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History of Gnosticism Early Gnosticism Syrian-Egyptic Gnosticism Gnosticism in modern times

Proto-Gnostics Philo Valentinius Cerinthus Basilides

Gnostic texts Gnostic Gospels Nag Hammadi library Codex Tchacos Bruce Codex Gnosticism and the New Testament

Related articles Gnosis Pythagoreanism Neoplatonism and Gnosticism Manichaeism Bosnian Church Esoteric Christianity Theosophy This box: view • talk • edit

Gnosticism used a number of religious texts that are preserved, in part or whole, in ancient manuscripts or are lost but mentioned critically in Patristic writings. Gnosticism (γνώσις gnōsis, Knowledge) refers to a diverse Syncretistic Religious movement consisting of various Belief systems The history of Gnosticism is subject to a great deal of debate and interpretation Early Gnosticism refers to a point in Gnosticism that occurred following the Fathers of Christian Gnosticism and related groups but prior to the shift to Syrian-Egyptian Gnostic Schools were ancient Gnostic sects from around the Middle East. Gnosticism includes a variety of ancient religions prevalent in the Mediterranean in the third century AD. The Church Fathers or Fathers of the Church is a term used in Catholic and Orthodox forms of Christianity to refer to the early and Philo (20 BC - 50 AD) known also as Philo of Alexandria (gr Φίλων ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria Valentinus (also spelled Valentius) ( c 100 - c160 CE) was the best known and for a time most successful Early Christian gnostic Cerinthus ( c 100 was an Early Christian originator of a heretical sect a " Heresiarch " in the view of the Church Fathers "Basilides" redirects here For the 17th century Ethiopian Emperor see Fasilides of Ethiopia. The term gnostic gospels refers to Gnostic collections of writings about the teachings of Jesus, written around the 2nd century AD. Nag Hammadi library (popularly known as The Gnostic Gospels) is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the The Codex Tchacos is an ancient Egyptian Coptic Papyrus containing early Christian Gnostic texts from approximately 300 A The Bruce Codex (also called the Codex Brucianus) is a gnostic manuscript acquired by the British Museum. This article discusses the relationship between Gnosticism and the New Testament. Gnosis (from one of the Greek words for Knowledge, γνώσις is the spiritual knowledge of a Saint or mystically enlightened human being Pythagoreanism is a term used for the Esoteric and metaphysical beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers the Pythagoreans who were much influenced Neoplatonism (also Neo-Platonism) is the modern term for a school of Hellenistic philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, based Manichaeism (in Modern Persian fa-Arab آیین مانی Āyin e Māni; Chinese zh 摩尼教 was one of the major Gnostic Religions originating The Bosnian Church ( crkva bosanska, ecclesia bosniensis) seems to have been a Catholic monastic order that separated itself from the wider Church possibly over the Esoteric Christianity is a term which refers to an ensemble of spiritual currents which regard Christianity as a Mystery religion, and profess the existence This article is about the philosophy introduced by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky Gnosticism (γνώσις gnōsis, Knowledge) refers to a diverse Syncretistic Religious movement consisting of various Belief systems A manuscript is any Document that is Written by hand as opposed to being printed or reproduced in some other way The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian Church

Gnostic texts

Full or fragmentary

These texts exist in surviving manuscripts.

• Acts of John
  • The Hymn of Jesus
• Acts of Peter
• Acts of Peter and the Twelve
• Acts of Thomas
  • The Hymn of the Pearl
• Allogenes

• Apocalypse of Adam
• First Apocalypse of James
• Second Apocalypse of James
• Apocryphon of James
• Apocryphon of John
• Coptic Apocalypse of Paul
• Coptic Apocalypse of Peter

• Books of Jeu
• Book of Thomas the Contender
• Dialogue of the Saviour
• Letter of Peter to Philip
• Odes of Solomon
• Pistis Sophia
• Secret Gospel of Mark
• The Sophia of Jesus Christ

• Gospel of the Egyptians
• Gospel of Judas
• Gospel of Mary
• Gospel of Philip
• Gospel of Thomas
• Gospel of Truth
• Unknown Berlin Gospel or Gospel of the Savior

