Lies about Theosophy: The Protocols, Yuliana Glinka and the Vatican’s Position

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion was a notorious antisemitic forgery first published in Russia in 1903, which served as a key ideological justification for the persecution of various groups by Nazi and Fascist regimes in Germany, Austria, and Italy. This included Theosophists, who were targeted despite no genuine connection to the document’s alleged conspiracies, leading to arrests, internment in concentration camps, and the dissolution of Theosophical associations under these regimes. Between weakening romanticizations and mythmaking from post-World War II geopolitics and the whole-of-society Jewish global strategy to combat antisemitism, these facts are not discussed in the mainstream or public square, except to perpetuate misconceptions about the ideas and role of the Theosophical Movement in twentieth-century Humanism and Western European to American history.

The role in mainstream history is reduced to “pseudo-religion,” fraud and mere “niche” within the history of philosophical Pluralism, even despite the great contributions since the 1980s in the emergent field of Esotericism Studies within the Academies. In general, misconceptions about the history of Occultism in Western European history fuel antisemitic tropes, allowing ignorance and prejudices to fester in unexamineds historical corners.

Failing to adequately support research and correct these omissions of vaulable knowledge has weakened societal defenses, depriving strategies that include a fuller understanding of how pivotal philosophical currents like the Theosophical Movement actively resisted hatred (usually caused by historically political, religious and ethnic divisions) and promoted our shared human heritage. Marginalization of Theosophy, which was far from a fringe curiosity, is not benign, but detrimentally fosters profound misconceptions that permeate public knowledg, scholarly discourse and academia. Mainstream historians, Christian polemicists, conspiracists and public sphere ignore the universalist ethos of Theosophy, and instead subordinate it by defining it as a pre-cursor to the New Age Movement, or as downstream fodder from Gnostic heresy.

The mainstream history often leaves out the influence of Jewish philosophy and Jewish philosophers in the early history of the Theosophical Movement, from her mentioning she studied Kabbalah for a few months (with an old Coptic in Cairo; mentioned in letter to Alexander Aksakov in Wurzburg, Oct. 1886), Charles Sotheran, George H. Felt, Emanuel Miranda, Joseph H. Magee, Kaduri Ani and the Basra community, and early twentieth-century Jewish intellectuals and communities that sought to study Judaism and Theosophy. H.P. Blavatsky’s critiques of the nationalized and tribal aspects of Yahweh in the Torah are philosophical, not racial; and align with modern archaeological arguments. The Theosophical Positions affectively counter Christian antisemitism (e.g., as discussed in Tragedy of Satan the Double-Headed Dragon), polemics, Satanist accusations and Judeo-Masonic tropes.

