Gurdjieff makes some extraordinary claims that indicate that the “system” he brought to the world in the 20th Century, known as the Fourth Way or the Work, is actually the continuation of the original teachings of Jesus Christ that derive from a prehistoric tradition predating modern religions, including Christianity. What follows briefly explores these claims and connections.
Gurdjieff was a true Christian
Gurdjieff was baptized and raised within the Christian Orthodox tradition, was deeply familiar with Christian liturgy and doctrine, and initially pursued training for the priesthood (Gurdjieff’s Meetings with Remarkable Men, “MWRM”, Penguin, Arkana p. 53). He never renounced his faith nor converted to another religion, and his funeral was conducted according to full prescription within a Russian Orthodox Church.
Gurdjieff was not merely a "cultural Christian" but lived out his Christian faith in the way he understood it, reflected in his statement (quoted in Views from the Real World, “VRTRW”, Penguin, Arkana, p. 154) that:
‘...A Christian is a man who is able to fulfill the Commandments. A man who is able to do all that is demanded of a Christian, both with his mind and his essence, is called a Christian without quotation marks. A man who, in his mind, wishes to do all that is demanded of a Christian, but can do so only with his mind and not with his essence, is called pre-Christian. And a man who can do nothing, even with his mind, is called a non-Christian…’
Gurdjieff proclaims that the original teachings of Jesus Christ is the best of all religions
In Gurdjieff’s Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson (“BTTHG”, Penguin, Arkana, p. 1009), he boldly proclaims that:
“...if only the teaching of the Divine Jesus Christ were carried out in full conformity with its original, then the religion, unprecedentedly wisely founded on it, would not only be the best of all existing religions, but even of all religions which may arise and exist in the future."
Gurdjieff does not affirm this pre-eminence to any other religious figure or religion in any of his writings, including his own. He believed that modern religions had lost "real" knowledge (BTTHG, pp. 694-743), and was especially critical regarding Christianity, which he described as having become hyper-intellectualized, devoid of its original essence (BTTHG, pp. 702-703; and Ouspensky’s In Search of the Miraculous, “ISOTM” Penguin Arkana, p. 129).
Gurdjieff affirms the Holy Trinity
Gurdjieff refers to "Jesus Christ" rather than "Jesus of Nazareth" or simply "Jesus," emphasizing His role as "The Christ" or "The Anointed One." He consistently affirms the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and its equivalency to Gurdjieff’s Law of Three (i.e., VRTRW, p. 195 and BTTHG pp. 751-752), as well as Christ’s divine status, reiterating this point numerous times in BTTHG. Furthermore, Gurdjieff speculated that Jesus Christ may represent "Man No. 8" in his system of spiritual evolution (ISOTM, p. 319), thus placing Christ in an exalted and unique position.
Gurdjieff acknowledges Christ's resurrection
Gurdjieff’s understanding of Christ’s resurrection deviates from traditional Christian views, instead framing it as part of a broader metaphysical process known as "Almznoshinoo" (BTTHG, p. 734-743). In this context, the "Lord’s Supper" is viewed as a magical ceremony through which Christ established a Soul connection with His disciples by offering His true blood and flesh (ISOTM, p. 97).
Gurdjieff claimed that Christ’s post-mortem materializations were made possible through the use of the disciples’ "Hanbledzoin," a special energy which allowed the soul of Christ to manifest in a tangible yet non-physical form. This explanation accounts for some of the mysterious appearances and disappearances of Christ after His resurrection, as recorded in the Gospels and in the Acts of the Apostles.
Gurdjieff states that the Essenes preserved Christ’s original teaching
Gurdjieff writes that the Essene Brotherhood was founded around 1200 BCE, and that it was within this Brotherhood that Jesus Christ received His first initiation (MWRM, p. 58). He claims that the Essene Brotherhood preserved the original teachings of Jesus Christ in their pure form up to the present day (BTTHG, p. 703).
However, he offers, apparently, no further detail on these teachings, despite asserting their superiority and suggesting that he had access to them from his boyhood tutor, Bogachevsky, who later became Father Evlissi, an assistant to the Abbot of the Essenes' Chief Monastery (MWRM p. 58).
