* Zoroastrianism [Mazdayasna; Зороастризм] (-V). Zoroastrianism or Mazdayasna is one of the world's oldest continuously practiced religions, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster (also known as Zaraθuštra in Avestan or Zartosht in Modern Persian). Zoroastrianism has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil and an eschatology which predicts the ultimate conquest of evil by good. Zoroastrianism exalts an uncreated and benevolent deity of wisdom, Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord), as its supreme being. The unique historical features of Zoroastrianism, such as its monotheism, messianism, judgment after death, heaven and hell, and free will may have influenced other religious and philosophical systems, including Second Temple Judaism, Gnosticism, Greek philosophy, Christianity, Islam, the Baháʼí Faith. With possible roots dating back to the Second Millennium BCE {!!}, Zoroastrianism enters written history in the 5th century BCE. It served as the state religion of the ancient Iranian empires for more than a millennium, from around 600 BCE to 650 CE, but declined from the 7th century CE onwards following the Muslim conquest of Persia of 633–654 and subsequent persecution of the Zoroastrian people. (...) Zoroaster proclaimed that Ahura Mazda was the supreme creator, the creative and sustaining force of the universe through Asha, and that human beings are given a choice between supporting Ahura Mazda or not, making them responsible for their choices. Though Ahura Mazda has no equal contesting force, Angra Mainyu (destructive spirit/mentality), whose forces are born from Aka Manah (evil thought), is considered the main adversarial force {'devil'} of the religion, standing against Spenta Mainyu (creative spirit/mentality). Middle Persian literature developed Angra Mainyu further into Ahriman and advancing him to be the direct adversary to Ahura Mazda. In Zoroastrianism, Asha (truth, cosmic order), the life force that originates from Ahura Mazda, stands in opposition to Druj (falsehood, deceit) and Ahura Mazda is considered to be all-good with no evil emanating from the deity. Ahura Mazda works in gētīg (the visible material realm) and mēnōg (the invisible spiritual and mental realm) through the seven (six when excluding Spenta Mainyu) Amesha Spentas (the direct emanations of Ahura Mazda). (...) Relation to other religions and cultures. (...) Manichaeism. Zoroastrianism is often compared with Manichaeism. Nominally an Iranian religion, it has its origins in Middle-Eastern Gnosticism. Superficially such a comparison seems apt, as both are dualistic and Manichaeism adopted many of the Yazatas for its own pantheon. Gherardo Gnoli, in The Encyclopaedia of Religion, says that "we can assert that Manichaeism has its roots in the Iranian religious tradition and that its relationship to Mazdaism, or Zoroastrianism, is more or less like that of Christianity to Judaism". But they are quite different. Manichaeism equated evil with matter and good with spirit, and was therefore particularly suitable as a doctrinal basis for every form of asceticism and many forms of mysticism. Zoroastrianism, on the other hand, rejects every form of asceticism, has no dualism of matter and spirit (only of good and evil), and sees the spiritual world as not very different from the natural one (the word "paradise", or pairi.daeza, applies equally to both.) Manichaeism's basic doctrine was that the world and all corporeal bodies were constructed from the substance of Satan, an idea that is fundamentally at odds with the Zoroastrian notion of a world that was created by God and that is all good, and any corruption of it is an effect of the bad. (...) Cosmology: Creation of the universe. According to the Zoroastrian creation myth, Ahura Mazda existed in light and goodness above, while Angra Mainyu existed in darkness and ignorance below. They {good and evil} have existed independently of each other for all time {but are not of the same order}, and manifest contrary substances. Ahura Mazda first manifested seven divine beings called Amesha Spentas, who support him and represent beneficent aspects of personality and creation, along with numerous Yazatas, divinities worthy of worship. Ahura Mazda then created the material and visible world itself in order to ensnare evil. Ahura Mazda created the floating, egg-shaped universe in two parts: first the spiritual (menog) and 3,000 years later, the physical (getig). Ahura Mazda then created Gayomard, the archetypical perfect man, and Gavaevodata, the primordial bovine. While Ahura Mazda created the universe and humankind, Angra Mainyu, whose very nature is to destroy, miscreated demons, evil daevas, and noxious creatures (khrafstar) such as snakes, ants, and flies. Angra Mainyu created an opposite, evil