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1. There are about three stories in the origins of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which are not credible sources to draw a definitive conclusion as to the identity of its author. The first, or original version of the Protocols in 1903 is titled The Protocols of the Sessions of the World Alliance of Freemasonry and the Sages of Zion. The work describes a Judeo-Masonic conspiracy (not simply a Jewish conspiracy), and claims that Masonic lodges are the main front for these “sages of Zion.” This specifically applies in our case, to the claim Yuliana Glinka “promoted” The Protocols, and thus lies the story, it is connected to Helena Blavatsky and Theosophy.
2. One discredited origin tale claims that Yuliana (Justine) Glinka, a Russian noblewoman and occult enthusiast, acquired the Protocols in Paris in 1884 from a Jewish Freemason named Joseph Schorst and passed it to Russian authorities, eventually reaching Sergei Nilus for publication. This narrative, popularized in the 1930s by figures like Leslie Fry (Paquita de Shishmareff) and Edith Starr Miller, lacks any primary source verification and is considered a post-hoc fabrication to bolster the document’s authenticity. No credible firsthand sources have ever been produced to substantiate the story or tie it to Theosophy.
3. The Protocols outline a fabricated global conspiracy involving Judeo-Masonic control, a theory never endorsed by Blavatsky or Theosophists. Instead, Theosophical writings critiqued priesthoods and institutional religions with suspicions toward Jesuits and the Catholic Church, while promoting universal brotherhood and esoteric wisdom across traditions. This explicitly rejects racial and ethnic supremacism.
4. The Russian Orthodox Church, along with Protestant and Catholic denominations, disseminated claims that the Theosophical Movement represented an anti-Christian Masonic conspiracy, fueling broader antisemitic and anti-esoteric sentiments that aligned with the Protocols’ narrative. Additionally, Theosophy was perceived as a direct ideological and spiritual threat to the Vatican and to Catholic countries for objective reasons. Theosophists in France, Italy, Spain and Latin America often allied with anti-clerical, republican and masonic political forces, as in the anti-clerical camapigns of the Third Republic in France. In Spain and Portugal, Theosophical lodges were seen as part ofa broader liberal Masonic front. The creation of the “Esoteric Section” by H.P. Blavatsky looked like a new occult Masonry to Catholic eyes. For the Vatican, Theosophy was modeled in heretical doctrines, structural models condemned as Masonic secret societies since Clemens XII’s 1738 bull In Eminenti, and the aggressive defense against Catholic and other Christian missionary work in Asia threatening Catholic operations.
5. Blavatsky defended Russian Jews against pogroms, warned of proto-Bolshevik radicalism and vandalism, and criticized the Tsarist monarchy for neglecting the poor. H.P. Blavatsky stated, she expressed her love for democracy, and renounced her title of nobility to immigrate to the United States. The Soviet regime banned Theosophy until 1991. The Soviets, Fascists and National Socialists all demonstrate Theosophy’s incompatibility with authoritarian ideologies.
6. Numerous Jews contributed to the founding of the Theosophical Society, including H.P.B.’s interest in studying Kabbalism during her travels. Her critiques of certain biblical elements (e.g., Yahweh as a tribal deity versus the infinite En Sof) were scholarly and archaeological in nature, not antisemitic; and she emphasized Jewish esoteric traditions like Kabbalah positively. H.P.B. stated it clearly, that she holds to the nature of En Sof, to Parabrahman, Narayana-Svayambhuva; not Yahweh, as the tutelary tribal storm god. Her critique of aspects of Jewish belief in relation to the otherworldly are mild in comparison to her critique of other systems. She primarily cared about the esoteric systems, and her approach was to study it as a metaphysician and logician, while utilizing scholarly history.
7. Theosophists, Catholics and Jesuits were hated by the National Socialists. The SS sought to suppress Theosophists and Jesuits alike, and many Jesuits were active in the German resistance. The Catholic Church and reinstated Jesuit Order, longstanding opponents of Gnosticism, freethought, and esotericism sought to connect Theosophy to Gnostic heresy. Pope Pius XI’s 1937 encyclical condemns neopaganism as the core of Nazi ideology, which led Hitler to repress the Church. this is consistent when Catholics and Traditionalists slander Theosophy and Occultism. The Vatican and most Catholic hierarchies (e.g., Spain) tried pragmatic accomodation with 20th century dictatorships for survival. Jewish groups posed no enmity to Theosophists.
8. Public and historical scrutiny overlook the Catholic Church’s and other Christian instigators’ roles in antisemitic propagand, political oppresion and power structires; and instead of facing uncomfortable facts, scapegoat esoteric movements like Theosophy, despite their victimization under Fascist and Nazi rule. Theosophists, who held no political power or institutions like the Vatican did not have to engage and did not engage in support for right-wing authoritarian regimes. As the case was in Franco’s Spain who styled himself a defender of “Catholic Spain,” many Spanish bishops and younger Jesuits turned against such regimes.
