The Rudolf Steiner Archive

The Formation of the General Anthroposophical Society through the Christmas Conference of 1923

[ 1 ] The intention of the Christmas Conference at the Goetheanum, which has just ended, was to give the Anthroposophical Society a form that the anthroposophical movement needs in order to nurture itself. Such a society cannot have abstract guidelines or statutes. For its foundation is given in the insights into the spiritual world that are available as anthroposophy. In these, a large number of people already find satisfying inspiration for their spiritual ideals. And in the social connection with other like-minded people in this direction lies what souls need. For it is in mutual giving and receiving in the spiritual realm that the true essence of human life develops. It is therefore natural that people who want to make anthroposophy part of their lives should wish to cultivate it through a society.

[ 2 ] But even though anthroposophy has its roots in the insights already gained into the spiritual world, these are only its roots. Its branches, leaves, blossoms, and fruits grow into all fields of human life and activity. With thoughts that reveal the beings and laws of spiritual existence, it calls into the depths of the creative human soul, and its artistic powers are drawn out by this call. Art receives inspiration from all sides. — It allows the warmth that flows from the ascent to the spiritual to flow into the hearts: and the religious sense awakens in true devotion to the divine in the world. Religion receives a deep internalization. — It opens its sources, and the love-filled human will can draw from them. It brings love for humanity to life and thus becomes creative in impulses for moral action and genuine social practice. — It fertilizes the view of nature with the driving seeds of spiritual insight, thereby transforming mere knowledge of nature into true understanding of nature.

[ 3 ] Through all this, anthroposophy generates a wealth of life tasks. These tasks can only reach the wider circles of human life if they originate from being cultivated in society.

[ 4 ] The leadership of the Goetheanum in Dornach has called upon those personalities who believe that the anthroposophy cultivated at this Goetheanum seeks to fulfill the tasks described above to bring the long-standing attempts to form anthroposophical societies to a satisfactory conclusion at a Christmas conference.

[ 5 ] The call has been answered in a way that was completely unexpected. Seven to eight hundred people appeared for the “laying of the foundation stone” of the “General Anthroposophical Society.” What they did will be described step by step in this supplement to the “Goetheanum.”

[ 6 ] I was responsible for opening and chairing the meetings. —- And it was easy for my heart — this opening. The Swiss poet Albert Steffen sat next to me. The assembled anthroposophists looked at him with grateful souls. They had gathered on Swiss soil to form the Anthroposophical Society. They have long owed Switzerland a leading member in Albert Steffen, whom they look up to with true enthusiasm. In him, I saw Switzerland represented by one of its noblest sons; my first words were to greet him and our Swiss friends warmly — and my second words were to ask him to open the meeting.

[ 7 ] It was a profound beginning. Albert Steffen, the wonderful painter in words, the poetic image creator, spoke. As we listened to him, we saw powerful images like visions before our eyes.

[ 8 ] The laying of the foundation stone of the Goetheanum in 1913 stood before our mind's eye. I cannot find the words to describe how I felt when I saw this event, in which I was privileged to participate ten years ago, before me again in Steffen's painting.

[ 9 ] The work on the Goetheanum, in which hundreds of devoted hands were busy and hundreds of enthusiastic hearts were beating, conjured up artistically perfect words before the mind.

[ 10 ] And then there was the fire at the Goetheanum: the whole tragedy, the pain of thousands, they trembled as Albert Steffen spoke to us.

[ 11 ] And then – in the foreground of another picture: the essence of anthroposophy itself, transfigured by the poetic soul of Albert Steffen – in the background, its enemies, not condemned, but simply placed there with creative power.

[ 12 ] “Ten Years of the Goetheanum”; Albert Steffen's words about it penetrated deeply — one felt it — into the hearts of those gathered.

[ 13 ] After this dignified opening, it fell to me to speak about the form that the Anthroposophical Society would now have to take.

[ 14 ] It had to be said what was to take the place of ordinary statutes. A description of what people in a purely human context — as the Anthroposophical Society — would like to achieve should take the place of such “statutes.” At the Goetheanum, which since the fire has only had makeshift rooms made of wood, anthroposophy is cultivated. What the leaders of the Goetheanum understand by this cultivation and what effect they expect it to have on human civilization should be stated. Then, how they envision this cultivation in a Free University of Spiritual Science. Principles to which one should profess should not be established; rather, a reality in its own right should be described. Then it should be said that anyone who wants to contribute to what is happening at the Goetheanum can become a member.