being for each good being, except for humans, which he found he could not match. Angra Mainyu invaded the universe through the base of the sky, inflicting Gayomard and the bull with suffering and death. However, the evil forces were trapped in the universe and could not retreat. The dying primordial man and bovine emitted seeds, which were protect by Mah, the Moon. From the bull's seed grew all beneficial plants and animals of the world and from the man's seed grew a plant whose leaves became the first human couple. Humans thus struggle in a two-fold universe of the material and spiritual trapped and in long combat with evil. The evils of this physical world are not products of an inherent weakness, but are the fault of Angra Mainyu's assault on creation {monist view}. This assault turned the perfectly flat, peaceful, and ever day-lit world into a mountainous, violent place that is half night. Eschatology: Renovation and judgment. Zoroastrianism also includes beliefs about the renovation of the world (Frashokereti) and individual judgment (cf. general and particular judgment {big/little eschatology}), including the resurrection of the dead, which are alluded to in the Gathas but developed in later Avestan and Middle Persian writings. (...) The House of Lies is considered temporary and reformative; punishments fit the crimes, and souls do not rest in eternal damnation. Hell contains foul smells and evil food, a smothering darkness, and souls are packed tightly together although they believe they are in total isolation. In ancient Zoroastrian eschatology, a 3,000-year struggle between good and evil will be fought, punctuated by evil's final assault. During the final assault, the sun and moon will darken and humankind will lose its reverence for religion, family, and elders. The world will fall into winter, and Angra Mainyu's most fearsome miscreant, Azi Dahaka {'Antichrist'}, will break free and terrorize the world. According to legend, the final savior of the world, known as the Saoshyant, will be born to a virgin impregnated by the seed of Zoroaster while bathing in a lake. The Saoshyant will raise the dead—including those in all afterworlds—for final judgment, returning the wicked to hell to be purged of bodily sin. Next, all will wade through a river of molten metal in which the righteous will not burn but through which the impure will be completely purified. The forces of good will ultimately triumph over evil, rendering it forever impotent but not destroyed. The Saoshyant and Ahura Mazda will offer a bull as a final sacrifice for all time and all humans will become immortal. Mountains will again flatten and valleys will rise; the House of Song will descend to the moon, and the earth will rise to meet them both. Humanity will require two judgments because there are as many aspects to our being: spiritual (menog) and physical (getig). Thus, Zoroastrianism can be said to be a universalist religion with respect to salvation in that all souls are redeemed at the final judgement.[citation needed] // Zahhak. (evident in ancient Persian folklore as Azhi Dahāka) In Zoroastrianism, Zahhak (going under the name Aži Dahāka) is considered the son of Ahriman, the foe of Ahura Mazda {"Zoroastrian Antichrist"}. (...) The name also migrated to Eastern Europe, assumed the form "azhdaja" and the meaning "dragon", "dragoness" or "water snake" in Balkanic and Slavic languages. // Frashokereti. Frashokereti (frašō.kərəti) is the Avestan language term (corresponding to Middle Persian fraš(a)gird) for the Zoroastrian doctrine of a final renovation of the universe, when evil will be destroyed, and everything else will be then in perfect unity with God (Ahura Mazda). The doctrinal premises are (1) good will eventually prevail over evil; (2) creation was initially perfectly good, but was subsequently corrupted by evil; (3) the world will ultimately be restored to the perfection it had at the time of creation; (4) the "salvation for the individual depended on the sum of [that person's] thoughts, words and deeds, and there could be no intervention, whether compassionate or capricious, by any divine being to alter this." Thus, each human bears the responsibility for the fate of his own soul, and simultaneously shares in the responsibility for the fate of the world. // Saoshyant. Saoshyant (Avestan: literally "one who brings benefit", and which is used in several different ways in Zoroastrian scripture and tradition. In particular, the expression is the proper name of the Saoshyant, an eschatological saviour figure who brings about Frashokereti, the final renovation of the world in which evil is finally destroyed. The term was contracted to "Soshans" in Zoroastrian tradition, and came to apply to three saviour figures that progressively bring about the final renovation.

