Funeral celebrant characterised by a strong non-religious stance. Others in the UK have set themselves up as Civil Funeral Celebrants based on the Australian/Victorian model. They are gaining wide acceptance. The USA Celebrant Foundation, established by graduates of the Australian-based International College of Celebrancy in 2003, has emerged as the leading organisation in training and educating civil celebrants in the USA. Originally a force for secular wedding and naming ceremonies, since 2009 some civil celebrants in the USA have become more involved in high standard funeral ceremonies. Funeral celebrant Funeral celebrant is a formal term denoting members of a group of non-clergy
Gnosticism in modern times Gnosticism in modern times Gnosticism in modern times includes a variety of contemporary religious movements, stemming from Gnostic ideas and systems from ancient Roman society. Gnosticism is an ancient name for a variety of religious ideas and systems, originating in Jewish-Christian milieux in the first and second century CE. The Mandaens are an ancient Gnostic sect still active in Iran and Iraq with small communities in other parts of the world. The late 19th century saw the publication of popular sympathetic studies making use of recently rediscovered source materials. In this period there was also the revival of a Gnostic