Allogenes is a series of

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 g ...

texts. The main character in these texts is Allogenes (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: ἀλλογενής), which translates as 'stranger,' 'foreigner,' or 'of another race.' The first text discovered was ''Allogenes'' as the third

tractate Tractate, a written work dealing formally and systematically with a subject, may refer to: * Masekhet, an organizational element of Talmudic literature * Minor tractate, a group of essays on Jewish religious laws * Treatise, a formal and systemati ...

Codex The codex (: codices ) was the historical ancestor format of the modern book. Technically, the vast majority of modern books use the codex format of a stack of pages bound at one edge, along the side of the text. But the term ''codex'' is now r ...

XI of the

Nag Hammadi library The Nag Hammadi library (also known as the Chenoboskion Manuscripts and the Gnostic Gospels) is a collection of early Christian and Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. Thirteen leather-bound papyrus c ...

. The Coptic manuscript is a translation of a Greek original, likely written in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

before 300 AD. In this text, containing Middle Platonic or

Neoplatonic Neoplatonism is a version of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a series of thinkers. Among the common id ...

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 Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...

, 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 In early Christianity, early Christian heresiology, the ''Panarion'' (, derived from Latin , meaning "bread basket"), to which 16th-century Latin translations gave the name ''Adversus Haereses'' (Latin: "Against Heresies"), is the most important o ...

'',

Epiphanius of Salamis Epiphanius of Salamis (; – 403) was the bishop of Salamis, Cyprus, at the end of the Christianity in the 4th century, 4th century. He is considered a saint and a Church Father by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic Churche ...

writes, "They (the

Sethians The Sethians (Greek: Σηθιανοί) were one of the main currents of Gnosticism during the 2nd and 3rd century AD, along with Valentinianism and Basilideanism. According to John D. Turner, it originated in the 2nd century AD as a fusion of ...

) compose certain books in the name of great men, and say that there are seven books in

Seth Seth, in the Abrahamic religions, was the third son of Adam and Eve. The Hebrew Bible names two of his siblings (although it also states that he had others): his brothers Cain and Abel. According to , Seth was born after Abel's murder by Cain, ...

's name, and give the name 'Strangers' to other, different books." In section 40.2.2, Epiphanius also adds, "And by now they (the

Archontics The Archontics, or Archontici, were a Gnostic sect that existed in Palestine, Syria and Armenia, who arose towards the mid 4th century CE. They were thus called from the Greek word , "principalities", or "rulers", by reason that they held the wo ...

) also have the ones called the 'Strangers'—there are books with this title." Porphyry, in ''Life of

Plotinus Plotinus (; , ''Plōtînos''; – 270 CE) was a Greek Platonist philosopher, born and raised in Roman Egypt. Plotinus is regarded by modern scholarship as the founder of Neoplatonism. His teacher was the self-taught philosopher Ammonius ...

'', mentions a Revelation bearing the name Allogenes.

Summary of ''Allogenes'' (NHC XI,3)

The opening of the text discusses the existence of perfect individuals who are joined together with the mind and a guardian that taught Allogenes. The Triple-Powered One is the power that exists within the individuals and extends itself as word. The Triple-Powered One is a male virginal youth and the first of the

Aeons The word aeon , also spelled eon (in American and Australian English), originally meant "life", "vital force" or "being", "generation" or "a period of time", though it tended to be translated as "age" in the sense of "ages", "forever", "timele ...

from a unique triple-powered Aeon. He knows himself and the perfect Invisible Spirit and came to be in an Aeon who knows That One. The Triple-Powered One is a perfect, invisible, noetic

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'', ''T ...

-Harmedon, and

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 S ...

, a Triple-Male, empowers the individuals. The passage also describes the invisible, spiritual Triple-Powered-One, who contains all the individuals within himself and is greater than perfect, blessed, and always One. He provides for every power and is a nonsubstantial substance. Individuals can apprehend the Universal One by means of a First Thought, and that Vitality, Mentality, and That-Which-Is are one, although individually they are three. The all-glorious One, Youel, speaks to Allogenes and reveals that he was given a great power by the Eternal before he arrived to distinguish things that are difficult and unknown. She anoints him and gives him power, telling him to guard the information about the Triple-Powered One in great silence and mystery. She describes the greatness of the Universal One that is higher than perfect and the Aeon of

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 al ...

