Contemporary Reflections on the Gnostic Tradition

The modern Gnostic texts collected here represent contemporary engagements with the ancient Gnostic tradition — liturgical texts, theological reflections, and scholarly meditations by modern Gnostic practitioners and thinkers. They witness to the continuing vitality of Gnosis as a living spiritual tradition. These texts have been digitised from the Gnostic Society Library (gnosis.org) and include liturgical works, catechisms, homilies, and theological meditations by modern Gnostic communities and thinkers.

The Lectionary of the Ecclesia Gnostica

An Overview of the Lectionary

The Lectionary of the Ecclesia Gnostica provides collects, lessons, and gospels arranged according to the ecclesiastical calendar. The Church's year follows both movable feasts (those based on Easter) and fixed feasts commemorating significant dates and saints. The calendar includes movable feasts such as Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Trinity Sunday, as well as non-movable feast days throughout the year dedicated to saints, archangels, and significant events in Gnostic tradition.

The Gnostic Catechism

Preface

Why a Gnostic Catechism?

"A Gnostic Catechism? What a preposterous idea and a contradiction in terms to boot!" Such and similar objections are likely to be forthcoming in response to the present effort. The word "catechism" readily conjures up visions of dogmatic belief, enshrined in rigidly formulated articles and designed to be memorized and mindlessly recited by children and by adults of childish minds. Yet a catechism is truly but a compendium of instructions, usually of a religious nature, arranged in the form of questions and answers. There is no necessary implication of dogmatism and even less of childish simple mindedness at all.

Still, when we attach the word "Gnostic" to "Catechism" we may encounter another problem. A Gnostic is by definition a knower, and since knowledge supersedes belief, a knower cannot very well be a believer. If a catechism is mainly a statement of beliefs, it is something that no Gnostic would have a need for. So far so good, but the issue under consideration is a bit more complex than that.

Throughout history there existed two principal ways of viewing Gnosticism. The first was rooted in the hostile critique of the heresiologist Church Fathers. It declared that Gnosticism was speculation and philosophizing resulting in a patchwork system of purloined parts from here and there. A catechism based on such a system would be worthless because the system itself would be worthless. The second way of viewing Gnosticism, which has been gaining in acceptance lately, is both more fair and more accurate than the former. In this view, Gnosticism is grounded in the experience of Gnosis, which is the salvific and revelatory experience of transcendence. The experience of Gnosis then receives expression in the Gnostic Mythos which allows the Gnostic to amplify and assimilate the experience of Gnosis and also makes further experience of Gnosis possible.
Rushing to conclusions on the basis of only the first portion of this definition, some people come to exaggerate the importance of Gnosis at the expense of the Gnostic Mythos.
They come to feel that nothing other than Gnosis matters, and that a Gnostic is simply one who has experienced Gnosis.
It is no doubt true that without Gnosis there is no Gnosticism, but it is also true that without the context of the Gnostic Mythos the Gnosis of the individual loses its salvific character. Our world harbors many people who have had impressive spiritual experiences which, however, never yielded any significant meaning. (The specific salvific meaning the Gnostic derives from the experience of Gnosis is redemption, which means liberation from the necessity of earthly existence.) Only when Gnosis occurs within a particular meaningful context will the Gnostic obtain optimal results from his experience.

This does not mean that Gnosticism posits any kind of dogma against which to measure the authenticity of the experience of the Gnostic. What it means is that Gnostic sages and seers have brought forth from their own original experiences of Gnosis a vast and meaningful Mythos which represents the theoretical matrix for our practical experience.
This mythic matrix is of course not closed; rather it invites modifications and additions of an appropriate nature from other seers and travelers on the Aeonial paths of Gnosis.
The catechism which follows is a manual of instruction in the Gnostic Mythos. Its aim is to instruct not only in one variety of this Mythos, but in the entire heritage of the Gnostic tradition, whereby we mean the teachings of the Gnostic sages and seers as found in their original writings, including the Nag Hammadi collection. The less reliable accounts and recensions of these teachings found in the writings of the Church Fathers have also been taken into consideration. The non-Christian Gnosis of the Hermetic writings has been considered also. The teachings of the Prophet Mani are often included. (It is increasingly evident to scholarship that the Manichaean Gnosis is an organic part of the Gnostic tradition.) The spirit, if not always the letter of all known dispensations of the Gnostic tradition, finds its expression in this catechism.
Catechisms have been with us for a long time. It is believed that the first such compendia were based on the catechetical lectures of Cyril of Jerusalem in the Fourth Century A.D. The name originates in the Greek verb katexein, meaning to teach, and the first catechisms seem to have grown out of oral instructions given to those who were candidates for membership in the church.

Not only mainstream orthodoxy had catechisms, however. So called heretics, sometimes of a Gnostic or gnosticising orientation, often had their own catechisms. It was rumored that the Cathars of the Languedoc had a catechism, but no copy of this work has been found so far. The most famous "heretical" catechism was the one printed in 1498 (although existing earlier) which was used not by one but by three heterodox movements at once, i.e. the Waldenses of Savoy, the Brethren of the Common Life in Germany and the Unitas Fratrum in Bohemia. A catechism format was even employed by the renowned esoteric teacher of the 19th Century, H. P. Blavatsky, in her work, The Key to Theosophy. (Indeed one is tempted to interject that if such a non-dogmatic system as Theosophy could employ this format, surely modern Gnosticism could do the same.) The French Gnostic Church possessed a catechism, written by Bishop Jean Bricaud and published in 1907. (See our bibliography.) It would seem that there exists ample precedent for our present effort.

Let us state then once and for all: This catechism was not prepared in order to create a Gnostic orthodoxy or to proclaim Gnostic dogmas. Rather it is designed to meet a twofold need, one general and the other particular. There exists a general need for concise, clear and authentic information regarding the Mythos held by the Gnostic tradition. The present age is characterized by much shallow thinking and a tendency to reduce meaningful ideas to nebulous nonsense. With the increase of publicity attached to some teachings of the Nag Hammadi material, Gnostic ideas and terms are being appropriated by uninformed sources.

The name Gnostic is often misapplied. When everything is "Gnostic", nothing is Gnostic. Although far flung and poetic, the Gnostic Mythos is a specific one; one ought to know what it is and what it is not.
The other need is particular. It relates primarily to the Ecclesia Gnostica, a Gnostic church with which the author is associated, although other kindred churches might be interested also. Candidates for Gnostic Baptism, and for other sacraments, including Holy Orders, are in dire need of such information. Certainly they are not asked to blindly believe in the contents of the Gnostic Catechism. Rather, it is likely that they will be pleased to read a brief yet comprehensive statement of the Mythos to which they have been attracted. While few of them wish for some sort of litmus test of Gnosticism to which they are expected to conform slavishly, a compendium of ideas and ideals, used as a point of reference will be welcomed by all. May all practitioners of the Gnostic tradition profit from the fruit of our present labors and may the holy cause of the Gnosis be furthered thereby!

Lesson I

Of God And The Universe

What is God?

The infinite and eternal Reality behind all phenomena, known to the Gnostic under several names, such as the True God, the Unknown Father, the King of Light and many more.

What are some further characteristics of God?

Although being infinite, God is in a sense beyond all qualities; one may nevertheless affirm that God is the highest, perfect transcendental Existence in Whom everything originated and by Whom everything is sustained.

What is God essentially?

Essentially, God is potential Being, for in Him all potentialities are present.

What is God secondarily?

In a secondary sense God is Being in activity; He is Being in actuality.

How does the potentiality of God make its to actuality?

The word whereby we express the passage from potential Being to actualized Being is the term "to emanate". It is by such emanation (pouring forth) that the multitude of spiritual and material worlds and their fashioners emerge from the original potentiality of God.

Can there be more than one God?

If under "God" we understand the ultimate and true Reality then the answer is no.

If the lesser emanated deities should be called "Gods" then the answer would be yes. It is also possible to envision the ultimate God as the first God, and the Demiurge, the lesser god of this world, as the second god.

Is God a Holy Trinity?

Yes. The Gnostic tradition has always affirmed the existence of God as the Holy Trinity consisting of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

What are the properties of the three persons of the Holy Trinity?

The Father is characterized by activity, the creation of beings and their attraction; the Son by articulated intelligence (LOGOS) and the will to redeem; and the Holy Spirit by inspiration, fortification and vivification. In short: The Father is creator, the Son redeemer and the Holy Spirit sanctifier.

God being called "He" and Father and Son being masculine names, do we need to assume that the godhead is of the male gender?

No. God is totally beyond the limiting characteristics of gender. The ineffable qualities of the Divine, when receiving names in human language, have come to receive the common articles of "he", "she" and "it". It is not uncommon to find terms for God in Gnostic scriptures which are androgynous such as "Mother-Father" (METROPATOR), and the third person of the Holy Trinity (the Holy Spirit) is regarded by Gnostics as feminine.

Why is it that Gnostics do not apply "gender neutral" terms to God?

Traditional names such as "God the Father" or "God the Son" are instrumentalities whereby qualities and keynotes of profound mystical subtlety have been expressed within the limitations of human language. To substitute for them arbitrary products of human thought would almost certainly lead to the loss of these qualities and keynotes.

Is this the only reason?

No. Gnostics know that ancient Divine Names are Words of Power, which, when uttered, bring forth from the Aeonial regions specific responses of grace. (A good example is to be found in the scripture Thunder, the Perfect Mind, where a Divine Being says: "I am the utterance of my name".) The effectiveness of such sacred theurgy should not be jeopardized by a change of names.

How did this universe come into existence?

Like all other things and beings, this universe was emanated by God.

Does this mean that the universe is God, or part of God?

The universe is not God in the exclusive sense, for God is by no means confined to this or any other universe. The universe, however, consists of the substance of God. It came forth from Him and to Him it shall return.

Is the universe good?

Since God is good and the universe was emanated by Him, it would be reasonable to assume that the universe is good. Yet we find that the universe contains some qualities that are good, others that are evil, and yet others that are indifferent.

Where do these qualities originate?

In contrast with the good qualities, the evil and the indifferent ones originate not in the goodness and wisdom of God, whose substance underlies the universe, but in the blindness and willfulness of certain spiritual entities who fashioned this substance into a universe. These half-makers (Demiurges), or false rulers (Archons), are the cause of the ambivalent nature of the worlds of matter and mind.

Is God present in the universe?

Yes. God is present because He is everywhere. He is present as the source and end of all; He is present because ultimately all things are under His dominion; and He is also present because nothing is hidden from Him. This presence is known as omnipresence, which, however, does not denote omnipotence, since effective control of our universe is not exercised by God, but by the Demiurge and Archons.

Is this the only way in which God is present in the universe?

No. God is not only omnipresent but also immanent in the universe, for the underlying essence of all things is none other than God. Once again, this underlying essence does not imply effective control over the forms within which the essence is embodied.

Is God present within the human being?

God is present in the human being in a very special way, for the spirit in man contains God's effective presence. This is also at times called the Christ in us, described by St. Paul as our "hope of glory".

What will happen to the universe at the end of time?

When the present Aeon comes to an end, the seeds of light (redeemable spiritual portions) in the universe will be lifted up into the fullness of God (PLEROMA) while the darkness present in the universe will be left behind.

What is to be the fate of the unredeemed darkness of the universe?

Gnostic revelation is not unanimous on this question. There are indications that at least some portion of the darkness of the universe will go into a state of purificatory suspension to be redeemed in some future cycle. Other indications intimate that much of such darkness, particularly the material (HYLIC) world will be dissolved so that its existence will only have been an accident in limitless time.

LESSON II OF THE SPIRITUAL WORLDS AND THE DEMIURGE 21. What is a spirit? A spirit is a being that has a measure of consciousness and free will, but no material body, and thus will never die. 22. Are there many spirits? Their number is immeasurable and they form both within and beyond the universe a vast, luminous realm which is called heaven by many traditions. Not all spirits are in this beneficent, luminous realm, however. 23. What are the spirits and their habitations called by Gnostics? Both the spirits and their habitations are frequently called Aeons. (In a derivative sense, an age is sometimes also called an Aeon.) 24. How many categories are the spirits divided into? The categories and hierarchies of spirits are very numerous and only a few are explicitly known. They range all the way from the highest deific Aeonial beings who dwell in perfect harmony, balance and bliss in the Fullness (PLEROMA), to the various kinds of angels, down to elementals and spirit-denizens of nature. 25. What are angels? Angels are spirits, upon whom great power, wisdom and holiness have been bestowed by God. 26. What does the word "angel" mean? It means "messenger", for the most frequent role of angels is that of messengers and mediators between the PLEROMA and the world of humans. 27. Which angelic hierarchies and individual angels are known to us? There are nine orders or "choirs" of angels: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions (or Dominations), Virtues, Powers, Principalities (Kingdoms), Archangels and Angels. The canonical scriptures mention three angels by name: the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. The Gnostic church adds to these a fourth: Uriel. Gnostic scriptures mention most of these angels and add numerous others such as the rescuer of Gnostics, Eleleth, and many others. 28. How do angels help humans? Angels help humans by praying for them, by acting as messengers between the PLEROMA and our earthly dwelling place, and by serving as our guardian angels. 29. In what special ways do our guardian angels help us? Guardian angels pray for us, protect us from spiritual harm (or at times also from physical harm), and inspire us to aspire to Gnosis. 30. Does each individual human have a guardian angel? It has been commonly held by tradition that each person has a special guardian angel. Experience both Gnostic and otherwise bears this out. By the same token it must be recalled that the concept of the guardian angel has been influenced by a yet more profound mystery, i.e. that of the Divine Twin, or Twin Angel. 31. What is the Divine Twin or Twin Angel? There are reports in Gnostic scripture and tradition about a celestial twin spirit who overshadows the human and at certain special times manifests to him. In Pistis Sophia such a twin comes to Jesus early in his life and unites with Him. The Holy Prophet Mani experienced several manifestations of his twin who finally united with him and took him to heaven. 32. Can spirits including angels be seen? Not ordinarily. However, under special circumstances, angels have visibly manifested to humans. The visitation of the Holy Virgin Mary by the Archangel Gabriel and the revelation of the Koran to Mohammed by the same Archangel are two examples. 33. Are there spirits involved in our lives who are not good? Yes. There are spiritual beings who have become estranged from God and from the PLEROMA and who are thus at best unwise and at worst evil. 34. Where are these estranged spiritual beings to be found? They are found primarily in connection with the material universe and its mental and emotional aspects, for they are primarily responsible for the creation and management of these realms and for the suffering and sorrow that abide therein. 35. Are these estranged spiritual beings the same as the fallen angels that some Christians believe in? There can be little doubt that the myth of the war in heaven and of the fall of Lucifer are but a form of the Gnostic statements about the estrangement of the Demiurge and his Archons from the PLEROMA. 36. What is the Demiurge? He is called Demiurge or "half-maker" because he had taken the divine substance and fashioned out of it a world. He is the spiritual being who had become forgetful of his origins, even of God. He thinks that he is God and there is no other God before him. 37. By what names is the Demiurge known? In Gnostic scriptures he is called YALDABAOTH (child of chaos), SACLAS (fool) and SAMAEL (blind one). In later Gnosticizing lore he was at times identified with LUCIFER or SATAN, the prince of the powers of air. 38. Is the Demiurge evil? He is classically regarded as flawed and foolish but not utterly evil. In medieval Gnostic traditions he became increasingly identified with evil. 39. Does the Demiurge have associates? Yes, they are the Archons (rulers), and their desire is to rule over humans and other beings. 40. What is the relationship of the Demiurge to YAHWEH, the God of the Old Testament? Not all the images of God in the Old Testament come from the same source. A good many are descriptions of the Demiurge. Some, such as those in the Wisdom Literature and in some Psalms, are of a much more exalted nature. Some Gnostic teachers held that the teachings of the Old Testament were a mixture attributable to three sources: the Demiurge, the elders of Israel and the True God. 41. If the Demiurge and his Archons are power-hungry and arrogant but not truly evil, are there, in addition, truly evil demons? Yes. There exist monstrosities of evil which populate hellish regions in association with earth. Their origins are unknown. The name of one demon mentioned in Gnostic scriptures is YACHTANABAS, although there are others. 42. Can the Demiurge and his Archons be redeemed? This possibility is alluded to in some Gnostic writings. At least one such being, the brother of the Demiurge, has turned to the good and been redeemed. His name is SABAOTH and also ABRAXAS. Cognate theories of universal redemption, even of demons and of the Demiurge, were articulated in early times by Origen (APOKATASTASIS PANTHON) and in our days by C. G. Jung (in Answer to Job).

Lesson II

Of The Spiritual Worlds And The Demiurge

What is a spirit?

A spirit is a being that has a measure of consciousness and free will, but no material body, and thus will never die.

Are there many spirits?

Their number is immeasurable and they form both within and beyond the universe a vast, luminous realm which is called heaven by many traditions. Not all spirits are in this beneficent, luminous realm, however.

What are the spirits and their habitations called by Gnostics?

Both the spirits and their habitations are frequently called Aeons. (In a derivative sense, an age is sometimes also called an Aeon.)

How many categories are the spirits divided into?

The categories and hierarchies of spirits are very numerous and only a few are explicitly known. They range all the way from the highest deific Aeonial beings who dwell in perfect harmony, balance and bliss in the Fullness (PLEROMA), to the various kinds of angels, down to elementals and spirit-denizens of nature.

What are angels?

Angels are spirits, upon whom great power, wisdom and holiness have been bestowed by God.

What does the word "angel" mean?

It means "messenger", for the most frequent role of angels is that of messengers and mediators between the PLEROMA and the world of humans.

Which angelic hierarchies and individual angels are known to us?

There are nine orders or "choirs" of angels: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions (or Dominations), Virtues, Powers, Principalities (Kingdoms), Archangels and Angels. The canonical scriptures mention three angels by name: the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. The Gnostic church adds to these a fourth: Uriel. Gnostic scriptures mention most of these angels and add numerous others such as the rescuer of Gnostics, Eleleth, and many others.

How do angels help humans?

Angels help humans by praying for them, by acting as messengers between the PLEROMA and our earthly dwelling place, and by serving as our guardian angels.

In what special ways do our guardian angels help us?

Guardian angels pray for us, protect us from spiritual harm (or at times also from physical harm), and inspire us to aspire to Gnosis.

Does each individual human have a guardian angel?

It has been commonly held by tradition that each person has a special guardian angel. Experience both Gnostic and otherwise bears this out. By the same token it must be recalled that the concept of the guardian angel has been influenced by a yet more profound mystery, i.e. that of the Divine Twin, or Twin Angel.

What is the Divine Twin or Twin Angel?

There are reports in Gnostic scripture and tradition about a celestial twin spirit who overshadows the human and at certain special times manifests to him. In Pistis Sophia such a twin comes to Jesus early in his life and unites with Him. The Holy Prophet Mani experienced several manifestations of his twin who finally united with him and took him to heaven.

Can spirits including angels be seen?

Not ordinarily. However, under special circumstances, angels have visibly manifested to humans. The visitation of the Holy Virgin Mary by the Archangel Gabriel and the revelation of the Koran to Mohammed by the same Archangel are two examples.

Are there spirits involved in our lives who are not good?

Yes. There are spiritual beings who have become estranged from God and from the PLEROMA and who are thus at best unwise and at worst evil.

Where are these estranged spiritual beings to be found?

They are found primarily in connection with the material universe and its mental and emotional aspects, for they are primarily responsible for the creation and management of these realms and for the suffering and sorrow that abide therein.

Are these estranged spiritual beings the same as the fallen angels that some Christians believe in?

There can be little doubt that the myth of the war in heaven and of the fall of Lucifer are but a form of the Gnostic statements about the estrangement of the Demiurge and his Archons from the PLEROMA.

What is the Demiurge?

He is called Demiurge or "half-maker" because he had taken the divine substance and fashioned out of it a world. He is the spiritual being who had become forgetful of his origins, even of God. He thinks that he is God and there is no other God before him.

By what names is the Demiurge known?

In Gnostic scriptures he is called YALDABAOTH (child of chaos), SACLAS (fool) and SAMAEL (blind one). In later Gnosticizing lore he was at times identified with LUCIFER or SATAN, the prince of the powers of air.

Is the Demiurge evil?

He is classically regarded as flawed and foolish but not utterly evil. In medieval Gnostic traditions he became increasingly identified with evil.

Does the Demiurge have associates?

Yes, they are the Archons (rulers), and their desire is to rule over humans and other beings.

What is the relationship of the Demiurge to YAHWEH, the God of the Old Testament?

Not all the images of God in the Old Testament come from the same source. A good many are descriptions of the Demiurge. Some, such as those in the Wisdom Literature and in some Psalms, are of a much more exalted nature. Some Gnostic teachers held that the teachings of the Old Testament were a mixture attributable to three sources: the Demiurge, the elders of Israel and the True God.

If the Demiurge and his Archons are power-hungry and arrogant but not truly evil, are there, in addition, truly evil demons?

Yes. There exist monstrosities of evil which populate hellish regions in association with earth. Their origins are unknown. The name of one demon mentioned in Gnostic scriptures is YACHTANABAS, although there are others.

Can the Demiurge and his Archons be redeemed?

This possibility is alluded to in some Gnostic writings. At least one such being, the brother of the Demiurge, has turned to the good and been redeemed. His name is SABAOTH and also ABRAXAS. Cognate theories of universal redemption, even of demons and of the Demiurge, were articulated in early times by Origen (APOKATASTASIS PANTHON) and in our days by C. G. Jung (in Answer to Job).

LESSON III OF THE HUMAN BEING 43. What is the human being? The human being is a spirit (PNEUMA) endowed with reason and with free will combined with a soul and an animal body. 44. What is an animal? It is a certain kind of soul (ANIMA, PSYCHE) combined with a body (SOMA). 45. In what way does the human differ from the animal? The human being differs from the animal in that the human is connected with his true nature which is spirit. 46. Where does the spirit of the human being come from? The spirit of the human being originates in the Divine Fullness (PLEROMA), from whence it descended into the soul and body. 47. How may the spirit (PNEUMA) of the human being be described? The human spirit is a spark of God's light, an effective part of God, separated from God in outer manifestation, but retaining a living connection with its ultimate source. 48. How may the soul (PSYCHE) of the human being be described? The soul consists of several components which at the present stage of human development are largely dominated by the thinking principle and to some extent by the feeling principle. 49. How may the body (SOMA) of the human being be described? The body of the human being is composed of flesh (SARX) which is a form of matter (HYLE) albeit endowed temporarily with biological life. 50. Where do the soul and the body of the human being come from? The soul is composed of immaterial substance brought about by the prolonged interaction of spirit and body (or bodies). The body is the product of biological evolution that has taken place on earth; a process influenced by the Archons. 51. For what reason did the spirits of human beings come to embody themselves on earth? The classical scriptures of the Gnosis are not explicit on this subject. Other scriptures (The Hymn of the Pearl; the revelations of The Holy Prophet Mani) indicate that human beings come into souls and bodies in order to rescue earlier emanations of the divine light by refining and purifying the darkness. 52. Was the aim achieved which was set for the human spirits when they came down to earth? Only in a very few instances. Almost all those which came down failed. Tempted by the deceptive mirages here below, they yielded to the impulses of the soul and body instead of retaining spiritual mastery over them. Thus the first or heavenly man became the man of earth. 53. How do some kindred traditions describe this calamitous event? The Hermetic Gnosis states that charmed by the universe the human being yielded to the attractions of physical matter and identified himself with it, and so was trapped in the body. The Jewish and Christian traditions call it the Fall. 54. How can the human being recover his original condition? By Gnosis, which is the knowledge of his true nature and original condition, a portion of which is ANAMNESIS, the remembering of true things forgotten. 55. What stands in the way of humanity's recovery of its original condition? The obstacle is ignorance (A-GNOSIS) manifesting in the forgetting of the real (AMNESIS). 56. Is there an original sin? Yes and no. Being trapped in the body and deceived by the Archonic part of the soul, all humans suffer from a deficiency which they share with all of creation. This deficiency, however, is not the result of any particular sinful act on the part of human ancestors (Adam and Eve). Rather than being a sin (moral failing), it is an unfortunate existential condition. 57. What are the results of this existential condition? As the result of this condition, humans are born as slaves of the earthly Demiurge and his Archons. 58. What sufferings do these Archonic powers make us undergo? The afflictions attendant upon life in the realm of the Archons are very numerous. Some of these are: gravity (being earthbound), heat, cold, natural disasters, diseases, pain, death and the torment of re-embodiment in successive lives.

Lesson III

OF THE HUMAN BEING

What is the human being?

The human being is a spirit (PNEUMA) endowed with reason and with free will combined with a soul and an animal body.

What is an animal?

It is a certain kind of soul (ANIMA, PSYCHE) combined with a body (SOMA).

In what way does the human differ from the animal?

The human being differs from the animal in that the human is connected with his true nature which is spirit.

Where does the spirit of the human being come from?

The spirit of the human being originates in the Divine Fullness (PLEROMA), from whence it descended into the soul and body.

How may the spirit (PNEUMA) of the human being be described?

The human spirit is a spark of God's light, an effective part of God, separated from God in outer manifestation, but retaining a living connection with its ultimate source.

How may the soul (PSYCHE) of the human being be described?

The soul consists of several components which at the present stage of human development are largely dominated by the thinking principle and to some extent by the feeling principle.

How may the body (SOMA) of the human being be described?

The body of the human being is composed of flesh (SARX) which is a form of matter (HYLE) albeit endowed temporarily with biological life.

Where do the soul and the body of the human being come from?

The soul is composed of immaterial substance brought about by the prolonged interaction of spirit and body (or bodies). The body is the product of biological evolution that has taken place on earth; a process influenced by the Archons.

For what reason did the spirits of human beings come to embody themselves on earth?

The classical scriptures of the Gnosis are not explicit on this subject. Other scriptures (The Hymn of the Pearl; the revelations of The Holy Prophet Mani) indicate that human beings come into souls and bodies in order to rescue earlier emanations of the divine light by refining and purifying the darkness.

Was the aim achieved which was set for the human spirits when they came down to earth?

Only in a very few instances. Almost all those which came down failed. Tempted by the deceptive mirages here below, they yielded to the impulses of the soul and body instead of retaining spiritual mastery over them. Thus the first or heavenly man became the man of earth.

How do some kindred traditions describe this calamitous event?

The Hermetic Gnosis states that charmed by the universe the human being yielded to the attractions of physical matter and identified himself with it, and so was trapped in the body. The Jewish and Christian traditions call it the Fall.

How can the human being recover his original condition?

By Gnosis, which is the knowledge of his true nature and original condition, a portion of which is ANAMNESIS, the remembering of true things forgotten.

What stands in the way of humanity's recovery of its original condition?

The obstacle is ignorance (A-GNOSIS) manifesting in the forgetting of the real (AMNESIS).

Is there an original sin?

Yes and no. Being trapped in the body and deceived by the Archonic part of the soul, all humans suffer from a deficiency which they share with all of creation. This deficiency, however, is not the result of any particular sinful act on the part of human ancestors (Adam and Eve). Rather than being a sin (moral failing), it is an unfortunate existential condition.

What are the results of this existential condition?

As the result of this condition, humans are born as slaves of the earthly Demiurge and his Archons.

What sufferings do these Archonic powers make us undergo?

The afflictions attendant upon life in the realm of the Archons are very numerous. Some of these are: gravity (being earthbound), heat, cold, natural disasters, diseases, pain, death and the torment of re-embodiment in successive lives.

