Editing George King (religious leader) (section)

==Titles==
The Aetherius Society usually refers to King as "Dr. George King".<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite web |url= http://www.aetherius.org/dr-george-king/ |title=Dr. George King: Master Of Yoga & Founder Of The Aetherius Society |work=aetherius.org |year=2014 |access-date=4 August 2014}}</ref> The society does not, however, document where King received his doctorate. [[David V. Barrett|David Barrett]] states that King received his doctorate from the "International Theological Seminary of California, a degree mill with no accreditation". King is also referred to as Metropolitan Archbishop of the Aetherius Churches. His consecration as a bishop was from the [[Theosophy]]-related [[Liberal Catholic Church]].<ref name=B2011p119/>

King is also "referred to [by the society] as an author, inventor, metaphysician, occultist, prophet, psychic, spiritual healer, spiritual leader, teacher, yogi and Aquarian master".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Saliba |first1=John A |title=The Earth is a Dangerous Place -- The World View of the Aetherius Society |journal=Marburg Journal of Religion |date=December 1999 |volume=4 |issue=2 |page=2 |url=https://archiv.ub.uni-marburg.de/ep/0004/article/view/3762/3578|access-date=11 December 2024}}</ref> He was also lavished with innumerable titles, degrees, and honors from unorthodox sources.<ref name=LS2003p124>{{cite book |editor-last=Lewis |editor-first=James R. |title=Encyclopedic Sourcebook of UFO religions |date=2003 |publisher=Prometheus Books |location=New York |isbn=1-57392-964-6 |page=124 |chapter=The Earth is a dangerous place: the world view of the Aetherius Society |first=John A. |last=Saliba}}, also in the "[[Marburg Journal of Religion]]": [https://archiv.ub.uni-marburg.de/ep/0004/article/view/3762/3578 link to the article]</ref> According to the society, the various honors were all given to King as a "token offer of gratitude" for his work.<ref name=B2011p119/> [[Mikael Rothstein]] observes that all of this hagiographical material is primarily aimed at believers who have special, 'esoteric' knowledge about King, whereas the society's communications during publicity campaigns are angled differently.<ref name="Hagiography">{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lteid47_0-kC&q=aetherius%20society&pg=PA3 |chapter=Hagiography and Text in the Aetherius Society |first=Mikael |last=Rothstein |title=Alien Worlds: Social and Religious Dimensions of Extraterrestrial Contact |editor-first=Diana G. |editor-last=Tumminia |publisher=Syracuse University Press |date=30 April 2007 |pages=3, 5, and 24|isbn=9780815608585 }}</ref>{{rp|13–15}}

Barrett notes that amongst King's titles are listed a Knighthood in the Sovereign Military Orthodox Dynastic Imperial Constantinian Order of Saint George, which was from a branch of the [[Succession to the Byzantine Empire|Byzantine Royal House in exile]], and was not recognized by the [[College of Arms]] in England, as the title "Sir" might imply.<ref name=B2011p119/> King received other chivalric titles and various degrees. Barrett states that neither the chivalric titles nor the degrees were recognized by any mainstream bodies.<ref name=B2011p119>Barrett, David V. (2001) p119</ref>

According to one source,<ref>Baron, Alexander, ''Is There Intelligent Life on Earth? Inside the Whacky World of the Aetherius Society'' (1992, London, I.T.M.A.) {{ISBN|1-871473-16-0}}, pages 11-12.</ref> King used as a formal title "[[Eminence (style)|His Eminence]] Sir George King, O.S.P.,{{efn|Order of Saint Peter}} Ph.D., Th.D., D.D., Metropolitan Archbishop of the Aetherius Churches." The knighthood is not British but from "an unspecified foreign source". American radio personality [[Long John Nebel]] had King as a guest on his show and later wrote: " 'George King of England' – is what he calls himself, and you can't be sure whether he's pausing after 'George,' or after 'King,' but it doesn't really matter because after about three minutes you get the idea strong and clear."<ref>Nebel, Long John, ''The Way Out World'' (hardcover, 1961, NY, Prentice-Hall) page 52, (paperback, 1962, NY, Lancer) page 47.</ref>

In 1991 King was "presented Letters Patent of Armorial Bearings also known as a Grant of Arms, by Bluemantle Pursuivant, a Herald of Her Majesty's College of Arms in England."<ref name=LR2003p144-5>{{cite book |editor-last=Lewis |editor-first=James R. |title=Encyclopedic sourcebook of UFO religions |date=2003 |publisher=Prometheus Books |location=New York |isbn=1-57392-964-6 |pages=144–145 |chapter=The idea of the past, the reality of the present, and the construction of the future: millenarianism in the Aetherius Society |first=Mikael |last=Rothstein}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=none|journal=Cosmic Voice |date=January–February 1996 |volume=17}}</ref> A Grant of Arms is applied for; anyone can receive a [[College of Arms#Granting and proving descent of arms|Grant of Arms]], if they can satisfy one of several requirements,<ref>{{cite web |title=Petitioning for Arms |url=https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/services/granting-arms#:~:text=There%20are%20no%20fixed%20criteria,life%2C%20are%20taken%20into%20account. |website=www.college-of-arms.gov.uk |publisher=College of Arms |access-date=13 December 2024}}</ref> but King could not and his grant was annulled the following year.<ref>College of Arms MS I. 84, pp. 325-6.</ref>

According to skeptic [[James Randi]], George King's titles of 'Reverend', 'Doctor' and 'Sir' are unverified.<ref name=randi>{{cite web |last1=Randi |first1=James |title=Aetherius Society |url=https://web.randi.org/a---encyclopedia-of-claims.html |website=web.randi.org |publisher=James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) |access-date=11 December 2024}}</ref>