Gnosticism Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: , Romanization of Ancient Greek, romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: Help:IPA/Greek, �nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced ...

used a number of

religious text Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

s that are preserved, in part or whole, in ancient

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

s, or lost but mentioned critically in

Patristic Patristics, also known as Patrology, is a branch of theological studies focused on the writings and teachings of the Church Fathers, between the 1st to 8th centuries CE. Scholars analyze texts from both orthodox and heretical authors. Patristics em ...

writings. There is significant scholarly debate around what Gnosticism is, and therefore what qualifies as a "Gnostic text."

Gnostic texts

Gnostic texts preserved before 1945

Prior to the discovery at Nag Hammadi, only the following texts were available to students of Gnosticism. Reconstructions were attempted from the records of the heresiologists, but these were necessarily coloured by the motivation behind the source accounts. * Works preserved by the Church: ** ''

Acts of Thomas ''Acts of Thomas'' is an early 3rd-century text, one of the New Testament apocrypha within the Acts of the Apostles subgenre. The complete versions that survive are Syriac and Greek. There are many surviving fragments of the text. Scholars d ...

'' (Especially '' Hymn of the Pearl'' or ''The Hymn of the Robe of Glory'') ** ''The

Acts of John The Acts of John refers to a collection of stories about John the Apostle that began circulating in written form as early as the 2nd-century AD. Translations of the Acts of John in modern languages have been reconstructed by scholars from a number ...

'' (Especially '' The Hymn of Jesus'') * 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 ...

(purchased in 1769 by

James Bruce James Bruce of Kinnaird (14 December 1730 – 27 April 1794) was a Scottish traveller and travel writer who physically confirmed the source of the Blue Nile. He spent more than a dozen years in North and East Africa and in 1770 became the fir ...

): ** ''

Books of Jeu The Books of Jeu are two Gnostic texts. Though independent works, both the First Book of Jeu and the Second Book of Jeu appear, in Sahidic Coptic, in the Bruce Codex. They are a combination of a gospel and an esoteric revelation; the work profes ...

'', also known as ''The Gnosis of the Invisible God'' ** The '' Untitled Text'' * The Askew Codex (

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, bought in 1784): ** '' Pistis Sophia: Books of the Savior'' * The

Berlin Codex The Berlin Codex (also known as the Akhmim Codex and the Berlin Gnostic Codex, BG), given the accession number ''Papyrus Berolinensis'' 8502, is a Coptic manuscript from the 5th century CE, unearthed in Akhmim, Egypt. In Cairo, in January 1896, ...

or The Akhmim Codex (found in

Akhmim Akhmim (, ; Akhmimic , ; Sahidic/Bohairic ) is a city in the Sohag Governorate of Upper Egypt. Referred to by the ancient Greeks as Khemmis or Chemmis () and Panopolis (), it is located on the east bank of the Nile, to the northeast of Sohag. ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

; bought in 1896 by Carl Reinhardt): ** ''

Gospel of Mary The Gospel of Mary is an early Christian text discovered in 1896 in a fifth-century papyrus codex written in Sahidic Coptic. This Berlin Codex was purchased in Cairo by German diplomat Carl Reinhardt. Although the work is popularly known as t ...

'' ** ''

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 ...

'' ** an

epitome An epitome (; , from ἐπιτέμνειν ''epitemnein'' meaning "to cut short") is a summary or miniature form, or an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment. Epitomacy represents "to the degree of." A ...

of the ''

Acts of Peter The Acts of Peter is one of the earliest of the apocryphal Acts of the Apostles (genre), Acts of the Apostles in Christianity, dating to the late 2nd century AD. The majority of the text has survived only in the Vetus Latina, Latin translation of ...

'' ** '' The Wisdom of Jesus Christ'' * Unknown origin: ** '' The Secret Gospel of Mark'' ** ''The

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 ...

Complete list of codices found in Nag Hammadi

* Codex I (also known as ''The

Jung Codex 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 cod ...

''): ** ''

The Prayer of the Apostle Paul The Prayer of the Apostle Paul is a New Testament apocryphal work, the first manuscript from the Jung Codex (Codex I) of the Nag Hammadi Library. Written on the inner flyleaf of the codex, the prayer seems to have been added after the longer tra ...