LESSON IV OF GNOSIS AND SALVATION 59. What is Gnosis? Gnosis is the revelatory and salvific knowledge of who we were, of what we have become, of where we were, of wherein we have been thrown, of whereto we are hastening, of what we are being freed, of what birth really is, and of what rebirth really is. This is an ancient definition which is still accurate. 60. Is there more than one kind of Gnosis? The experience of Gnosis comes to human beings in individual manifestations, yet it always has common features and a common keynote. 61. Is Gnosis an experience or a doctrine? It is both. The experience of Gnosis is mystical knowledge that liberates. This is both accompanied and preceded by a kindred kind of Gnosis that informs. These were called (by Clement of Alexandria) the Divine Gnosis and Human Gnosis respectively. The human or doctrinal part of Gnosis consists of a certain kind of knowledge of the spiritual, psychic and material worlds and their relationships. 62. How is Human Gnosis acquired? Primarily by way of the study and assimilation of the teachings of the Messengers of Light and of the seers and sages of the Gnostic tradition and by way of the amplification of these by individual insight. 63. How does one come to Divine Gnosis? By divine grace combined with sincere and informed human aspiration. 64. What specific help is there available to us in order to receive both Divine and Human Gnosis? Such help comes to us from Messengers of Light and other enlightened teachers of Gnosis. 65. Was there a time when humans were without Gnosis? From the beginning of the human race, some people were in possession of Gnosis. These early Gnostics were at times symbolically called the "Great Race of Seth", after Seth, the third son of Adam, who was recognized as the prototype of all Gnostics. 66. Who was the latest great revealer of Gnosis? It was the Lord Jesus Christ, who acted both as the rectifier of the existing tradition of Gnosis and as the revealer of new elements of Gnosis. 67. Can Gnosis be given by another? A Messenger of Light comes to enlighten humans by his teachings and to transform their spiritual lives by the mysteries he bestows on them. But only those in whom the true spiritual intuition ("the Light Mind") is awakened will welcome the message and benefit from the mysteries. 68. What are we to be saved from? We are to be saved first from ignorance which prevents us from knowing our true source, our real nature, our condition and our destiny. At last we shall also be saved from the burden of earthly existence with its attendant conditions of suffering and exile from our true home. 69. What brings about salvation? Salvation is brought about neither by faith (belief in God, or Christ) nor by works (the performance of good deeds), but by Gnosis. 70. Why is this so? Because faith and works do not result in a radical change in the being of one's consciousness, but Gnosis does. 71. What does the radical change of consciousness brought about by Gnosis accomplish? It establishes a renewed link of the soul with the spirit and of both with God. This breaks the bonds that have shackled our true being to the forces of earth. Ultimately it brings liberation from all earthly things. 72. What are the further benefits of salvation by Gnosis? A turning away of the soul from the attachments of life, a constant straining upwards to the pure Divine Spirit, wherein is our true home. Also, God's friendship in this life, a good death, and after that a swift passage through cleansing regions to God's presence in the Fullness (PLEROMA) of divine glory, goodness and love.

Lesson IV

OF GNOSIS AND SALVATION

What is Gnosis?

Gnosis is the revelatory and salvific knowledge of who we were, of what we have become, of where we were, of wherein we have been thrown, of whereto we are hastening, of what we are being freed, of what birth really is, and of what rebirth really is. This is an ancient definition which is still accurate.

Is there more than one kind of Gnosis?

The experience of Gnosis comes to human beings in individual manifestations, yet it always has common features and a common keynote.

Is Gnosis an experience or a doctrine?

It is both. The experience of Gnosis is mystical knowledge that liberates. This is both accompanied and preceded by a kindred kind of Gnosis that informs. These were called (by Clement of Alexandria) the Divine Gnosis and Human Gnosis respectively. The human or doctrinal part of Gnosis consists of a certain kind of knowledge of the spiritual, psychic and material worlds and their relationships.

How is Human Gnosis acquired?

Primarily by way of the study and assimilation of the teachings of the Messengers of Light and of the seers and sages of the Gnostic tradition and by way of the amplification of these by individual insight.

How does one come to Divine Gnosis?

By divine grace combined with sincere and informed human aspiration.

What specific help is there available to us in order to receive both Divine and Human Gnosis?

Such help comes to us from Messengers of Light and other enlightened teachers of Gnosis.

Was there a time when humans were without Gnosis?

From the beginning of the human race, some people were in possession of Gnosis. These early Gnostics were at times symbolically called the "Great Race of Seth", after Seth, the third son of Adam, who was recognized as the prototype of all Gnostics.

Who was the latest great revealer of Gnosis?

It was the Lord Jesus Christ, who acted both as the rectifier of the existing tradition of Gnosis and as the revealer of new elements of Gnosis.

Can Gnosis be given by another?

A Messenger of Light comes to enlighten humans by his teachings and to transform their spiritual lives by the mysteries he bestows on them. But only those in whom the true spiritual intuition ("the Light Mind") is awakened will welcome the message and benefit from the mysteries.

What are we to be saved from?

We are to be saved first from ignorance which prevents us from knowing our true source, our real nature, our condition and our destiny. At last we shall also be saved from the burden of earthly existence with its attendant conditions of suffering and exile from our true home.

What brings about salvation?

Salvation is brought about neither by faith (belief in God, or Christ) nor by works (the performance of good deeds), but by Gnosis.

Why is this so?

Because faith and works do not result in a radical change in the being of one's consciousness, but Gnosis does.

What does the radical change of consciousness brought about by Gnosis accomplish?

It establishes a renewed link of the soul with the spirit and of both with God. This breaks the bonds that have shackled our true being to the forces of earth. Ultimately it brings liberation from all earthly things.

What are the further benefits of salvation by Gnosis?

A turning away of the soul from the attachments of life, a constant straining upwards to the pure Divine Spirit, wherein is our true home. Also, God's friendship in this life, a good death, and after that a swift passage through cleansing regions to God's presence in the Fullness (PLEROMA) of divine glory, goodness and love.

LESSON V OF THE LORD CHRIST 73. Who is the Lord Christ? He is one of the High Aeons of the Fullness (PLEROMA); being the articulated thought (LOGOS) of God and the expression of God's redemptive power (SOTERIA), for which latter reason He is also called the Savior (SOTER). 74. Are the Lord Christ and Jesus one and the same person? Jesus is the earthly manifestation of Christ, the celestial Aeon. 75. Did the celestial Aeon Christ manifest fully and equally during the earthly existence of Jesus? No. The celestial Aeon Christ came to fully manifest in Jesus beginning with the baptism of the latter in the river Jordan at the hands of Saint John, the Baptizer. Yet, Christ was present in some measure and manner in Jesus before His baptism also. 76. Did the celestial Aeon Christ ever depart from Jesus? It appears He did withdraw, at least to some degree, at the time of the crucifixion and death of Jesus, as indicated by the exclamation of Jesus; "Aeon, Aeon, why have you departed from me" (ELI, ELI, LAMA SABAKTANI). 77. Did the celestial Aeon Christ return to Jesus after Jesus' crucifixion and death? Yes, He fully returned at the time of the resurrection when Jesus became "the Living One" (REDIVIVUS). 78. Did Jesus save humankind by His physical death on the Cross? No. His physical death was merely a tragic incident in the sublime drama of His life. 79. Why have so many Christians come to assume that it was by His physical death that Jesus saved humankind? Because many of them possess a consciousness that appreciates only physical reality and ignores the greater realities which are spiritual. 80. What is the spiritual reality of the suffering and death of Jesus? The true sacrifice of the Aeon Christ and of His manifestation, Jesus, was not His physical death and the torments He endured prior to the same. His true sacrifice was His willing entry into the horrendous limitations of earthly embodiment. All spirits suffer grievously when entering into earthly embodiment; the sufferings endured by a high celestial Aeon of Christ's stature are incomprehensibly great. 81. It is true then that Christ sacrificed Himself for us? It is most certainly true, but His sacrifice was a spiritual one. 82. What was the mission of Christ the Savior (SOTER) on earth? It was threefold: (1) to deliver us from the slavery of the Demiurge and the Archons and to re-join us to our original state; (2) to contribute to the enlivening of the spiritual influences on earth (this has been at times interpreted as the restoration of God's kingdom on earth); and (3) to bring us back to the spiritual Fullness (PLEROMA), our homeland. 83. What were the means whereby Christ the Savior (SOTER) fulfilled His mission on earth? The means were two: (1) He taught His teachings of liberation through the law of love, and (2) He bestowed illuminating and liberating mysteries on His qualified disciples. Both teachings and mysteries were to be handed down to God's people throughout the ages. 84. What do we learn from the sufferings of Christ? From the sufferings of Christ we learn of the great love of God and of all the great Aeonial beings for humanity, who have sent the Savior (SOTER) to us. We also learn that earthly life is suffering for all spiritual beings, including Christ and ourselves. 85. What do we learn from the life of Christ? From His life we may learn the pattern of the great drama of the life of spirit in material confinement; its vicissitudes and triumphs. This is what has been called the imitation of Christ (IMITATIO CHRISTI). 86. Is it true that Christ descended into hell? In addition to descending into this hell we call the world, He also descended after the crucifixion into a state where the spirits and souls of many disembodied humans dwelt and waited for Him. The instructions He gave to and the mysteries He conferred upon these beings liberated many of them from the underworld (HADES, SHOEL) where they were. This journey of Christ is sometimes known as "the Harrowing of Hell". 87. Did Christ rise from the dead? All the scriptures affirm that He came back to earthly life after His death and burial. The historic creeds say that He rose "according to the scriptures" (SECUNDUM SCRIPTURAS). 88. Why is Christ's resurrection of importance to us? Because it serves as our example for our own resurrection. 89. How and when is our resurrection to take place? It takes place by Gnosis while we are still in earthly life. 90. Did Christ remain on earth for some time after His resurrection? At that time Christ remained on earth in order to impart the Gnosis to certain disciples. It is traditionally held that this time lasted for forty days, but longer time periods are mentioned in Gnostic scriptures. 91. How did Christ depart the earth? After the time He spent on earth after the resurrection, He ascended in glory into the Fullness (PLEROMA). 92. Did Christ occupy a fleshly body like ours? It is most unlikely that He occupied a body quite like ours. He walked on water, passed through walls, made His body shine like the sun; none of these can be done by way of a body of flesh. Valentinus stated that Jesus did not have a digestive system like other humans. Therefore Jesus' body has been called an appearance (DOKESIS). 93. Does this deny the incarnation (becoming flesh) of Christ, the Logos? No, for there can be many kinds of different substances He may have used for His embodiment and they all would have served as His "flesh".

Lesson V

OF THE LORD CHRIST

Who is the Lord Christ?

He is one of the High Aeons of the Fullness (PLEROMA); being the articulated thought (LOGOS) of God and the expression of God's redemptive power (SOTERIA), for which latter reason He is also called the Savior (SOTER).

Are the Lord Christ and Jesus one and the same person?

Jesus is the earthly manifestation of Christ, the celestial Aeon.

Did the celestial Aeon Christ manifest fully and equally during the earthly existence of Jesus?

No. The celestial Aeon Christ came to fully manifest in Jesus beginning with the baptism of the latter in the river Jordan at the hands of Saint John, the Baptizer. Yet, Christ was present in some measure and manner in Jesus before His baptism also.

Did the celestial Aeon Christ ever depart from Jesus?

It appears He did withdraw, at least to some degree, at the time of the crucifixion and death of Jesus, as indicated by the exclamation of Jesus; "Aeon, Aeon, why have you departed from me" (ELI, ELI, LAMA SABAKTANI).

Did the celestial Aeon Christ return to Jesus after Jesus' crucifixion and death?

Yes, He fully returned at the time of the resurrection when Jesus became "the Living One" (REDIVIVUS).

Did Jesus save humankind by His physical death on the Cross?

No. His physical death was merely a tragic incident in the sublime drama of His life.

Why have so many Christians come to assume that it was by His physical death that Jesus saved humankind?

Because many of them possess a consciousness that appreciates only physical reality and ignores the greater realities which are spiritual.

What is the spiritual reality of the suffering and death of Jesus?

The true sacrifice of the Aeon Christ and of His manifestation, Jesus, was not His physical death and the torments He endured prior to the same. His true sacrifice was His willing entry into the horrendous limitations of earthly embodiment. All spirits suffer grievously when entering into earthly embodiment; the sufferings endured by a high celestial Aeon of Christ's stature are incomprehensibly great.

It is true then that Christ sacrificed Himself for us?

It is most certainly true, but His sacrifice was a spiritual one.

What was the mission of Christ the Savior (SOTER) on earth?

It was threefold: (1) to deliver us from the slavery of the Demiurge and the Archons and to re-join us to our original state; (2) to contribute to the enlivening of the spiritual influences on earth (this has been at times interpreted as the restoration of God's kingdom on earth); and (3) to bring us back to the spiritual Fullness (PLEROMA), our homeland.

What were the means whereby Christ the Savior (SOTER) fulfilled His mission on earth?

The means were two: (1) He taught His teachings of liberation through the law of love, and (2) He bestowed illuminating and liberating mysteries on His qualified disciples. Both teachings and mysteries were to be handed down to God's people throughout the ages.

What do we learn from the sufferings of Christ?

From the sufferings of Christ we learn of the great love of God and of all the great Aeonial beings for humanity, who have sent the Savior (SOTER) to us. We also learn that earthly life is suffering for all spiritual beings, including Christ and ourselves.

What do we learn from the life of Christ?

From His life we may learn the pattern of the great drama of the life of spirit in material confinement; its vicissitudes and triumphs. This is what has been called the imitation of Christ (IMITATIO CHRISTI).

Is it true that Christ descended into hell?

In addition to descending into this hell we call the world, He also descended after the crucifixion into a state where the spirits and souls of many disembodied humans dwelt and waited for Him. The instructions He gave to and the mysteries He conferred upon these beings liberated many of them from the underworld (HADES, SHOEL) where they were. This journey of Christ is sometimes known as "the Harrowing of Hell".

Did Christ rise from the dead?

All the scriptures affirm that He came back to earthly life after His death and burial. The historic creeds say that He rose "according to the scriptures" (SECUNDUM SCRIPTURAS).

Why is Christ's resurrection of importance to us?

Because it serves as our example for our own resurrection.

How and when is our resurrection to take place?

It takes place by Gnosis while we are still in earthly life.

Did Christ remain on earth for some time after His resurrection?

At that time Christ remained on earth in order to impart the Gnosis to certain disciples. It is traditionally held that this time lasted for forty days, but longer time periods are mentioned in Gnostic scriptures.

How did Christ depart the earth?

After the time He spent on earth after the resurrection, He ascended in glory into the Fullness (PLEROMA).

Did Christ occupy a fleshly body like ours?

It is most unlikely that He occupied a body quite like ours. He walked on water, passed through walls, made His body shine like the sun; none of these can be done by way of a body of flesh. Valentinus stated that Jesus did not have a digestive system like other humans. Therefore Jesus' body has been called an appearance (DOKESIS).

Does this deny the incarnation (becoming flesh) of Christ, the Logos?

No, for there can be many kinds of different substances He may have used for His embodiment and they all would have served as His "flesh".

LESSON VI OF OUR LADY SOPHIA 94. Who is our Lady Sophia? She is a high Aeon of the Fullness (PLEROMA), whose name means Wisdom and who is of a feminine character. 95. Is Sophia only known to Gnostics? Although She is known to Gnostics in a special way, Sophia was known to certain Biblical authors who wrote the Wisdom literature (Book of the Wisdom, Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiasticus and Proverbs, and also the Song of Songs), to ancient philosophers such as Philo, and to certain theologians known as Sophiologists. 96. How is Sophia related to Christ? She is His close associate (Sister Aeon or Twin Aeon) in the Fullness (PLEROMA). 97. Is Sophia "the Goddess" as some modern opinions imply? No. Sophia is not a female counterpart to God, but rather She is a great and holy emanated aspect (HYPOSTASIS) of God. 98. Is Sophia then a goddess? If by "a goddess" is meant a deity, or one among numerous deific beings then She may be called one. 99. Has Sophia ever been incarnate in human form? None of the scriptures have intimated that She has. 100. Is there a narrative concerning the events in the story of Sophia after the fashion of the gospel narratives concerning Christ? Yes. It is the book "Faithful Sophia" (PISTIS SOPHIA), although elements of Her story appear in other scriptures also. 101. What is the beginning of the story of Sophia? Sophia's tale begins with Her going forth from Her Aeonial habitat in search of the Light. This going forth results in Her catastrophic fall from on high and into the torment of the lower Chaos. 102. How does the story of Sophia continue? In Her state of anguish and affliction, Sophia gives birth to a hybrid being who becomes the Demiurge. She also exudes the elements from which the Demiurge subsequently fashions the world. 103. What does Sophia do after that? She continues to call out to the Light for help in Her affliction. The Light hears Her and sends forth the Aeon Christ to console Her and to rescue Her. After many efforts, the work of rescue is accomplished and Sophia is restored to Her original dwelling place. 104. Has Sophia then totally departed from the manifest realm? No. Her involvement in creation, especially of humans, and Her other deeds, indicate Her continuing care for Her children who are trapped in the world and in the bodies created by the Demiurge. 105. What are some of Her actions which indicate Her involvement with creation and with humanity? There are many. One is Her rebuking of the Demiurge when he declares that he is the only God and there are no other gods before him. Another is Her gift of the spirit of the higher life to Adam, who was created as a witless cripple by the Demiurge. She also inspired Eve and the serpent in order to facilitate the exit of the first human pair from the fool's paradise where they were confined. 106. Has Sophia continued to aid humanity? Yes. Scripture declares that She "enters holy souls and makes them friends of God". There is much evidence of Her helpful presence among us to this very day. 107. Is Sophia identical with the Virgin Mary? No. Mary "the mother of the Lord according to matter" is an honored figure of the Gnosis, but she is a human woman, while Sophia is celestial. 108. Has Sophia overshadowed any human beings? There are indications that such may have been the case. One example may be Helen in the story of Simon Magus, and another, Mary Magdalene, the chief disciple of Jesus. 109. Does Sophia appear to and communicate with humans? Yes. She has done so to the Russian philosopher Solovyev (late 19th Century) and Her manifestations are not unknown today. 110. Do the contemporary teachings about the Virgin Mary (Mariology) have a relation to Sophia? Yes. Such teachings as those about Mary's Assumption, and her role as joint redeemer (CO-REDEMPTRIX) and mediator between God and humans (MEDIATRIX) can easily be applied to Sophia. 111. Why are the actions and roles of Sophia seemingly confounded with those of the Virgin Mary? Because the Western exoteric church has suppressed and forgotten the figure of Sophia and was left thus with the lone figure of Mary to whom all feminine holiness and mysteries are now ascribed. 112. What is the duty of Gnostics toward Sophia today? To render Her due reverence in prayer, liturgy, meditation, study, thought and action, and also to guard Her true identity in the confusion of tongues wherein She is confused with goddesses, earth mothers, Madonnas black and otherwise, and the politically motivated mythologizing of our era.

Lesson VI

OF OUR LADY SOPHIA

Who is our Lady Sophia?

She is a high Aeon of the Fullness (PLEROMA), whose name means Wisdom and who is of a feminine character.

Is Sophia only known to Gnostics?

Although She is known to Gnostics in a special way, Sophia was known to certain Biblical authors who wrote the Wisdom literature (Book of the Wisdom, Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiasticus and Proverbs, and also the Song of Songs), to ancient philosophers such as Philo, and to certain theologians known as Sophiologists.

How is Sophia related to Christ?

She is His close associate (Sister Aeon or Twin Aeon) in the Fullness (PLEROMA).

Is Sophia "the Goddess" as some modern opinions imply?

No. Sophia is not a female counterpart to God, but rather She is a great and holy emanated aspect (HYPOSTASIS) of God.

Is Sophia then a goddess?

If by "a goddess" is meant a deity, or one among numerous deific beings then She may be called one.

Has Sophia ever been incarnate in human form?

None of the scriptures have intimated that She has.

Is there a narrative concerning the events in the story of Sophia after the fashion of the gospel narratives concerning Christ?

Yes. It is the book "Faithful Sophia" (PISTIS SOPHIA), although elements of Her story appear in other scriptures also.

What is the beginning of the story of Sophia?

Sophia's tale begins with Her going forth from Her Aeonial habitat in search of the Light. This going forth results in Her catastrophic fall from on high and into the torment of the lower Chaos.

How does the story of Sophia continue?

In Her state of anguish and affliction, Sophia gives birth to a hybrid being who becomes the Demiurge. She also exudes the elements from which the Demiurge subsequently fashions the world.

What does Sophia do after that?

She continues to call out to the Light for help in Her affliction. The Light hears Her and sends forth the Aeon Christ to console Her and to rescue Her. After many efforts, the work of rescue is accomplished and Sophia is restored to Her original dwelling place.

Has Sophia then totally departed from the manifest realm?

No. Her involvement in creation, especially of humans, and Her other deeds, indicate Her continuing care for Her children who are trapped in the world and in the bodies created by the Demiurge.

What are some of Her actions which indicate Her involvement with creation and with humanity?

There are many. One is Her rebuking of the Demiurge when he declares that he is the only God and there are no other gods before him. Another is Her gift of the spirit of the higher life to Adam, who was created as a witless cripple by the Demiurge. She also inspired Eve and the serpent in order to facilitate the exit of the first human pair from the fool's paradise where they were confined.

Has Sophia continued to aid humanity?

Yes. Scripture declares that She "enters holy souls and makes them friends of God". There is much evidence of Her helpful presence among us to this very day.

Is Sophia identical with the Virgin Mary?

No. Mary "the mother of the Lord according to matter" is an honored figure of the Gnosis, but she is a human woman, while Sophia is celestial.

Has Sophia overshadowed any human beings?

There are indications that such may have been the case. One example may be Helen in the story of Simon Magus, and another, Mary Magdalene, the chief disciple of Jesus.

Does Sophia appear to and communicate with humans?

Yes. She has done so to the Russian philosopher Solovyev (late 19th Century) and Her manifestations are not unknown today.

Do the contemporary teachings about the Virgin Mary (Mariology) have a relation to Sophia?

Yes. Such teachings as those about Mary's Assumption, and her role as joint redeemer (CO-REDEMPTRIX) and mediator between God and humans (MEDIATRIX) can easily be applied to Sophia.

Why are the actions and roles of Sophia seemingly confounded with those of the Virgin Mary?

Because the Western exoteric church has suppressed and forgotten the figure of Sophia and was left thus with the lone figure of Mary to whom all feminine holiness and mysteries are now ascribed.

What is the duty of Gnostics toward Sophia today?

To render Her due reverence in prayer, liturgy, meditation, study, thought and action, and also to guard Her true identity in the confusion of tongues wherein She is confused with goddesses, earth mothers, Madonnas black and otherwise, and the politically motivated mythologizing of our era.

LESSON VII OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND GRACE 113. What is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is God and the third aspect (Person) of the threefold Godhead, or the Holy Trinity. 114. By what other names is the Holy Spirit called? The Holy Spirit is also called the Comforter (PARACLETE), the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of God, the Creator Spirit, the Holy Mother Spirit, also by the Greek name PNEUMA HAGION, and the older English name Holy Ghost. 115. What polarity or spiritual gender is ascribed to the Holy Spirit? In Gnostic usage the Holy Spirit is referred to as feminine. 116. What does the Holy Spirit do for creation and for humanity? The Holy Spirit permeates and beneficently alters the archonic structures of the universe. (For this reason it is said that the Holy Spirit "renews the face of the earth".) The Holy Spirit also dwells in the Church as the source of her spiritual life and sanctifies souls through the gift of grace. 117. What are some of the special signs of the sanctification of souls by the gift of the grace of the Holy Spirit? Some of these are: The fortifying of the soul, and the bringing of insight, wisdom and prophecy by way of Gnosis. 118. Does prophecy consist of foreseeing the future? No. Prophecy is a special disclosure of Divine things to a human by way of Gnosis and only incidentally and occasionally involves glimpses of the future. 119. Is there an expected Age (AEON) of the Holy Spirit in human history? Very probably. The medieval prophet Joaquin of Flora declared that the Age of the Father is past, the Age of the Son is passing and the Age of the Holy Spirit is approaching. The detailed interpretation of this teaching is a matter of opinion. 120. What is grace? Grace is the effective manifestation of the supernal Life of God, appearing to us as a supernatural gift of God bestowed on us through Gnosis and also other means. 121. Is grace necessary for salvation? Yes. Human beings cannot attain the eternal life and freedom of the Fullness (PLEROMA) by powers that are purely natural. Were this possible all humans would already be redeemed and have returned to their home. Therefore we need to be elevated to a transcendental plane through grace and we constantly need spiritual stimuli which come to us by grace. 122. How many kinds of grace are there? Two kinds of grace are distinguished by tradition. They are: sanctifying grace and actual grace. There is also special grace which is a variety of actual grace. 123. What is sanctifying grace? Sanctifying grace (also called habitual grace) is the grace that flows from the spark of God within our own spiritual natures. It is a permanent quality that is stimulated by God through His gifts and can be lost only through a lasting turning away of the soul from the spirit. 124. What is actual grace? Actual grace is transcendental (supernatural) help coming from God that enables us to experience states of consciousness and perform acts that are beyond our natural powers. Souls in a state of relative separation from their spirits need the help of actual grace to gain access to sanctifying grace. 125. In what manner does actual grace come to us? Primarily by way of the Messengers of Light and the liberating teachings and salvific mysteries they bring to us. 126. Can we resist the grace of God? Because of the weaknesses implanted into our souls by the Archons we often resist the grace of God. We can do this because grace does not impose itself upon us by force but descends upon us gently in response to our free cooperation. 127. What are the principal ways of obtaining grace? The principal ways of obtaining grace are three: (1) by the diligent study of the teachings of the Messengers of Light and of their agents; (2) by prayer, and (3) by the sacraments, particularly the Holy Eucharist.

Lesson VII

Of The Holy Spirit And Grace

What is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is God and the third aspect (Person) of the threefold Godhead, or the Holy Trinity.

By what other names is the Holy Spirit called?

The Holy Spirit is also called the Comforter (PARACLETE), the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of God, the Creator Spirit, the Holy Mother Spirit, also by the Greek name PNEUMA HAGION, and the older English name Holy Ghost.

What polarity or spiritual gender is ascribed to the Holy Spirit?

In Gnostic usage the Holy Spirit is referred to as feminine.

What does the Holy Spirit do for creation and for humanity?

The Holy Spirit permeates and beneficently alters the archonic structures of the universe. (For this reason it is said that the Holy Spirit "renews the face of the earth".) The Holy Spirit also dwells in the Church as the source of her spiritual life and sanctifies souls through the gift of grace.

What are some of the special signs of the sanctification of souls by the gift of the grace of the Holy Spirit?

Some of these are: The fortifying of the soul, and the bringing of insight, wisdom and prophecy by way of Gnosis.

Does prophecy consist of foreseeing the future?

No. Prophecy is a special disclosure of Divine things to a human by way of Gnosis and only incidentally and occasionally involves glimpses of the future.

Is there an expected Age (AEON) of the Holy Spirit in human history?

Very probably. The medieval prophet Joaquin of Flora declared that the Age of the Father is past, the Age of the Son is passing and the Age of the Holy Spirit is approaching. The detailed interpretation of this teaching is a matter of opinion.

What is grace?

Grace is the effective manifestation of the supernal Life of God, appearing to us as a supernatural gift of God bestowed on us through Gnosis and also other means.

Is grace necessary for salvation?

