Fifth Edition ECE Now Available

With great pleasure, the Society for Filianic Studies announces the release of the long-awaited fifth Eastminster Critical Edition of the Clear Recital. With this release, the project grows in scope, and the familiar ECE—still containing the text of the Recital alongside assembled liturgical materials and a brief history of Filianism—becomes only the first volume of the larger ‘Eastminster Library’. Volumes two and three supplement the critical text of the Recital with critical texts of the entire corpus of Madrian literature, providing greatly expanded access to a wealth of early Filianic commentary and teaching. As before, a (duly expanded) critical apparatus offers notes and analysis.

Further details are listed in the changes by edition.

Upgraded Archives and New Item

At long last, a bit of time has been found for upgrading the archives from Omeka to Omeka S and doing some clean-up and standardization of item metadata. The result is more consistent and informative item entries in a refreshed interface, but also the ability to craft more user-friendly “exhibitions” of materials that should make some of the most commonly accessed items easier to find and use. Right now, you can explore Lux Madriana’s publications and the papers of Madria Olga Lotar in this way, and other exhibitions will be added in the future.

Thanks to a generous donation from Mr David Kay, there is also a new item in the archives: the wall calendar produced by Lux Madriana for the Iron Age year 5083 (Gregorian 1981–82), illustrated by Master Richard.

ECE Now Available in Print

After many delays, it is a pleasure to announce that the Eastminster Critical Edition of the Clear Recital and of the Oxonian Rite (commonly known as the ECE) is now available in paperback through Lulu.com. Hardcover options are planned for the future but are not yet available. The Critical Apparatus, likewise, is slated for eventual print release but for the present remains digital-only.

Please note that the book’s very specific price of USD $6.09 is its cost of printing. Neither the editor nor the Society makes any profit from sales of the ECE.

New ECE Edition + New Item in the Archives

It is with the greatest pleasure that we announce the release of the long-awaited 4th Edition of the Eastminster Critical Edition, now subtitled “Of the Clear Recital and of the Oxonian Rite”. You can read a summary of changes in the new edition or download the PDF. Print availability is expected to be announced soon.

The Archives have also been expanded through the addition of an article by Miss Lucinda Tyrrell published in The Spectator in December of 1988, outlining the fashions and philosophy of the Romantics—a Madrian-inspired group involved in the emergence of Aristasia.

New Items in the Archives

As of today, four new items are available in the Archives:

1) Issue 7 of The Coming Age (1978)
2) Issue 9 of The Coming Age (1978)
3) The original booklet of The Creation and The Crystal Tablet issued by Lux Madriana (1976)
4) The expanded second edition of The Catechism of the Children of the Goddess issued by Lux Madriana (1977)

The addition of these scans marks a significant milestone, as the archives now contain every original Madrian work known to me to have survived to the present. Other Madrian writings are known, from references and quotations, to have circulated at various times, and thus it may be (and one certainly hopes that it is) that other Madrian writings have survived and are simply undiscovered. If our Lady wills it, more of these may eventually come to light. Everything that I know to be extant, however, is now gathered here.

There remain also some secondary sources about Lux Madriana (magazine articles, radio interviews, etc.) which I know exist, or have good cause to believe still exist, in the archives of various media production companies and the like. I am continuing to work on obtaining copies of these.

Announcing the Society for Filianic Studies

Dear Reader,

When I began compiling the first edition of the Eastminster Critical Edition of the Clear Recital in October of 2016, it was a one-maid operation. Though I was privileged to stand on the shoulders of others who had worked with the texts and with broader questions of the history and thealogy of the Filianic religion, I worked entirely from publicly available resources that had already been made accessible online. The ECE is now in its third edition, with a fourth under intensive development, and the work is no longer so lonely. Many, many kind, generous, and diligent colleagues on three continents have contributed and are contributing to the process—as researchers, proofreaders, graphics editors, eBook editors, audiobook readers, translators, and in other capacities besides. Thanks to them, a tremendous archive of original Madrian materials has been assembled and digitized, our knowledge of the history and intellectual heritage of the religion has expanded severalfold, and the ECE has gained in accuracy and completeness even as it has diversified into new formats and soon, Dea volente, new languages.

In recognition of these efforts, and in a desire to open scope to new initiatives for which all this work has paved a way, I have decided to open invitations to a Society for Filianic Studies as an informal and ecumenical consortium of scholars and devotees interested in advancing our understanding of Madrian-Filianic history and thought and making that knowledge accessible to new audiences, both academic and devotional. There are no membership fees and no formal obligations,* but any who would like to declare themselves for the Society’s aims and/or be publicly recognized for their work are welcome to submit their names for inscription, with the option of having a bio on the website.

This ritual year is the year of Sai Mati, granting it the patronage of the Janya who presides over all learning, knowledge, and Intellect. In addition, the Filianic New Year fell on a new moon, prompting Mr. David Kay to predict that this year would see the legacy of Madrian thought emerge from obscurity and come to greater prominence in the public sphere. The ritual year is only three months in, but I feel that this prediction is already well on its way to being borne out, if only in a small way.

As the Sun approaches its greatest height, may Sai Mati bless this Society, its efforts, and its members, that their work may shine a light upon the Faith and upon the world.

*A maid of suitable Haiela background willing to undertake the obligation of serving as the Society’s honorary chair would, however, be greatly appreciated for her volunteerism.