'' ** ''The

Apocryphon of James The Apocryphon of James, also called the Secret Book of James or the Apocryphal Epistle of James, is a Gnostic epistle. It is the second tractate in Codex I of the Nag Hammadi library. The tractate is a Coptic translation of a Greek original, p ...

'' (also known as the Secret Book of James) ** ''The Gospel of Truth'' ** ''The Treatise on the Resurrection'' ** ''The Tripartite Tractate'' * Codex II: ** ''The

'' ** ''The

Gospel of Thomas The Gospel of Thomas (also known as the Coptic Gospel of Thomas) is a non-canonical Logia, sayings gospel. It was discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945 among a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library. Scholars speculate the works ...

'' a sayings gospel ** ''The

Gospel of Philip The Gospel of Philip is a non-canonical Gnostic Gospel dated to around the 3rd century but lost in medieval times until rediscovered by accident, buried with other texts near Nag Hammadi in Egypt, in 1945. The Gospel is not accepted as canonical ...

'' ** ''The

Hypostasis of the Archons ''Hypostasis of the Archons'', also translated ''The Reality of the Rulers'', is a Gnostic religious text. Originally written in Greek in the second or third century CE, the only known copy is a Coptic translation found in Codex II of the Nag Ha ...

'' ** '' On the Origin of the World'' ** ''The Exegesis on the Soul'' ** ''The Book of Thomas the Contender'' * Codex III: ** ''The

'' ** ''The Gospel of the Egyptians'' ** '' Eugnostos the Blessed'' ** '' The Sophia of Jesus Christ'' ** ''The Dialogue of the Savior'' * Codex IV: ** ''The

'' ** ''The Gospel of the Egyptians'' * Codex V: ** '' Eugnostos the Blessed'' ** ''The Apocalypse of Paul'' ** ''The

First Apocalypse of James The First Apocalypse of James is a Gnostic Apocalypse, apocalyptic writing. Its initial rediscovery was a Coptic language, Coptic translation as the third Masekhet, tractate of Codex V in the Nag Hammadi library. Additional copies were later foun ...

'' ** ''The Second Apocalypse of James'' ** ''The Apocalypse of Adam'' * Codex VI: ** ''The Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles'' (includes

The Hymn of the Pearl The Hymn of the Pearl (also Hymn of the Soul, Hymn of the Robe of Glory or Hymn of Judas Thomas the Apostle) is a passage of the apocryphal ''Acts of Thomas''. In that work, originally written in Syriac, the Apostle Thomas sings the hymn while p ...

) ** '' The Thunder, Perfect Mind'' ** '' Authoritative Teaching'' ** ''The Concept of Our Great Power'' ** ''

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

'' by

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

– The original is not Gnostic, but 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 ...

version is heavily modified with then-current Gnostic concepts. ** ''

The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth ''The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth'' is an ancient Hermetic treatise. It is one of the three short texts attributed to the legendary Hellenistic figure Hermes Trismegistus that were discovered among the Nag Hammadi findings. Insufficient ...

'' – a Hermetic treatise ** '' The Prayer of Thanksgiving'' (with a hand-written note) – a Hermetic prayer ** ''

Asclepius Asclepius (; ''Asklēpiós'' ; ) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Religion in ancient Greece, Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis (lover of Apollo), Coronis, or Arsinoe (Greek myth), Ars ...

21–29'' – another Hermetic treatise * Codex VII: ** ''The Paraphrase of Shem'' ** ''The

Second Treatise of the Great Seth The Second Treatise of the Great Seth, also known as the Second Discourse of the Great Seth and Second Logos of the Great Seth, is a Gnostic text. It is the second tractate in Codex VII of the Nag Hammadi library. It was likely originally writ ...

'' ** '' Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter'' ** ''The Teachings of Silvanus'' ** ''The Three Steles of Seth'' * Codex VIII: ** '' Zostrianos'' ** ''The Letter of Peter to Philip'' * Codex IX: ** ''

Melchizedek In the Hebrew Bible, Melchizedek was the king of Salem and priest of (often translated as 'most high God'). He is first mentioned in Genesis 14:18–20, where he brings out bread and wine and then blesses Abraham, and El Elyon or "the Lord, Go ...