Yes. Human beings cannot attain the eternal life and freedom of the Fullness (PLEROMA) by powers that are purely natural. Were this possible all humans would already be redeemed and have returned to their home. Therefore we need to be elevated to a transcendental plane through grace and we constantly need spiritual stimuli which come to us by grace.

How many kinds of grace are there?

Two kinds of grace are distinguished by tradition. They are: sanctifying grace and actual grace. There is also special grace which is a variety of actual grace.

What is sanctifying grace?

Sanctifying grace (also called habitual grace) is the grace that flows from the spark of God within our own spiritual natures. It is a permanent quality that is stimulated by God through His gifts and can be lost only through a lasting turning away of the soul from the spirit.

What is actual grace?

Actual grace is transcendental (supernatural) help coming from God that enables us to experience states of consciousness and perform acts that are beyond our natural powers. Souls in a state of relative separation from their spirits need the help of actual grace to gain access to sanctifying grace.

In what manner does actual grace come to us?

Primarily by way of the Messengers of Light and the liberating teachings and salvific mysteries they bring to us.

Can we resist the grace of God?

Because of the weaknesses implanted into our souls by the Archons we often resist the grace of God. We can do this because grace does not impose itself upon us by force but descends upon us gently in response to our free cooperation.

What are the principal ways of obtaining grace?

The principal ways of obtaining grace are three: (1) by the diligent study of the teachings of the Messengers of Light and of their agents; (2) by prayer, and (3) by the sacraments, particularly the Holy Eucharist.

LESSON VIII OF THE CHURCH AND THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS 128. What is the Church? The Church is the assembly of persons who follow the same tradition, and practice the same sacraments; in short, of those who follow the same religion. 129. What is the meaning of "religion"? The word "religion" is derived from the Latin RE-LIGERE, meaning to re-join or to join-back. Religion is the effort to effectively join the human soul to the human spirit and to join both of these to God. 130. Of what religion is the Gnostic Church? The Gnostic Church is of the Christian religion (although it is also true that she is of the eternal religion of Gnosis that was always in the world). 131. Is this not a sign of limitation or of sectarian exclusiveness? No. One can respect and study many religions, but one can effectively practice only one. 132. Is the Gnostic Church Christian in the same sense in which other churches call themselves Christian? No. The Gnostic Church is Christian by her own definition, based on Gnosis. 133. Does this place the Gnostic Church outside of the fellowship (EKUMENE) of Universal Christendom? No, because the criteria of what constitutes a Christian vary greatly among Christian people. The variations introduced by Gnostics are one set among many. 134. Who founded the Church? The Lord Jesus Christ founded the Church. He did this when just before His ascension, He commissioned His apostles to make disciples of all nations. Earlier in His public ministry He instituted sacraments, chose the twelve apostles, and conferred sacred powers on them. 135. Why did Jesus Christ found the Church? Jesus Christ founded the Church as a vehicle to bring human beings to redemption from the shackles that confine them to the realm of the Archons and to open to them the freedom and the glory of the Fullness (PLEROMA). 136. Have there been or are there other such vehicles besides the Church founded by Christ? Since Messengers, Saints and Prophets have been sent by God from age to age to instruct and to assist human beings regarding salvation, it is understandable that there should be other vehicles of a kindred nature. 137. Why do Gnostics then belong to the Church founded by Christ in preference to any other such vehicle? Because Christ is the latest of the supernal Messengers Whom in our age and place we recognize as our Redeemer (SOTER). 138. How is the Church enabled to lead souls to salvation? The Church is enabled to lead souls to salvation by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who gives the Church life. This was first visibly manifested at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended in the form of tongues of fire. 139. Does the Holy Spirit still indwell in the Church as a whole? Yes, but only in a general sense. The degree to which the Holy Spirit is effectively present in the various branches of the Church varies considerably. 140. What determines the degree to which various branches of the Church are enlivened and guided by the Holy Spirit? There are two determinants: (1) the amount of Gnosis present, and (2) the purity and holiness of the leaders and members. 141. How does this pertain to the existence of the Gnostic Church? Ever since the leaders of the exoteric (or mainstream) church cast out the Gnostics from their midst, they progressively excluded the guidance of the Holy Spirit from their assemblies. The need for a Gnostic Church thus became ever greater. 142. How did the Gnostic Church function throughout history? At times in secrecy as a covert effort concealed within the body of the exoteric church, at other times as a fully separate and distinct body such as the Manichaean and the Cathar churches, and many others. 143. What traditionally are the chief marks of the Church? There are four such chief marks of the Church: (1) that the Church is one; (2) that she is holy; (3) that she is universal (catholic); and (4) that she is apostolic. 144. How are these marks present in the Gnostic Church? The Gnostic Church is one because all her members aspire to the same Gnosis and have the same sacraments; the Gnostic Church is holy because her members aspire to a wholeness and integrity of life; she is also universal, or catholic, because she teaches and practices the faith of Gnosis which is not bound to time or to place; finally, she is apostolic because her authority proceeds from the apostles and their successors. 145. Is the visible Church connected with other invisible assemblies? Yes. The earthly Church is the Church Militant, because she struggles against the evil of the Archons in the world; joined to her we find the Church Triumphant consisting of the liberated spirits in the Fullness (PLEROMA) and the Church Suffering, which consists of the souls and spirits of those who are neither in earthly embodiment, nor in the freedom of the Fullness (PLEROMA) but in the purgatorial immaterial realms. This is also known as the Communion of Saints. 146. What are the results of the Communion of Saints? The results of the Communion of Saints are that the members of the one visible and the two invisible Churches are able to actively help each other. 147. How do the members of the Communion of Saints help each other? The liberated spirits in the Fullness (PLEROMA) pray for and assist both their incarnate and discarnate brothers and sisters, while the incarnate faithful can also by their prayers and good thoughts relieve the suffering and assist the purgatorial journey of those who have laid aside their vestures of flesh. 148. Where do the members of the three Churches dwell? The members of the Church Triumphant dwell in eternal life in the blissful Land of Light (the PLEROMA) with God, His Aeons and Angels and happy souls. We of the Church Militant experience the suffering and conflict attendant upon earthly life, while the discarnate souls are torn between their desire for the Land of Light and their attraction to the realm of darkness. 149. Does the Gnosis hold to the teaching of reincarnation? Many Gnostic scriptures are silent on the subject. Others state that reincarnation exists as a hell, or as a purgatorial suffering involved in being attached to the fleshly body and to the turbulent mind or soul. 150. Does reincarnation merit the enthusiasm often lavished on it? By no means. This teaching was long unknown to Western cultures and when rediscovered from Eastern sources, its value came to be exaggerated. Gnostic teachings have always regarded reincarnation as a calamity to be overcome by liberation. 151. What is death? Death can be one of two things: (1) It can be the temporary release of the spirit from its material-psychic prison to be followed by return to some form of embodied wretchedness; (2) If the Light spark is purified and resurrected by Gnosis, death will be its entry into eternal bliss and glory in God's Kingdom of Light, there to join the highest order of the Communion of Saints.

Lesson VIII

Of The Church And The Communion Of Saints

What is the Church?

The Church is the assembly of persons who follow the same tradition, and practice the same sacraments; in short, of those who follow the same religion.

What is the meaning of "religion"?

The word "religion" is derived from the Latin RE-LIGERE, meaning to re-join or to join-back. Religion is the effort to effectively join the human soul to the human spirit and to join both of these to God.

Of what religion is the Gnostic Church?

The Gnostic Church is of the Christian religion (although it is also true that she is of the eternal religion of Gnosis that was always in the world).

Is this not a sign of limitation or of sectarian exclusiveness?

No. One can respect and study many religions, but one can effectively practice only one.

Is the Gnostic Church Christian in the same sense in which other churches call themselves Christian?

No. The Gnostic Church is Christian by her own definition, based on Gnosis.

Does this place the Gnostic Church outside of the fellowship (EKUMENE) of Universal Christendom?

No, because the criteria of what constitutes a Christian vary greatly among Christian people. The variations introduced by Gnostics are one set among many.

Who founded the Church?

The Lord Jesus Christ founded the Church. He did this when just before His ascension, He commissioned His apostles to make disciples of all nations. Earlier in His public ministry He instituted sacraments, chose the twelve apostles, and conferred sacred powers on them.

Why did Jesus Christ found the Church?

Jesus Christ founded the Church as a vehicle to bring human beings to redemption from the shackles that confine them to the realm of the Archons and to open to them the freedom and the glory of the Fullness (PLEROMA).

Have there been or are there other such vehicles besides the Church founded by Christ?

Since Messengers, Saints and Prophets have been sent by God from age to age to instruct and to assist human beings regarding salvation, it is understandable that there should be other vehicles of a kindred nature.

Why do Gnostics then belong to the Church founded by Christ in preference to any other such vehicle?

Because Christ is the latest of the supernal Messengers Whom in our age and place we recognize as our Redeemer (SOTER).

How is the Church enabled to lead souls to salvation?

The Church is enabled to lead souls to salvation by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who gives the Church life. This was first visibly manifested at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended in the form of tongues of fire.

Does the Holy Spirit still indwell in the Church as a whole?

Yes, but only in a general sense. The degree to which the Holy Spirit is effectively present in the various branches of the Church varies considerably.

What determines the degree to which various branches of the Church are enlivened and guided by the Holy Spirit?

There are two determinants: (1) the amount of Gnosis present, and (2) the purity and holiness of the leaders and members.

How does this pertain to the existence of the Gnostic Church?

Ever since the leaders of the exoteric (or mainstream) church cast out the Gnostics from their midst, they progressively excluded the guidance of the Holy Spirit from their assemblies. The need for a Gnostic Church thus became ever greater.

How did the Gnostic Church function throughout history?

At times in secrecy as a covert effort concealed within the body of the exoteric church, at other times as a fully separate and distinct body such as the Manichaean and the Cathar churches, and many others.

What traditionally are the chief marks of the Church?

There are four such chief marks of the Church: (1) that the Church is one; (2) that she is holy; (3) that she is universal (catholic); and (4) that she is apostolic.

How are these marks present in the Gnostic Church?

The Gnostic Church is one because all her members aspire to the same Gnosis and have the same sacraments; the Gnostic Church is holy because her members aspire to a wholeness and integrity of life; she is also universal, or catholic, because she teaches and practices the faith of Gnosis which is not bound to time or to place; finally, she is apostolic because her authority proceeds from the apostles and their successors.

Is the visible Church connected with other invisible assemblies?

Yes. The earthly Church is the Church Militant, because she struggles against the evil of the Archons in the world; joined to her we find the Church Triumphant consisting of the liberated spirits in the Fullness (PLEROMA) and the Church Suffering, which consists of the souls and spirits of those who are neither in earthly embodiment, nor in the freedom of the Fullness (PLEROMA) but in the purgatorial immaterial realms. This is also known as the Communion of Saints.

What are the results of the Communion of Saints?

The results of the Communion of Saints are that the members of the one visible and the two invisible Churches are able to actively help each other.

How do the members of the Communion of Saints help each other?

The liberated spirits in the Fullness (PLEROMA) pray for and assist both their incarnate and discarnate brothers and sisters, while the incarnate faithful can also by their prayers and good thoughts relieve the suffering and assist the purgatorial journey of those who have laid aside their vestures of flesh.

Where do the members of the three Churches dwell?

The members of the Church Triumphant dwell in eternal life in the blissful Land of Light (the PLEROMA) with God, His Aeons and Angels and happy souls. We of the Church Militant experience the suffering and conflict attendant upon earthly life, while the discarnate souls are torn between their desire for the Land of Light and their attraction to the realm of darkness.

Does the Gnosis hold to the teaching of reincarnation?

Many Gnostic scriptures are silent on the subject. Others state that reincarnation exists as a hell, or as a purgatorial suffering involved in being attached to the fleshly body and to the turbulent mind or soul.

Does reincarnation merit the enthusiasm often lavished on it?

By no means. This teaching was long unknown to Western cultures and when rediscovered from Eastern sources, its value came to be exaggerated. Gnostic teachings have always regarded reincarnation as a calamity to be overcome by liberation.

What is death?

Death can be one of two things: (1) It can be the temporary release of the spirit from its material-psychic prison to be followed by return to some form of embodied wretchedness; (2) If the Light spark is purified and resurrected by Gnosis, death will be its entry into eternal bliss and glory in God's Kingdom of Light, there to join the highest order of the Communion of Saints.

LESSON IX OF THE SACRAMENTS OR MYSTERIES 152. What is a sacrament? A sacrament is a sacred rite; the visible and outward sign of an invisible, inward grace of God. Anciently, a sacrament was called a mystery. 153. Is a sacrament always effective? Yes, a sacrament is always effective and produces the result which it is designed to accomplish. The effectiveness of a sacrament can be reduced, however, when its recipient puts obstacles in the path of the workings of the sacrament, or when its ministering agents are insincere. 154. Are there preparations necessary for the reception of the sacraments? Yes. Preparations are always necessary. To receive a sacrament in an unprepared state is a sacrilege, a profanation of a sacred thing. 155. Does the efficacy of the sacraments depend on the character or merit of the person who administers them? No. The person administering a sacrament is only an instrument, or ministering agent. It is certainly desirable that such an agent should be in a holy state of consciousness but the effectiveness of the sacrament is not taken away by such matters, although it might be diminished. 156. What is necessary for the administration of a sacrament? A sacrament first requires an outward sign, that is some external thing or action (such as the sign of the cross, or the anointing with oil). This is called the matter of the sacrament. Second, it requires a set formula or words, which is known as the form of the sacrament. To these is added the intention of the ministering agent which must be that of doing what the Church intends. These three are required for the workings of grace. 157. How many sacraments are there? There are five initiatory sacraments to which are added two sustaining sacraments, thus adding up to seven. There are also two secondary or substitutional sacraments. 158. Which are the five initiatory sacraments? The five initiatory sacraments (as explicitly stated in the Gospel of Philip) are: Baptism, Chrism (Confirmation), Holy Eucharist, Redemption and Bride-Chamber. 159. Which are the two sustaining sacraments? They are the sacrament of Holy Orders and the sacrament of Extreme Unction and Healing. 160. Are there any other sacraments? There are two other sacraments which may be called secondary or substitutional. These are the sacrament of Penance and the sacrament of Matrimony. 161. Why are these sacraments called secondary or substitutional? Because Penance has been substituted for the sacrament of the Redemption, while Matrimony has been substituted for the sacrament of the Bride-Chamber. 162. How many sacraments do the exoteric churches administer? The Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican exoteric churches administer seven sacraments, to wit: Baptism, Confirmation (Chrismation), Holy Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders and Matrimony. Many Protestant bodies have reduced the number of sacraments further. All of the exoteric churches have suppressed and forgotten the two greater sacraments of the Redemption and the Bride-Chamber. 163. Who has instituted the sacraments? In a general sense the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the sacraments. The institution of only some can be found in sacred scripture; however, in some form most of them existed since the beginning of creation. 164. Do the sacraments confer grace? Yes. They confer sanctifying grace and a special grace called sacramental grace. 165. From whom do the sacraments receive their power to give grace? The sacraments receive their power to confer grace from God through the agency of the LOGOS of God, who is Jesus Christ. 166. Why are Baptism and Penance often called sacraments of the dead? Because they are administered to souls who either have not come to life by way of the spirit (Baptism) or have become spiritually dead through grave sin which needs to be absolved (Penance). 167. Why are all the other sacraments often called sacraments of the living? Because their chief purpose is to give more grace to souls and spirits already spiritually alive through sanctifying grace. 168. Which are the sacraments that usually can be received only once? They are Baptism, Chrism (Confirmation) and Holy Orders because they imprint upon the soul an indelible spiritual mark, called a character. (Exceptions to this rule are when there is reason to believe that any of these sacraments have been administered in a deficient manner, such as Baptism or Confirmation without the sacred oils, or ordinations performed in an incomplete manner.) 169. What is the general effect of all sacraments? The grace of God is the life of God. Christ said that He came so that we may have life and have it more abundantly. He also said that He loved us and longed to give us life. The means whereby He gives us this divine life are the sacraments. It has also been said that just as an artist, using his brush as an instrument, paints a beautiful picture, so God through the sacraments draws His own image on the soul of man. Such is the sublime effect of the sacraments.

Lesson IX

Of The Sacraments Or Mysteries

What is a sacrament?

A sacrament is a sacred rite; the visible and outward sign of an invisible, inward grace of God. Anciently, a sacrament was called a mystery.

Is a sacrament always effective?

Yes, a sacrament is always effective and produces the result which it is designed to accomplish. The effectiveness of a sacrament can be reduced, however, when its recipient puts obstacles in the path of the workings of the sacrament, or when its ministering agents are insincere.

Are there preparations necessary for the reception of the sacraments?

Yes. Preparations are always necessary. To receive a sacrament in an unprepared state is a sacrilege, a profanation of a sacred thing.

Does the efficacy of the sacraments depend on the character or merit of the person who administers them?

No. The person administering a sacrament is only an instrument, or ministering agent. It is certainly desirable that such an agent should be in a holy state of consciousness but the effectiveness of the sacrament is not taken away by such matters, although it might be diminished.

What is necessary for the administration of a sacrament?

A sacrament first requires an outward sign, that is some external thing or action (such as the sign of the cross, or the anointing with oil). This is called the matter of the sacrament. Second, it requires a set formula or words, which is known as the form of the sacrament. To these is added the intention of the ministering agent which must be that of doing what the Church intends. These three are required for the workings of grace.

How many sacraments are there?

There are five initiatory sacraments to which are added two sustaining sacraments, thus adding up to seven. There are also two secondary or substitutional sacraments.

Which are the five initiatory sacraments?

The five initiatory sacraments (as explicitly stated in the Gospel of Philip) are: Baptism, Chrism (Confirmation), Holy Eucharist, Redemption and Bride-Chamber.

Which are the two sustaining sacraments?

They are the sacrament of Holy Orders and the sacrament of Extreme Unction and Healing.

Are there any other sacraments?

There are two other sacraments which may be called secondary or substitutional. These are the sacrament of Penance and the sacrament of Matrimony.

Why are these sacraments called secondary or substitutional?

Because Penance has been substituted for the sacrament of the Redemption, while Matrimony has been substituted for the sacrament of the Bride-Chamber.

How many sacraments do the exoteric churches administer?

The Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican exoteric churches administer seven sacraments, to wit: Baptism, Confirmation (Chrismation), Holy Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders and Matrimony. Many Protestant bodies have reduced the number of sacraments further. All of the exoteric churches have suppressed and forgotten the two greater sacraments of the Redemption and the Bride-Chamber.

Who has instituted the sacraments?

In a general sense the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the sacraments. The institution of only some can be found in sacred scripture; however, in some form most of them existed since the beginning of creation.

Do the sacraments confer grace?

Yes. They confer sanctifying grace and a special grace called sacramental grace.

From whom do the sacraments receive their power to give grace?

The sacraments receive their power to confer grace from God through the agency of the LOGOS of God, who is Jesus Christ.

Why are Baptism and Penance often called sacraments of the dead?

Because they are administered to souls who either have not come to life by way of the spirit (Baptism) or have become spiritually dead through grave sin which needs to be absolved (Penance).

Why are all the other sacraments often called sacraments of the living?

Because their chief purpose is to give more grace to souls and spirits already spiritually alive through sanctifying grace.

Which are the sacraments that usually can be received only once?

They are Baptism, Chrism (Confirmation) and Holy Orders because they imprint upon the soul an indelible spiritual mark, called a character. (Exceptions to this rule are when there is reason to believe that any of these sacraments have been administered in a deficient manner, such as Baptism or Confirmation without the sacred oils, or ordinations performed in an incomplete manner.)

What is the general effect of all sacraments?

The grace of God is the life of God. Christ said that He came so that we may have life and have it more abundantly. He also said that He loved us and longed to give us life. The means whereby He gives us this divine life are the sacraments. It has also been said that just as an artist, using his brush as an instrument, paints a beautiful picture, so God through the sacraments draws His own image on the soul of man. Such is the sublime effect of the sacraments.

LESSON X OF THE SACRAMENTS, CONSIDERED SINGLY: PART I 170. Which is the first initiatory sacrament? It is the sacrament of Baptism, also known as the Baptism of Water because it employs water. 171. At what age should one receive the sacrament of Baptism? Preferably when one has reached the age of reason, but infant Baptisms, using a simpler formula, are permissible. 172. What are the effects of the sacrament of Baptism? Baptism liberates the body (SOMA) and soul (PSYCHE) from the dominion of the Archons, under which they fell at physical birth. (This perilous condition is called "original sin" by the exoteric church.) Baptism also washes away actual faults which the person may have committed prior to baptism. Baptism also joins an angel to the baptized soul, and facilitates the entry and exit of the soul from the body. It is this sacrament that affords us entry into the stream of Gnosis. 173. Who can administer Baptism? A priest or deacon is the usual minister of Baptism, but in an emergency anyone may and should baptize. 174. What is a person to do after receiving the sacrament of Baptism? A baptized person should participate diligently in sacred practices, particularly the Holy Eucharist. Such a person should also continue to study the sacred literature of the Gnosis. 175. What is the sacrament of Chrism or Confirmation? Chrism or Confirmation is the sacrament through which the Holy Spirit comes to us and strengthens us in our determination to persist in the Gnostic life. 176. At what age should one receive the sacrament of Chrism or Confirmation? Not before the time of adolescence. 177. Who is the usual minister at Confirmation? It is the bishop. 178. What does the bishop do when he gives Confirmation? He lays his hand on the head of each person and anoints his forehead with holy chrism. 179. What is holy chrism? Holy chrism is a mixture of olive oil and balm, blessed by the bishop on Maundy Thursday. Unlike the element of baptism which is water, the chrism is combustible and thus symbolizes the fire of the Holy Spirit. Therefore this sacrament is sometimes called the Baptism of Fire. 180. What is the Holy Eucharist? In the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ and are then received into the human organism. This sacrament unites us in a very special way with Christ the Savior and through Him with the Fullness (PLEROMA). 181. Is it the physical body and blood of Christ that we partake of in the Holy Eucharist? No. It is His spiritual (PNEUMATIC) body and blood that we partake of under the appearance of the bread and wine. 182. How can the spiritual (PNEUMATIC) body and blood of Christ take on the appearance of the bread and wine? Through the sacred phenomenon of Transubstantiation or Transelementation , which is brought about by the Holy Spirit. 183. Who instituted the Holy Eucharist? Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, the night of Maundy Thursday. When He said, "This is My Body", the entire substance of the bread changed into His spiritual (PNEUMATIC) body, and when He said "This is My Blood", the entire substance of the wine was changed into His spiritual (PNEUMATIC) blood. 184. How is the Holy Eucharist of Christ perpetuated? Christ said: "Do this in remembrance of me" and therefore His representative, the duly ordained priest, repeats Christ's Eucharistic sacrifice within the context of the ritual of the Mass. 185. Is the Mass called the Holy Eucharist? Yes, both the ritual of the Mass and the sacred substance of the consecrated bread and wine are usually referred to as the Holy Eucharist. 186. What did the Gnostic Church at times call the Holy Eucharist? It was called the Ineffable Mystery. 187. Should we be frequent participants in the Ineffable Mystery of the Holy Eucharist? Yes, for not to take advantage of this great gift would be to scorn the words of Christ the Savior (SOTER): "If you do not eat of my flesh and if you do not drink of my blood, you will have no true life in you". 188. How is one to prepare oneself for the reception of the Holy Eucharist? By prayer and sincere contrition that purifies one of the stain of faults and unworthiness. Otherwise, in the words of St. Paul, we eat and drink our own judgment and condemnation. 189. What is the sacrament of the Redemption? The sacrament of the Redemption is one of the two greater or esoteric sacraments practiced by Gnostics and mentioned in the Gospel of Philip. It has been repressed by the exoteric church. It is the first of the greater or esoteric sacraments. 190. What other names are used to describe the sacrament of the Redemption? APOLYTROSIS, the CONSOLAMENTUM, the Renunciation, the Baptism of Air. 191. What is the effect of the sacrament of the Redemption? The intention of the sacrament of the Redemption is to deliver a person from the shackles of the Demiurge and the Archons. The effects traditionally held are: (1) It remits all of one's faults and gives one the strength not to commit grave offenses; (2) It perfects in one the change produced by the Baptism of Water; (3) It makes one the temple of the Holy Spirit; (4) By its effects we become complete Christians (PERFECTI); (5) It renews the link between one's soul and the Twin Angel or Deific Double from whom one has been separated at one's descent into the Archonic realm; (6) Finally, it assures one of one's liberation from the cycle of birth and death and thus frees one of the necessity of future embodiments on earth. 192. Who is eligible for the sacrament of the Redemption? Adults over twenty years of age who have been baptized and confirmed and who are diligent practitioners of the Gnosis. (However, it is generally preferable to confer the sacrament on persons at or past mid-life.) Candidates should also demonstrate an unalterable conviction of not wishing to be re-embodied in the world. 193. What is the sacrament of the Bride-Chamber? It is the second of the greater or esoteric sacraments, and is the final and the greatest of the initiatory sacraments. Like the Redemption, it also has been repressed by the exoteric church. 194. By what other names is the sacrament of the Bride-Chamber known? The Bridal Chamber, the Sacred Wedding (HIEROS GAMOS) and the Mystery of the Syzygies. 195. What is the effect of the sacrament of the Bride-Chamber? It completes all the effects of the sacrament of the Redemption and seals them for all eternity. Particularly it unites the soul in a final union with the Twin Angel or Deific Double and similarly also unites the soul with God in the Fullness (PLEROMA). 196. Who is eligible for the sacrament of the Bride-Chamber? One who has received the sacrament of the Redemption (CONSOLAMENTUM). 197. How is the sacrament of the Bride-Chamber conferred? At this time in history, the sacrament of the Bride-Chamber is not conferred in earthly form, but is received by the soul in its own realm, usually after bodily death. It is not impossible, however, that the Bride-Chamber may return in earthly manifestation when God so decrees.

Lesson X

Of The Sacraments, Considered Singly:

PART I

Which is the first initiatory sacrament?

It is the sacrament of Baptism, also known as the Baptism of Water because it employs water.

At what age should one receive the sacrament of Baptism?

Preferably when one has reached the age of reason, but infant Baptisms, using a simpler formula, are permissible.

What are the effects of the sacrament of Baptism?

Baptism liberates the body (SOMA) and soul (PSYCHE) from the dominion of the Archons, under which they fell at physical birth. (This perilous condition is called "original sin" by the exoteric church.) Baptism also washes away actual faults which the person may have committed prior to baptism. Baptism also joins an angel to the baptized soul, and facilitates the entry and exit of the soul from the body. It is this sacrament that affords us entry into the stream of Gnosis.

Who can administer Baptism?

A priest or deacon is the usual minister of Baptism, but in an emergency anyone may and should baptize.

What is a person to do after receiving the sacrament of Baptism?

A baptized person should participate diligently in sacred practices, particularly the Holy Eucharist. Such a person should also continue to study the sacred literature of the Gnosis.

What is the sacrament of Chrism or Confirmation?

Chrism or Confirmation is the sacrament through which the Holy Spirit comes to us and strengthens us in our determination to persist in the Gnostic life.

At what age should one receive the sacrament of Chrism or Confirmation?

Not before the time of adolescence.

Who is the usual minister at Confirmation?

It is the bishop.

What does the bishop do when he gives Confirmation?

He lays his hand on the head of each person and anoints his forehead with holy chrism.

What is holy chrism?

