Saint Germain is the master of the seventh ray and of the coming age in this teaching, identified with the historical Comte de Saint-Germain and, further back, with Joseph the father of Jesus and with Merlin. He is the source of the violet flame, and of the church's persistent American nationalism — the movement holds he sponsored the founding of the United States. El Morya, Kuthumi, Lanto and others were taken over from Theosophy, where they appear as the Masters of the Great White Brotherhood. Each holds an office rather than a rank, and members address them by name in decrees the way other traditions address saints.