'' ** ''The Thought of Norea'' ** ''The Testimony of truth'' * Codex X: ** '' Marsanes'' * Codex XI: ** ''The

Interpretation of Knowledge The Interpretation of Knowledge is the first tractate from Codex XI of the Nag Hammadi Library. The author emphasizes the importance of unity among members of the Gnostic community. Metaphorically, each part of the body has a specific role, and no ...

'' ** ''A Valentinian Exposition'', ''On the Anointing'', ''On Baptism'' (A and B) and ''On the Eucharist'' (A and B) ** '' Allogenes'' ** '' Hypsiphrone'' * Codex XII ** ''The

Sentences of Sextus The ''Sentences of Sextus'', also called the ''Sayings of Sextus'', is a Hellenistic Pythagorean collection of maxims which was popular among Christians and translated into several languages. The identity of the Sextus who originated the collec ...

'' ** ''The Gospel of Truth'' ** ''Fragments'' * Codex XIII: ** '' Trimorphic Protennoia'' ** ''On the Origin of the World'' ** ''Fragments'' The so-called "Codex XIII" is not a codex, but rather the text of ''Trimorphic Protennoia'', written on "eight leaves removed from a thirteenth book in late antiquity and tucked inside the front cover of the sixth." (Robinson, NHLE, p. 10) Only a few lines from the beginning of ''Origin of the World'' are discernible on the bottom of the eighth leaf.

Mandaean texts

Ginza Rabba The Ginza Rabba (), Ginza Rba, or Sidra Rabba (), and formerly the Codex Nasaraeus, is the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. The Ginza Rabba is composed of two parts: the Right Ginza (GR) and the Left Ginza (GL). T ...

(''The Great Treasure'', also known as ''The Book of Adam'') (DC 22) *

Qulasta The Qulasta, also spelled Qolastā in older sources (; ), is a compilation of Mandaean prayers. The Mandaic word ''qolastā'' means "collection". The prayerbook is a collection of Mandaic prayers regarding baptisms ('' maṣbuta'') and other sa ...

(''Canonical Prayerbook'') (DC 53) (see also list of Qulasta prayers) ** Sidra d-Nišmata (''Book of Souls'') (first part of the Qulasta) ** (''The Responses'') (part of the Qulasta) * Drašâ d-Jōhânā (''

Mandaean Book of John In Mandaeism, the Book of John () is a Mandaean holy book in Mandaic Aramaic which Mandaeans attribute to their prophet John the Baptist. The book contains accounts of John's life and miracles, as well as a number of polemical conversations w ...

'', also known as ''The Book of Kings'') * Diwan Abathur (''Scroll of Abatur'') (DC 8) * Harran Gawaitha (''Scroll of Great Revelation'') (DC 9, 36) * Diwan Maṣbuta d-Hibil Ziwa ('' The Baptism of Hibil Ziwa'') (DC 35) * Alf trisar šuialia ('' The 1012 Questions'') (DC 36 omplete, with all 7 books DC 6 ncomplete * Šarh d-qabin d-Šišlam Rabbā ('' The Wedding of the Great Šišlam'') (DC 38) * Šarh d-Traṣa d-Taga d-Šišlam Rabbā ('' The Coronation of the Great Šišlam'' – describes a ritual for the ordination of the Mandaean clergy) * Asfar Malwāšē ('' The Book of the Zodiac'') (DC 31) * Diwan Malkuta ʿLaita ('' Scroll of Exalted Kingship'') (DC 34)

Other

* The Hymn of Jesus *

* Coptic Apocalypse of Peter * Dialogue of the Saviour *

Odes of Solomon The Odes of Solomon are a collection of 42 odes attributed to Solomon. There used to be confusion among scholars on the dating of the Odes of Solomon; however, most scholars date it to somewhere between AD 70 and 125. The original language of the ...

Gospel of Judas The Gospel of Judas is a non-canonical religious text. Its content consists of conversations between Jesus and his disciples, especially Judas Iscariot. The only copy of it known to exist is a Coptic language text that is part of the Codex ...

* Gospel of the Saviour

Quoted or alluded

These texts are mentioned or partially quoted in the writings of the Church Fathers. * '' Gospel of Basilides'' mentioned by

Origen Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic, and Christian theology, theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Early cent ...

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

Ambrose Ambrose of Milan (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...

, Philip of Side, and

Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...