Holy chrism is a mixture of olive oil and balm, blessed by the bishop on Maundy Thursday. Unlike the element of baptism which is water, the chrism is combustible and thus symbolizes the fire of the Holy Spirit. Therefore this sacrament is sometimes called the Baptism of Fire.

What is the Holy Eucharist?

In the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ and are then received into the human organism. This sacrament unites us in a very special way with Christ the Savior and through Him with the Fullness (PLEROMA).

Is it the physical body and blood of Christ that we partake of in the Holy Eucharist?

No. It is His spiritual (PNEUMATIC) body and blood that we partake of under the appearance of the bread and wine.

How can the spiritual (PNEUMATIC) body and blood of Christ take on the appearance of the bread and wine?

Through the sacred phenomenon of Transubstantiation or Transelementation , which is brought about by the Holy Spirit.

Who instituted the Holy Eucharist?

Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, the night of Maundy Thursday. When He said, "This is My Body", the entire substance of the bread changed into His spiritual (PNEUMATIC) body, and when He said "This is My Blood", the entire substance of the wine was changed into His spiritual (PNEUMATIC) blood.

How is the Holy Eucharist of Christ perpetuated?

Christ said: "Do this in remembrance of me" and therefore His representative, the duly ordained priest, repeats Christ's Eucharistic sacrifice within the context of the ritual of the Mass.

Is the Mass called the Holy Eucharist?

Yes, both the ritual of the Mass and the sacred substance of the consecrated bread and wine are usually referred to as the Holy Eucharist.

What did the Gnostic Church at times call the Holy Eucharist?

It was called the Ineffable Mystery.

Should we be frequent participants in the Ineffable Mystery of the Holy Eucharist?

Yes, for not to take advantage of this great gift would be to scorn the words of Christ the Savior (SOTER): "If you do not eat of my flesh and if you do not drink of my blood, you will have no true life in you".

How is one to prepare oneself for the reception of the Holy Eucharist?

By prayer and sincere contrition that purifies one of the stain of faults and unworthiness. Otherwise, in the words of St. Paul, we eat and drink our own judgment and condemnation.

What is the sacrament of the Redemption?

The sacrament of the Redemption is one of the two greater or esoteric sacraments practiced by Gnostics and mentioned in the Gospel of Philip. It has been repressed by the exoteric church. It is the first of the greater or esoteric sacraments.

What other names are used to describe the sacrament of the Redemption?

APOLYTROSIS, the CONSOLAMENTUM, the Renunciation, the Baptism of Air.

What is the effect of the sacrament of the Redemption?

The intention of the sacrament of the Redemption is to deliver a person from the shackles of the Demiurge and the Archons. The effects traditionally held are: (1) It remits all of one's faults and gives one the strength not to commit grave offenses; (2) It perfects in one the change produced by the Baptism of Water; (3) It makes one the temple of the Holy Spirit; (4) By its effects we become complete Christians (PERFECTI); (5) It renews the link between one's soul and the Twin Angel or Deific Double from whom one has been separated at one's descent into the Archonic realm; (6) Finally, it assures one of one's liberation from the cycle of birth and death and thus frees one of the necessity of future embodiments on earth.

Who is eligible for the sacrament of the Redemption?

Adults over twenty years of age who have been baptized and confirmed and who are diligent practitioners of the Gnosis. (However, it is generally preferable to confer the sacrament on persons at or past mid-life.) Candidates should also demonstrate an unalterable conviction of not wishing to be re-embodied in the world.

What is the sacrament of the Bride-Chamber?

It is the second of the greater or esoteric sacraments, and is the final and the greatest of the initiatory sacraments. Like the Redemption, it also has been repressed by the exoteric church.

By what other names is the sacrament of the Bride-Chamber known?

The Bridal Chamber, the Sacred Wedding (HIEROS GAMOS) and the Mystery of the Syzygies.

What is the effect of the sacrament of the Bride-Chamber?

It completes all the effects of the sacrament of the Redemption and seals them for all eternity. Particularly it unites the soul in a final union with the Twin Angel or Deific Double and similarly also unites the soul with God in the Fullness (PLEROMA).

Who is eligible for the sacrament of the Bride-Chamber?

One who has received the sacrament of the Redemption (CONSOLAMENTUM).

How is the sacrament of the Bride-Chamber conferred?

At this time in history, the sacrament of the Bride-Chamber is not conferred in earthly form, but is received by the soul in its own realm, usually after bodily death. It is not impossible, however, that the Bride-Chamber may return in earthly manifestation when God so decrees.

LESSON XI OF THE SACRAMENTS, CONSIDERED SINGLY: PART II 198. Why are the sacraments of Holy Orders and Extreme Unction and Healing called sustaining sacraments? Because by Holy Orders the administering of grace in the Church is sustained, while Unction sustains the dying and the sick. 199. What is Holy Orders? Holy Orders is the sacrament through which human beings receive the power and grace to perform the sacred duties of the clergy of the Church. 200. By what other term has the Gnostic Church sometimes referred to Holy Orders? As the Mystery of the Great Name. 201. How many grades or offices of Holy Orders are there? Nine, to wit: cleric, doorkeeper, reader, exorcist, acolyte, subdeacon, deacon, priest and bishop. 202. Which among the grades is qualified to celebrate the Holy Eucharist, and thus change bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ? The grades of priest and bishop. 203. What duties is a deacon qualified to perform? A deacon may perform many duties, such as read the gospel, preach, and serve Holy Communion with the reserved sacrament, but may not celebrate the Holy Eucharist. 204. What are the duties of the lesser grades or orders? They assist the bishop, the priests and deacons in various ways. 205. What are the effects of the sacrament of Holy Orders? The effects of ordination to the holy orders are: (1) an increase in sanctifying grace; (2) the gift of sacramental grace, through which one in holy orders receives divine help in the performance of the ministry; (3) an indelible imprint that impresses itself forever on the soul; (4) the authority to perform certain sacred actions appropriate to the office concerned. 206. What are some of the requirements, that a person may receive Holy Orders worthily? To receive holy orders worthily it is necessary: (1) that one be of good character and in a state of grace; (2) that one be informed in the Mythos of the Gnosis; (3) that one have the intention of devoting one's life to the sacred ministry; (4) that one be determined to teach and serve the Gnosis according to the teachings and practice of the Gnostic Church; and (5) that one should have the inward call from one's spirit and the outward call from one's bishop. 207. Who confers the sacrament of Holy Orders? The bishop in his capacity as successor of the apostles, is the one who confers the sacrament of Holy Orders. 208. What is the apostolic succession? The apostolic succession is the mechanism whereby the Holy Orders instituted and administered by Christ are transmitted to His sacramental servants throughout the ages. The Gospel of Philip says: "The Son anointed the apostles and the apostles anointed us". 209. What is the sacrament of Extreme Unction and Healing? This sacrament is one, where, through the anointing with blessed oil by the minister and through certain special prayers, strength of soul and body are increased in ill or dying persons. 210. What has the sacrament of Extreme Unction and Healing been also sometimes called in the Gnostic Church? It has been called the Mystery of the Pneumatic Unctions. 211. What are the effects of the sacrament of Extreme Unction and Healing? The effects are: (1) an increase in sanctifying grace; (2) the gift of comfort and serenity in sickness; (3) preparation for entry into the higher worlds, and (4) healing of the body when expedient for the soul and spirit. 212. Who can administer the sacrament of Extreme Unction and Healing? Only those in major orders (deacons, priests and bishops) can administer this sacrament. 213. What is a public healing service? A public healing service consists of the administering of the unction and prayers to persons not necessarily in danger of death. 214. Should sacramental healing be used so as to take the place of medical help? No. Spiritual means of healing exist to work along with and not to replace physical medicine. 215. What are the substitutional or secondary sacraments? They are Penance and Matrimony. 216. Why are they called substitutional? Because Penance came to substitute for Redemption and Matrimony for the Bride-Chamber, and also because their forms of administration underwent many vicissitudes and were subject to doubt and argument. 217. Have the two substitutional sacraments always been considered true sacraments? No. But there always existed formulae of absolution (Penance), and nuptial blessings for couples. 218. Why do we consider them sacraments today? Because the higher esoteric sacraments are not generally available, and these two sacraments symbolically represent and foreshadow them. 219. What is the sacrament of Penance? Penance (absolution) is the sacrament whereby one is cleansed of faults which bind one to the realm of the Archons. (This is known popularly as the remission of sins.) 220. What is the effect of the sacrament of Penance? Its effect is the experience of divine forgiveness. 221. What must one do to receive this sacrament fully and worthily? One must: (1) examine one's conscience; (2) be contrite (sorry) for one's offenses; (3) have the firm purpose of not committing offenses again. (Verbal confession is not necessary, although it is sometimes desirable.) 222. What does the Gnostic regard as an offense (sin)? Gnostics are concerned chiefly with offenses against the supreme commandment given to us by Christ Himself, namely to love God with the totality of our being and to love our neighbor as ourselves. This is the commandment that has replaced all others, therefore to offend against it is the only true sin. 223. What is guilt? Guilt is the condition of the mind of the unforgiven. Gnostic Christians have no need of guilt, only of contrition whereby they gain forgiveness. 224. What is the outward sign of divine forgiveness? It is the sacrament of Penance, or more correctly of absolution. 225. What is the sacrament of Matrimony? Matrimony is the sacrament whereby two persons enter into a condition of marriage and thereby foreshadow under an earthly semblance the mystery of the Bride-Chamber. 226. What are the effects of the sacrament of Matrimony? The effects of this sacrament are the presence of sanctifying grace and divine help for the married state. 227. Who administers the sacrament of Matrimony? The two marital partners administer the sacrament to each other, with the priest acting as a solemnizing agent.

Lesson XI

Of The Sacraments, Considered Singly:

PART II

Why are the sacraments of Holy Orders and Extreme Unction and Healing called sustaining sacraments?

Because by Holy Orders the administering of grace in the Church is sustained, while Unction sustains the dying and the sick.

What is Holy Orders?

Holy Orders is the sacrament through which human beings receive the power and grace to perform the sacred duties of the clergy of the Church.

By what other term has the Gnostic Church sometimes referred to Holy Orders?

As the Mystery of the Great Name.

How many grades or offices of Holy Orders are there?

Nine, to wit: cleric, doorkeeper, reader, exorcist, acolyte, subdeacon, deacon, priest and bishop.

Which among the grades is qualified to celebrate the Holy Eucharist, and thus change bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ?

The grades of priest and bishop.

What duties is a deacon qualified to perform?

A deacon may perform many duties, such as read the gospel, preach, and serve Holy Communion with the reserved sacrament, but may not celebrate the Holy Eucharist.

What are the duties of the lesser grades or orders?

They assist the bishop, the priests and deacons in various ways.

What are the effects of the sacrament of Holy Orders?

The effects of ordination to the holy orders are: (1) an increase in sanctifying grace; (2) the gift of sacramental grace, through which one in holy orders receives divine help in the performance of the ministry; (3) an indelible imprint that impresses itself forever on the soul; (4) the authority to perform certain sacred actions appropriate to the office concerned.

What are some of the requirements, that a person may receive Holy Orders worthily?

To receive holy orders worthily it is necessary: (1) that one be of good character and in a state of grace; (2) that one be informed in the Mythos of the Gnosis; (3) that one have the intention of devoting one's life to the sacred ministry; (4) that one be determined to teach and serve the Gnosis according to the teachings and practice of the Gnostic Church; and (5) that one should have the inward call from one's spirit and the outward call from one's bishop.

Who confers the sacrament of Holy Orders?

The bishop in his capacity as successor of the apostles, is the one who confers the sacrament of Holy Orders.

What is the apostolic succession?

The apostolic succession is the mechanism whereby the Holy Orders instituted and administered by Christ are transmitted to His sacramental servants throughout the ages. The Gospel of Philip says: "The Son anointed the apostles and the apostles anointed us".

What is the sacrament of Extreme Unction and Healing?

This sacrament is one, where, through the anointing with blessed oil by the minister and through certain special prayers, strength of soul and body are increased in ill or dying persons.

What has the sacrament of Extreme Unction and Healing been also sometimes called in the Gnostic Church?

It has been called the Mystery of the Pneumatic Unctions.

What are the effects of the sacrament of Extreme Unction and Healing?

The effects are: (1) an increase in sanctifying grace; (2) the gift of comfort and serenity in sickness; (3) preparation for entry into the higher worlds, and (4) healing of the body when expedient for the soul and spirit.

Who can administer the sacrament of Extreme Unction and Healing?

Only those in major orders (deacons, priests and bishops) can administer this sacrament.

What is a public healing service?

A public healing service consists of the administering of the unction and prayers to persons not necessarily in danger of death.

Should sacramental healing be used so as to take the place of medical help?

No. Spiritual means of healing exist to work along with and not to replace physical medicine.

What are the substitutional or secondary sacraments?

They are Penance and Matrimony.

Why are they called substitutional?

Because Penance came to substitute for Redemption and Matrimony for the Bride-Chamber, and also because their forms of administration underwent many vicissitudes and were subject to doubt and argument.

Have the two substitutional sacraments always been considered true sacraments?

No. But there always existed formulae of absolution (Penance), and nuptial blessings for couples.

Why do we consider them sacraments today?

Because the higher esoteric sacraments are not generally available, and these two sacraments symbolically represent and foreshadow them.

What is the sacrament of Penance?

Penance (absolution) is the sacrament whereby one is cleansed of faults which bind one to the realm of the Archons. (This is known popularly as the remission of sins.)

What is the effect of the sacrament of Penance?

Its effect is the experience of divine forgiveness.

What must one do to receive this sacrament fully and worthily?

One must: (1) examine one's conscience; (2) be contrite (sorry) for one's offenses; (3) have the firm purpose of not committing offenses again. (Verbal confession is not necessary, although it is sometimes desirable.)

What does the Gnostic regard as an offense (sin)?

Gnostics are concerned chiefly with offenses against the supreme commandment given to us by Christ Himself, namely to love God with the totality of our being and to love our neighbor as ourselves. This is the commandment that has replaced all others, therefore to offend against it is the only true sin.

What is guilt?

Guilt is the condition of the mind of the unforgiven. Gnostic Christians have no need of guilt, only of contrition whereby they gain forgiveness.

What is the outward sign of divine forgiveness?

It is the sacrament of Penance, or more correctly of absolution.

What is the sacrament of Matrimony?

Matrimony is the sacrament whereby two persons enter into a condition of marriage and thereby foreshadow under an earthly semblance the mystery of the Bride-Chamber.

What are the effects of the sacrament of Matrimony?

The effects of this sacrament are the presence of sanctifying grace and divine help for the married state.

Who administers the sacrament of Matrimony?

The two marital partners administer the sacrament to each other, with the priest acting as a solemnizing agent.

APPENDIX A PRAYER a.) What is prayer? Prayer is the lifting up of our minds and hearts to God. b.) How many forms of prayer are there? There are two forms of prayer: vocal prayer and mental prayer. c.) How many categories of prayer are there? There are three principal kinds of prayer: (1) prayers of petition and intercession; (2) prayers of adoration and praise; (3) prayers of contemplation. The former two are vocal, the latter one is mental. Prayers of intercession are addressed to Aeonial beings, saints and angels; all other prayers are addressed to God. d.) What do we need to keep in mind when uttering prayers of petition? We have to keep in mind that God alone knows what is truly useful to the welfare of our spirits and that thus our petitions are contingent upon the will and wisdom of God. (Witness the prayer of Jesus in the garden: "however, not my will, but Thine be done.") e.) What is mental prayer? Mental prayer is that prayer wherein we inwardly unite our hearts with God. Sometimes it is called meditation. f.) Are vocal and mental prayer both necessary? Both are necessary facilitators of grace and Gnosis.

Appendix a — Prayer

a.) What is prayer?

Prayer is the lifting up of our minds and hearts to God.

b.) How many forms of prayer are there?

There are two forms of prayer: vocal prayer and mental prayer.

c.) How many categories of prayer are there?

There are three principal kinds of prayer: (1) prayers of petition and intercession; (2) prayers of adoration and praise; (3) prayers of contemplation. The former two are vocal, the latter one is mental. Prayers of intercession are addressed to Aeonial beings, saints and angels; all other prayers are addressed to God.

d.) What do we need to keep in mind when uttering prayers of petition?

We have to keep in mind that God alone knows what is truly useful to the welfare of our spirits and that thus our petitions are contingent upon the will and wisdom of God. (Witness the prayer of Jesus in the garden: "however, not my will, but Thine be done.") e.) What is mental prayer?

Mental prayer is that prayer wherein we inwardly unite our hearts with God. Sometimes it is called meditation.

f.) Are vocal and mental prayer both necessary?

Both are necessary facilitators of grace and Gnosis.

APPENDIX B THE GNOSTIC IN THE WORLD g.) Do Gnostics strive to improve the world? Yes, by improving themselves through Gnosis. h.) Why is this so? The world is in large part the domain of the Archons. As such it is not perfectible. Still it can be somewhat improved and its inherent deficiency diminishes every time a human spirit attains to liberating Gnosis. i.) Are Gnostics inclined to any particular system of worldly government? Individual Gnostics may support any worldly cause or none. The Gnostic world view, however, advises caution concerning all such involvements. j.) Does the Gnostic world view uphold or rebel against worldly "establishments"? It does neither, for its attitude is well stated in one of its scriptures: "Do not put your trust in the potentates, rulers, and the rebels of this world, for their authority passes away and comes to an end and their works are as naught." k.) What is the chief requirement of the Gnostic in worldly society? The chief requirement of the Gnostic in worldly society is an optimum degree of freedom, for without freedom the pursuit of Gnosis becomes very difficult. Since the freedom of Gnostics cannot be separated from the freedoms of all others, the freer all human beings are, the better this is for Gnosis and for Gnostics.

Appendix B

The Gnostic In The World g.) Do Gnostics strive to improve the world?

Yes, by improving themselves through Gnosis.

h.) Why is this so?

The world is in large part the domain of the Archons. As such it is not perfectible. Still it can be somewhat improved and its inherent deficiency diminishes every time a human spirit attains to liberating Gnosis.

i.) Are Gnostics inclined to any particular system of worldly government?

Individual Gnostics may support any worldly cause or none. The Gnostic world view, however, advises caution concerning all such involvements.

j.) Does the Gnostic world view uphold or rebel against worldly "establishments"?

It does neither, for its attitude is well stated in one of its scriptures: "Do not put your trust in the potentates, rulers, and the rebels of this world, for their authority passes away and comes to an end and their works are as naught."

k.) What is the chief requirement of the Gnostic in worldly society?

The chief requirement of the Gnostic in worldly society is an optimum degree of freedom, for without freedom the pursuit of Gnosis becomes very difficult. Since the freedom of Gnostics cannot be separated from the freedoms of all others, the freer all human beings are, the better this is for Gnosis and for Gnostics.

BIBLIOGRAPHY In addition to the Sacred Scriptures of the Gnostic Tradition, the following works have been consulted when preparing the Gnostic Catechism (listed in order of their importance for this work): The Catechism of Bishop Jean Bricaud (a l'usage de L' Eglise Gnostique Catholique, par S. G. + Johannes). Also translated as The Esoteric Christian Doctrine. Lyon. Edition de "Reveil Gnostique", 1907. The Revised Baltimore Catechism by Rev. Francis J. Connell, New York, Boston, Benziger Brothers, Inc. 1949. The Greek Orthodox Catechismby the Rev. Constantine N. Callinicos, B. D., New York, Greek Archdiocese of No. and So. America, 1953. "A Brief Manichean Catechism" in The Gospel of the Prophet Mani by Duncan Greenlees, M.A. (Oxon.) Adyar, Madras, India. T.P.H., 1956. "A Brief Hermetic Catechism" in The Gospel of Hermes by Duncan Greenlees, M.A. (Oxon.) Adyar, Madras, India. T.P.H., 1949. A Catechesis for Independent Catholics, Burlington, WA. USA, 1982. Copyright � Stephan A. Hoeller, 1998

Bibliography

In addition to the Sacred Scriptures of the Gnostic Tradition, the following works have been consulted when preparing the Gnostic Catechism (listed in order of their importance for this work): The Catechism of Bishop Jean Bricaud (a l'usage de L' Eglise Gnostique Catholique, par S. G. + Johannes). Also translated as The Esoteric Christian Doctrine. Lyon. Edition de "Reveil Gnostique", 1907. The Revised Baltimore Catechism by Rev. Francis J. Connell, New York, Boston, Benziger Brothers, Inc. 1949. The Greek Orthodox Catechismby the Rev. Constantine N. Callinicos, B. D., New York, Greek Archdiocese of No. and So. America, 1953. "A Brief Manichean Catechism" in The Gospel of the Prophet Mani by Duncan Greenlees, M.A. (Oxon.) Adyar, Madras, India. T.P.H., 1956. "A Brief Hermetic Catechism" in The Gospel of Hermes by Duncan Greenlees, M.A. (Oxon.) Adyar, Madras, India. T.P.H., 1949. A Catechesis for Independent Catholics, Burlington, WA. USA, 1982. Copyright � Stephan A. Hoeller, 1998 In addition to the Sacred Scriptures of the Gnostic Tradition, the following works have been consulted when preparing the Gnostic Catechism (listed in order of their importance for this work):

The Catechism of Bishop Jean Bricaud (a l'usage de L' Eglise Gnostique Catholique, par S. G. + Johannes). Also translated as The Esoteric Christian Doctrine. Lyon. Edition de "Reveil Gnostique", 1907.

The Revised Baltimore Catechism by Rev. Francis J. Connell, New York, Boston, Benziger Brothers, Inc. 1949.

The Greek Orthodox Catechismby the Rev. Constantine N. Callinicos, B. D., New York, Greek Archdiocese of No. and So. America, 1953.

"A Brief Manichean Catechism" in The Gospel of the Prophet Mani by Duncan Greenlees, M.A. (Oxon.) Adyar, Madras, India. T.P.H., 1956.

"A Brief Hermetic Catechism" in The Gospel of Hermes by Duncan Greenlees, M.A. (Oxon.) Adyar, Madras, India. T.P.H., 1949.

A Catechesis for Independent Catholics, Burlington, WA. USA, 1982.

Copyright � Stephan a. Hoeller, 1998

Prayers and Creeds

The Sign of the Cross

In the name of the Father, + and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Gnostic's Prayer

Almighty God, whose footstool is the highest firmament: Great Ruler of Heaven and all the powers therein: Hear the prayers of Thy servants who put their trust in Thee. We pray Thee, supply our needs from day to day: Command Thy heavenly host to comfort and succor us: That it may be to Thy glory and unto the good of man. Forgive us our transgressions as we forgive our brothers and sisters: Be present with us: strengthen and sustain us: For we are but instruments in Thy hands. Let us not fall into temptation: Defend us from all danger and evil: Let Thy mighty power ever guard and protect us, Thou great Fount of knowledge and wisdom: Instruct Thy servants by Thy holy presence: Guide and support us, now and forever. Amen.

The Hail Sophia

Hail Sophia, filled with light, the Christ is with Thee, blessed art Thou among the Aeons, and blessed is the Liberator of Thy light, Jesus. Holy Sophia, Mother of all gods, pray to the light for us Thy children, now and in the hour of our death. Amen.

Glory be to the Father

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. (or "throughout the Aeons of Aeons") Amen.

An Act of Gnosis

We know Thee Thou eternal thought immovable, unchangeable, unlimited and unconditioned remaining unchanged in essential essence while forever thinking the mystery of the universe manifesting three extensions of cosmic power creation, preservation and destruction -

Thou, Lord of all.
We know Thee Father
Thou secret, supreme and ineffable Maker unchanging in essence yet ever-changing in appearance and manifestation visualizing as an act of consciousness the mystery of creation and by an act of will absorbed into life -

Creator.
We know Thee Son
Thou Word, Thou Logos divine manifestation of the Lord alone-begotten of the great stillness begotten by an act of consciousness alone coming to the flesh to destroy incarnate error-

Sustainer.
We know Thee Holy Spirit
Thou giver of life and goodness principle of love, beauty and compassion remaining here on earth to guide and care for us Thou, with the Father and the Son art the wholeness upon which the manifested universe is erected - and Destroyed.
We know you Messengers custodians of the essential wisdom of the race Preachers of the great Law containing within yourselves spiritual insight and courage living and laboring unselfishly mediating between the supreme source and its creation dedicated to the advancement of all.

We look to the union of the self with the Fullness and thus liberation from the infinite chain of attainment.

Amen.

A Brief Credo

We acknowledge one great invisible God, the Unknown Father, the Aeon of Aeons, who brought forth with His providence: the Father, the Mother and the Son.

We acknowledge the Christos, the self-begotten Son, born from the virginal and ineffable Mother in the high Aeons: who in the Logos of God came down from above to annul the emptiness of this age and restore the fullness of the Aeon.
We acknowledge the Holy Spirit, our celestial Mother and consoler, who proceeded from Herself, a gift of Herself out of the silence of the unknown God.
We seek the gathering of the sparks of light from the sea of forgetfulness and we look to the glories of eternal life in the Fullness. Amen.

A Prayer to the Supernal Parents

All-powerful Lord, Our Father; All-wise Lady, Our Mother; Supernal parents of all that was, and is, and is to come; Sustain us, your children this day.

Give us the wisdom to see your path, And the strength to prevail in the darkest hour.
We thank you for the joys we have, And for your grace bestowed on us This day and every day.

May we thrive and grow in knowledge, wisdom and understanding. Now and forevermore. Amen.

An Act of Contrition

(Especially important when in danger of death) Oh my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee and I detest all my faults which I have committed, not because of punishment which I may receive but chiefly because with my faults I have turned away from Thee, my God, who art all-good, and who art wholly deserving of my love. I firmly resolve with the help of Thy grace to sin no more, and I ask to be forgiven even as I forgive those who have offended against me. Amen.

A Morning Prayer

On waking, Heavenly Father, I sing Thy praises and I dare say to Thee again with confidence the prayer that the divine Master taught us:
Our Father who art in the depths of the Aeons, may Thy Holy Logos and Christ be understood and adored in the Universe; may the kingdom of Thy Holy Spirit come to us, may Thy will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us this day our spiritual nourishment, the strength and courage to earn the bread for our body. Forgive us for our digressions from Thy laws, as our assembly forgives those who repent of their sins. Support us in our state of weakness so that we may not be carried away by our passions and deliver us from the deceptive mirages of the Archons. For we have no other ruler than Thy beloved Son, Christ our Savior whose is the kingdom, the triumph and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Lord, our divine Propator, hear my prayer, listen to my supplication; let me hear the voice of Thy mercy from the morning, for it is in Thy hands that I place myself. I adore Thee, I praise Thee, I give Thee thanks from the morning.
I thank Thee for having protected me during the night from all the dangers and all the evils which could have harmed me and from which Thou hast covered me with Thy protection.
During this day, remain my support, my strength, my refuge, my salvation and my consolation.
Oh my Father, I thank Thee for all the good things that I have received from Thee so far. It is also by an effect of Thy goodness that I have come to see this day; I want to use it to serve Thee. I devote to Thee all my thoughts, words, deeds and sorrows. Bless them, oh my God, so that there will be none which are not activated by Thy love and which do not tend to glorify Thee. (From the usage of the French Gnostic Church)

An Evening Prayer

(With examination of conscience) Night has spread its veils over us, everything invites us to meditate. I raise my thoughts to Thee, oh divine Propator, and I come into Thy presence to examine my conduct this day.

