Roerichism
spiritual, cultural and social movement based on the teachings of Nicholas and Helena Roerich
Roerichism or Rerikhism (Russian: Рерихи́зм, Рерихиа́нство, Ре́риховское движе́ние) is a spiritual, cultural and social movement that emerged in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, though it has been described as a "thoroughly Russian new religious movement", due to its close connection with Russia.
The movement centers on the Neo-Theosophical religious doctrine of Agni Yoga, or the Living Ethics, transmitted by Helena Roerich and Nicholas Roerich. Agni Yoga draws ideas from Theosophy, Eastern and Western religions, Vedic and Buddhist traditions, molding them into Russian culture, too. Agni Yoga is the spiritual foundation of Roerichism.
This movement played a significant role in bringing knowledge of Asian religions to the Western world. Roerichism has an international following and has many thousands of adherents. Some international and regional organizations, whose activity is based on the ideas of Roerichism, arose many years after the death of all the members of the Roerich family.
Teachers and their teachings
Roerichism is a spiritual, cultural as well as neo-Theosophic New Age movement centered on the teachings transmitted by Helena and Nicholas Roerich. It draws ideas from Theosophy, Eastern and Western religions, and Vedic and Buddhist traditions, molding them into Russian culture and Russian cosmism.
Helena Roerich
Helena Roerich (1879–1955), a Russian theosophist, writer, and public figure, developed in the 20th century, in cooperation with the Teachers of the East (Masters of the Ancient Wisdom), the philosophical teaching of Living Ethics (Agni Yoga).
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Roerichism” is spiritual, cultural and social movement based on the teachings of Nicholas and Helena Roerich. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Roerichism, spiritual and cultural, not as a finished interpretation.
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Contemporary correspondence, administrative files and participant testimony can test how later narratives organized the event or institution. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4393569. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1879 and 1955.
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This entry incorporates text from “Roerichism” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.