Quoted or alluded

These texts are mentioned or partially quoted in the writings of the Church Fathers. The Acts of John is a 2nd-century Christian collection of narratives and traditions well described as a "library of materials", inspired by the The Acts of Peter is one of the earliest of the Apocryphal acts of the apostles The Acts of Peter and the Twelve is one of the texts from the New Testament apocrypha which was found in the Nag Hammadi library. The early 3rd century text called Acts of Thomas is arguably the most Gnostic of the New Testament apocrypha, portraying Christ as the "Heavenly 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 Allogenes is a Sethian Gnostic text from the New Testament apocrypha. The First Apocalypse of James, part of the New Testament apocrypha also called the Revelation of Jacob, was first discovered amongst 52 other Gnostic The Second Apocalypse of James (in this context "apocalypse" means revelation or vision) is one of the Gnostic Gospels, part of the New Testament The Coptic Apocalypse of Paul is one of the texts of the New Testament apocrypha found amongst the Nag Hammadi library. The Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter, not to be confused with the Apocalypse of Peter, is a text found amongst the Nag Hammadi library, and part of the The Books of Jeu are two Gnostic texts considered part of the New Testament apocrypha. The Book of Thomas the Contender, also known more simply as the Book of Thomas (not to be confused with the Gospel of Thomas) is one of the The Dialogue of the Saviour is one of the New Testament apocrypha texts that was found within the Nag Hammadi library of predominantly Gnostic texts The Letter of Peter to Philip, found in the cache of texts at Nag Hammadi (bound into Codex VIII contains a brief letter purporting to be from Saint Peter to For a book included in some editions of the Septuagint, see The Book of Odes. Pistis Sophia is an important Gnostic text The five remaining copies which scholars date c The Secret Gospel of Mark refers to a non-canonical Gospel which is the subject of the Mar Saba letter, a previously unknown letter attributed The Sophia of Jesus Christ is one of many Gnostic tractates from the Nag Hammadi codices, discovered in Egypt in 1945 Two versions of the formerly lost Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians (which is quite distinct from the Greek Gospel of the Egyptians) were among the codices in the The Gospel of Judas is a Gnostic gospel purported to document conversations between apostle Judas Iscariot and Jesus Christ. The Gospel of Mary is an apocryphal book discovered in 1896 in a fifth-century Papyrus Codex. The Gospel of Philip is one of the Gnostic Gospels, a text of New Testament Apocrypha, dating back to around the third century but lost to modern researchers The Gospel According to Thomas ( Coptic: ⲡⲉ̅ⲩ̅ⲁ̅ⲅⲅ̅ⲉⲗ̅ⲓⲟⲛ̅ ⲡⲕ̅ⲁ̅ⲧⲁ ⲑ̅ⲱ̅ⲙⲁⲥ also known as The Gospel The Gospel of Truth is one of the Gnostic texts from the New Testament apocrypha found in the Nag Hammadi codices ("NHC" The Unknown Berlin Gospel is a fragmentary Coptic text from an otherwise unknown gospel that has joined the New Testament apocrypha under the title Gospel

• Gospel of Basilides mentioned by Origen, Jerome, Ambrose, Philip of Side, and Bede. Origen ( Greek: Ōrigénēs, or Origen Adamantius, ca 185–ca Jerome (c 347 – September 30, 420) ( Latin: Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος Saint Ambrose (c 338 &ndash 4 April 397) was a bishop of Milan who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the fourth century Philip of Side or Philip Sidetes ( ca 380 - after 431 a historian of the early Christian church was born at Side, the ancient Greek Iconium Pamphylia Bede (ˈbiːd (also Saint Bede, the Venerable Bede, or (from Latin Beda (beda (c
• Basilides' Exegetica mentioned in Hippolytus of Rome (Refutatio Omnium Haeresium VII, i-xv and X, x) and Clement of Alexandria (Str. "Basilides" redirects here For the 17th century Ethiopian Emperor see Fasilides of Ethiopia. For places named after the saint see Saint-Hippolyte Saint Hippolytus of Rome (c The Refutation of All Heresies is a compendious Christian polemical work of the early Third century, now generally attributed to Hippolytus of Rome. Saint Clement of Alexandria (born Titus Flavius Clemens) (c150 - 211/216 was the first notable member of the Church of Alexandria, and one of its most IV, xii and IV, xxiv-xxvi)
• Epiphanes' On Righteousness, mentioned in Clement of Alexandria (Str. Epiphanes is the legendary author of On Righteousness, a notable Gnostic literary work that promotes communist principles that was published and discussed by 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. Heracleon was a Gnostic who flourished about AD 175, probably in the south of Italy. The Naassene Fragment is a fragmentary text that survives in no document save a quotation in the early third century encyclopedia of heresies by Hippolytus of Rome, 5. 7. 2-9).
• Ophite Diagrams mentioned in Celsus and Origen
• Ptolemy's Commentary on the Gospel of John Prologue, mentioned in Irenaeus^[1]. The Ophite Diagrams are ritual and Esoteric diagrams used by the Ophite Gnostic sect who worshipped the serpent from the Garden of Eden. Celsus ( Greek:) was a 2nd century Greek philosopher and opponent of Christianity. There were others named Ptolemy see Ptolemy (disambiguation Ptolemy the Gnostic was a disciple of the Gnostic teacher Valentinius Saint Irenaeus (Greek Ειρηναίος (2nd century AD - c 202 was Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, Roman Empire (now Lyons France
• Ptolemy's Letter to Flora, mentioned in Epiphanius^[2].
• Theodotus: Excerpta Ex Theodoto mentioned in Clement of Alexandria.