9. In Pius XI 1931 encyclical, Fascist totalitarianism was concemned as the “pagan worship of the State.” Nazis condemned Theosophy as incompatible with its ideology and the Vatican condemned pseudo-Christian elements, Theosophy, Occultism and modern syncretistic spiritual movements as incompatible with Catholic doctrine. The Holy Office decree in 1919 issued a general decree warning Catholics against joining Theosophical associations and propagating Theosophy’s positions on reincarnation, karma, law, denial of a personal God, and its syncretic esotericism as incompatible with Christianity. Neo-Theosophical works such as Besant’s Esoteric Christianity, Leadbeater’s The Science of the Sacraments and Steiner’s early Anthroposophical writings (after he split from Theosophy) were placed on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum.
10. Post-Vatican II, after the Index was abolished in 1966, the condemnations lost canonical force, but Cardinal Ratzinger (then head of CDF) wrote a document in 1989 explicitly warning against adopting Eastern meditation techniques and concepts like karma, reincarnation and dissolution of the self), connecting them to the influence of Theosophy, Anthroposophy and the New Age Movement. The framing is used to tie habits and beliefs back to Eastern religions and Gnostic heresy, presenting the Catholic Church as possessing Wisdom; whereas heresy leads to error and ruin. This ignores occult literature warnings about occult practices and popularizations in mass industrialized culture. Blavatsky seemed to criticize many elements of materialism that became common in the expression of Neo-Theosophical orientations and the New Age Movement. Framing Theosophy as neo-paganism and an influence on the New Age movement is convenient for the Church.
11. There is a legend alleging that shortly before Isis Unveiled went to press in 1877, two Catholic priests visited her publisher J.W. Bouton in New York, or her personally, offering a large sum of francs if she would suppress the book. It is claimed Blavatsky indignantly refused. The only first serious Catholic refutatation of Isis Unveiled appeared four years after its publication in French in 1881 written by Rev. Augustin-Francois Lemann. The claim originates from an anecdote told by Blavatsky herself years after the alleged event, but has never been substantiated by primary documents, memo or financial records from the Apostolic Archives or the Jesuit archives in Rome and Vances.
12. Following Blavatsky’s death in 1891, internal schisms, particularly between co-founder William Q. Judge and successors like Annie Besant and Charles Leadbeater led to attempts by the latter two to reorient and simplify Theosophy toward a millenarian, messianic, quasi-Catholic framework, which included the establishment of the Liberal Catholic Church. This sharply deviated from Blavatsky’s warnings against copyist orientations she called “Pseudo-Theosophy” that was rising before her death. It deviated from warnings against dogmatism and nearly undermined the movement’s core principles. The Theosophical Society never truly recovered from this debacle. Efforts to highlight these historical facts are often dismissed with labels like “Blavatsky apologists,” “Blavatsky stans,” or “orthodox Theosophists,” reflecting persistent errors and subversion, rather than engagement with evidence.
13. While some accounts allege that Glinka served briefly as one of Blavatsky’s assistants in the 1880s, no primary sources detail the depth of their relationship. Glinka, from a noble family with occult interests, was involved in spiritualism prior to any Theosophical contact; and her primary focus was the African vodou tradition, Santería. For a deeper exploration of Glinka’s alleged role in the Protocols and its ties to Maurice Joly’s work, see my detailed analysis in Maurice Joly and Yuliana Glinka: Origins of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
14. Individuals involved with the Protocols were often violent or incited violence, behaviors Blavatsky explicitly condemned by expelling such members from the Theosophical Society. The Protocols and those it influenced are in direct violation of Theosophy’s entire mission of non-violence and ethical universalism.
15. The Holocaust was not aimed at Jews alone. Occultism, Theosophy, Gnosticism and “Neo-paganism” are still scapegoated and equated with evil, heresy, or cult dangers from the safety of established religion. Warfare was waged against all secret societies and esoteric orders not loyal to the Reich and the Duce. Nevertheless, historical winners write the history. Heretical or esoteric movements have often been suppressed, their texts destroyed or preserved only in hostile Catholic refutations throughout the 1,600 years of Christianity as the dominant religious and cultural force in the West. The history of Occultism, particularly in the 17th century to present is full of cases of spiritual claimants and fraud. “Neo-Paganism” is irrelevant to Catholic redemption narratives. Pope Francis also repeatedly warned against “neo-Gnostic” elitism in modern spirituality, linked to Theosophy. This is a pattern since the 2nd century with Irenaeus.
16. The term Aryan in Theosophy refers to Indo-European peoples, the ancient Yogis of and preceding the collection of the Vedas; or those of the regions that use that term positively, according to the context without implying racial superiority.
17. The Aryan Root Race is a description of a time period of present humanity encompassing Semites, Africans, Arabs and others as sharing a common ancestor. This anthropological framework differs from Ariosophy’s Teutonic racial supremacism and antisemitism, who taught a myth centered on the origins of godly Teutons, while demonizing Jews and Africans.