[ 15 ] As a “statute,” which is not meant to be a “statute” but rather a description of what can result from such a purely human and lively social relationship, only the following is proposed:

[ 16 ] 1. The Anthroposophical Society should be an association of people who want to cultivate the spiritual life in the individual and in human society on the basis of a true knowledge of the spiritual world.

[ 17 ] 2. The foundation of this society is formed by the personalities who gathered at the Goetheanum in Dornach during the Christmas season of 1923, both individuals and groups who were represented. They are imbued with the conviction that a real science of the spiritual world already exists, one that has been developed over many years and in important parts has already been published, and that today's civilization lacks the cultivation of such a science. The Anthroposophical Society shall have this cultivation as its task. It will attempt to accomplish this task by making the anthroposophical spiritual science cultivated at the Goetheanum in Dornach, with its results for brotherhood in human coexistence, for moral and religious as well as artistic and general spiritual life in human beings, the center of its endeavors.

[ 18 ] 3. The personalities gathered as the foundation of the Society in Dornach agree with the view of the Goetheanum leadership, represented by the Executive Council formed at the founding meeting, with regard to the following: "The anthroposophy cultivated at the Goetheanum leads to results that can serve as inspiration for the spiritual life of every human being, regardless of nationality, social status, or religion. They can lead to a social life truly based on brotherly love. Their appropriation as a basis for life is not bound to a scientific level of education, but only to an unbiased human being. However, its research and the proper evaluation of its research results are subject to spiritual scientific training, which must be acquired step by step. These results are, in their own way, as accurate as the results of true natural science. If they achieve general recognition in the same way as natural science, they will bring about the same progress in all areas of life, not only in the spiritual but also in the practical sphere."

[ 19 ] 4. The Anthroposophical Society is not a secret society, but a thoroughly public one. Anyone can become a member, regardless of nationality, social status, religion, or scientific or artistic convictions, who sees something justified in the existence of an institution such as the Goetheanum in Dornach as a Free University of Spiritual Science. The Society rejects any sectarian aspirations. It does not consider politics to be part of its tasks.

[ 20 ] 5. The Anthroposophical Society sees the School of Spiritual Science in Dornach as the center of its work. This will consist of three classes. Members of the Society will be admitted to these classes upon application, after they have been members for a period of time to be determined by the Goetheanum leadership. They will thus enter the first class of the School of Spiritual Science. Admission to the second or third class will take place when those applying for it are found suitable by the leadership of the Goetheanum.

[ 21 ] 6. Every member of the Anthroposophical Society has the right to participate in all lectures, other presentations, and meetings organized by it under the conditions announced by the Executive Council.

[ 22 ] 7. The establishment of the School of Spiritual Science is initially the responsibility of Rudolf Steiner, who is to appoint his colleagues and his eventual successor.

[ 23 ] 8. All publications of the Society will be public in the same way as those of other public societies.^{1The conditions under which one can attend the training have also been described publicly and will continue to be published.}

[ 24 ] The publications of the School of Spiritual Science will be no exception to this public nature; however, the school's management claims that it will reject any judgment of these writings that is not based on the training from which they originated. In this sense, it will not recognize the validity of any judgment that is not based on corresponding preliminary studies, as is customary in the recognized scientific world. For this reason, the writings of the School of Spiritual Science will bear the following note: “Printed as a manuscript for the members of the School of Spiritual Science, Goetheanum Class ... No one will be granted a competent judgment on these writings who has not acquired the preliminary knowledge claimed by this school through them or in a manner recognized by it as equivalent. Other assessments will be rejected insofar as the authors of the corresponding writings will not engage in any discussion about them.”

[ 25 ] 9. The aim of the Anthroposophical Society will be to promote research in the spiritual realm, and that of the School of Spiritual Science will be this research itself. Dogmatism in any field shall be excluded from the Anthroposophical Society.

[ 26 ] 10. The Anthroposophical Society shall hold an annual general meeting at the Goetheanum, at which the Executive Council shall present a full report. The agenda for this meeting shall be announced by the Executive Council in the invitation sent to all members six weeks before the meeting. The Executive Council may convene extraordinary meetings and set the agenda for them. It shall send invitations to the members three weeks in advance. Motions from individual members or groups of members must be submitted one week before the meeting.