Manuscripts

The Nag Hammadi library is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. Nag Hammadi library (popularly known as The Gnostic Gospels) is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the Early Christianity is commonly defined as the Christianity of the three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus ( c Gnosticism (γνώσις gnōsis, Knowledge) refers to a diverse Syncretistic Religious movement consisting of various Belief systems This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Nag Hammadi ( Arabic نجع حمادي is a city in Upper Egypt.

• Askew Codex contains Pistis Sophia and some other unknown texts. The Askew Codex (aka Codex Askewianus) is a Parchment Manuscript now held by the British Library (BL Additional MS 5114 which contains Pistis Sophia is an important Gnostic text The five remaining copies which scholars date c
• Berlin Codex, 5th century, contains a fragmentary Gospel of Mary, out of nineteen pages, pages 1-6 and 11-14 are missing entirely, the Apocryphon of John, The Sophia of Jesus Christ, and an epitome of the Act of Peter. In 1896 the Coptic Berlin Codex (aka the Akhmim Codex) given the accession number Papyrus Berolinensis 8502 was unearthed in Akhmim The Gospel of Mary is an apocryphal book discovered in 1896 in a fifth-century Papyrus Codex. The Sophia of Jesus Christ is one of many Gnostic tractates from the Nag Hammadi codices, discovered in Egypt in 1945 An epitome ( Greek epitemnein —to cut short is a summary or miniature form also used as a Synonym for embodiment This article discusses a text which is quite distinct from the Act'''s''' of Peter.
• Bruce Codex contains the first and second Books of Jeu and three fragments - an untitled text, an untitled hymn, and the text "On the Passage of the Soul Through the Archons of the Midst". The Bruce Codex (also called the Codex Brucianus) is a gnostic manuscript acquired by the British Museum. The Books of Jeu are two Gnostic texts considered part of the New Testament apocrypha.
• Codex Tchacos, 4th century, contains the Gospel of Judas, the First Apocalypse of James, the Letter of Peter to Philip, and a fragment of Allogenes. The Codex Tchacos is an ancient Egyptian Coptic Papyrus containing early Christian Gnostic texts from approximately 300 A The Gospel of Judas is a Gnostic gospel purported to document conversations between apostle Judas Iscariot and Jesus Christ. The First Apocalypse of James, part of the New Testament apocrypha also called the Revelation of Jacob, was first discovered amongst 52 other Gnostic The Letter of Peter to Philip, found in the cache of texts at Nag Hammadi (bound into Codex VIII contains a brief letter purporting to be from Saint Peter to Allogenes is a Sethian Gnostic text from the New Testament apocrypha.
• Nag Hammadi library contains a large number of texts (for a complete list see the listing)
• Three Oxyrhynchus papyri contain portions of the Gospel of Thomas:
  • Oxyrhyncus 1: this is half a leaf of papyrus which contains fragments of logion 26 through 33. Nag Hammadi library (popularly known as The Gnostic Gospels) is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the Nag Hammadi library (popularly known as The Gnostic Gospels) is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the Oxyrhynchus (Ὀξύρρυγχος "sharp-nosed" ancient Egyptian Pr-Medjed; Coptic Pemdje; modern Egyptian Arabic The Gospel According to Thomas ( Coptic: ⲡⲉ̅ⲩ̅ⲁ̅ⲅⲅ̅ⲉⲗ̅ⲓⲟⲛ̅ ⲡⲕ̅ⲁ̅ⲧⲁ ⲑ̅ⲱ̅ⲙⲁⲥ also known as The Gospel
  • 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 data. Surveying is the technique and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional space Position of points and the distances and angles between
  • 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

1. ^ Adversus haereses, I, viii, 5. On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis ( commonly called Against Heresies (Latin Adversus haereses,) is a five-volume work
2. ^ Hær. XXXIII, 3-7.

See also

External links

• The Gnostic Society Library
• Gnostics, Gnostic Gospels, & Gnosticism - from earlychristianwritings. New Testament apocrypha are a number of writings of the early Christian church that give accounts of the teachings of Jesus, aspects of the life of Jesus accounts Pseudepigrapha (from Ancient Greek ψευδής Gnosticism (γνώσις gnōsis, Knowledge) refers to a diverse Syncretistic Religious movement consisting of various Belief systems Textual criticism (or lower criticism) is a branch of Literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of Transcription errors in For the region in Evrytania Greece see Agrafa Agrapha (Greek for "non written" singular agraphon) are sayings of Gospels are a Genre of Early Christian literature claiming to recount the life of Jesus to preserve his teachings or to reveal aspects of God The word " Epistle " is from the Greek word epistolos which means a written " letter " addressed to a recipient or recipients The Acts of the Apostles is a Genre of Early Christian literature claiming to recount the lives and works of the apostles of Jesus. A New Testament papyrus is a copy of a portion of the New Testament made on Papyrus. com