Gnosticism is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized personal spiritual knowledge (gnosis) above the orthodox teachings, traditions, and authority of religious institutions. Gnostic cosmogony generally presents a distinction between a supreme, hidden God and a malevolent lesser divinity who is responsible for creating the material universe. 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.
The Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit, also known as the Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians, is a Sethian Gnostic text found in Codices III and IV of the Nag Hammadi library. The text describes the origin of three powers: the Father, the Mother, and the Son, who came forth from the great invisible Spirit. The text emphasizes Seth as the origin of the seed of eternal life and the great, incorruptible race. It concludes with a prayer and a statement that it was written by the great Seth and placed in the mountain Charaxio to be revealed at the end of times.
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 Sethians were one of the main currents of Gnosticism during the 2nd and 3rd century CE, along with Valentinianism and Basilideanism. According to John D. Turner, it originated in the 2nd century CE as a fusion of two distinct Hellenistic Judaic philosophies and was influenced by Christianity and Middle Platonism. However, the exact origin of Sethianism is not properly understood.
The Thought of Norea is a Sethian Gnostic text. It is the second tractate in Codex IX of the Nag Hammadi library. The text consists of only 52 lines, making it one of the shortest tractates in the library. The work is untitled; it is called the Thought of Norea because the phrase appears in the final sentence of the text. The original text may have been written in the late second century AD. The version in the codex is a Coptic translation of a Greek original. The text is divided into four parts: an invocation, Norea's cry and deliverance, her activity in the Pleroma, and salvation.
Norea is a figure in Gnostic cosmology. Sometimes she is said to be the syzygy of Adam, or wife of Noah, and daughter of Eve. Norea is perceived within gnostic thought as Sophia after her fall from grace.
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.
Trimorphic Protennoia or Three Forms of First Thought is a Sethian Gnostic text from the New Testament apocrypha. The only surviving copy comes from the Nag Hammadi library. The text describes three descents using the voice of Barbelo in first person. The voice is the source of life, knowledge, and the first thought. The voice is said to have three names, three masculinities, and three powers, and it is described as androgynous. It explains that Sophia descended to help counter the plan of the demon Yaldabaoth and the archons. The speaker invites the reader to enter the high perfect light and receive glory, enthronement, and baptism.
The Gospel of the Truth is one of the Gnostic texts from the New Testament apocrypha found in the Nag Hammadi codices ("NHC"). It exists in two Coptic translations, a Subakhmimic rendition surviving almost in full in the first Nag Hammadi codex and a Sahidic in fragments in the twelfth codex.
The Hypostasis of the Archons, also called The Reality of the Rulers or The Nature of the Rulers, is a Gnostic writing. The only known surviving manuscript is in Coptic as the fourth tractate in Codex II of the Nag Hammadi library. It has some similarities with On the Origin of the World, which immediately follows it in the codex. The Coptic version is a translation of a Greek original, possibly written in Egypt in the third century AD. The text begins as an exegesis on Genesis 1–6 and concludes as a discourse explaining the nature of the world's evil authorities. It applies Christian Gnostic beliefs to the Jewish origin story, and translator Bentley Layton believes the intent is anti-Jewish.
Archons are, in Gnosticism and religions closely related to it, the builders of the physical universe. Among the Archontics, Ophites, Sethians and in the writings of Nag Hammadi library, the archons are rulers, each related to one of seven planets; they prevent souls from leaving the material realm. The political connotation of their name reflects rejection of the governmental system, as flawed without chance of true salvation. In Manichaeism, the archons are the rulers of a realm within the "Kingdom of Darkness", who together make up the Prince of Darkness. In The Reality of the Rulers, the physical appearance of Archons is described as hermaphroditic, with their faces being those of beasts.
In Sethian Gnosticism, Astaphaios is an archon. In On the Origin of the World, he is one of the three sons of Yaldabaoth, with the other two being Yao and Eloai. In the Apocryphon of John, he is the third of the seven archons.
In Sethian Gnosticism, Yao or Iao is an archon. In On the Origin of the World, he is one of the three sons of Yaldabaoth, with the other two being Astaphaios and Eloai. In the Apocryphon of John, he is the fourth of the seven archons.
In Sethian Gnosticism, Kalyptos is one of the three emanations of Barbelo. Kalyptos is mentioned in Nag Hammadi texts such as Zostrianos, The Three Steles of Seth, Allogenes the Stranger, and Marsanes.
In Sethian Gnosticism, Protophanes is one of the three emanations of Barbelo. Protophanes is mentioned in Nag Hammadi texts such as Zostrianos, The Three Steles of Seth, Allogenes the Stranger, and Marsanes.
In Sethian Gnosticism, Autogenes is an emanation or son of Barbelo. Autogenes is mentioned in Nag Hammadi texts such as Zostrianos, The Three Steles of Seth, Allogenes the Stranger, and Marsanes.
In Sethian Gnosticism, Youel or Yoel is an angel who is described as a male virgin. Youel is mentioned in Nag Hammadi texts such as The Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit, Zostrianos, Allogenes the Stranger. In the latter two texts, Youel gives five revelations to protagonists Zostrianos and Allogenes, respectively, during their visionary ascents to heaven.
In Sethian Gnostic texts, the Five Seals are typically described as a baptismal rite involving a series of five full immersions in holy running or "living water," symbolizing spiritual ascension to the divine realm. The Five Seals are frequently mentioned in various Sethian Gnostic texts from the Nag Hammadi library.
In Sethian Gnostic texts, Micheus, Michar, and Mnesinous are the three heavenly spirits that preside over the rite of baptism, performed in the wellspring of Living Water. They are mentioned in the Nag Hammadi tractates of the Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit, Trimorphic Protennoia, Zostrianos, and Apocalypse of Adam. In the texts, the trio is frequently mentioned along with Yesseus Mazareus Yessedekeus, the name of the Living Water.