, which acts within individuals to rectify failures from nature. The text describes the Universal One as being all-encompassing and known through the third silence of Mentality and the second undivided activity in the First Thought. Youel reveals to Allogenes the existence of a powerful being that utters a sound. Youel proceeds to praise this being, calling it by various names and attributing to it great power and divinity. She then praises the Universal One, before Allogenes sees the glories of perfect individuals and all-perfect ones. Youel explains that the Triple-Powered One exists beyond those who exist, as

divinity Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a single ...

and non-substantiality. Youel reveals that the Triple-Male is beyond substance and that the self-begotten ones exist with it. The text speaks about seeking and knowing the Good within oneself to become divine and perfect. After a hundred years of seeking, Allogenes experiences a revelation of the divine

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 youthful Savior, and other spiritual beings. He then sees holy powers by means of the Luminaries of the virginal male Barbelo, who guide him to the Vitality and Existence where he can know himself and the Unknown One. Allogenes is advised to still himself and not desire to be active, in order to maintain the inactivity of the Unknown One within him. He is told to be ignorant of the Unknown One even if he knows him, and to not dissipate in order to stand. Allogenes hears the Blessedness that allows him to know his proper self. Allogenes describes his journey of seeking self-knowledge and encountering an eternal, intellectual, undivided motion that pertains to all the formless powers. He experiences a primary revelation of the Unknowable One, which fills him with revelation and power. Allogenes seeks the ineffable and Unknowable God, the Mediator of the Triple-Powered One who subsists in stillness and silence and is unknowable. He is then advised by the powers of the Luminaries to hear about God in so far as it is possible by means of a primary revelation. Allogenes proceeds to describe God as something that exists without Mind or Life or Existence or Non-Existence, incomprehensibly, and as another one superior to blessedness, divinity, and perfection. God is not boundless or

corporeal Corporeal may refer to: *Matter (corporeal, or actual, physical substance or matter), generally considered to be a substance (often a particle) that has rest mass and (usually) also volume *Human body, Body, of or relating to the body *Corporeal ( ...

or existent, but self-comprehending and unknowable. Allogenes describes the Unknowable One as having blessedness, perfection, silence, and stillness. These attributes are entities of him that cannot be known and are beyond human comprehension. The Unknowable One is higher in beauty than all those that are good and exists in all things but is unknowable in every respect. Those who do not know God will be judged by themselves for not finding the true origin. The Unknowable One is corporeal but properly incorporeal and exists without any desire. It surrounds and empowers all things, but is an airless place of boundlessness. Allogenes advises not to seek more

knowledge Knowledge is an Declarative knowledge, awareness of facts, a Knowledge by acquaintance, familiarity with individuals and situations, or a Procedural knowledge, practical skill. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is oft ...

of the Unknowable One, but to leave the book upon a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

and adjure the guardian. Finally, Allogenes, speaking to his son Messos, proclaims the seal for all the books of Allogenes.

Summary of ''The Temptation of Allogenes'' (CT,4)

In the introduction, Allogenes and his son

pray File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

to God for a spirit of knowledge to reveal mysteries and understand where they come from, where they're going, and what they need to do to live, while on a mountain called Tabor.

Satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

appears and tempts Allogenes to enjoy the material world, but Allogenes refuses and says he seeks his

Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

who is above all realms. Satan tries to deceive Allogenes many times but ultimately fails and leaves in great shame. Allogenes cries out to God for mercy and help while in a deserted place. A bright cloud surrounds him, and he hears a message from it telling him that his prayer has been heard, and he will be told the gospel before leaving this place. Allogenes is warned that as he ascends he will encounter six powers (Desire, Darkness, Ignorance, Death, Kingdom of the Flesh, and Foolish 'Wisdom' of Flesh), each of which will bind him and demand to know where he is going, but he is instructed to respond that what bound him has been killed and he is going to his Father above, and when he does so he will go over the

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

s and without fear.