Did I not hide my religious thoughts when, on the contrary, I should have expressed them clearly? Have I not mixed the name of God with words of impatience, anger, untruth or thoughtlessness? Have I at all times had a firm will, and have I always subjected it to the light of Gnosis? Have I always preserved my spiritual dignity? Have I always been moderate in prosperity and patient in adversity? Have I been angry? Have I been proud, vain and ambitious? Have I always treated my neighbor like a brother or sister and with love? Have I acted out of hatred or vengeance? Have I abstained from gossip, from slander and from rash judgments? Have I put right the wrong caused to my fellowman? Have I always told the truth? Have I always kept my word when it has been given? Finally, have I spent my day well?
These, oh my Father, are my faults; I admit them before Thee, and even though Thou hast no need of my confession, and Thou seest into the depths of my heart, I confess them to Thee nevertheless and I admit them to heaven and to earth because I have sinned in words, in thoughts, in deeds and omissions, and this is my fault, my grievous fault. Oh my God and my Father, I have missed the mark Thou has set for me; break the hardness of my heart and by Thy infinite strength and goodness, bring forth from it tears of penitence. Forgive me, oh my God, for all the wrong that I have done and caused to be done; forgive me for all the good I have not done, and which I should have done, or that I have done badly; forgive me for all the transgressions which I know and also for those which I do not know; I feel sincere repentance for them and I wish to make an effort to put them right.

Lord, oh divine Propator, who art the Father of the Lights and the Protector of all those who trust in Thee, deign to take me in Thy holy protection during this night and keep me from all earthly dangers and spiritual perils. During the sleep of my body make my soul watch in Thee. Subdue in me all wrong desires; make my conscience enjoy a holy tranquillity; take far from me all evil thoughts and all the dangerous illusions of the Archons. Grant Thy powerful protection to all whom I love; my parents, my friends and to all those who make up the household of the Gnosis and to all human spirits still wandering in this place of exile whether they be in the body or out of the body.
Father of the Lights, as I fall asleep, I place my trust in Thee and in the double and shining star of the Pleroma. Amen. (From the usage of the French Gnostic Church, slightly modified)

Gnostic Homilies

by the Most Rev. Steven Marshall

Collected here are are a number of homilies from throughout the liturgical calendar of the Ecclesia Gnostica. They are arranged to follow the cycle of the liturgical year as much as is possible. The homilies are written by Rev. S. Marshall, pastor of the Queen of Heaven Gnostic Church in Portland, Oregon.

Seeking the Light:   A homily for the First Sunday in Advent The First Sunday of advent marks the beginning of a new liturgical year. Like Lent, it is a penitential season and a preparation for a new cycle. Traditionally Advent is a time of fasting and praying. For the Gnostic the penitential seasons are a time for quiet introspection and self-reflection in preparation for the great festivals of Christmas and Easter.

more

God Within:
A homily for the Second Sunday in Advent The Second Sunday of Advent has traditionally borne the theme of Divine Love, yet in the Christian mythos of the birth of Jesus this Love comes to earth in the name Emanuel, which means "God with us," or "God in us," the God within. Since the beginning of the New Age movement the cliches, "I am God" and "God is within me", in their popularized form, have nearly become a dogma. Dogma comes out of ignorance, out of the expressions of those who have not had the direct experience of this quintessential Gnostic insight of interior being. This is why the ancient Mystery religions were secret. If people get too much information or other's ideas about the mystery, they tend to get caught up in the dogma of it, rather than the mystical experience of it. So we too must guard against the triteness of such expressions, and move beyond belief structures and dogmatic statements, no matter how popular or politically correct, to get to the real experience and insight of Gnosis.
more

Recognition of the Messenger:   A homily for the Third Sunday in Advent In the tradition of the Church calendar, the 3rd Sunday in Advent is often called Rose Sunday, because it represents a lightening of the dark violet of the rest of the penitential season of Advent. This lightening has two points of significance. One is that of a greater light shining through the violet to reveal the rose tint signifying the coming of the Light, the other is a lightening of the mood, for which reason the Church has traditionally ascribed this Sunday to the quality of joy. The rose color expresses the joy of recognition, the recognition of the One who shines from beyond the veil of violet, who is the Messenger of the Light.

more The Nativity of the Divine Light:   A
Gnostic Homily for The Nativity

Christmas Eve, sometimes called Holy Night, celebrates the ageless story of the birth of Christ.
As the divine light of Christ incarnates in a tiny babe in a lowly manger, to us this story represents the nativity of the divine light within the Gnostic soul, the coming of the royal light into the lowly frame and darkness of this world. When the outer world grows cold and dark it is even more necessary to keep the spark of divine light kindled and bright.

Though the light shines in the darkness, the darkness can not itself give birth to the light. The earth would be naught but cold damp clay without the life coming from the light of the Sun.
Even so, the spirit which gives life comes from somewhere else, a mystical dimension beyond time and space.
more

Renewal of Life:   A Homily for
New Year's Day The New Year';s holiday is part of the progression of the Christmas season. Occurring subsequent to the winter solstice, Christmas and the New Year have similar significance as the rebirth of the light and the renewal of life at the darkest time in the semester of the sun's waxing. The birth of the new year, like the holy birth of Christmas, is symbolized as a child, the birth of the infant light. Many old European customs and celebrations reflect the symbolism of the child during this beginning of the new year. One such custom is the election of the Children's Bishop (episcopus puerorum). The elected child would dress up as a bishop, journey in children's procession to the archbishop's palace, and from a window in the palace, give a pontifical blessing upon the entire gathering.

New Year's Day occurs in the Christmas cycle as one the twelve days of Christmas, the period between the ending of the lunar calendar and the beginning of the solar year, a time betwixt and between, a time of misrule when the usual rules and authorities of the world are suspended.

It is a time of temporary chaos, confusion, celebration, and breaking down of old established forms to make way for a new light and new resolutions, the eternal new-born child of the year. These twelve days represent an opportunity for a psychological and spiritual renewal as well.

more The New Year';s holiday is part of the progression of the Christmas season. Occurring subsequent to the winter solstice, Christmas and the New Year have similar significance as the rebirth of the light and the renewal of life at the darkest time in the semester of the sun's waxing. The birth of the new year, like the holy birth of Christmas, is symbolized as a child, the birth of the infant light. Many old European customs and celebrations reflect the symbolism of the child during this beginning of the new year. One such custom is the election of the Children's Bishop (episcopus puerorum). The elected child would dress up as a bishop, journey in children's procession to the archbishop's palace, and from a window in the palace, give a pontifical blessing upon the entire gathering.

New Year's Day occurs in the Christmas cycle as one the twelve days of Christmas, the period between the ending of the lunar calendar and the beginning of the solar year, a time betwixt and between, a time of misrule when the usual rules and authorities of the world are suspended.

It is a time of temporary chaos, confusion, celebration, and breaking down of old established forms to make way for a new light and new resolutions, the eternal new-born child of the year. These twelve days represent an opportunity for a psychological and spiritual renewal as well.

more

Divine Guidance:
A Homily for The Epiphany In Matthew 2: 9-11, the ageless story describes a Star in the East guiding three wisemen, or magi, to the place of the divine birth of Christ. Legends of the Celtic peoples tell that their druids and seers, through study of astrology and signs seen in the sacred fires, also foretold this divine birth.

According to medieval legends, the three wisemen were named Melchior, Balthazar and Gaspar. Each of them came from a different culture: Melchior was Asian, Balthazar was Persian and Gaspar was Ethopian, thus representing the three races known to the old world. These three priest-kings and wisemen brought royal gifts to the divine infant: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Melchior brought a golden cup, which, according to legend, was preserved by the Blessed Virgin Mary and was the same cup used in the institution of the Holy Eucharist. Balthazar brought a gold box of frankincense. Gaspar brought a curiously chased flask of myrrh, a royal embalming oil.

more In Matthew 2: 9-11, the ageless story describes a Star in the East guiding three wisemen, or magi, to the place of the divine birth of Christ. Legends of the Celtic peoples tell that their druids and seers, through study of astrology and signs seen in the sacred fires, also foretold this divine birth.

According to medieval legends, the three wisemen were named Melchior, Balthazar and Gaspar. Each of them came from a different culture: Melchior was Asian, Balthazar was Persian and Gaspar was Ethopian, thus representing the three races known to the old world. These three priest-kings and wisemen brought royal gifts to the divine infant: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Melchior brought a golden cup, which, according to legend, was preserved by the Blessed Virgin Mary and was the same cup used in the institution of the Holy Eucharist. Balthazar brought a gold box of frankincense. Gaspar brought a curiously chased flask of myrrh, a royal embalming oil.

more

Kindling of the Light in Darkness:
A Homily for Candlemas

Candlemas comes at a time in the year that certainly reflects its spiritual meaning for the Gnostic. In early times, the Celts knew this feast day as Imbolc, the first day of the month by that name in their calendar. During this time of year the days were still sufficiently short that the evening meal was often prepared and eaten by candlelight or torchlight. It is also the season of the first spring lambs being born from their mothers; and so the time for the milking of the ewes to supply what was needed to bolster the dwindling supplies of food put away for the winter. We no longer live in such an agrarian society and these metaphors from the past may not relate to us as they once might have, but we can use these images and metaphors to open a window to something else, something transcendent to the world in which we find ourselves.
The image of the candle lit in the darkness can signify to us the kindling of a spark of the light in the darkness of our material existence.
more

Candlemas comes at a time in the year that certainly reflects its spiritual meaning for the Gnostic. In early times, the Celts knew this feast day as Imbolc, the first day of the month by that name in their calendar. During this time of year the days were still sufficiently short that the evening meal was often prepared and eaten by candlelight or torchlight. It is also the season of the first spring lambs being born from their mothers; and so the time for the milking of the ewes to supply what was needed to bolster the dwindling supplies of food put away for the winter. We no longer live in such an agrarian society and these metaphors from the past may not relate to us as they once might have, but we can use these images and metaphors to open a window to something else, something transcendent to the world in which we find ourselves.

The image of the candle lit in the darkness can signify to us the kindling of a spark of the light in the darkness of our material existence.
more The Mystery of Divine Love:   A
Homily for the Day of the Holy Valentinus

February 14th has been a holiday associated with love and lovers, since ancient Roman and Pre-Christian times. The Roman festival of Lupercalia, a spring festival celebrating sexual and romantic love, coincided with this date. Ancient Romans believed that the springtime mating of birds occurred on this date as well.

The naming of this holiday after a St. Valentine seems to be a case where the Catholic Church of Rome attempted to find a saint's feast day to substitute for a popular pre-existing holiday. In fact, there were three saints who could be associated with the theme of love, all three of them named Valentine.

It is thus only fitting that we, as Gnostics, should pick our own Valentinus as the saint for whom this feast day is dedicated. In studying the Valentinian tradition of Gnosticism, particularly in that of his disciples in Ptolemaeus' Letter to Flora and the Gospel of Philip, we find that this is more than a mere coincidence of the name, but that the Valentinian literature is filled with the imagery and metaphor of spiritual love and the Gnostic sacrament of the Bridal Chamber and marriage.
more

February 14th has been a holiday associated with love and lovers, since ancient Roman and Pre-Christian times. The Roman festival of Lupercalia, a spring festival celebrating sexual and romantic love, coincided with this date. Ancient Romans believed that the springtime mating of birds occurred on this date as well.

The naming of this holiday after a St. Valentine seems to be a case where the Catholic Church of Rome attempted to find a saint's feast day to substitute for a popular pre-existing holiday. In fact, there were three saints who could be associated with the theme of love, all three of them named Valentine.

It is thus only fitting that we, as Gnostics, should pick our own Valentinus as the saint for whom this feast day is dedicated. In studying the Valentinian tradition of Gnosticism, particularly in that of his disciples in Ptolemaeus' Letter to Flora and the Gospel of Philip, we find that this is more than a mere coincidence of the name, but that the Valentinian literature is filled with the imagery and metaphor of spiritual love and the Gnostic sacrament of the Bridal Chamber and marriage.
more The Legacy of Liberation:
A Homily for Montsegur Day

Montsegur Day reminds us of what certainly comes to us as a great tragedy in human history. On March 16 in the year 1244, beneath the imposing ediface of Montsegur, the defenders of the Cathars and approximately 200 of the remaining Cathar parfait (perfecti), marched out in file where they were rounded up on a great field, fenced around and piled high with dry tinder and branches, and there burned to their deaths—effectively blotting out the outward glory of the Cathars from that time on.
Why do we commemorate such a tragic day? What connection does our contemporary and seemingly dissimilar practice of Gnosticism have to these simple exemplars of the Gnosis? One answer to the latter question is that we might conceive of Gnosticism as an ancient, underground stream, the living waters of the Holy Spirit that comes up to the surface in response to the descent of its Messengers of Light at various times and places throughout history and under various forms and guises; yet, it is still the same stream and the same message of liberation. The Cathars are one such surfacing of the Gnosis.
more

Montsegur Day reminds us of what certainly comes to us as a great tragedy in human history. On March 16 in the year 1244, beneath the imposing ediface of Montsegur, the defenders of the Cathars and approximately 200 of the remaining Cathar parfait (perfecti), marched out in file where they were rounded up on a great field, fenced around and piled high with dry tinder and branches, and there burned to their deaths—effectively blotting out the outward glory of the Cathars from that time on.

Why do we commemorate such a tragic day? What connection does our contemporary and seemingly dissimilar practice of Gnosticism have to these simple exemplars of the Gnosis? One answer to the latter question is that we might conceive of Gnosticism as an ancient, underground stream, the living waters of the Holy Spirit that comes up to the surface in response to the descent of its Messengers of Light at various times and places throughout history and under various forms and guises; yet, it is still the same stream and the same message of liberation. The Cathars are one such surfacing of the Gnosis.
more The Message of Gnosis:
A Homily for The Annunciation to our Lady The Annunciation to our Lady has been an important feast day in the calendar of the Church for a very long time. Annunciation is a synonym for "announcement," and refers to the announcement of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary concerning her role in the advent of Christ. The traditional date of the Annunciation is March 25, which signifies the mystical conception of Christ, occurring as it does exactly 9 months before the date of Christmas when we celebrate the Christ's birth. The popularity of this feast day in the traditional Church is most likely due to the emphasis on the divine feminine in the image of Mary to which many people related as the familiar mythological image of the woman or goddess who gives birth to the Divine Child. If the image of Mary embodies such a potent archetype, why is so little importance given to her in the Gnostic writings, and why then have we, as modern Gnostics, begun to honor her festivals?
more

Purification:
A Homily for Ash Wednesday The significant rite of the beginning of Lent is the signing with the ashes on Ash Wednesday. The sign of the cross is traced upon the forehead with the words, "Remember Thou, O soul, that thy body is dust and unto dust it shall return." These words signify a release from the identification of the self with the mortal and corruptible body and personality. A detachment from our conventional identification with our mortal shell can result in an altered state of consciousness where our bodies can communicate to us a spiritual reality and we can develop in actuality a more caring attitude toward it.  St. Francis often referred to his mortal frame as his humble and dutiful "donkey" that bore him through this life, like the donkey that bore the blessed

Virgin to Bethlehem. more

Self-Examination:
A Homily for The First Sunday in Lent The season of Lent extends from Ash Wednesday up to the eve of Easter Sunday. The word "lent"
comes from a German word meaning "spring." It is a time of purification and introspection in preparation for the renewal in spring. The first day of Lent occurs on Ash Wednesday, 40 days before Easter Sunday. The number forty has much significance in relation to the mythic story of Jesus and the preparation of Lent.

According to scripture and tradition, Jesus was forty hours in the tomb before his resurrection and forty days fasting in the wilderness before undertaking his public mission.

The forty days before Easter is a time for us to also fast from the outer world. In an agricultural society, Lent is the time in the year when the winter stores are dwindling and it becomes time to tighten one's belt, until the food stores can be renewed in the spring. It represents a period of self-examination, rest and introspection prior to the arrival of spring.
In our self-examination, it is a time to work on overcoming our weaknesses, rather than a time to mourn over our past errors--a time to die to the old in preparation for the renewal in spring.
more The season of Lent extends from Ash Wednesday up to the eve of Easter Sunday. The word "lent"
comes from a German word meaning "spring." It is a time of purification and introspection in preparation for the renewal in spring. The first day of Lent occurs on Ash Wednesday, 40 days before Easter Sunday. The number forty has much significance in relation to the mythic story of Jesus and the preparation of Lent.

According to scripture and tradition, Jesus was forty hours in the tomb before his resurrection and forty days fasting in the wilderness before undertaking his public mission.

The forty days before Easter is a time for us to also fast from the outer world. In an agricultural society, Lent is the time in the year when the winter stores are dwindling and it becomes time to tighten one's belt, until the food stores can be renewed in the spring. It represents a period of self-examination, rest and introspection prior to the arrival of spring.
In our self-examination, it is a time to work on overcoming our weaknesses, rather than a time to mourn over our past errors--a time to die to the old in preparation for the renewal in spring.
more

Yearning for God:
A Homily for The Second Sunday in Lent The season of Lent bears an overall character of introspection and self-examination. When the attention of the psyche turns inward, one finds an initial sense of alienation and emptiness, a yearning for something only vaguely formulated that we intuitively know would bring true wholeness and fill the emptiness we feel. Such, for the Gnostic, is the yearning for God. It is the longing for the healing of a separation that is felt on both a personal and a collective level. The healing of this separation is symbolised in the image of the Bridal Chamber in the Valentinian writings and the union with the Light-Twin in the stories of Mani. more The Temporary Triumph of the Light before its Obscuration:
A Homily for Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week. Holy Week recounts a complex and meaningful series of mythic events which lead to the Resurrection on Easter Day.
Palm Sunday represents a preparation, a setting up, for the Resurrection to occur. As Gnostics we may differ from the mainstream in our interpretation of these events, as to whether they are literal history or strictly symbolic, or something in between. What is important for us to focus on is that these events recount an interior experience of archetypal dimensions. It does not matter if the events of Holy Week are historical or purely mythical; they have a deep and archetypal meaning to the Gnostic soul. The series of events in Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday, describe a process of our own apotheosis and psychological transformation.
Blind belief in historical events is not going to transform us; we must cultivate an experience of this archetypal reality. For this reason we celebrate Palm Sunday not as a commemoration of an historical event but as an archetypal mystery and another step in the process of psychological and spiritual transformation.

more The Inner Resurrection:   A
Homily for Easter

Easter is the major moveable feast of the liturgical year. It may fall on any sunday between March 22nd and April 23rd. The date of Easter accords with the date of the Jewish festival of the Passover which is based upon the old lunar calendar. By this method of calculation the date of Easter is the Sunday nearest the first full moon following the spring equinox. The spring season in which Easter occurs, with its renewal of life following winter, bears out a synchronous relationship with the resurrection theme in the mythic story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. We find at this great Christian festival a conjunction between the the cycles of nature and the mythic cycle of the liturgical year, a conjunction between microcosm and macrocosm, a conjunction between the interior, mythic dimension of reality and the outer dimension of the cycles of life.
more The Wealth of Spirit:   A
Homily for the First Sunday after Easter (Low Sunday)

The first Sunday after Easter has been called "Low Sunday", so as to distinguish it from Easter Sunday, which has been called "High Sunday".
Ecclesiastics facetiously explain the title supposedly because attendance is typically so low on this Sunday in comparison to Easter Sunday. This phenomenon, not always born out in my experience, is in a certain way symbolic of the dichotomy of how the success of a religion, church or person is measured when contrasting a worldly versus a spiritual view of the matter.

The Gnostic point of view expresses this dichotomy most often in the contrasting of material wealth and an exterior, visible growth in the world with spiritual wealth and an interior, invisible growth in the Spirit. more The first Sunday after Easter has been called "Low Sunday", so as to distinguish it from Easter Sunday, which has been called "High Sunday".
Ecclesiastics facetiously explain the title supposedly because attendance is typically so low on this Sunday in comparison to Easter Sunday. This phenomenon, not always born out in my experience, is in a certain way symbolic of the dichotomy of how the success of a religion, church or person is measured when contrasting a worldly versus a spiritual view of the matter.

The Gnostic point of view expresses this dichotomy most often in the contrasting of material wealth and an exterior, visible growth in the world with spiritual wealth and an interior, invisible growth in the Spirit. more

Although not particularly emphasized in mainstream Christendom, the Ascension of the Christ has been of great and central importance to Gnostics throughout history.
The importance of the Ascension to the Gnostic rests on two principle points: the first that, according to the Gnostics, Jesus delivered the deepest and most profound mysteries following the Ascension, and secondly that the Ascension of Christ conveys the promise of our own spiritual ascension and return to the Light, a theme central to all Gnostic teachings. more

Coming of the Holy Spirit:   A
Homily for Pentecost

Pentecost is a very important feast day in our Gnostic liturgical calendar. It commemorates the promised coming of the Holy Spirit to the Disciples, which was predicted by Jesus prior to his mystical death and resurrection.

The mythic cycle of the liturgical year seems to come to an end at Pentecost, yet, for the Gnostic, it is the beginning of the true spiritual mission of the Christos. The Pistis Sophia describes twelve years of activity by the Logos among the disciples after the Ascension. It also describes the Apostleship of Mary Magdalen and the mythic cycle of the feminine power represented in the descent, suffering and assumption of Sophia.

Pentecost with the insertion of the Trinity season begins an entire half of the year, representing the mythic cycle of the feminine aspect of God, the season of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost, like Advent, is a beginning, the beginning of a new level of spiritual activity in our archetypal life. The Holy Spirit, like a great wind, blows into our spiritual life with something new, unexpected, and, even if somewhat unsettling, yet as a consoler and comforter that is not of this world. more

Pentecost is a very important feast day in our Gnostic liturgical calendar. It commemorates the promised coming of the Holy Spirit to the Disciples, which was predicted by Jesus prior to his mystical death and resurrection.

The mythic cycle of the liturgical year seems to come to an end at Pentecost, yet, for the Gnostic, it is the beginning of the true spiritual mission of the Christos. The Pistis Sophia describes twelve years of activity by the Logos among the disciples after the Ascension. It also describes the Apostleship of Mary Magdalen and the mythic cycle of the feminine power represented in the descent, suffering and assumption of Sophia.

Pentecost with the insertion of the Trinity season begins an entire half of the year, representing the mythic cycle of the feminine aspect of God, the season of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost, like Advent, is a beginning, the beginning of a new level of spiritual activity in our archetypal life. The Holy Spirit, like a great wind, blows into our spiritual life with something new, unexpected, and, even if somewhat unsettling, yet as a consoler and comforter that is not of this world. more

Devotion to the Triune Deity:   A
Homily for Trinity Sunday

One of the common questions we receive as Gnostics is “Why do you espouse the doctrine of the Christian Trinity?” To answer this question we have only to listen to the voices of the early Gnostics themselves.

In the entire canon of Biblical scripture there are only a few vague references to a trinity in the letters of St Paul, yet the Gnostic scriptures of the Nag Hammadi collection are filled with trinitarian expressions of God. In the Gospel of Philip,we see written, “...the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” There is no place in the mainstream canon of the Bible where we can find so clear a reference to the Christian

Trinity. In this way, we can state quite emphatically that we, as Gnostics, are trinitarians, yet we encompass far more than any dogma of the Church concerning this Trinity. more

Bread From Heaven: The Inner Transubstantiation A Homily for the Day of Corpus Christi The feast of Corpus Christi , celebrated on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday as a solemn commemoration of the Holy Eucharist, is a fairly recent festival in the development of the liturgy of the Western Church. It was officially adopted by the Roman Catholic Church under Pope Clement V at the General Council of Vienne in 1311. It later became an especially important date in the recognition of various esoteric orders and mystical developments from within Christianity, such as the Freemasons and the Rosicrucians. The date carries a central importance in the Fama Fraternitatis, the seminal document of the Rosicrucian orders throughout the world. During the late Middle Ages the festival was observed with a grand procession of the exposed host in a pageant joined by religious orders, prelates, sovereigns, princes, magistrates and members of various craft guilds. The procession was followed by miracle plays put on by Guild members. Some have hypothesised that such ritual dramas were the beginnings of the degrees in Freemasonry. One of the reasons for its adoption by more Gnostic and mystically oriented movements throughout its history could be similar to the reasons for the veneration of St. Paul the Apostle by the early Gnostics, that being that this feast day was originally inspired by a spiritual experience. more The Beloved of the Logos:   A
Homily for the Day of Holy Mary of Magdala The figure of Mary of Magdala, also known as Mary Magdalen, is both complex and controversial.
She has remained a mystery for a very long time and an object of difficulty for the Church from the very beginning of Christianity.
One question we receive from those of mainstream backgrounds is why the importance of Mary Magdalen in the Gnostic scriptures and our contemporary practice of Gnosticism. more

Rising into the Light:   A
Homily for The Assumption of Sophia

August 15th is the traditional date for the feast of the Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary in the Roman Catholic Church and the Dormition of Mary in the Orthodox Church. The feast commemorates the assumption of Mary into Heaven at the end of her earthly life. It was not until the year1950 that the doctrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was made a dogma in the Roman Catholic Church, yet her feast goes back to the middle ages. According to C.G. Jung the proclamation by the Pope was accompanied by visionary revelations of the Blessed Virgin to himself and others. This suggests that the image of the Assumption of Mary relates to a phenomenon of the archetypal feminine in successive experiences of a revelatory nature. The story of the Ascension of Sophia, originating in the fourth century, predates the Feast of the Assumption by many centuries, and yet its imagery seems to be the archetype upon which later revelations about Mary are patterned. For this reason, it seems apt as Gnostics, to celebrate the Ascension of Sophia, on the Sunday nearest the feast day of the Assumption. more The Nativity of Our Lady:   A
Homily for the Descent of the Holy Sophia The date that Gnostics celebrate as the Descent of Sophia corresponds to the traditional date for the Birth of Mary in the Church Calendar. Both of these mythic motifs relate to the coming down to earth of the feminine image of the Redeemer. The story of the descent of Sophia is the story of our own fall into matter. The story of the birth of Mary describes the role of the Holy Female Power in our own redemption and liberation.

more The Angelic Defender of the Gnosis:   A
Homily for the Day of the Holy Michael, Archangel The Day of the Holy Saint Michael the Archangel, also known as Michaelmas, is an important feast day in the Gnostic liturgical calendar. The Archangel Michael has enjoyed a surprising prominence in all three of the great world religions of the West—Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.

It was a day of particular importance among the feast days of the liturgical calendar of the Medieval Christian church, thereby obtaining the common name of Michaelmas. Of the three Archangels mentioned in the canonical writings of the Roman Catholic Church, none has enjoyed more popularity or had as many Churches and Chapels dedicated to him, as the Archangel Michael. His popularity and presence in the mystical dimension of the human psyche eventually forced the Roman Catholic Church to include him in their theology as a Saint. more The Knights of Holy Wisdom:   A
Homily for Day of the Martyrdom of the Holy Templars In commemorating the Martyrdom of Jaques de Molay and the Holy Templars, we do not so much commemorate their martyrdom but their legacy of the Gnosis to us, their heirs.
The Gnosis of which they were the custodians might be symbolized in the image of an underground stream traveling through time and geography to surface and appear at various times in history. The Templars then are one such upwellings or surfacings of the Gnosis within the various and superficially dissimilar trappings of time and culture.

Like many potent symbols of the Gnosis, the legacy of the Templars must be approached as a mystery rather than a collection of historical facts or various opinions about who they were. They bear both a historical dimension and a mythical dimension. more In commemorating the Martyrdom of Jaques de Molay and the Holy Templars, we do not so much commemorate their martyrdom but their legacy of the Gnosis to us, their heirs.
The Gnosis of which they were the custodians might be symbolized in the image of an underground stream traveling through time and geography to surface and appear at various times in history. The Templars then are one such upwellings or surfacings of the Gnosis within the various and superficially dissimilar trappings of time and culture.