Gurdjieff says that his system is esoteric Christianity
Gurdjieff is explicit about connecting his system with Christianity as quoted in ISTOM on page 102:
"What is the relation of the teaching you are expounding to Christianity as we know it?" asked somebody present. I do not know what you know about Christianity," answered G., emphasizing this word. "It would be necessary to talk a great deal and to talk for a long time in order to make clear what you understand by this term. But for the benefit of those who know already, I will say that, if you like, this is esoteric Christianity."
However, this statement, in context to the other claims that Gurdjieff makes, implies that this “esoteric Christianity” is not a form of modern Christianity, but connected to a different Christianity.
Gurdjieff indicates that Christ’s teachings stretch back through prehistory
Regarding the origins of Christianity, Gurdjieff makes a bold assertion (ISOTM, p. 302):
"The question of the origin of the Christian Church, that is, the Christian temple, is much more interesting than we think... The Christian Church is a school concerning which people have forgotten that it is a school... It will seem strange to many people when I say that this prehistoric Egypt was Christian many thousands of years before the birth of Christ..."
Gurdjieff's claim that ancient Egypt adhered to Christian principles long before the birth of Jesus presents a radical reimagining of the religious and philosophical roots of Christianity, suggesting a continuity of esoteric teachings that predate historical Christianity. These upstream traditions are alluded to in Gurdjieff’s mythic figure of Ashiata Shiemash, described as being of Sumerian descent (BTTHG, p. 348) and having lived around 1220 BCE (refer to Hugh Hubbard, "HH", 2013 A&E Conference: Just How Preposterous is Gurdjieff's View of History? A Chronology of Beelzebub's Descents to Planet Earth). Though a contemporary of Moses, Gurdjieff distinguishes Ashiata Shiemash as a distinct figure, not to be conflated with Moses.
Ashiata Shiemash is connected to the Brotherhoods of Tchaftantouri and Heechtvori, referenced in BTTHG (pp. 368-369), as well as to the present-day Olbogmek (p. 349). Additionally, a possible association is drawn with Father Giovanni’s “World Brotherhood” located in modern day Kafiristan in Afghanistan (MWRM, pp. 236-243).
The Sarmoung Brotherhood, another key element in Gurdjieff’s writings, is said to have been founded around 2500 BCE in Babylon, with its last known presence traced to Mesopotamia in the 6th or 7th centuries AD (MWRM, p. 90). This Brotherhood, which may also trace its origins to the Sumerian tradition, may have had a downstream influence on the development of Abrahamic religions (c. 1950 BCE) and Zoroastrianism (c. 1500 BCE).
Traveling further back in time, Gurdjieff infers that his system originated in civilizations such as Atlantis, via the Akhaldan Society (BTTHG p. 291-313). He claimed that the destruction of Atlantis (circa 4200 BCE ref. HH) and the rise of the "Tikliamishian" civilisation (Sumeria/Asia, circa 5500-1800 BCE, ref. HH) marked pivotal moments in the spiritual bifurcation of humanity (BTTHG p. 1,235). These periods were characterized by the birth of organized religion and artificial divisions within human society, which Gurdjieff viewed as a corruption of the original esoteric teachings, reflecting his statement in ISOTM page 286 that:
“The teaching whose theory is here being set out is completely self-supporting and independent of other lines and it has been completely unknown up to the present time.”
Conclusion: Gurdjieff’s Continuation of Christ’s Original Path
Overall, Gurdjieff’s claims position his system as a continuation of Christ’s original doctrine, emphasizing that this teaching, embodied in the incarnation of Christ, is part of a broader esoteric lineage that stretches back into humanity’s prehistory. By drawing connections between Christ, ancient civilizations, and spiritual brotherhoods, Gurdjieff reclaims Christianity as a school of inner transformation aimed at awakening the full potential of the human being.
This synthesis of ancient wisdom and contemporary spiritual practice suggests that Gurdjieff saw his Fourth Way as a modern-day revival of the original path taught by Christ. It is a path that calls for deep, transformative work within the individual, seeking to restore the human connection to the divine—a connection that has been obscured through millennia of spiritual forgetfulness but remains accessible to those who are willing to undertake the journey.
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