. *

Basilides Basilides ( Greek: Βασιλείδης) was an early Christian Gnostic religious teacher in Alexandria, Egypt who taught from 117 to 138 AD, notes that to prove that the heretical sects were "later than the catholic Church," Clement of Alexandr ...

' ''Exegetica'' mentioned in

Hippolytus of Rome Hippolytus of Rome ( , ; Romanized: , – ) was a Bishop of Rome and one of the most important second–third centuries Christian theologians, whose provenance, identity and corpus remain elusive to scholars and historians. Suggested communitie ...

('' Refutatio Omnium Haeresium'' VII, ixv and X, x) and

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria (; – ), was a Christian theology, Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and Alexander of Jerusalem. A ...

(''

Stromata The ''Stromata'' (), a mistake for ''Stromateis'' (Στρωματεῖς, "Patchwork," i.e., ''Miscellanies''), attributed to Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 215), is the third of a trilogy of works regarding the Christian life. The oldest ...

'' IV, xii and IV, xxiv–xxvi) * Epiphanes' ''On Righteousness'', mentioned in Clement of Alexandria (Str. III, ii). * Heracleon, Fragments from his Commentary on the Gospel of John, mentioned in Origen (''Commentary on the Gospel of John'') * Naassene Fragment mentioned in Hippolytus (''Ref.'' 5.7.2–9). *

Ophite Diagrams The Ophite Diagrams are ritual and esoteric diagrams used by the Ophites, Ophite sect of Gnosticism, who revered the serpent from the Garden of Eden as a symbol of wisdom, which the malevolent Demiurge tried to hide from Adam and Eve. Celsus and ...

mentioned in

Celsus Celsus (; , ''Kélsos''; ) was a 2nd-century Greek philosopher and opponent of early Christianity. His literary work '' The True Word'' (also ''Account'', ''Doctrine'' or ''Discourse''; Greek: )Hoffmann p.29 survives exclusively via quotati ...

and Origen * Ptolemy's ''Commentary on the Gospel of John Prologue'', mentioned in

Irenaeus Irenaeus ( or ; ; ) was a Greeks, Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christianity, Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the development of Christian theology by oppos ...

. * Ptolemy's ''Letter to Flora'', mentioned in Epiphanius.''Hær.'' XXXIII, 3–7. * Theodotus: ''Excerpta Ex Theodoto'' mentioned in Clement of Alexandria.

Manuscripts

* Askew Codex contains Pistis Sophia and some other unknown texts. *

, 5th century, contains a fragmentary

, out of nineteen pages, pages 1–6 and 11–14 are missing entirely, the

, The Sophia of Jesus Christ, and an

of the

Act of Peter :''This article discusses a text which is quite distinct from the Acts of Peter''. The ''Act of Peter'' is a brief miracle text celebrating virginity that is found in the 5th-century papyrus Berlin Codex (Berolinensis Gnosticus 8502). It treats ...

. *

contains the first and second

and three fragments – an untitled text, an untitled hymn, and the text "On the Passage of the Soul Through the Archons of the Midst". * Codex Tchacos, 4th century, contains the

, the

, the Letter of Peter to Philip, and a fragment of Allogenes. *

contains a large number of texts (for a complete list see the listing) * Three

Oxyrhynchus Oxyrhynchus ( ; , ; ; ), also known by its modern name Al-Bahnasa (), is a city in Middle Egypt located about 160 km south-southwest of Cairo in Minya Governorate. It is also an important archaeological site. Since the late 19th century, t ...

papyri contain portions of the

: ** Oxyrhyncus 1: this is half a leaf of papyrus which contains fragments of logion 26 through 33. ** Oxyrhyncus 654: this contains fragments of the beginning through logion 7, logion 24 and logion 36 on the flip side of a papyrus containing

surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the land, terrestrial Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional or Three-dimensional space#In Euclidean geometry, three-dimensional positions of Point (geom ...

data. ** Oxyrhyncus 655: this contains fragments of logion 36 through logion 39 and is actually 8 fragments named ''a'' through ''h'', whereof ''f'' and ''h'' have since been lost.

Notes

External links

The Gnostic Society Library

– from earlychristianwritings.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Gnostic Texts * Lost apocrypha Religion-related lists Religious bibliographies

Gnostic texts

Gnostic texts preserved before 1945

Complete list of codices found in Nag Hammadi

Mandaean texts

Other

Quoted or alluded

Manuscripts

See also

Notes

External links