhardt...
King, Jamie (2024). Cults: Coercion and Control: The World's Most Notorious Cults (And the People Who Escaped Them). Summersdale. p. unpaginated. ISBN 978-1-83799-281-2. Retrieved 6 July 2024. Newspapers described how Bernhardt now called himself the Messiah of the Tyrol, and the Prophet of Vomperberg.

[3] Wilson, Bryan R. (1975). The Noble Savages: The Primitive Origins of Charisma and Its Contemporary Survival. University of California Press. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-520-02815-9. ... but their prominence and relative success when compared with such figures as Louwrens van Voorthuizen (Lou) in Holland, Georges Roux in France, and Oskar Ernst Bernhardt in Germany and Austria, all of whom claimed to be the messiah—is striking.

[4] Vojtisek, Zdenek (February 2006). "Millennial Expectations in the Grail Movement" (PDF). Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 9 (3): 61–79. doi:10.1525/nr.2006.9.3.061. ISSN 1541-8480. In order to calm the public and hide his messianic claims, in 1937 Bernhardt ordered that the "Conclusion" be cut out of all unsold In the Light of Truth books. ... Four lectures and the "Conclusion" published in 1931 are omitted in the authorized postwar version. The reason for dropping three of the lectures is probably the same as the reason for omitting the "Conclusion" in 1937: they were too explicit in pointing to Bernhardt (Abd-ru-shin) as the Messiah. Of the omitted lectures, the fourth was probably unacceptable after the war due to ideas that might be considered racist.²⁸

[5] Calvache, Antonio Carlos; Junior, Roberto C. P. (14 February 2021). "Refutation of the text 'Millennial Expectations in the Grail Movement' by Zdenek Vojtisek" (PDF). ODSA - O Dia Sem Amanhã. Retrieved 18 January 2024. Vojtisek's claim that "In order to calm the public and hide his messianic claims, in 1937 Bernhardt ordered that the 'Conclusion' be cut out of all unsold In the Light of Truth books." is false. Every author does have the right to revise his work when he sees fit, and when circumstances indicate such a need. Back then, removing the "Conclusion" had no intention to "calm" anyone, much less to hide anything. The statement "Of the omitted lectures, the fourth was probably unacceptable after the war due to ideas that might be considered racist." is plain slanderous. (...) Abd-ru-shin has always indicated that all peoples should progress on their own, without foreign interference. He specifically describes this concept in the lecture "The beauty of the peoples". None of the dissertations taken from the original edition has the slightest racist nature; besides, they would be in direct contradiction to the previously mentioned lecture "The beauty of the peoples".

[6] Kürti, László (April 2001). "Psychic Phenomena, Neoshamanism, and the Cultic Milieu in Hungary". Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 4 (1): 322–350. doi:10.1525/nr.2001.4.2.322. Cultic milieu books, long familiar to Westerners, are being translated into Hungarian and sold in legitimate bookstores. The latest examples are Akashic Records by Victor Charon and The Message of the Grail by Abd-Ru-Shin [Oskar Ernst Bernhardt (1875-1941)]. Both are fashionable books involving esoteric worldviews with messianic claims, and both are widely distributed on the Hungarian publishing market.

[7] « Etwa seit 1923 spürte O. E. Bernhardt seinen besonderen religiösen Auftrag. Er betrachtete sich selbst als Gottesgesandten und als den verheißenen "Menschensohn", der das unvollkommene Werk des "Gottessohnes" Jesus Christus vollenden sollte. 1924 ließ er sich scheiden und begann wenig später mit der Veröffentlichung von Abhandlungen in der von ihm herausgegebenen Zeitschrift "Gralsblätter". Dabei nannte er sich "Abd-ru-shin". » (Plagge 2003: 120-122).

[8] « Abd-ru-shin (= Oskar Ernst Bernhardt; 1875-1941), ein Deutscher, sah das Werk Jesu Christi als gescheitert an und verkündigte sich selbst als den „wahren Christus“, welcher der Menschheit die rettende „Gralsbotschaft“ übermittelt. » (Gassmann 1999).

[9] « Das dreibändige 1926 erschiene Werk Im Lichte der Wahrheit – Gralsbotschaft von Abd-ru-shin ist eine Sammlung von 168 Vorträgen und enthält die Hauptgedanken des Mannes, der sich als „Menschensohn“⁸² verstand und in einer Pyramide auf dem Tiroler Vomperberg begraben ließ. » Diemling (2012: 153).

[10] EPILOGUE
Abdruschin has now completed His Message to mankind. In him has arisen
IMANUEL,
the Envoy of God, the Son of Man, whose coming to judge and to save those who have not cut themselves adrift from salvation, was foretold by Jesus the Son of God in corroboration of the prophecies of the prophets of old. He carries the insignias of His high Office: the living Cross of the Truth radiating from Him and the Divine Dove above Him, the same in-signias as were borne by the Son of God.
Awaken, oh man! For your spirit is asleep!
— Abdruschin, In the Light of Truth. GRAIL MESSAGE. GREAT EDITION 1931

[11] Janson, Marloes (2021). "6. Beyond Religion. The Grail Movement and Eckankar". Crossing Religious Boundaries: Islam, Christianity and 'Yoruba Religion' in Lagos, Nigeria. The International African Library. Cambridge University Press. p. 154. doi:10.1017/9781108979160.007. ISBN 978-1-108-83891-7. LCCN 2020055275. Retrieved 6 July 2024. The Grail Movement was founded by the self-proclaimed Messiah Oskar Ernst Bernhardt...

[12] King, Jamie (2024). Cults: Coercion and Control: The World's Most Notorious Cults (And the People Who Escaped Them). Summersdale. p. unpaginated. ISBN 978-1-83799-281-2. Retrieved 6 July 2024. Newspapers described how Bernhardt now called himself the Messiah of the Tyrol, and the Prophet of Vomperberg.

[FOOTNOTEKing2024-3] King 2024.

[Abd-ru-shin1995-4] Abd-ru-shin (1 June 1995). "Chapter 7: The Distorted Tool". In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message. Vol. III. Grail Foundation Press. p. 754. ISBN 978-1-57461-006-2.

[5] "For your guidance!". Archived from the original on 14 April 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.

[q134-6] "Dérives thérapeutiques et dérives sectaires : la santé en danger (Auditions) - Sénat". Sénat (in French). 3 April 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2024.

[miviludes-7] Mission interministérielle de vigilance et de lutte contre les dérives sectaires (8 April 2011). "Rapport au Premier ministre 2006" (PDF) (in French). pp. 224–227.

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