[ 27 ] 11. Members may form smaller or larger groups in any local or subject-related field. The Anthroposophical Society has its headquarters at the Goetheanum. From there, the Executive Council shall communicate to the members or groups of members what it considers to be the task of the Society. It shall communicate with the officers elected or appointed by the individual groups. The individual groups shall be responsible for the admission of members; however, the confirmation of admission shall be submitted to the Executive Council in Dornach and signed by the latter in confidence to the group officers. In general, every member should join a group; only those for whom it is completely impossible to find admission to a group should be admitted as members in Dornach itself.

[ 28 ] 12. The membership fee is determined by the individual groups; however, each group must pay 15 francs for each of its members to the central administration at the Goetheanum.

[ 29 ] 13. Each working group shall draw up its own statutes; however, these shall not contradict the statutes of the Anthroposophical Society.

[ 30 ] 14. The society's organ is the weekly journal “Goetheanum,” which will be supplemented for this purpose with an insert containing the society's official communications. This expanded edition of “Goetheanum” will be distributed only to members of the Anthroposophical Society. ^{2Individual members may subscribe to the “Notifications”. The conditions for this are listed at the top of this first issue. All details relating to the implementation of the statutes will be provided in a special “rules of procedure.” These will be included in one of the next issues of the “Notifications”.}

[ 31 ] Closely connected with the opening meeting on the morning of December 25 was the celebration on the morning of the 25th, which bore the name: “Laying of the Foundation Stone of the General Anthroposophical Society.”

[ 32 ] This could only be a spiritual laying of the foundation stone. The ground in which the “foundation stone” was laid could only be the hearts and souls of the personalities united in the Society, and the foundation stone itself must be the attitude of mind springing from the anthroposophical way of life. This attitude, in the way it is demanded by the signs of the present time, forms the will to find the way to contemplate the spirit and to live from the spirit through human soul deepening. I would like to begin here with what I attempted to formulate as the “foundation stone” in the form of a saying, and I will give a further description of the opening meeting in the next issue of this newsletter.

Human soul!
You live in the limbs
That carry you through the spatial world
Into the spiritual sea of being:
Practice spiritual remembrance
In the depths of the soul,
Where in the reigning
world-creator being
The self
In the God-self
Be present;
And you will truly live
In the human-world-being.

For the Father-Spirit of the heights reigns
In the depths of the world, creating being:
You spirits of power
Let resound from the heights,
What finds its echo in the depths;
This speaks:
From the divine is humanity.
The spirits hear this in the east, west, north, and south:
May humans hear it.

Human soul!
You live in the beating of your heart and lungs,
Which guides you through the rhythm of time
Into the feeling of your own soul:
Practice spiritual reflection
In the balance of the soul,
Where the surging
World-becoming deeds
The self
Unite with the world-self;
And you will truly feel
In the workings of the human soul.

For the will of Christ reigns in the sphere
In the rhythms of the worlds, blessing souls;
Let your spirits of light
Let the East ignite
What is formed through the West;
This speaks:
In Christ, death becomes life.
The spirits in the East, West, North, and South hear this:
May humans hear it too.

Human soul!
You live in a resting head,
Which, from the depths of eternity,
Opens up the thoughts of the world to you:
Practice spiritual vision
In the tranquility of thought,
Where the eternal goals of the gods
The light of the essence of the worlds
To your own self
For free will
Give;
And you will truly think
In human-spirit reasons.

For the spirit's world thoughts reign
In world beings, imploring light:
Your soul spirits
Let them implore from the depths,
What is heard in the heights:
This speaks:
In the world thoughts of the spirit, the soul awakens.
The spirits hear this in the east, west, north, and south:
May humans hear it.

At the turn of time
The light of the world spirit entered
The earthly stream of beings;
Night darkness
Had worn itself out;
Daylight
Shone in human souls;
Light,
That warms
The poor shepherds' hearts;
Light,
That enlightens
The wise kings.

Divine light,
Christ-sun
Warm
Our hearts;
Enlighten
Our heads;
That good may come,
What we
Establish from our hearts,
What we
Want to lead
From our heads.