Origin and concordances

Although the roughly contemporary opponents of Allogenes literature provide some clues to its origin by virtue of their opinions, there is little concord among scholars in this regard; other than that it is Gnostic, it has yet to be definitively classified. ''The Temptation of Allogenes'' is a Christian Gnostic text that places Allogenes in Christ's stead in Matthew Chapter 4, adding Gnostic allusions; he describes "my Father" as " ewho is raised high above all great Aeons of heavens, each with their own God." The NHC ''Allogenes'' is a non-Christian, wholly Gnostic text; it is largely thought to be Sethian, with Allogenes as an allegory for

.Birger A. Pearson, Gnosticism, Judaism and Egyptian Christianity. Fortress Press, Minneapolis, 2006 However, Wire clarifies that the text nowhere mentions Seth or his children.Antoinette Clark Wire, "Allogenes: Introduction" in Nag Hammadi Codices Xi, Xii, Xiii, ed. by Elaine H. Pagels and Charles W. Hedrick. E.J. Brill, The Netherlands, 1990 When ''The Temptation of Allogenes'' first appeared, there was hope that the new discovery might help to fill in some of the missing lines of ''Allogenes'', but it is clear from what has been published that ''The Temptation of Allogenes'' is a wholly independent composition. At least it confirms the plurality of Allogenes books hinted at by Epiphanius, Porphyry and in the closing lines of ''Allogenes'' itself: "Proclaim them, O my son Mesos, as the seal for all the books of Allogenes." Wire identifies concordances between ''Allogenes'' and the Greek ''

Corpus Hermeticum The is a collection of 17 Greek writings whose authorship is traditionally attributed to the legendary Hellenistic figure Hermes Trismegistus, a syncretic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. The treatises were orig ...

'' or

Hermetica The ''Hermetica'' are texts attributed to the legendary Hellenistic figure Hermes Trismegistus, a syncretic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. These texts may vary widely in content and purpose, but by modern con ...

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 Apost ...

, Trimorphic Protennoia, Epistle of Eugnostos, the Sophia of Jesus Christ and the NHC Gospel of the Egyptians. Porphyry identified Allogenes in the same breath as

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 ...

, and in this purely Gnostic context, Wire adds the '' Untitled Text'' of the

Bruce Codex The Bruce Codex (Latin: ) is a codex that contains Coptic, Arabic, and Ethiopic manuscripts. It contains rare Gnostic works; the Bruce Codex is the only known surviving copy of the Books of Jeu and another work simply called Untitled Text or ...

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. Sch ...

and 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 d ...

. Despite Porphyry's dismay at the Sethians' lack of digestion of Plato, some common turns of phrase between the Nag Hammadi ''Allogenes'' and

Proclus Proclus Lycius (; 8 February 412 – 17 April 485), called Proclus the Successor (, ''Próklos ho Diádokhos''), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major classical philosophers of late antiquity. He set forth one of th ...

' ''Elements of Theology'' turn up in the Fifth Century CE, but not before that. Nevertheless, based on the considerable Neoplatonic content and negative theology of ''Allogenes'', Wire concludes that the text that we have is the same one read by Plotinus and his school in the 260s. John Douglas Turner suggests that ''Allogenes'' was written in direct response to the Neoplatonists' rejection of ''Zostrianos''; Porphyry notes that his colleague

Amelius Amelius (; ), whose family name was Gentilianus, was a Neoplatonist philosopher and writer of the second half of the 3rd century. Biography Amelius was a native of Apamea or Tuscany.Porphyry, ''Vit. Plotin.'' 7 Originally a student of the works of ...

wrote a 40-volume refutation to that text, which no longer survives and may have appeared around 240 CE. As a result, scholarship on ''Allogenes'' has largely existed in the shadow of ''Zostrianos''. On the other hand, Dylan Burns separates from the rest in proposing that the NHC ''Allogenes'' is a post-Plotonian redaction of an earlier Greek text and is therefore not the same as the one known to Plotinus. David Brons identifies the NHC Allogenes as "Non-Valentinian," but used by the school, and the Nag Hammadi Codex in which it has been recovered is otherwise devoted exclusively to Valentian texts.http://gnosis.org/library/valentinus/Valentinian_Writings.htm Writings of the Valentinian School

Summary of ''Allogenes'' (NHC XI,3)

Summary of ''The Temptation of Allogenes'' (CT,4)

Origin and concordances

References

Further reading