Sunday, March 22, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org
Valentinian
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Texts
Excerpta ex TheodotoValentinian theological notes preserved by Clement of Alexandria — a window into Gnostic teaching as its adherents understood it.Heracleon - FragmentsFragments from the first known commentary on a canonical gospel — Heracleon's Valentinian reading of John as allegory of the soul's descent and return.Ptolemy - Commentary on JohnPtolemy's Valentinian reading of John's Prologue — the opening verses decoded as a map of the first eight Aeons of the divine Pleroma.Ptolemy - Letter to FloraThe clearest surviving exposition of Valentinian theology — a pastoral letter analysing the Mosaic Law and introducing the Demiurge as an intermediate god.The Interpretation of KnowledgeA Valentinian homily from Nag Hammadi on the unity of the Church as the Body of Christ, pleading against jealousy among believers through a cosmology of fall and redemption.Valentinian Liturgical TextsFragmentary liturgical texts preserving the actual anointing prayers, baptismal theology, and eucharistic thanksgiving of a second-century Valentinian Gnostic community.Valentinus - Fragments and PsalmsThe surviving fragments and psalms of Valentinus, the most influential Gnostic teacher of the second century, preserved only in the hostile works of his opponents.