Like many potent symbols of the Gnosis, the legacy of the Templars must be approached as a mystery rather than a collection of historical facts or various opinions about who they were. They bear both a historical dimension and a mythical dimension. more

One of the traditions that fell out of favor with the rise of Protestantism was that of prayers to the Saints and so went the Day of All Saints from the mainstream culture of the USA in favor of Halloween. Halloween or All Hallows Eve is the eve of this feast day and from the Day of All Saints Halloween got its name. In almost every other Christian nation people celebrate the Day of All Saints and the Day of the Dead following, as occasions of great meaning in their spiritual life.
This loss of the tradition of Saints has resulted for most of us in a breakdown in one of the intermediary levels of contact with the numinosity of the Divine. The Saints are those souls who have gone before us into the Pleroma, and can therefore provide spiritual guidance and assistance to those who seek the light of Gnosis. Because they were at one time incarnated human beings with all the limitations that such suffer, they are one rung closer to us than other intermediaries. more The Gnosis of Remembering:   A Homily
for All Soul's Day All Souls’s Day is traditionally a time to remember the blessed dead. In Latin cultures they call it the Day of the Dead. They decorate the graves of the dead and remember the relatives and loved ones that have passed beyond those graves. They recall a spiritual connection with some spiritual and immortal part of those deceased whom they have loved or admired while in earthly life.

As we remember those loved ones and revered ones who have passed on, we must remember our own eventual death and contemplate why the dead are called “blessed.” Why is an intimate understanding of death so important to the Gnostic paradigm? One that comes readily to mind is that those who have died have passed over into another realm of consciousness, another world, another reality. Connection with such an alternative reality is very much a part of the Gnostic journey to wholeness.
Through connection with an alternative reality we might achieve consciousness of the original Light from which we come and to which, with divine aid, we have the potential to eventually return.
more All Souls’s Day is traditionally a time to remember the blessed dead. In Latin cultures they call it the Day of the Dead. They decorate the graves of the dead and remember the relatives and loved ones that have passed beyond those graves. They recall a spiritual connection with some spiritual and immortal part of those deceased whom they have loved or admired while in earthly life.

As we remember those loved ones and revered ones who have passed on, we must remember our own eventual death and contemplate why the dead are called “blessed.” Why is an intimate understanding of death so important to the Gnostic paradigm? One that comes readily to mind is that those who have died have passed over into another realm of consciousness, another world, another reality. Connection with such an alternative reality is very much a part of the Gnostic journey to wholeness.
Through connection with an alternative reality we might achieve consciousness of the original Light from which we come and to which, with divine aid, we have the potential to eventually return.
more

Morning Prayer

In the name of the father, of the son and of the holy spirit. Amen.

On waking, Heavenly Father, I sing Your praises and I dare say to You again with confidence the prayer that the divine master taught us.

Our Father who are in the depths of the Eons, may Your Holy Logos and Christ be understood and adored in all the Universe; may the Kingdom of Your Holy Spirit come to us, may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our spiritual food, the strength and courage to earn the bread for our body. Forgive us our digressions from Your laws, as our Assembly forgives those of repentant sinners. Support us in our weakness so that we are not carried away by our passions and deliver us from the deceptive mirages of the Archon. For we have no other king than Your beloved son Christ our Savior whose is the kingdom, the triumph and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Lord, oh divine Propator, hear my prayer, listen to my supplications; let me hear the voice of Your mercy form the morning, for it is in Your hands that I place myself. I adore You, I praise You, I give You thanks from the morning.

I thank You for having protected me during the night from all the dangers and all the evils which could have harmed me and from which You have covered me with Your protection. During this day, remain my support, my strength, my refuge, my salvation and my consolation. Amen.

Oh my Father, I thank You for all the good things that I have received from You so far. It is also by an effect of Your goodness that I see this day; I want to use it to serve You. I devote to You all my thoughts, words, deeds and sorrows. Bless them, oh my God, so that there will be none which are not activated by Your love and which do not tend to glorify You. Amen.

In the name of the father, the son and the holy spirit. Amen.

(Adopted from the usage of the French Gnostic Church)

Evening Prayer

Night has spread its veils over us, everything invites us to mediate. I raise my thoughts to you, oh divine Propator, and I come into your presence to examine the conduct of my day.

Examination of Conscience

Did I not hide my religious thoughts when, on the contrary, I should have expressed them clearly? Have I not mixed the name of God with words of impatience, anger, lying or thoughtlessness? Have I at all times had a firm will and have I always subjected it to the light of reason? Have I always preserved my dignity? Have I always been moderate in prosperity and patient in adversity? Have I been angry? Have I been proud, vain, or ambitious? Have I always treated my neighbor like a brother and with love? Have I acted out of hatred or vengeance? Have I abstained from gossip, from slander and from rash judgments? Have I put right the wrong caused to my fellow-man? Have I always told the truth? Have I always kept my word when it was given? Finally, have I filled my day well?

Those, oh my Father, are many faults; I admit them before you, and even though you do not need my confession and you see into the depths of my heart, I confess to you nevertheless and I admit them before heaven and earth because I have greatly sinned in words, in deeds and in omissions; it is my fault, my own fault, my grievous fault. Oh my God and my Father, I have sinned against you, I am no longer worthy to be called your child; break the hardness of my heart and by your infinite strength and goodness, bring forth from it tears of penitence. Forgive me, on my God, for all the wrong that I have done and cause to be done; forgive me for all the good I have not done and which I should have done, or that I have done badly; forgive me for all the sins that I know of and for those which I do not know of: I feel sincere repentance for them and I want to make an effort to put them right. Amen.

Lord, oh divine Propator, who are the Father of lights and the protector of all those who hope in you, deign to take me in your holy protection during this night and keep me from all danger and from every peril. During the sleep of my body, make my soul watch in you. Subdue in me all wrong desires; make my conscience enjoy a holy tranquillity; take far from me evil thoughts and all the dangerous illusions of the Archon. Grant your powerful protection to my parents, to my friends, to all those who make up the family of Gnostics and generally to all men.

Father, as I fall asleep, I place my confidence in you and in the double and shining start of the Pleroma. Amen.

Post-Eucharistic Benediction

The Peace of God which passeth all understanding, go with you.
There is a power that makes all things new; It lives and moves in those who know the Self as one.
May the Peace brood over you, that Power uplift you into the Light, may it keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and Love of God, and his Son, our Lord the Christ.

And may the Blessing of God Almighty, the Father,. the Son and the Holy Spirit, be amongst you and remain with you always.

Amen.

This Benediciton is taken from the Holy Gnostic Eucharist, closing the formal part of the Gnostic Eucharist observed by Ecclesia Gnostica.

The Holy Gnostic Rosary

The Sign of the Cross

In the name of the Unknown Father, in Truth, Mother of all, in union and redemption and sharing of the powers, peace to all on whom this name reposes.

The Gnostic's Creed

I acknowledge one great invisible God, unrevealable, unmarked, ageless and unproclaimable; the unknown Father, the Aeon of the aeons, who brought forth in the silence with his Providence:
the Father, the Mother, and the Son.

I acknowledge the Christos, the self-begotten living Son, the glory of the Father and the virtue of the Mother, who given birth from the virginal and ineffable Mother, was made incarnate, the Perfect one.
Who in the word of the Great Invisible God, came down from above to annul the emptiness of this age and restore the fullness to the Aeon.

I acknowledge the Holy Spirit, the Bride of the Christos, the Mother of the Aeons, the great virginal and ineffable Mother Who proceeded from Herself a gift of Herself out of the silence of the Unknown God.

I acknowledge the Light of the one church in every place:
Interior, Invisible, Secret and Universal, the foundation of the lights of the great living God.
I seek liberation of my perfection from the corruptions of the world and look to the gathering of the sparks of Light from the sea of forgetfulness.
Amen.

The Gnostic's Prayer

Almighty God, whose footstool is the highest firmament:

Great Ruler of Heaven, and all the powers therein:

Hear the prayers of Thy Servants, who put their trust in Thee.

We pray Thee, supply our needs from day to day:

command Thy heavenly host to comfort and succor us:

That it may be to Thy glory and unto the good of man.

Forgive us our transgressions as we forgive our brothers and sisters:

be present with us: strengthen and sustain us:

For we are but instruments in Thy hands.

Let us not fall into temptation: defend us from all danger and evil:

Let Thy mighty power ever guard and protect us.

Thou great fount of knowledge and Wisdom:

Instruct Thy servants by Thy holy presence:

Guide and support us, now and forever.

Amen.

Hail Sophia

Hail Sophia, full of light, the Christ is with thee, blessed art thou among all the aeons, and blessed is the liberator of thy light, Jesus.

Holy Sophia, Mother of all gods, pray to the Light for us thy children, now and in the hour of our death.

Amen.

Gloria Patri

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, unto the Aeons of Aeons.

The Order Of The Recitation Of The Holy Gnostic Rosary

The sign of the Cross and the Gnostic's Creed

The Gnostic's prayer

Hail Sophia three times.

Gloria Patri

Announce the First Mystery: then say The Gnostic's Prayer.

The First Gnostic Mystery:
The Assumption of Sophia.

Hail to the Great Savior, for He has lifted the Soul and the Heart of the Heavens out of the prison house of matter and raised Her up into the Pleroma.

Hail Sophia ten times, while meditating on the Mystery.
Gloria Patri.
Announce the Second Mystery: then say the Gnostic's Prayer.

The Second Gnostic Mystery:
The Coronation of Sophia.

And the Lord gave unto Sophia a crown with twelve stars which are the lights of redemption and the Throne of Manifestation for Her seat, and He also gave unto Her the Cross of Mystery as a scepter by which she shall rule the Aeons.

Hail Sophia ten times, while meditating on the Mystery.
Gloria Patri.
Announce the third Mystery: then say the Gnostic's Prayer.

The Third Gnostic Mystery:
The Renunciation.

And the Lord laid the Kingdom at Her feet, and renounced all sovereignty and rule unto Her Throne.

The sword that He brought He received at Her hands, to redeem and to conquer for the reception of the Light.

Hail Sophia ten times, while meditating on the Mystery.
Gloria Patri.
Announce the fourth Mystery: then say the Gnostic's Prayer.

The Fourth Gnostic Mystery:
The Bride Chamber

"My Soul doth magnify the Lord, for a lowly handmaid hath been found perfected in Sophia and the King is come.
Be it done according to thy Word".
The King answered and said, "Arise, O Daughter of the Light, and enter into thy rest."

Hail Sophia ten times, while meditating on the Mystery.
Gloria Patri.
Announce the fifth Mystery: then say the Gnostic's Prayer.

The Fifth Gnostic Mystery:
The Descent of the New Jerusalem.

Behold, a small star from the Heavens descends to the Earth, With Light more brilliant than the Sun.
It comes to dwell in the Hearts of the children of men, and these hearts are the foundation upon which is built the Eternal City, New Jerusalem.

Hail Sophia ten times, while meditating on the Mystery.
Closing prayer.

Closing Prayer

O Gentle, O Kind, O Blessed Sophia, Thy children on earth call unto Thee.
We pray Thee, Beloved Mother, to cast forth thy net of woven starlight.
Fling it wide across the ocean of the universe to gather us home to the realms of Light.

The Gnostic Rosary was formed from the meditational practice of The Guild, a devotional society of the Ecclesia Gnostica formerly directed by Rev. John Goelz and Rev. Steven Marshall

"My Soul doth magnify the Lord, for a lowly handmaid hath been found perfected in Sophia and the King is come.
Be it done according to thy Word".

The King answered and said, "Arise, O Daughter of the Light, and enter into thy rest."

An Introduction to the Ecclesia Gnostica

THE LAST FEW YEARS have brought to the fore a considerable number of organizations bearing the name "Gnostic". The principal reason for this was the discovery in 1945 and the publication in fully translated form in 1977 of the Nag Hammadi Library of Coptic Gnostic scriptures -- the largest collection of Gnostic writings ever discovered. The Nag Hammadi Library has not only brought the name "Gnostic" into prominence but has also convinced many persons in our culture that Gnosticism is more than a peculiar ancient heresy of mainly antiquarian interest. On the contrary, Gnosticism now stands revealed as a fascinating and creative early variant of Christianity that possesses many features of contemporary relevance.
To those of us who are committed to the Gnostic Tradition, these developments have brought both satisfaction and concern. Understandably, we are encouraged by the increase of interest in our tradition. It is also gratifying for us to note that today, unlike some years ago, the use of the name "Gnostic" is considered advantageous by many. At the same time we are compelled to recognize that many avail themselves of the name "Gnostic" without adequate justification. Just as not all is gold that glitters, so not all who call themselves "Gnostic" have a just claim to this name.

In order to promote authenticity and clarity in regard to matters Gnostic, the Ecclesia Gnostica and its affiliated lay organization, The Gnostic Society, have decided to issue this statement.

The Ecclesia Gnostica The church bearing this name is the oldest public Gnostic sacramental body in the United States. It was organized as the Pre-Nicene Gnostic Catholic Church at first in England and since 1959 in the United States by the late Bishop Richard, Duc de Palatine.

After the demise of the Duc de Palatine in the 1970's, the Church he established in America continued its work under the name Ecclesia Gnostica.

The Regionary Bishop of the church is Dr. Stephan A. Hoeller, who was consecrated to that office by the Duc de Palatine in 1967. Dr. Hoeller is thus the senior holder of what is sometimes called the English Gnostic Transmission in America. (There are no other bishops living in the USA who were consecrated by the Duc de Palatine.)

The Ecclesia Gnostica exists for the purpose of upholding the Gnostic tradition and to administer the holy sacraments to those of God's people who are attracted to the altars of the Gnosis. An active ministry of parish work is thus an essential feature of this church.

The Los Angeles parish of the Ecclesia Gnostica holds eleven regularly scheduled church services and four catechetical lectures each month in order to serve the spiritual needs of its congregation. The Regionary Bishop presides over the majority of these activities.

Ordination to the minor and major orders of the Ecclesia Gnostica is open to both men and women. Candidates for holy orders must possess a sincere commitment to the Gnostic tradition and must be determined to exercise a pastoral ministry. (The Ecclesia does not recognize a non-pastoral clergy. All persons in holy orders are expected to participate in administering the sacraments on a regular basis.) Training for the various holy orders is both theoretical and practical. The Ecclesia offers no mail-order instruction for holy orders, but requires candidates to receive resident training at one of its established parishes or missions. We ordain clergy for our own jurisdiction and not for "independent" activities on their own. The Ecclesia has no interest in expansion for its own sake, rather it prefers to have a few parishes led by properly trained priests of true Gnostic commitment. At the time that this document is issued, the Ecclesia Gnostica possesses a parishes in Los Angeles, California, in Portland, Oregon, and a in Salt Lake City, Utah. It has a small seminary in Arizona and a missionary extension and parish in the Kingdom of Norway.

The Gnostic Society The Gnostic Society has existed in Los Angeles since 1928. It was founded by noted author James Morgan Pryse and his brother John Pryse for the purpose of studying Gnosticism and the Western Esoteric Tradition generally.

After the establishment of the Ecclesia Gnostica in the United States, the Gnostic Society has united with the Ecclesia and is now functioning as its affiliated lay organization. Neither the Ecclesia Gnostica nor The Gnostic Society have a formal, dues-paying membership. The activities of both are open to all. Free will offerings are accepted.

Relation to other Churches and Organizations The Ecclesia Gnostica is in a state of fraternal alliance (concordat) with the Eglise Gnostique Catholique Apostolique of France, through the Diocese of the Midwest, (U.S.A.) of that Church and the Bishop of said Diocese, the Most Rev. Robert Michael Cokinis. The Ecclesia Gnostica and the E.G.C.A.

fully recognize each other's holy orders and respect the territorial jurisdiction exercised by each. This implies that neither of these churches by way of their bishops will ordain or commission clergy to function in territories administered by the other.
The Ecclesia Gnostica Mysteriorum of Palo Alto, California was initially a duly constituted parish of the Ecclesia Gnostica and is now an independent body. Its head, Bishop Rosamonde Miller, was ordained to the priesthood and subsequently consecrated to the episcopate of the Ecclesia Gnostica by Bishop Hoeller.
The aforementioned ecclesiastical bodies are the only ones with which the Ecclesia Gnostica has or has had any association. Concerning all other organizations styling themselves "Gnostic" we advise all inquirers to subject them to thorough scrutiny before accepting their claims to being Gnostic.

Scriptures and Literature In upholding the Gnostic tradition, the Ecclesia Gnostica avails itself chiefly of the primary sources of Gnostic teachings. Among these are, first the Nag Hammadi Library, and second, the codices and treatises whose discovery precedes the Nag Hammadi find (such as the Askew, Bruce and Berlin Codices, the Acts of Thomas, Acts of John, and others).

Somewhat less reliable, but still quite informative are the references and quotations of Gnostic content in the writings of the heresiologist Church Fathers.
Of the later Gnostic sources, we are particularly devoted to the writings of the Prophet Mani and to the teachings of such Medieval Gnostic movements as the Cathars and the Bogomils. Another valuable primary source is the literature of the Mandaeans, a still practicing Gnostic religion in Iraq. Primary sources such as the ones noted above are of the greatest value to contemporary Gnostics.

Items of Gnostic interest may be found in much other literature. The Hermetic writings, the writings of the Christian mystics, the Jewish Gnosticism of the Kabbalah are some of these. Some of the great poets of the culture, such as Dante, Blake and Goethe incorporated valuable Gnostic themes in their works, which are of interest. In modern times, the Nineteenth Century Occult Revival, pioneered by H. P. Blavatsky, bore a decidedly Gnostic character and thus produced some writings that are useful to present

Gnostic concerns. The late Nineteenth Century also gave rise to the re-constituted Gnostic Church of France, whose leaders wrote some books worthy of serious consideration.
The Twentieth Century has been blessed with the figure of C. G. Jung, who contributed most significantly to the revival of interest in matters Gnostic. Jung and some of his scholarly associates (Quispel, Pulver, Joseph Campbell) have built powerful bridges between ancient Gnosticism and such modern disciplines as psychology, mythology and the arts. Their writings are most useful to modern Gnostics.

Teachings and Doctrinal Orientation While the ancient Gnostic teachers were very pluralistic and creative regarding the details of their teachings and practices, at the same time they embraced a set of common assumptions which form the core of the Gnostic tradition. The model of reality shown forth in the Gnostic scriptures and in the Gnostic tradition may be very briefly (and therefore somewhat inadequately) outlined by way of the following points:

There is an original and transcendental spiritual unity which came to emanate a vast manifestation of pluralities.

The manifest universe of matter and mind (psyche) was not created by the original spiritual unity but by spiritual beings possessing inferior powers.

These creators possessing inferior powers have as one of their objectives the perpetual separation of humans from the unity (God).

The human being is a composite, the outer aspect being the handiwork of the inferior creators, while the "inner man" has the character of a fallen spark of the ultimate divine unity.

The fallen sparks of transcendental holiness slumber in their material and mental prison, their self-awareness stupefied by forces of materiality and mind.

The slumbering sparks have not been abandoned by the ultimate unity, rather there is a constant effort forthcoming from this unity that is directed toward their awakening and liberation.

The awakening of the inmost divine essence in humans is effected by salvific knowledge, called Gnosis.

Salvific knowledge, or Gnosis, is not brought about by belief, or the performance of virtuous deeds, or by obedience to commandments, for these can at best but serve as preparatory circumstances leading toward liberating knowledge.

Among the helpers of the slumbering sparks a particular position of honor and importance belongs to a feminine emanation of the unity. The name of this emanation is Sophia (Wisdom). She was involved in the creation of the world and ever since remained the guide of her orphaned human children.

From the earliest times of history, messengers of light have been sent forth from the ultimate unity. The task of these messengers has ever been the advancement of Gnosis in the souls of humans.

The greatest of these messengers in our historical and geographical matrix was the descended Logos of God, manifesting in Jesus Christ.

Jesus exercised a twofold ministry: He was a teacher, imparting instruction concerning the way of Gnosis, and he was a hierophant, imparting mysteries.

The mysteries imparted y Jesus (which are also known as sacraments) are mighty aids toward Gnosis and have been entrusted by him to his apostles and to their successors.

By way of the spiritual practice of the mysteries (sacraments) and by a relentless and uncompromising striving for Gnosis, humans can steadily advance toward liberation from all confinement, material and otherwise. The ultimate objective of this process of liberation is the achievement of salvific knowledge and with it freedom from embodied existence and The interpretation of teachings such as are contained in the above fourteen points appertains to the individual. Some of these teachings may lend themselves to a primarily metaphorical and mythic understanding, while others may be understood metaphysically. The Ecclesia Gnostica does not require its communicants to accept these teachings as a matter of belief. At the same time, it is obvious that these teachings represent the distinctive contribution of the Gnostic tradition to religious thought and persons functioning within the tradition would find themselves in general agreement with them.

Further Information:
Further information regarding the Church, especially its religious services and educational activities is available from the following parishes and church centers:
Ecclesia Gnostica Diocesan Center:

Most Rev. Stephan A. Hoeller, bishop.
2560 N. Beachwood Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90068

Ecclesia Gnostica in Oregon:

Most Rev. Steven Marshall Queen of Heaven Gnostic Church 5815 N.E. Everett, Portland, OR 97213

Ecclesia Gnostica in Washington:

Rev. Sam Osborne Email: [email protected] THE LAST FEW YEARS have brought to the fore a considerable number of organizations bearing the name "Gnostic". The principal reason for this was the discovery in 1945 and the publication in fully translated form in 1977 of the Nag Hammadi Library of Coptic Gnostic scriptures -- the largest collection of Gnostic writings ever discovered. The Nag Hammadi Library has not only brought the name "Gnostic" into prominence but has also convinced many persons in our culture that Gnosticism is more than a peculiar ancient heresy of mainly antiquarian interest. On the contrary, Gnosticism now stands revealed as a fascinating and creative early variant of Christianity that possesses many features of contemporary relevance.

To those of us who are committed to the Gnostic Tradition, these developments have brought both satisfaction and concern. Understandably, we are encouraged by the increase of interest in our tradition. It is also gratifying for us to note that today, unlike some years ago, the use of the name "Gnostic" is considered advantageous by many. At the same time we are compelled to recognize that many avail themselves of the name "Gnostic" without adequate justification. Just as not all is gold that glitters, so not all who call themselves "Gnostic" have a just claim to this name.

In order to promote authenticity and clarity in regard to matters Gnostic, the Ecclesia Gnostica and its affiliated lay organization, The Gnostic Society, have decided to issue this statement.

The Ecclesia Gnostica

The church bearing this name is the oldest public Gnostic sacramental body in the United States. It was organized as the Pre-Nicene Gnostic Catholic Church at first in England and since 1959 in the United States by the late Bishop Richard, Duc de Palatine.

After the demise of the Duc de Palatine in the 1970's, the Church he established in America continued its work under the name Ecclesia Gnostica.

The Regionary Bishop of the church is Dr. Stephan A. Hoeller, who was consecrated to that office by the Duc de Palatine in 1967. Dr. Hoeller is thus the senior holder of what is sometimes called the English Gnostic Transmission in America. (There are no other bishops living in the USA who were consecrated by the Duc de Palatine.)

The Ecclesia Gnostica exists for the purpose of upholding the Gnostic tradition and to administer the holy sacraments to those of God's people who are attracted to the altars of the Gnosis. An active ministry of parish work is thus an essential feature of this church.
The Los Angeles parish of the Ecclesia Gnostica holds eleven regularly scheduled church services and four catechetical lectures each month in order to serve the spiritual needs of its congregation. The Regionary Bishop presides over the majority of these activities.

Ordination to the minor and major orders of the Ecclesia Gnostica is open to both men and women. Candidates for holy orders must possess a sincere commitment to the Gnostic tradition and must be determined to exercise a pastoral ministry. (The Ecclesia does not recognize a non-pastoral clergy. All persons in holy orders are expected to participate in administering the sacraments on a regular basis.)

Training for the various holy orders is both theoretical and practical. The Ecclesia offers no mail-order instruction for holy orders, but requires candidates to receive resident training at one of its established parishes or missions. We ordain clergy for our own jurisdiction and not for "independent" activities on their own. The Ecclesia has no interest in expansion for its own sake, rather it prefers to have a few parishes led by properly trained priests of true Gnostic commitment. At the time that this document is issued, the Ecclesia Gnostica possesses a parishes in Los Angeles, California, in Portland, Oregon, and a in Salt Lake City, Utah. It has a small seminary in Arizona and a missionary extension and parish in the Kingdom of Norway.

The Gnostic Society

The Gnostic Society has existed in Los Angeles since 1928. It was founded by noted author James Morgan Pryse and his brother John Pryse for the purpose of studying Gnosticism and the Western Esoteric Tradition generally.

After the establishment of the Ecclesia Gnostica in the United States, the Gnostic Society has united with the Ecclesia and is now functioning as its affiliated lay organization. Neither the Ecclesia Gnostica nor The Gnostic Society have a formal, dues-paying membership. The activities of both are open to all. Free will offerings are accepted.

Relation to other Churches and Organizations

The Ecclesia Gnostica is in a state of fraternal alliance (concordat) with the Eglise Gnostique Catholique Apostolique of France, through the Diocese of the Midwest, (U.S.A.) of that Church and the Bishop of said Diocese, the Most Rev. Robert Michael Cokinis. The Ecclesia Gnostica and the E.G.C.A.
fully recognize each other's holy orders and respect the territorial jurisdiction exercised by each. This implies that neither of these churches by way of their bishops will ordain or commission clergy to function in territories administered by the other.

The Ecclesia Gnostica Mysteriorum of Palo Alto, California was initially a duly constituted parish of the Ecclesia Gnostica and is now an independent body. Its head, Bishop Rosamonde Miller, was ordained to the priesthood and subsequently consecrated to the episcopate of the Ecclesia Gnostica by Bishop Hoeller.

The aforementioned ecclesiastical bodies are the only ones with which the Ecclesia Gnostica has or has had any association. Concerning all other organizations styling themselves "Gnostic" we advise all inquirers to subject them to thorough scrutiny before accepting their claims to being Gnostic.

Scriptures and Literature

In upholding the Gnostic tradition, the Ecclesia Gnostica avails itself chiefly of the primary sources of Gnostic teachings. Among these are, first the Nag Hammadi Library, and second, the codices and treatises whose discovery precedes the Nag Hammadi find (such as the Askew, Bruce and Berlin Codices, the Acts of Thomas, Acts of John, and others).
Somewhat less reliable, but still quite informative are the references and quotations of Gnostic content in the writings of the heresiologist Church Fathers.

Of the later Gnostic sources, we are particularly devoted to the writings of the Prophet Mani and to the teachings of such Medieval Gnostic movements as the Cathars and the Bogomils. Another valuable primary source is the literature of the Mandaeans, a still practicing Gnostic religion in Iraq. Primary sources such as the ones noted above are of the greatest value to contemporary Gnostics.

Items of Gnostic interest may be found in much other literature. The Hermetic writings, the writings of the Christian mystics, the Jewish Gnosticism of the Kabbalah are some of these. Some of the great poets of the culture, such as Dante, Blake and Goethe incorporated valuable Gnostic themes in their works, which are of interest. In modern times, the Nineteenth Century Occult Revival, pioneered by H. P. Blavatsky, bore a decidedly Gnostic character and thus produced some writings that are useful to present

Gnostic concerns. The late Nineteenth Century also gave rise to the re-constituted Gnostic Church of France, whose leaders wrote some books worthy of serious consideration.

