Jan Van Rijckenborgh

Vocation

Notable

Traits

Dutch gnostic teacher and spiritual guru, who with his wife Johanna "Jo" Ames and brother Zwier Willem "Wim" Leene founded the now worldwide Lectorium Rosicrucianum (LR) movement, under the influence of of the Danish-American Rosicrucian Max Heindel and the them both inspiring mystic Jakob Böhme (1575–1624). His parents were the Reformed Protestant commission merchant Hendrik Leene (31 August 1863 3 AM, Deventer -7 April 1920 , Haarlem) and Elsina Arp (26 Aug 1864 5 PM, Meppel - 16 Aug 1921, Haarlem). They married 11 May 1889 in Meppel and got four children (Municipal Archive times): 1) Jantina "Tine" Leene (16 Oct 1889 9h30, Kampen - 20 July 1953, Bloemendaal) became a teacher. 2) Everdina Leene (20 Feb 1891 10 AM, Haarlem - 27 Sep 1971, Haarlem) married Georg Heinrich Schmidt (1 July 1896, Haarlem - 27 Oct 1966, Haarlem) and became a housewife. 3) Zwier Willem "Wim" Leene (7 May 1892 3h30 PM, Haarlem - 9 March 1938, Haarlem) became the co-founder of the Lectorium Rosicrucianum. He married Hendrica Edelyn (23 Feb 1890, Haarlem - 14 Dec 1980, Haarlem). Their son Han Leene (15 May 1928, Haarlem) became a piano teacher. 4) Jan Leene (16 Oct 1896,8 PM Haarlem - 17 July 1968, Santpoort), who adopted his spiritual pen name Jan van Rijckenborgh later. Jan and his brother Zwier rejected the dogmatic teachings of the orthodox Christianity of their parents. They preferred a a more mystical approach. On the advise of the Dutch Reformed theologian professor Arnold H. de Hartogh (11 April 1869, Rotterdam - 9 December 1938, Amsterdam) they read the works of German Protestant mystic and cobbler Jakob Böhme (8 March 1575, Sulików, Poland - 17 November 1624, Görlitz) on the spiritual "Christ within". Around April/May 1924 he and brother joined Max Heindel's school of Esoteric Christianity the Rosicrucian Fellowship in Amsterdam. They studied under the English teacher and translator Agatha van Warendorp- Zegwaard (24 August 1882 21.00 LMT, Nieuwer-Amstel - 14 Jan 1970, Bussum). They finished their first lessons in half a year. After that they became regular students for 2 years. Around 1927-28 they became probationers, and were entitled to start a Study Center. The Leene brothers were inspired by the writings of Jacob Boehme, Helena Blavatsky, Max Heindel, Rudolf Steiner, as well as the Rosicrucian Manifestos and the writings of Comenius and Paracelsus. In 1925 they started publishing translated works. In 1927 they started a Haarlem branch of the fellowship, December 1927 they erected the monthly "Het Rozekruis" at Haarlem. The book house ceased to exist on 15 February 1928. The same day they erected "Publicatie-Bureau van het Rozekruisersgenootschap [Publication Bureau of the Rosicrucian Fellowship] with a similar function. In December 1929 they became the heads of the Dutch branch, when Agatha van Warendorp-Zegwaard was hospitalised for pyelonephritis. When she returned home, the administration was taken to Haarlem. Mrs Heindel agreed with the Leene brothers, when asked for arbitrage. The brothers decided to leave the unprofitable textile business that they had inherited from their father, and to make an income of their work for the Fellowship. They founded the "Max Heindel Stichting". 0n 24 December 1930, according to the website of LR, the Leene brothers met Hendrikje "Henriette" Stok-Huizer (5 February 1902 3 AM, Rotterdam - 10 Sept 1990) for the first time. She joined them in sharing their "methodic pilgrimage". Later she adopted the spiritual name Catharose de Petri. After an attempt to come into terms with Californian Branch of the Rosicrucians failed (5 April 1935), the three mystics parted from the Rosicrucian Fellowship and founded the later International School of the Golden Rosycross, Lectorium Rosicrucianum at Haarlem. The Dutch branch explored hermeticism, alchemy, Freemasonry and the Cathars. They worked since 1956 together with the neo-Cathar historian Antonin Gadal (1877–1962), who identified himself as the last patriarch of the Cathars. Jan Leene died 17 July 1968 at age 71 because of ill health and exhaustion. He was succeeded by Catharose de Petri. One of the most prominent Dutch Rosicrucian's today is the millionaire, book and art collector Joost R. Ritman (1941), who founded the The Ritman Library Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica in Amsterdam (The Ritman Library). Umberto Eco got much inspiration from it .. Personal. He married on 9 Augustus 1923 in Haarlem, Johanna "Jo" Ames (6 Jan 1897, Katwijk -27 April 1976, Velsen, at age 79). They got two children: Hendrik Leene and Elsine Tine Leene. His eldest son Hendrik "Henk" Leene (29 Aug 1924, Haarlem - 24 Aug 2014) became a pastor, esoteric writer and publisher. Henk founded in 1969 an alternative stream, the Esoterische Gemeenschap Sivas, that separated from the Lectorium Rosicrucianum. Unlike his father, who avoided the "occult" word astrology, Henk Leene wrote books like "Saturnus de wachter voor de poort" (1970). Hendrik married on 19 June 1947 at Haarlem Mia Peddemors (26 Mar 1924, Haarlem - 1 Jan 1994, Domaine de Sivas, Oze-Veynes, Fr), a writer and natural healer. They got at least two children: Shita Mia (23 Oct 1948, Haarlem - 14 Oct 1987, Haarlem) and the astronomer Dr. Arnaud Leene (1 May 1958, Haarlem). They divorced 2 December 1981 in Haarlem. For their conjoint work see: De Henk en Mia Leene Bibliotheek Elsine Tine Leene (31 Dec 1932, Haarlem -13 Nov 2009, Velsen) married 7 November 1952 Abraham Hamelink (23 Apr 1926, Den Haag - 16 Nov 1975, Velsen) and got three children. Another noted member of the Leene family was the OT theology professor Hendrik Leene (19 February 1937, Baarland- 10 Juny 2014), who dissertated on ”De vroegere en de nieuwe dingen bij Deuterojesaja” in 1987. Link to German Wikipedia