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Barbelo
Barbēlō (Greek: Βαρβηλώ) refers to the first emanation of God in several forms of Gnostic cosmogony. Barbēlō is often depicted as a supreme female principle, the single passive antecedent of creation in its manifold. This figure is also variously referred to as 'Mother-Father' (hinting at her apparent androgyny), 'The Triple Androgynous Name', or 'Eternal Aeon'. So prominent was her place amongst some Gnostics that some schools were designated as ''Barbeliotae'', Barbēlō worshippers or Barbēlō gnostics. The nature of Barbēlō Nag Hammadi Library In the ''Apocryphon of John'', a tractate in the Nag Hammadi Library containing the most extensive recounting of the Sethian Gnostic creation myth, the Barbēlō is described as "the first power, the glory, Barbēlō, the perfect glory in the aeons, the glory of the revelation". All subsequent acts of creation within the divine sphere (save, crucially, that of the lowest aeon Sophia) occurs through her coaction with Go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Three Steles Of Seth
The ''Three Steles of Seth'' is a Sethian Gnostic text. It is the fifth tractate in Codex VII of the Nag Hammadi library. The writing is in Coptic and takes up the last nine pages of the codex. Background A common theme in Sethian works is a descent or ascent theme. The ''Three Steles of Seth''—along with ''Zostrianos'', ''Allogenes'', and ''Marsanes''—uses the ascent pattern. Furthermore, these four Sethian texts are grouped together because of their extensive use of terminology from Platonic philosophy. Thus, the original work was likely written before Plotinus's ''Against the Gnostics'' in c. 265. The text lacks specifically Christian elements; the triadic nature of God is instead a Neoplatonic belief. Thus, the traditional two steles made of brick and stone are increased to three to represent the threefold divine: the Father, the mother Barbelo, and the son Autogenes. Summary In the text, Seth uses the three steles to record three doxologies or hymns of praise. The te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zostrianos
''Zostrianos'' is a Sethian Gnostic text. It is the first tractate of two in Codex VIII of the Nag Hammadi library. It takes up 132 of the 140 pages in the codex, making ''Zostrianos'' the longest tractate of the entire library. However the text is extensively damaged, especially in the center, making the document difficult to fully understand. The Coptic manuscript is a translation of a Greek original, likely written in Alexandria in c. 200 AD. In the text, Zostrianos goes on a heavenly journey and receives divine knowledge from the aeons. The work is likely the same ''Zostrianos'' that Porphyry criticized in ''Life of Plotinus.'' Like other Sethian Gnostic texts Marsanes, Allogenes, and Three Steles of Seth, its ideas appear more Middle Platonic or Neoplatonic than Christian. However, Porphyry said that these works belonged to Christian heretics. Bentley Layton explains this apparent contradiction with the belief that ''Zostrianos'' was written by a Gnostic Christian auth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sethianism
The Sethians (Greek language, Greek: Σηθιανοί) were one of the main currents of Gnosticism during the 2nd and 3rd century AD, along with Valentinianism and Basilideans, Basilideanism. According to John D. Turner, it originated in the 2nd century AD as a fusion of two distinct Hellenistic Judaism, Hellenistic Judaic philosophies and was influenced by Christianity and Middle Platonism. However, the exact origin of Sethianism is not properly understood. History Mentions The Sethians (Latin ''Sethoitae'') are first mentioned, alongside the Ophites, in the 2nd century, by Irenaeus (who was antagonistic towards Gnosticism) and in Pseudo-Tertullian (Ch. 30). According to Frederik Wisse, all subsequent accounts appear to be largely dependent on Irenaeus. Hippolytus repeats information from Irenaeus. According to Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 375), Sethians were in his time found only in Egypt and Palestine, but fifty years earlier, they had been found as far away as Kingdom of Arme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gnostic
Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: , romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: �nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among early Christian sects. These diverse groups emphasized personal spiritual knowledge ('' gnosis'') above the proto-orthodox teachings, traditions, and authority of religious institutions. Generally, in Gnosticism, the Monad is the supreme God who emanates divine beings; one, Sophia, creates the flawed demiurge who makes the material world, trapping souls until they regain divine knowledge. Consequently, Gnostics considered material existence flawed or evil, and held the principal element of salvation to be direct knowledge of the hidden divinity, attained via mystical or esoteric insight. Many Gnostic texts deal not in concepts of sin and repentance, but with illusion and enlightenment. Gnosticism likely originated in the late first and early second centuries around Alex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apocryphon Of John
The ''Apocryphon of John'', also called the ''Secret Book of John'' or the ''Secret Revelation of John'', is a 2nd-century Sethianism, Sethian gnosticism, Gnostic Christian pseudepigrapha, pseudepigraphical text attributed to John the Apostle. It is one of the texts addressed by Irenaeus in his Christian polemic ''Against Heresies (Irenaeus), Against Heresies,'' placing its composition before 180 AD. It tells of the appearance of Jesus and the imparting of secret knowledge (gnosis) to his disciple John. The author describes it as having occurred after Jesus had "gone back to the place from which he came". Overview Many second-century Christians, both Gnostic and orthodox, hoped to receive a transcendent personal revelation such as Paul the Apostle reported to the church at Corinth () or that John the Revelator experienced on the isle of Patmos, which inspired the ''Book of Revelation''. As ''Acts'' narrates what happened after the time Jesus ascended to heaven, so the ''Apoc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sophia (Gnosticism)