The Twentieth Century has been blessed with the figure of C. G. Jung, who contributed most significantly to the revival of interest in matters Gnostic. Jung and some of his scholarly associates (Quispel, Pulver, Joseph Campbell) have built powerful bridges between ancient Gnosticism and such modern disciplines as psychology, mythology and the arts. Their writings are most useful to modern Gnostics.

Teachings and Doctrinal Orientation

While the ancient Gnostic teachers were very pluralistic and creative regarding the details of their teachings and practices, at the same time they embraced a set of common assumptions which form the core of the Gnostic tradition. The model of reality shown forth in the Gnostic scriptures and in the Gnostic tradition may be very briefly (and therefore somewhat inadequately) outlined by way of the following points:

Further Information

Further information regarding the Church, especially its religious services and educational activities is available from the following parishes and church centers:

Ecclesia Gnostica Diocesan Center:

The Seven Sermons to the Dead

Carl Gustav Jung

Page from the original printing of the
VII Sermones, c. 1916.

Jung's first mandala drawing, inspired by the VII Sermones.

Ancient gem engraving of Abraxas (c. 300 AD). Beginning in the 1920's Jung constantly wore a ring with a similar gem.

The Gnostic Jung

by Stephan A. Hoeller

The Search for Roots

by Alfred Ribi, Foreword by Lance Owens

The Seven Sermons to the Dead

Septem Sermones ad Mortuos by Carl Gustav Jung, 1916 (Translation by H. G. Baynes)

Introduction to the Septem Sermones ad Mortuos "The Seven Sermons to the Dead," Septem Sermones ad Mortuos, might best be described as the "summary revelation of the Red Book." It is the only portion of the imaginative material contained in the Red Book manuscripts that C.G. Jung shared more or less publicly during his lifetime. To comprehend the importance of the Septem Sermones, one must understand the events behind the writing of the Red Book itself -- a task ultimately facilitated by the epochal publication of Jung's Red Book in October of 2009 (C. G. Jung, The Red Book: Liber Novus, ed. Sonu Shamdasani, Norton, 2009). Dr. Shamdasani's extensive introduction and notes on the text of the Red Book provide a wealth of previously unavailable primary documentation on this crucial period of Jung's life.

The Red Book - Liber Novus In November of 1913 Carl Jung commenced an extraordinary exploration of the psyche, or "soul." He called it his “confrontation with the unconscious.” During this period Jung willfully entered imaginative or "visionary" states of consciousness. The visions continued intensely from the end of 1913 until about 1917 and then abated by around 1923. Jung carefully recorded this imaginative journey in six black-covered personal journals (referred to as the "Black Books"); these notebooks provide a dated chronological ledger of his visions and dialogues with his Soul.

Beginning in late 1914, Jung began transcribing from the Black Book journals the draft manuscript of his legendary Red Book, the folio-sized leather bound illuminated volume he created to contain the formal record of his journey. Jung repeatedly stated that the visions and imaginative experiences recorded in the Red Book contained the nucleus of all his later works.
Jung kept the Red Book private during his lifetime, allowing only a few of his family and associates to read from it. The only part of this visionary material that Jung choose to release in limited circulation was the Septem Sermones, which he had privately printed in 1916. Throughout his life Jung occasionally gave copies of this small book to friends and students, but it was available only as a gift from Jung himself and never offered for public sale or distribution. When Jung's autobiographical memoir Memories, Dreams, Reflections was published in 1962, the Septem Sermones ad Mortuos was included as an appendix.

It remained unclear until very recently exactly how the Septem Sermones ad Mortuos related to the hidden Red Book materials. After Jung's death in 1961, all access to the Red Book was denied by his heirs. Finally in October of 2009, nearly fifty years after Jung's death, the family of C. G. Jung release the Red Book for publication in a beautiful facsimile edition, edited by Sonu Shamdasani. With this central work of Jung's now in hand, we discover that the Seven Sermons to the Dead actually compose the closing pages of the Red Book draft manuscripts; the version transcribed for the Red Book varies only slightly from the text published in 1916, however the Red Book includes after each of the sermons an additional amplifying homily by Philemon (Jung's spirit guide). [The Red Book, p346-54] Base on their context, voice, content, and history, I suggest the Septem Sermones ad Mortuos might now properly be described as the "summary revelation of the Red Book." Seen in this light, it becomes understandable why Jung chose this one section of his "revelations" for printing and distribution among his disciples.

Jung's painting titled, "Septem Sermones ad Mortuous" - completed around 1918 while working on Liber Novus, and subsequently give as a gift to H.G. Baynes

Near the end of his life, Jung spoke to Aniela Jaffe about the Septem Sermones and explained "that the discussions with the dead [in the Seven Sermons] formed the prelude to what he would subsequently communicate to the world, and that their content anticipated his later books. 'From that time on, the dead have become ever more distinct for me as the voices of the unanswered. unresolved and unredeemed.' " [The Red Book, p346 n78] Jung's decision in 1916 to publish this single summary statement from the Red Book writings gives evidence of the importance he ascribed to the Seven Sermons. In this same context, Jung remarked to Aniela Jaffe:

The years … when I pursued the inner images were the most important time of my life. Everything else is to be derived from this. It began at that time, and the later details hardly matter anymore. My entire life consisted in elaborating what had burst forth from the unconscious and flooded me like an enigmatic stream and threatened to break me. That was the stuff and material for more than only one life.
Everything later was merely the outer classification, the scientific elaboration, and the integration into life. But the numinous beginning, which contained everything, was then.” In Memories, Dreams, Reflections Jung gives one account of how the Septem Sermones came to be written (the Sunday referred to below is probably Sunday, 30 January 1916):

It began with a restlessness, but I did not know what it meant or what "they" wanted of me. There was an ominous atmosphere all around me. I had the strange feeling that the air was filled with ghostly entities. Then it was as if my house began to be haunted....
Around five o'clock in the afternoon on Sunday the front doorbell began ringing frantically...but there was no one in sight. I was sitting near the doorbell, and not only heard it but saw it moving. We all simply stared at one another. The atmosphere was thick, believe me! Then I knew that something had to happen. The whole house was filled as if there were a crowd present, crammed full of spirits. They were packed deep right up to the door, and the air was so thick it was scarcely possible to breathe. As for myself, I was all a-quiver with the question: "For God's sake, what in the world is this?" Then they cried out in chorus, "We have come back from Jerusalem where we found not what we sought/' That is the beginning of the Septem Sermones. (Memories, Dreams, Reflections, p190-1) A careful reading of The Red Book (including the abundant notes provided by the editor, Sonu Shamdasani) provides further contextual information. Shamdasani includes in the appendix a crucial journal entry from Jung's Black Book 5, dated 16 January 1916 [The Red Book, Appendix C, p370-1]. In this entry, Jung's Soul reveals to him the cosmological vision that will be more fully developed two weeks later in the Seven Sermons to the Dead. During these weeks Jung sketched in his journal the outlines of his first "mandala", the Systema Munditotius, which forms a schema to the vision conveyed in the Sermons [The Red Book, Appendix A, p363-4]. The Seven Sermons are recorded in journal entries in Black Book 6, dated 31 January to 8 February 1916.
In the original journal account of the revelation (Black Book 6) Jung himself is the voice speaking the Seven Sermons to the Dead. In the version transcribed into the Red Book manuscript, Jung gives Philemon as the voice speaking the Sermons. Interestingly, a few pages later, on the last page of the Red Book manuscript, Philemon is identified with the historical Gnostic prophet Simon Magus. When Jung subsequently transcribed the Sermons for printing as an independent text, the Sermons were attributed pseudepigraphically to yet another historical second century Gnostic teacher, Basilides of Alexandria. Thus Jung, Philemon, Simon Magus, and Basilides are all finally conflated together in the voice of the Gnostic prophet who speaks the Septem Sermones ad Mortuos.

Jung and Gnostic Tradition For a further introduction to Jung and Gnostic tradition, read the introductory excerpt from The Gnostic Jung and the Seven Sermons to the Dead by Stephan A. Hoeller: The Gnosis of C. G. Jung.

Translations Two English translations of the text are available in our library. The first translation (below) by H. G Baynes was printed in 1925 and is the version published as an appendix in Memories, Dreams, Reflections. The second translation was made by Stephan A. Hoeller based on his transcription of a private copy of the Septem Sermones ad Mortuos which came to him in 1949. It is found in his book, The Gnostic Jung and the Seven Sermons to the Dead, and is included here by permission of the author.
The most compete version of the material surrounding the Septem Sermones is found in C. G. Jung, The Red Book: Liber Novus. It should be remembered, however, that this primary version remained hidden and largely unknown until very recently. Students of Jung are encouraged to again consider the text of the Septem Sermones as published and shared by Jung -- this is the signal revelation of Jung's hidden vision.

• Lance S. Owens

Introduction to the Septem Sermones ad Mortuos

"The Seven Sermons to the Dead," Septem Sermones ad Mortuos, might best be described as the "summary revelation of the Red Book." It is the only portion of the imaginative material contained in the Red Book manuscripts that C.G. Jung shared more or less publicly during his lifetime. To comprehend the importance of the Septem Sermones, one must understand the events behind the writing of the Red Book itself -- a task ultimately facilitated by the epochal publication of Jung's Red Book in October of 2009 (C. G. Jung, The Red Book: Liber Novus, ed. Sonu Shamdasani, Norton, 2009). Dr. Shamdasani's extensive introduction and notes on the text of the Red Book provide a wealth of previously unavailable primary documentation on this crucial period of Jung's life.

Beginning in late 1914, Jung began transcribing from the Black Book journals the draft manuscript of his legendary Red Book, the folio-sized leather bound illuminated volume he created to contain the formal record of his journey. Jung repeatedly stated that the visions and imaginative experiences recorded in the Red Book contained the nucleus of all his later works.

Jung kept the Red Book private during his lifetime, allowing only a few of his family and associates to read from it. The only part of this visionary material that Jung choose to release in limited circulation was the Septem Sermones, which he had privately printed in 1916. Throughout his life Jung occasionally gave copies of this small book to friends and students, but it was available only as a gift from Jung himself and never offered for public sale or distribution. When Jung's autobiographical memoir Memories, Dreams, Reflections was published in 1962, the Septem Sermones ad Mortuos was included as an appendix.

It remained unclear until very recently exactly how the Septem Sermones ad Mortuos related to the hidden Red Book materials. After Jung's death in 1961, all access to the Red Book was denied by his heirs. Finally in October of 2009, nearly fifty years after Jung's death, the family of C. G. Jung release the Red Book for publication in a beautiful facsimile edition, edited by Sonu Shamdasani. With this central work of Jung's now in hand, we discover that the Seven Sermons to the Dead actually compose the closing pages of the Red Book draft manuscripts; the version transcribed for the Red Book varies only slightly from the text published in 1916, however the Red Book includes after each of the sermons an additional amplifying homily by Philemon (Jung's spirit guide). [The Red Book, p346-54]

Base on their context, voice, content, and history, I suggest the Septem Sermones ad Mortuos might now properly be described as the "summary revelation of the Red Book." Seen in this light, it becomes understandable why Jung chose this one section of his "revelations" for printing and distribution among his disciples.

Jung's painting titled, "Septem Sermones ad Mortuous" - completed around 1918 while working on Liber Novus, and subsequently give as a gift to H.G. Baynes The years … when I pursued the inner images were the most important time of my life. Everything else is to be derived from this. It began at that time, and the later details hardly matter anymore. My entire life consisted in elaborating what had burst forth from the unconscious and flooded me like an enigmatic stream and threatened to break me. That was the stuff and material for more than only one life.

Everything later was merely the outer classification, the scientific elaboration, and the integration into life. But the numinous beginning, which contained everything, was then.”

It began with a restlessness, but I did not know what it meant or what "they" wanted of me. There was an ominous atmosphere all around me. I had the strange feeling that the air was filled with ghostly entities. Then it was as if my house began to be haunted....
Around five o'clock in the afternoon on Sunday the front doorbell began ringing frantically...but there was no one in sight. I was sitting near the doorbell, and not only heard it but saw it moving. We all simply stared at one another. The atmosphere was thick, believe me! Then I knew that something had to happen. The whole house was filled as if there were a crowd present, crammed full of spirits. They were packed deep right up to the door, and the air was so thick it was scarcely possible to breathe. As for myself, I was all a-quiver with the question: "For God's sake, what in the world is this?" Then they cried out in chorus, "We have come back from Jerusalem where we found not what we sought/' That is the beginning of the Septem Sermones. (Memories, Dreams, Reflections, p190-1)

It began with a restlessness, but I did not know what it meant or what "they" wanted of me. There was an ominous atmosphere all around me. I had the strange feeling that the air was filled with ghostly entities. Then it was as if my house began to be haunted....

A careful reading of The Red Book (including the abundant notes provided by the editor, Sonu Shamdasani) provides further contextual information. Shamdasani includes in the appendix a crucial journal entry from Jung's Black Book 5, dated 16 January 1916 [The Red Book, Appendix C, p370-1]. In this entry, Jung's Soul reveals to him the cosmological vision that will be more fully developed two weeks later in the Seven Sermons to the Dead. During these weeks Jung sketched in his journal the outlines of his first "mandala", the Systema Munditotius, which forms a schema to the vision conveyed in the Sermons [The Red Book, Appendix A, p363-4]. The Seven Sermons are recorded in journal entries in Black Book 6, dated 31 January to 8 February 1916.

In the original journal account of the revelation (Black Book 6) Jung himself is the voice speaking the Seven Sermons to the Dead. In the version transcribed into the Red Book manuscript, Jung gives Philemon as the voice speaking the Sermons. Interestingly, a few pages later, on the last page of the Red Book manuscript, Philemon is identified with the historical Gnostic prophet Simon Magus. When Jung subsequently transcribed the Sermons for printing as an independent text, the Sermons were attributed pseudepigraphically to yet another historical second century Gnostic teacher, Basilides of Alexandria. Thus Jung, Philemon, Simon Magus, and Basilides are all finally conflated together in the voice of the Gnostic prophet who speaks the Septem Sermones ad Mortuos.

Jung and Gnostic Tradition For a further introduction to Jung and Gnostic tradition, read the introductory excerpt from The Gnostic Jung and the Seven Sermons to the Dead by Stephan A. Hoeller: The Gnosis of C. G. Jung.

Translations

Two English translations of the text are available in our library. The first translation (below) by H. G Baynes was printed in 1925 and is the version published as an appendix in Memories, Dreams, Reflections. The second translation was made by Stephan A. Hoeller based on his transcription of a private copy of the Septem Sermones ad Mortuos which came to him in 1949. It is found in his book, The Gnostic Jung and the Seven Sermons to the Dead, and is included here by permission of the author.

The most compete version of the material surrounding the Septem Sermones is found in C. G. Jung, The Red Book: Liber Novus. It should be remembered, however, that this primary version remained hidden and largely unknown until very recently. Students of Jung are encouraged to again consider the text of the Septem Sermones as published and shared by Jung -- this is the signal revelation of Jung's hidden vision.

• Lance S. Owens

VII Sermones ad Mortuos (Seven Sermons to the Dead)
C.G. Jung, 1916 (Translation by H. G. Baynes)

Contents

The Seven Sermons To The Dead Written By Basilides In Alexandria, The City Where The East

TOUCHETH THE WEST.

Sermo I The dead came back from Jerusalem, where they found not what they sought. They prayed me let them in and besought my word, and thus I began my teaching.

Harken: I begin with nothingness. Nothingness is the same as fullness. In infinity full is no better than empty. Nothingness is both empty and full. As well might ye say anything else of nothingness, as for instance, white is it, or black, or again, it is not, or it is. A thing that is infinite and eternal hath no qualities, since it hath all qualities.

This nothingness or fullness we name the PLEROMA. Therein both thinking and being cease, since the eternal and infinite possess no qualities. In it no being is, for he then would be distinct from the pleroma, and would possess qualities which would distinguish him as something distinct from the pleroma.

In the pleroma there is nothing and everything. It is quite fruitless to think about the pleroma, for this would mean self-dissolution.

CREATURA is not in the pleroma, but in itself. The pleroma is both beginning and end of created beings. It pervadeth them, as the light of the sun everywhere pervadeth the air. Although the pleroma pervadeth altogether, yet hath created being no share thereof, just as a wholly transparent body becometh neither light nor dark through the light which pervadeth it. We are, however, the pleroma itself, for we are a part of the eternal and infinite. But we have no share thereof, as we are from the pleroma infinitely removed; not spiritually or temporally, but essentially, since we are distinguished from the pleroma in our essence as creatura, which is confined within time and space.

Yet because we are parts of the pleroma, the pleroma is also in us. Even in the smallest point is the pleroma endless, eternal, and entire, since small and great are qualities which are contained in it. It is that nothingness which is everywhere whole and continuous. Only figuratively, therefore, do I speak of created being as a part of the pleroma. Because, actually, the pleroma is nowhere divided, since it is nothingness. We are also the whole pleroma, because, figuratively, the pleroma is the smallest point (assumed only, not existing) in us and the boundless firmament about us. But wherefore, then, do we speak of the pleroma at all, since it is thus everything and nothing?

I speak of it to make a beginning somewhere, and also to free you from the delusion that somewhere, either without or within, there standeth something fixed, or in some way established, from the beginning. Every so-called fixed and certain thing is only relative. That alone is fixed and certain which is subject to change.

What is changeable, however, is creatura. Therefore is it the one thing which is fixed and certain; because it hath qualities: it is even quality itself.

The question ariseth: How did creatura originate? Created beings came to pass, not creatura; since created being is the very quality of the pleroma, as much as non-creation which is the eternal death. In all times and places is creation, in all times and places is death. The pleroma hath all, distinctiveness and non-distinctiveness.

Distinctiveness is creatura. It is distinct. Distinctiveness is its essence, and therefore it distinguisheth. Therefore man discriminateth because his nature is distinctiveness. Wherefore also he distinguisheth qualities of the pleroma which are not. He distinguisheth them out of his own nature. Therefore must he speak of qualities of the pleroma which are not.

What use, say ye, to speak of it? Saidst thou not thyself, there is no profit in thinking upon the pleroma?

That said I unto you, to free you from the delusion that we are able to think about the pleroma. When we distinguish qualities of the pleroma, we are speaking from the ground of our own distinctiveness and concerning our own distinctiveness. But we have said nothing concerning the pleroma. Concerning our own distinctiveness, however, it is needful to speak, whereby we may distinguish ourselves enough. Our very nature is distinctiveness. If we are not true to this nature we do not distinguish ourselves enough. Therefore must we make distinctions of qualities.

What is the harm, ye ask, in not distinguishing oneself? If we do not distinguish, we get beyond our own nature, away from creatura. We fall into indistinctiveness, which is the other quality of the pleroma. We fall into the pleroma itself and cease to be creatures. We are given over to dissolution in the nothingness. This is the death of the creature. Therefore we die in such measure as we do not distinguish. Hence the natural striving of the creature goeth towards distinctiveness, fighteth against primeval, perilous sameness. This is called the principium individuationis. This principle is the essence of the creature. From this you can see why indistinctiveness and non-distinction are a great danger for the creature.

We must, therefore, distinguish the qualities of the pleroma. The qualities are pairs of opposites, such as’ The Effective and the Ineffective.

Fullness and Emptiness.

Living and Dead.

Difference and Sameness.

Light and Darkness.

The Hot and the Cold.

Force and Matter.

Time and Space.
Good and Evil.
Beauty and Ugliness.
The One and the Many. etc.

The pairs of opposites are qualities of the pleroma which are not, because each balanceth each. As we are the pleroma itself, we also have all these qualities in us. Because the very ground of our nature is distinctiveness, therefore we have these qualities in the name and sign of distinctiveness, which meaneth’

These qualities are distinct and separate in us one from the other; therefore they are not balanced and void, but are effective. Thus are we the victims of the pairs of opposites. The pleroma is rent in us.

The qualities belong to the pleroma, and only in the name and sign of distinctiveness can and must we possess or live them. We must distinguish ourselves from qualities. In the pleroma they are balanced and void; in us not. Being distinguished from them delivereth us.

When we strive after the good or the beautiful, we thereby forget our own nature, which is distinctiveness, and we are delivered over to the qualities of the pleroma, which are pairs of opposites. We labor to attain to the good and the beautiful, yet at the same time we also lay hold of the evil and the ugly, since in the pleroma these are one with the good and the beautiful. When, however, we remain true to our own nature, which is distinctiveness, we distinguish ourselves from the good and the beautiful, and, therefore, at the same time, from the evil and the ugly. And thus we fall not into the pleroma, namely, into nothingness and dissolution.
Thou sayest, ye object, that difference and sameness are also qualities of the pleroma. How would it be, then, if we strive after difference? Are we, in so doing, not true to our own nature? And must we none the less be given over to sameness when we strive after difference?
Ye must not forget that the pleroma hath no qualities. We create them through thinking. If, therefore, ye strive after difference or sameness, or any qualities whatsoever, ye pursue thoughts which flow to you out of the pleroma; thoughts, namely, concerning non-existing qualities of the pleroma. Inasmuch as ye run after these thoughts, ye fall again into the pleroma, and reach difference and sameness at the same time. Not your thinking, but your being, is distinctiveness. Therefore not after difference, as ye think it, must ye strive; but after your own being. At bottom, therefore, there is only one striving, namely, the striving after your own being. If ye had this striving ye would not need to know anything about the pleroma and its qualities, and yet would ye come to your right goal by virtue of your own being. Since, however, thought estrangeth from being, that knowledge must I teach you wherewith ye may be able to hold your thought in leash.

Sermo II In the night the dead stood along the wall and cried:

We would have knowledge of god. Where is god? Is god dead?

God is not dead. Now, as ever, he liveth. God is creatura, for he is something definite, and therefore distinct from the pleroma. God is quality of the pleroma, and everything which I said of creatura also is true concerning him.

He is distinguished, however, from created beings through this, that he is more indefinite and indeterminable than they. He is less distinct than created beings, since the ground of his being is effective fullness. Only in so far as he is definite and distinct is he creatura, and in like measure is he the manifestation of the effective fullness of the pleroma.

Everything which we do not distinguish falleth into the pleroma and is made void by its opposite. If, therefore, we do not distinguish god, effective fullness is for us extinguished.

Moreover god is the pleroma itself, as likewise each smallest point in the created and uncreated is the pleroma itself.

Effective void is the nature of the devil. God and devil are the first manifestations of nothingness, which we call the pleroma. It is indifferent whether the pleroma is or is not, since in everything it is balanced and void. Not so creatura. In so far as god and devil are creatura they do not extinguish each other, but stand one against the other as effective opposites. We need no proof of their existence. It is enough that we must always be speaking of them. Even if both were not, creatura, of its own essential distinctiveness, would forever distinguish them anew out of the pleroma.

Everything that discrimination taketh out of the pleroma is a pair of opposites. To god, therefore, always belongeth the devil.

This inseparability is as close and, as your own life hath made you see, as indissoluble as the pleroma itself. Thus it is that both stand very close to the pleroma, in which all opposites are extinguished and joined.

God and devil are distinguished by the qualities fullness and emptiness, generation and destruction. Effectiveness is common to both. Effectiveness joineth them. Effectiveness, therefore, standeth above both; is a god above god, since in its effect it uniteth fullness and emptiness.

This is a god whom ye knew not, for mankind forgot it. We name it by its name Abraxas. It is more indefinite still than god and devil.

That god may be distinguished from it, we name god Helios or Sun. Abraxas is effect. Nothing standeth opposed to it but the ineffective; hence its effective nature freely unfoldeth itself. The ineffective is not, therefore resisteth not. Abraxas standeth above the sun and above the devil. It is improbable probability, unreal reality. Had the pleroma a being, Abraxas would be its manifestation. It is the effective itself, not any particular effect, but effect in general.

It is unreal reality, because it hath no definite effect.

It is also creatura, because it is distinct from the pleroma.

The sun hath a definite effect, and so hath the devil. Wherefore do they appear to us more effective than indefinite Abraxas.

It is force, duration, change.
The dead now raised a great tumult, for they were Christians.

Sermo III

Like mists arising from a marsh, the dead came near and cried: Speak further unto us concerning the supreme god.

Hard to know is the deity of Abraxas. Its power is the greatest, because man perceiveth it not. From the sun he draweth the summum bonum; from the devil the infimum malum; but from Abraxas life, altogether indefinite, the mother of good and evil.

Smaller and weaker life seemeth to be than the summum bonum; wherefore is it also hard to conceive that Abraxas transcendeth even the sun in power, who is himself the radiant source of all the force of life.

Abraxas is the sun, and at the same time the eternally sucking gorge of the void, the belittling and dismembering devil.

The power of Abraxas is twofold; but ye see it not, because for your eyes the warring opposites of this power are extinguished.

What the god-sun speaketh is life.

What the devil speaketh is death.

But Abraxas speaketh that hallowed and accursed word which is life and death at the same time.

Abraxas begetteth truth and lying, good and evil, light and darkness, in the same word and in the same act. Wherefore is Abraxas terrible.

It is splendid as the lion in the instant he striketh down his victim. It is beautiful as a day of spring. It is the great Pan himself and also the small one. It is Priapos.

It is the monster of the under-world, a thousand-armed polyp, coiled knot of winged serpents, frenzy.

It is the hermaphrodite of the earliest beginning.

It is the lord of the toads and frogs, which live in the water and go up on the land, whose chorus ascendeth at noon and at midnight.

It is abundance that seeketh union with emptiness.

It is holy begetting.

It is love and love’s murder.

It is the saint and his betrayer.

It is the brightest light of day and the darkest night of madness.

To look upon it, is blindness.

To know it, is sickness.

To worship it, is death.

To fear it, is wisdom.

To resist it not, is redemption.

God dwelleth behind the sun, the devil behind the night. What god bringeth forth out of the light the devil sucketh into the night. But Abraxas is the world, its becoming and its passing. Upon every gift that cometh from the god-sun the devil layeth his curse.

Everything that ye entreat from the god-sun begetteth a deed of the devil.

Everything that ye create with the god-sun giveth effective power to the devil.

That is terrible Abraxas.

It is the mightiest creature, and in it the creature is afraid of itself.

It is the manifest opposition of creatura to the pleroma and its nothingness.

It is the son’s horror of the mother.

It is the mother’s love for the son.

It is the delight of the earth and the cruelty of the heavens.

Before its countenance man becometh like stone.

Before it there is no question and no reply.

It is the life of creatura.

It is the operation of distinctiveness.

It is the love of man.

It is the speech of man.

It is the appearance and the shadow of man.

It is illusory reality.

Now the dead howled and raged, for they were unperfected.

Sermo IV The dead filled the place murmuring and said:

Tell us of gods and devils, accursed one!

The god-sun is the highest good; the devil is the opposite. Thus have ye two gods. But there are many high and good things and many great evils. Among these are two god-devils; the one is the burning one, the other the growing one.

The burning one is eros, who hath the form of flame. Flame giveth light because it consumeth.

The growing one is the tree of life. It buddeth, as in growing it heapeth up living stuff.

Eros flameth up and dieth. But the tree of life groweth with slow and constant increase through unmeasured time.

Good and evil are united in the flame.

Good and evil are united in the increase of the tree. In their divinity stand life and love opposed.

Innumerable as the host of the stars is the number of gods and devils.

Each star is a god, and each space that a star filleth is a devil. But the empty-fullness of the whole is the pleroma.