Sophia ( "Wisdom", "the Sophia") is a figure, along with Knowledge ( ''gnosis'', ), among many of the early Christian knowledge theologies grouped by the Heresiology, heresiologist Irenaeus as (), "knowing". Gnosticism is a 17th-century term expanding the definition of Irenaeus' groups to include other Syncretism, syncretic faiths and the Greco-Roman mysteries. In Gnosticism, Sophia is a feminine figure, analogous to the human soul but also simultaneously one of the feminine aspects of God. Gnostics held that she was the ''syzygy'', or female twin, of Jesus, i.e. the Bride of Christ, and the Holy Spirit of the Trinity. She is occasionally referred to by the term (, ) and as (). In the Nag Hammadi library, Nag Hammadi texts, Sophia is the lowest aeon (Gnosticism), aeon or anthropic emanationism, emanation of the godhead. Gnostic mythos Many Gnostic systems, particularly those of the Gnosticism#Major Gnostic schools and their texts, Syrian or Egyptian, teach that the unive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marsanes
Marsanes is a Sethian Gnostic text from the New Testament apocrypha. The only surviving copy comes from the Nag Hammadi library, albeit with 14 pages completely missing and a large number of lines throughout the text damaged beyond recovery. Scholars speculate that the text was originally written by a Syrian in Greek during the third century. The content of the text focuses on the 13 seals, the Triple-Powered One, the shape and structure of the soul, acquiring power and knowledge, and an apocalyptic vision. Summary The opening lines of the document are mostly unrecoverable. The thirteenth seal is established "with the summit of knowledge and the certainty of rest." The text discusses the other 12 seals, first mentioning the power that will provide rest and protect those who receive it from passions and division. Other seals concern the conversion of those within, the self-begotten ones, salvation and wisdom, the mind, Barbelo, the Invisible One, and the Spirit. The thirteenth se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protophanes
In Sethian Gnosticism, Protophanes ("the First-Appearing One") is one of the three emanations of Barbelo (along with Kalyptos and Autogenes according to '' Zostrianos''). Protophanes is mentioned in Nag Hammadi texts such as '' Zostrianos'', ''The Three Steles of Seth'', '' Allogenes the Stranger'', and Marsanes''. See also *Aeon (Gnosticism) *Phanes In Orphic cosmogony Phanes (, genitive ) or Protogonos () is a primeval deity who was born from the cosmic egg at the beginning of creation. He is referred by various names, including Erikepaios "Power" () and Metis "Thought". Mythology ... References Gnostic deities {{Gnosticism-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalyptos
In Sethian Gnosticism, Kalyptos ("the Hidden One") is one of the three emanations of Barbelo (along with Protophanes and Autogenes according to '' Zostrianos''). Kalyptos is mentioned in Nag Hammadi texts such as '' Zostrianos'', ''The Three Steles of Seth'', '' Allogenes the Stranger'', and '' Marsanes''. See also *Aeon (Gnosticism) *Hypostasis (philosophy and religion) Hypostasis (plural: hypostases), from the Greek (''hypóstasis''), is the underlying, fundamental state or substance that supports all of reality. It is not the same as the concept of a substance. In Neoplatonism, the hypostasis of the soul, the ... References Gnostic deities {{Gnosticism-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allogenes
Allogenes is a series of Gnostic texts. The main character in these texts is Allogenes (Greek: ἀλλογενής), which translates as 'stranger,' 'foreigner,' or 'of another race.' The first text discovered was ''Allogenes'' as the third tractate in Codex XI of the Nag Hammadi library. The Coptic manuscript is a translation of a Greek original, likely written in Alexandria before 300 AD. In this text, containing Middle Platonic or Neoplatonic elements, Allogenes receives divine revelations. A different text, '' The Temptation of Allogenes'', was discovered as the fourth tractate in the Codex Tchacos. In this text, Allogenes resists temptation and ascends. Codex Tchacos, also written in Coptic, is likely older than NHC XI based on radiocarbon dating, but it is unknown exactly when the original texts were composed. Both texts have some damage and are incomplete. Other ''Allogenes'' texts may have been written. In section 39.5.1 of the ''Panarion'', Epiphanius of Salamis writes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Autogenes
In Sethian Gnosticism, Autogenes (Meaning "Self-Born One" in Greek) is an emanation or son of Barbelo (along with Kalyptos and Protophanes according to '' Zostrianos''). Autogenes is mentioned in Nag Hammadi texts such as '' Zostrianos'', ''The Three Steles of Seth'', '' Allogenes the Stranger'', and '' Marsanes''. Autogenes in Gnosticism is roughly parallel to the Platonic soul. See also *Aeon (Gnosticism) *Plato's theory of soul Plato's theory of the soul, which was inspired variously by the teachings of Socrates, considered the psyche () to be the essence of a person, being that which decides how people behave. Plato considered this essence to be an incorporeal, etern ... References Gnostic deities {{Gnosticism-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Gospel Of Judas
The Gospel of Judas is a Biblical canon, non-canonical religious text. Its content consists of conversations between Jesus and his Apostles in the New Testament, disciples, especially Judas Iscariot. The only copy of it known to exist is a Coptic language text that is part of the Codex Tchacos, which has been radiocarbon dating, radiocarbon dated to 280 AD, plus or minus 60 years. Like the Gnosticism, Gnostic texts of the Nag Hammadi library, this version is believed by most Biblical studies, biblical scholars to be a translation of an original which was composed in the Greek language by Gnostic Christians in the 2nd century. Rejected as Heresy in Christianity, heresy by the Early Christianity, early Christian church and lost for 1700 years, the document was rediscovered in Egypt in the 1970s. After undergoing extensive restoration and preservation, an English translation was first published in early 2006 by the National Geographic Society. History Authorship Like the four Gosp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