The operation of the whole is Abraxas, to whom only the ineffective standeth opposed.
Four is the number of the principal gods, as four is the number of the world’s measurements.

One is the beginning, the god-sun.
Two is Eros; for he bindeth twain together and outspreadeth himself in brightness.
Three is the Tree of Life, for it filleth space with bodily forms.
Four is the devil, for he openeth all that is closed. All that is formed of bodily nature doth he dissolve; he is the destroyer in whom everything is brought to nothing.

For me, to whom knowledge hath been given of the multiplicity and diversity of the gods, it is well. But woe unto you, who replace these incompatible many by a single god. For in so doing ye beget the torment which is bred from not understanding, and ye mutilate the creature whose nature and aim is distinctiveness. How can ye be true to your own nature when ye try to change the many into one? What ye do unto the gods is done likewise unto you. Ye all become equal and thus is your nature maimed.

Equality shall prevail not for god, but only for the sake of man. For the gods are many, whilst men are few. The gods are mighty and can endure their manifoldness. For like the stars they abide in solitude, parted one from the other by immense distances. But men are weak and cannot endure their manifold nature. Therefore they dwell together and need communion, that they may bear their separateness. For redemption’s sake I teach you the rejected truth, for the sake of which I was rejected.

The multiplicity of the gods correspondeth to the multiplicity of man.

Numberless gods await the human state. Numberless gods have been men. Man shareth in the nature of the gods. He cometh from the gods and goeth unto god.

Thus, just as it serveth not to reflect upon the pleroma, it availeth not to worship the multiplicity of the gods. Least of all availeth it to worship the first god, the effective abundance and the summum bonum. By our prayer we can add to it nothing, and from it nothing take; because the effective void swalloweth all.

The bright gods form the celestial world. It is manifold and infinitely spreading and increasing. The god-sun is the supreme lord of that world.
The dark gods form the earth-world. They are simple and infinitely diminishing and declining. The devil is the earth-world’s lowest lord, the moon-spirit, satellite of the earth, smaller, colder, and more dead than the earth.
There is no difference between the might of the celestial gods and those of the earth. The celestial gods magnify, the earth-gods diminish. Measureless is the movement of both.

Sermo V The dead mocked and cried: Teach us, fool, of the church and holy communion.

The world of the gods is made manifest in spirituality and in sexuality. The celestial ones appear in spirituality, the earthly in sexuality.

Spirituality conceiveth and embraceth. It is womanlike and therefore we call it mater coelestis, the celestial mother. Sexuality engendereth and createth. It is manlike, and therefore we call it phallos, the earthly father.

The sexuality of man is more of the earth, the sexuality of woman is more of the spirit.

The spirituality of man is more of heaven, it goeth to the greater.

The spirituality of woman is more of the earth, it goeth to the smaller.

Lying and devilish is the spirituality of the man which goeth to the smaller.

Lying and devilish is the spirituality of the woman which goeth to the greater.

Each must go to its own place.

Man and woman become devils one to the other when they divide not their spiritual ways, for the nature of creatura is distinctiveness.

The sexuality of man hath an earthward course, the sexuality of woman a spiritual. Man and woman become devils one to the other if they distinguish not their sexuality.

Man shall know of the smaller, woman the greater.

Man shall distinguish himself both from spirituality and from sexuality. He shall call spirituality Mother, and set her between heaven and earth. He shall call sexuality Phallos, and set him between himself and earth. For the Mother and the Phallos are super-human daemons which reveal the world of the gods. They are for us more effective than the gods, because they are closely akin to our own nature. Should ye not distinguish yourselves from sexuality and from spirituality, and not regard them as of a nature both above you and beyond, then are ye delivered over to them as qualities of the pleroma. Spirituality and sexuality are not your qualities, not things which ye possess and contain. But they possess and contain you; for they are powerful daemons, manifestations of the gods, and are, therefore, things which reach beyond you, existing in themselves. No man hath a spirituality unto himself, or a sexuality unto himself. But he standeth under the law of spirituality and of sexuality.

No man, therefore, escapeth these daemons. Ye shall look upon them as daemons, and as a common task and danger, a common burden which life hath laid upon you. Thus is life for you also a common task and danger, as are the gods, and first of all terrible Abraxas.

Man is weak, therefore is communion indispensable. If your communion be not under the sign of the Mother, then is it under the sign of the Phallos. No communion is suffering and sickness. Communion in everything is dismemberment and dissolution.

Distinctiveness leadeth to singleness. Singleness is opposed to communion. But because of man’s weakness over against the gods and daemons and their invincible law is communion needful. Therefore shall there be as much communion as is needful, not for man’s sake, but because of the gods. The gods force you to communion. As much as they force you, so much is communion needed, more is evil.

In communion let every man submit to others, that communion be maintained; for ye need it.

In singleness the one man shall be superior to the others, that every man may come to himself and avoid slavery.

In communion there shall be continence.

In singleness there shall be prodigality.

Communion is depth.

Singleness is height.

Right measure in communion purifieth and preserveth.

Right measure in singleness purifieth and increaseth.

Communion giveth us warmth, singleness giveth us light.

Sermo VI The daemon of sexuality approacheth our soul as a serpent. It is half human and appeareth as thought-desire.
The daemon of spirituality descendeth into our soul as the white bird. It is half human and appeareth as desire-thought.
The serpent is an earthy soul, half daemonic, a spirit, and akin to the spirits of the dead. Thus too, like these, she swarmeth around in the things of earth, making us either to fear them or pricking us with intemperate desires. The serpent hath a nature like unto woman. She seeketh ever the company of the dead who are held by the spell of the earth, they who found not the way beyond that leadeth to singleness. The serpent is a whore. She wantoneth with the devil and with evil spirits; a mischievous tyrant and tormentor, ever seducing to evilest company. The white bird is a half-celestial soul of man. He bideth with the Mother, from time to time descending. The bird hath a nature like unto man, and is effective thought. He is chaste and solitary, a messenger of the Mother. He flieth high above earth. He commandeth singleness. He bringeth knowledge from the distant ones who went before and are perfected. He beareth our word above to the Mother. She intercedeth, she warneth, but against the gods she hath no power. She is a vessel of the sun. The serpent goeth below and with her cunning she lameth the phallic daemon, or else goadeth him on. She yieldeth up the too crafty thoughts of the earthy one, those thoughts which creep through every hole and cleave to all things with desirousness. The serpent, doubtless, willeth it not, yet she must be of use to us. She fleeth our grasp, thus showing us the way, which with our human wits we could not find.
With disdainful glance the dead spake: Cease this talk of gods and daemons and souls. At bottom this hath long been known to us.

Sermo VII Yet when night was come the dead again approached with lamentable mien and said: There is yet one matter we forgot to mention. Teach us about man.

Man is a gateway, through which from the outer world of gods, daemons, and souls ye pass into the inner world; out of the greater into the smaller world. Small and transitory is man. Already is he behind you, and once again ye find yourselves in endless space, in the smaller or innermost infinity. At immeasurable distance standeth one single Star in the zenith.

This is the one god of this one man. This is his world, his pleroma, his divinity.

In this world is man Abraxas, the creator and the destroyer of his own world.

This Star is the god and the goal of man.

This is his one guiding god. In him goeth man to his rest. Toward him goeth the long journey of the soul after death. In him shineth forth as light all that man bringeth back from the greater world. To this one god man shall pray.
Prayer increaseth the light of the Star. It casteth a bridge over death. It prepareth life for the smaller world and assuageth the hopeless desires of the greater.
When the greater world waxeth cold, burneth the Star.
Between man and his one god there standeth nothing, so long as man can turn away his eyes from the flaming spectacle of Abraxas.

Man here, god there.
Weakness and nothingness here, there eternally creative power.
Here nothing but darkness and chilling moisture.
There wholly sun.

Whereupon the dead were silent and ascended like the smoke above the herdsman’s fire, who through the night kept watch over his flock.

Anagramma

NAHTRIHECCUNDE GAHINNEVERAHTUNIN
ZEHGESSURKLACH ZUNNUS

C.G. Jung, 1916 (Translation by H. G. Baynes)

Sermo I

The dead came back from Jerusalem, where they found not what they sought. They prayed me let them in and besought my word, and thus I began my teaching.

Harken: I begin with nothingness. Nothingness is the same as fullness. In infinity full is no better than empty. Nothingness is both empty and full. As well might ye say anything else of nothingness, as for instance, white is it, or black, or again, it is not, or it is. A thing that is infinite and eternal hath no qualities, since it hath all qualities.

This nothingness or fullness we name the PLEROMA. Therein both thinking and being cease, since the eternal and infinite possess no qualities. In it no being is, for he then would be distinct from the pleroma, and would possess qualities which would distinguish him as something distinct from the pleroma.

In the pleroma there is nothing and everything. It is quite fruitless to think about the pleroma, for this would mean self-dissolution.

CREATURA is not in the pleroma, but in itself. The pleroma is both beginning and end of created beings. It pervadeth them, as the light of the sun everywhere pervadeth the air. Although the pleroma pervadeth altogether, yet hath created being no share thereof, just as a wholly transparent body becometh neither light nor dark through the light which pervadeth it. We are, however, the pleroma itself, for we are a part of the eternal and infinite. But we have no share thereof, as we are from the pleroma infinitely removed; not spiritually or temporally, but essentially, since we are distinguished from the pleroma in our essence as creatura, which is confined within time and space.

Yet because we are parts of the pleroma, the pleroma is also in us. Even in the smallest point is the pleroma endless, eternal, and entire, since small and great are qualities which are contained in it. It is that nothingness which is everywhere whole and continuous. Only figuratively, therefore, do I speak of created being as a part of the pleroma. Because, actually, the pleroma is nowhere divided, since it is nothingness. We are also the whole pleroma, because, figuratively, the pleroma is the smallest point (assumed only, not existing) in us and the boundless firmament about us. But wherefore, then, do we speak of the pleroma at all, since it is thus everything and nothing?

I speak of it to make a beginning somewhere, and also to free you from the delusion that somewhere, either without or within, there standeth something fixed, or in some way established, from the beginning. Every so-called fixed and certain thing is only relative. That alone is fixed and certain which is subject to change.

What is changeable, however, is creatura. Therefore is it the one thing which is fixed and certain; because it hath qualities: it is even quality itself.

The question ariseth: How did creatura originate? Created beings came to pass, not creatura; since created being is the very quality of the pleroma, as much as non-creation which is the eternal death. In all times and places is creation, in all times and places is death. The pleroma hath all, distinctiveness and non-distinctiveness.

Distinctiveness is creatura. It is distinct. Distinctiveness is its essence, and therefore it distinguisheth. Therefore man discriminateth because his nature is distinctiveness. Wherefore also he distinguisheth qualities of the pleroma which are not. He distinguisheth them out of his own nature. Therefore must he speak of qualities of the pleroma which are not.

What use, say ye, to speak of it? Saidst thou not thyself, there is no profit in thinking upon the pleroma?

That said I unto you, to free you from the delusion that we are able to think about the pleroma. When we distinguish qualities of the pleroma, we are speaking from the ground of our own distinctiveness and concerning our own distinctiveness. But we have said nothing concerning the pleroma. Concerning our own distinctiveness, however, it is needful to speak, whereby we may distinguish ourselves enough. Our very nature is distinctiveness. If we are not true to this nature we do not distinguish ourselves enough. Therefore must we make distinctions of qualities.

What is the harm, ye ask, in not distinguishing oneself? If we do not distinguish, we get beyond our own nature, away from creatura. We fall into indistinctiveness, which is the other quality of the pleroma. We fall into the pleroma itself and cease to be creatures. We are given over to dissolution in the nothingness. This is the death of the creature. Therefore we die in such measure as we do not distinguish. Hence the natural striving of the creature goeth towards distinctiveness, fighteth against primeval, perilous sameness. This is called the principium individuationis. This principle is the essence of the creature. From this you can see why indistinctiveness and non-distinction are a great danger for the creature.

We must, therefore, distinguish the qualities of the pleroma. The qualities are pairs of opposites, such as’ When we strive after the good or the beautiful, we thereby forget our own nature, which is distinctiveness, and we are delivered over to the qualities of the pleroma, which are pairs of opposites. We labor to attain to the good and the beautiful, yet at the same time we also lay hold of the evil and the ugly, since in the pleroma these are one with the good and the beautiful. When, however, we remain true to our own nature, which is distinctiveness, we distinguish ourselves from the good and the beautiful, and, therefore, at the same time, from the evil and the ugly. And thus we fall not into the pleroma, namely, into nothingness and dissolution.

Thou sayest, ye object, that difference and sameness are also qualities of the pleroma. How would it be, then, if we strive after difference? Are we, in so doing, not true to our own nature? And must we none the less be given over to sameness when we strive after difference?

Ye must not forget that the pleroma hath no qualities. We create them through thinking. If, therefore, ye strive after difference or sameness, or any qualities whatsoever, ye pursue thoughts which flow to you out of the pleroma; thoughts, namely, concerning non-existing qualities of the pleroma. Inasmuch as ye run after these thoughts, ye fall again into the pleroma, and reach difference and sameness at the same time. Not your thinking, but your being, is distinctiveness. Therefore not after difference, as ye think it, must ye strive; but after your own being. At bottom, therefore, there is only one striving, namely, the striving after your own being. If ye had this striving ye would not need to know anything about the pleroma and its qualities, and yet would ye come to your right goal by virtue of your own being. Since, however, thought estrangeth from being, that knowledge must I teach you wherewith ye may be able to hold your thought in leash.

Sermo II

In the night the dead stood along the wall and cried:

We would have knowledge of god. Where is god? Is god dead?

God is not dead. Now, as ever, he liveth. God is creatura, for he is something definite, and therefore distinct from the pleroma. God is quality of the pleroma, and everything which I said of creatura also is true concerning him.

He is distinguished, however, from created beings through this, that he is more indefinite and indeterminable than they. He is less distinct than created beings, since the ground of his being is effective fullness. Only in so far as he is definite and distinct is he creatura, and in like measure is he the manifestation of the effective fullness of the pleroma.

Everything which we do not distinguish falleth into the pleroma and is made void by its opposite. If, therefore, we do not distinguish god, effective fullness is for us extinguished.

Moreover god is the pleroma itself, as likewise each smallest point in the created and uncreated is the pleroma itself.

Effective void is the nature of the devil. God and devil are the first manifestations of nothingness, which we call the pleroma. It is indifferent whether the pleroma is or is not, since in everything it is balanced and void. Not so creatura. In so far as god and devil are creatura they do not extinguish each other, but stand one against the other as effective opposites. We need no proof of their existence. It is enough that we must always be speaking of them. Even if both were not, creatura, of its own essential distinctiveness, would forever distinguish them anew out of the pleroma.

Everything that discrimination taketh out of the pleroma is a pair of opposites. To god, therefore, always belongeth the devil.

This inseparability is as close and, as your own life hath made you see, as indissoluble as the pleroma itself. Thus it is that both stand very close to the pleroma, in which all opposites are extinguished and joined.

God and devil are distinguished by the qualities fullness and emptiness, generation and destruction. Effectiveness is common to both. Effectiveness joineth them. Effectiveness, therefore, standeth above both; is a god above god, since in its effect it uniteth fullness and emptiness.

This is a god whom ye knew not, for mankind forgot it. We name it by its name Abraxas. It is more indefinite still than god and devil.

That god may be distinguished from it, we name god Helios or Sun. Abraxas is effect. Nothing standeth opposed to it but the ineffective; hence its effective nature freely unfoldeth itself. The ineffective is not, therefore resisteth not. Abraxas standeth above the sun and above the devil. It is improbable probability, unreal reality. Had the pleroma a being, Abraxas would be its manifestation. It is the effective itself, not any particular effect, but effect in general.

It is unreal reality, because it hath no definite effect.

It is also creatura, because it is distinct from the pleroma.

The sun hath a definite effect, and so hath the devil. Wherefore do they appear to us more effective than indefinite Abraxas.

It is force, duration, change.

The dead now raised a great tumult, for they were Christians.

Sermo III

Like mists arising from a marsh, the dead came near and cried: Speak further unto us concerning the supreme god.

Hard to know is the deity of Abraxas. Its power is the greatest, because man perceiveth it not. From the sun he draweth the summum bonum; from the devil the infimum malum; but from Abraxas life, altogether indefinite, the mother of good and evil.

Smaller and weaker life seemeth to be than the summum bonum; wherefore is it also hard to conceive that Abraxas transcendeth even the sun in power, who is himself the radiant source of all the force of life.

Abraxas is the sun, and at the same time the eternally sucking gorge of the void, the belittling and dismembering devil.

The power of Abraxas is twofold; but ye see it not, because for your eyes the warring opposites of this power are extinguished.

What the god-sun speaketh is life.

What the devil speaketh is death.

But Abraxas speaketh that hallowed and accursed word which is life and death at the same time.

Abraxas begetteth truth and lying, good and evil, light and darkness, in the same word and in the same act. Wherefore is Abraxas terrible.

It is splendid as the lion in the instant he striketh down his victim. It is beautiful as a day of spring. It is the great Pan himself and also the small one. It is Priapos.

It is the monster of the under-world, a thousand-armed polyp, coiled knot of winged serpents, frenzy.

It is the hermaphrodite of the earliest beginning.

It is the lord of the toads and frogs, which live in the water and go up on the land, whose chorus ascendeth at noon and at midnight.

It is abundance that seeketh union with emptiness.

It is holy begetting.

It is love and love’s murder.

It is the saint and his betrayer.

It is the brightest light of day and the darkest night of madness.

To look upon it, is blindness.

To know it, is sickness.

To worship it, is death.

To fear it, is wisdom.

To resist it not, is redemption.

God dwelleth behind the sun, the devil behind the night. What god bringeth forth out of the light the devil sucketh into the night. But Abraxas is the world, its becoming and its passing. Upon every gift that cometh from the god-sun the devil layeth his curse.

Everything that ye entreat from the god-sun begetteth a deed of the devil.

Everything that ye create with the god-sun giveth effective power to the devil.

That is terrible Abraxas.

It is the mightiest creature, and in it the creature is afraid of itself.

It is the manifest opposition of creatura to the pleroma and its nothingness.

It is the son’s horror of the mother.

It is the mother’s love for the son.

It is the delight of the earth and the cruelty of the heavens.

Before its countenance man becometh like stone.

Before it there is no question and no reply.

It is the life of creatura.

It is the operation of distinctiveness.

It is the love of man.

It is the speech of man.

It is the appearance and the shadow of man.

It is illusory reality.

Now the dead howled and raged, for they were unperfected.

Sermo IV

The dead filled the place murmuring and said:

Tell us of gods and devils, accursed one!

The god-sun is the highest good; the devil is the opposite. Thus have ye two gods. But there are many high and good things and many great evils. Among these are two god-devils; the one is the burning one, the other the growing one.

The burning one is eros, who hath the form of flame. Flame giveth light because it consumeth.

The growing one is the tree of life. It buddeth, as in growing it heapeth up living stuff.

Eros flameth up and dieth. But the tree of life groweth with slow and constant increase through unmeasured time.

Good and evil are united in the flame.

Good and evil are united in the increase of the tree. In their divinity stand life and love opposed.

Innumerable as the host of the stars is the number of gods and devils.

Each star is a god, and each space that a star filleth is a devil. But the empty-fullness of the whole is the pleroma.

The operation of the whole is Abraxas, to whom only the ineffective standeth opposed.

Four is the number of the principal gods, as four is the number of the world’s measurements.

One is the beginning, the god-sun.

Two is Eros; for he bindeth twain together and outspreadeth himself in brightness.

Three is the Tree of Life, for it filleth space with bodily forms.

Four is the devil, for he openeth all that is closed. All that is formed of bodily nature doth he dissolve; he is the destroyer in whom everything is brought to nothing.

For me, to whom knowledge hath been given of the multiplicity and diversity of the gods, it is well. But woe unto you, who replace these incompatible many by a single god. For in so doing ye beget the torment which is bred from not understanding, and ye mutilate the creature whose nature and aim is distinctiveness. How can ye be true to your own nature when ye try to change the many into one? What ye do unto the gods is done likewise unto you. Ye all become equal and thus is your nature maimed.

Equality shall prevail not for god, but only for the sake of man. For the gods are many, whilst men are few. The gods are mighty and can endure their manifoldness. For like the stars they abide in solitude, parted one from the other by immense distances. But men are weak and cannot endure their manifold nature. Therefore they dwell together and need communion, that they may bear their separateness. For redemption’s sake I teach you the rejected truth, for the sake of which I was rejected.

The multiplicity of the gods correspondeth to the multiplicity of man.

Numberless gods await the human state. Numberless gods have been men. Man shareth in the nature of the gods. He cometh from the gods and goeth unto god.

Thus, just as it serveth not to reflect upon the pleroma, it availeth not to worship the multiplicity of the gods. Least of all availeth it to worship the first god, the effective abundance and the summum bonum. By our prayer we can add to it nothing, and from it nothing take; because the effective void swalloweth all.

The bright gods form the celestial world. It is manifold and infinitely spreading and increasing. The god-sun is the supreme lord of that world.

The dark gods form the earth-world. They are simple and infinitely diminishing and declining. The devil is the earth-world’s lowest lord, the moon-spirit, satellite of the earth, smaller, colder, and more dead than the earth.

There is no difference between the might of the celestial gods and those of the earth. The celestial gods magnify, the earth-gods diminish. Measureless is the movement of both.

Sermo V

The dead mocked and cried: Teach us, fool, of the church and holy communion.

The world of the gods is made manifest in spirituality and in sexuality. The celestial ones appear in spirituality, the earthly in sexuality.

Spirituality conceiveth and embraceth. It is womanlike and therefore we call it mater coelestis, the celestial mother. Sexuality engendereth and createth. It is manlike, and therefore we call it phallos, the earthly father.

The sexuality of man is more of the earth, the sexuality of woman is more of the spirit.

The spirituality of man is more of heaven, it goeth to the greater.

The spirituality of woman is more of the earth, it goeth to the smaller.

Lying and devilish is the spirituality of the man which goeth to the smaller.

Lying and devilish is the spirituality of the woman which goeth to the greater.

Each must go to its own place.

Man and woman become devils one to the other when they divide not their spiritual ways, for the nature of creatura is distinctiveness.

The sexuality of man hath an earthward course, the sexuality of woman a spiritual. Man and woman become devils one to the other if they distinguish not their sexuality.

Man shall know of the smaller, woman the greater.

Man shall distinguish himself both from spirituality and from sexuality. He shall call spirituality Mother, and set her between heaven and earth. He shall call sexuality Phallos, and set him between himself and earth. For the Mother and the Phallos are super-human daemons which reveal the world of the gods. They are for us more effective than the gods, because they are closely akin to our own nature. Should ye not distinguish yourselves from sexuality and from spirituality, and not regard them as of a nature both above you and beyond, then are ye delivered over to them as qualities of the pleroma. Spirituality and sexuality are not your qualities, not things which ye possess and contain. But they possess and contain you; for they are powerful daemons, manifestations of the gods, and are, therefore, things which reach beyond you, existing in themselves. No man hath a spirituality unto himself, or a sexuality unto himself. But he standeth under the law of spirituality and of sexuality.

No man, therefore, escapeth these daemons. Ye shall look upon them as daemons, and as a common task and danger, a common burden which life hath laid upon you. Thus is life for you also a common task and danger, as are the gods, and first of all terrible Abraxas.

Man is weak, therefore is communion indispensable. If your communion be not under the sign of the Mother, then is it under the sign of the Phallos. No communion is suffering and sickness. Communion in everything is dismemberment and dissolution.

Distinctiveness leadeth to singleness. Singleness is opposed to communion. But because of man’s weakness over against the gods and daemons and their invincible law is communion needful. Therefore shall there be as much communion as is needful, not for man’s sake, but because of the gods. The gods force you to communion. As much as they force you, so much is communion needed, more is evil.

In communion let every man submit to others, that communion be maintained; for ye need it.

In singleness the one man shall be superior to the others, that every man may come to himself and avoid slavery.

In communion there shall be continence.

In singleness there shall be prodigality.

Communion is depth.

Singleness is height.

Right measure in communion purifieth and preserveth.

Right measure in singleness purifieth and increaseth.

Communion giveth us warmth, singleness giveth us light.

Sermo VI

The daemon of sexuality approacheth our soul as a serpent. It is half human and appeareth as thought-desire.

The daemon of spirituality descendeth into our soul as the white bird. It is half human and appeareth as desire-thought.

The serpent is an earthy soul, half daemonic, a spirit, and akin to the spirits of the dead. Thus too, like these, she swarmeth around in the things of earth, making us either to fear them or pricking us with intemperate desires. The serpent hath a nature like unto woman. She seeketh ever the company of the dead who are held by the spell of the earth, they who found not the way beyond that leadeth to singleness. The serpent is a whore. She wantoneth with the devil and with evil spirits; a mischievous tyrant and tormentor, ever seducing to evilest company. The white bird is a half-celestial soul of man. He bideth with the Mother, from time to time descending. The bird hath a nature like unto man, and is effective thought. He is chaste and solitary, a messenger of the Mother. He flieth high above earth. He commandeth singleness. He bringeth knowledge from the distant ones who went before and are perfected. He beareth our word above to the Mother. She intercedeth, she warneth, but against the gods she hath no power. She is a vessel of the sun. The serpent goeth below and with her cunning she lameth the phallic daemon, or else goadeth him on. She yieldeth up the too crafty thoughts of the earthy one, those thoughts which creep through every hole and cleave to all things with desirousness. The serpent, doubtless, willeth it not, yet she must be of use to us. She fleeth our grasp, thus showing us the way, which with our human wits we could not find.

With disdainful glance the dead spake: Cease this talk of gods and daemons and souls. At bottom this hath long been known to us.

Sermo VII

Yet when night was come the dead again approached with lamentable mien and said: There is yet one matter we forgot to mention. Teach us about man.

Man is a gateway, through which from the outer world of gods, daemons, and souls ye pass into the inner world; out of the greater into the smaller world. Small and transitory is man. Already is he behind you, and once again ye find yourselves in endless space, in the smaller or innermost infinity. At immeasurable distance standeth one single Star in the zenith.

This is the one god of this one man. This is his world, his pleroma, his divinity.

In this world is man Abraxas, the creator and the destroyer of his own world.

This Star is the god and the goal of man.

This is his one guiding god. In him goeth man to his rest. Toward him goeth the long journey of the soul after death. In him shineth forth as light all that man bringeth back from the greater world. To this one god man shall pray.

Prayer increaseth the light of the Star. It casteth a bridge over death. It prepareth life for the smaller world and assuageth the hopeless desires of the greater.

When the greater world waxeth cold, burneth the Star.

Between man and his one god there standeth nothing, so long as man can turn away his eyes from the flaming spectacle of Abraxas.

Man here, god there.

Weakness and nothingness here, there eternally creative power.

Here nothing but darkness and chilling moisture.

There wholly sun.

Colophon

These Modern Gnostic texts represent contemporary liturgical and theological contributions to the living Gnostic tradition. They include the Catechism of the Ecclesia Gnostica, liturgical prayers and blessings, the Lectionary, theological reflections on the Ecclesia Gnostica, and C. G. Jung's Seven Sermons to the Dead.

The Catechism was composed by Stephan A. Hoeller and first published in 1998. The liturgical texts, prayers, and introductory materials were compiled by the Ecclesia Gnostica. The Seven Sermons to the Dead is Jung's mystical meditation, originally appearing in his memoir.

All texts have been digitised from the Gnostic Society Library (gnosis.org).

Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

🌲