* Zoroasterian dualism. * Дуализм. Главной особенностью учения Зороастра является его основная концепция нравственного дуализма. Он учил, что несмотря на верховность Ахурамазды {supreme deity}, ему как самому главному доброму богу противостоит самый главный дух зла Анхра-Майнью {evil spirit}, принесший в сотворенный Ахурамаздой мир прегрешения, болезни и стремящийся уничтожить добро. Впоследствии он стал именоваться у зороастриан Ахриманом. Джефри Парриндер в книге «От истории Древнего мира к современности» так определяет истоки космологического дуализма Зороастра: «Зло является таким же естеством, как и добро, и оба они исходят от своих первоначальных причин -- Бога и дьявола. Дьявол Ахриман, который всегда существовал, является ответственным за все зло в мире, болезни и смерть, гнев и алчность. Так как они совершенно противоположны друг другу, то неизбежно вступают в конфликт». На этом основании в религии зороастризма Аше (правде) противостоит Друг (ложь), против жизни борется смерть и т. д. Так как тело умершего человека связано со смертью, оно является религиозно нечистым. Таким образом, мы видим, что Зороастр предложил людям учение о двух вечных противоположных космических принципах добра и зла. Относительно человека Зороастр учил, что его душа является средоточием борьбы между добром и злом. По своей природе человек ни добр, ни зол, но он находится под влиянием духов света и тьмы -- богов добра и зла. Добрый дух наставляет всякого человека на добро, а злой побуждает делать зло. Тот, кто мудр, будет творить добро. Интересно, что Зороастр считал добрыми тех людей, которые занимались земледелием {Karpov}. Земля для него была воплощением добра, потому что она дает жизнь. И поэтому земледельцы поступают правильно, выращивая зерно, овощи и плоды. Особенно хорошими он считал людей, которые по-доброму относятся к животным, в частности, к коровам. В упоминании о коровах просматривается связь зороастризма с индуизмом, где корова почитается как священное животное. К злым людям Зороастр относил кочевые племена {!!}, которые сопротивлялись его учению и устраивали набеги, разоряя поля добрых земледельцев. Они, с его точки зрения, были особенно ужасными потому, что перед набегами приносили в жертву рогатый скот. Зороастр очистил обрядовую сторону своей религии от политеистических ритуалов. Его учение запрещает идолопоклонство, жертвоприношения животных и употребление напитка хаома. Однако он оставил ритуал огня как символ Ахурамазды, но не с целью поклонения ему. Как мы видели выше, Зороастр был убит у алтаря, на котором горел священный огонь. Что касается конца мира, Зороастр проповедовал победу добра над злом. Он верил во всеобщее воскресение мертвых, как добрых, так и злых, и в то, что все они пройдут испытание в огне расплавленного металла. Для злых это будет страшным мучением, а для добрых будет подобно прикосновению «теплого и целительного молока». Потом всякая душа должна будет перейти через «мост возмездия», который висит над адом. Тот, кто перейдет мост, попадает в рай. Перед тем как переходить, душе читают запись всех свершенных ею, когда она была в материальном обличий, дел. В зависимости от того, что перевесит, зло или добро {balance of deeds}, Ахурамазда решит, куда ее послать. Зороастр не говорит об окончательной судьбе демонических сил и злого духа, Анхра-Майнью. Может быть, они будут сожжены расплавленным металлом и таким образом исчезнут, а может быть, будут брошены навечно в «место лжи», как называется в зороастризме ад. Порублев В. Н. Культы и мировые религии. - М.: "Благовестник" , 2000. - с. 105. Studbooks.net - Священная книга - Авеста. Божества парсизма. Дуализм

* Magi [Magusaeans; Магусеи]. Маги. Вероятно, самое раннее упоминание магов содержится в тексте Гераклита Эфесского, однако его считают интерполяцией. Если оно подлинно, то Гераклит называет магов среди тех, кто нечестиво посвящён в таинства. У Эсхила маги названы скорее в этническом контексте. Де Йонг делает из характера изложения у Геродота вывод, что маги уже были знакомы аудитории греческого историка, вероятно, из Ксанфа Лидийского. По Геродоту, маги — одно из шести мидийских племен; вопрос о достоверности данного утверждения в современной науке не разрешён. Они должны обязательно присутствовать при жертвоприношении. Маг Смердис самозванно восходит на трон при помощи своего брата, мага Патизифа, а затем семь персидских вельмож организуют избиение магов. Маги толкуют два сна мидийского царя Астиага о Кире, а затем сообщают ему, что сон сбылся, когда Кир стал царём в детской игре, и Астиагу больше нечего опасаться; однако после поражения от персов Астиаг приказывает посадить магов на кол. Маги толкуют сон Ксеркса как предвещающий власть над миром. О сне Кира, истолкованном магами, рассказывает историк Динон. Кроме того, Геродот сообщает, что маги истолковали солнечное затмение как предвестник победы Ксеркса. По Цицерону, маги предсказывают будущее, собираясь в храме. Клеарх из Сол называл индийских гимнософистов учениками магов. По Аммиану, напротив, Гистасп, отец Дария, который продолжил деятельность Зороастра, получил знания от брахманов и передал их магам. У Лукиана маги, последователи Зороастра, смешиваются с халдеями из Вавилона, которые заклинаниями открывают вход в Аид. Апулей же восхваляет магию как благочестивую науку. Аммиан пишет, что сперва магов было немного, но затем они увеличились в числе и живут в особых селениях, не укрепленных стенами, по своим законам. Созомен упоминает великого начальника магов при дворе Сапора (Шапура II), и об участии магов и начальников магов в преследовании христиан. Эти сведения отражают иерархию жрецов времени Сасанидов, когда существовали титулы мобеда (от слова magu-pati) и мобеда мобедов. Христианский историк Сократ рассказывает, что в правление Йездигерда I маги были недовольны проповедью христианства, и во время молитвы царя негасимому огню спрятали под землей человека, который осудил царя за покровительство христианам, но когда царь по совету епископа Маруфы раскрыл обман, он обложил impose род магов десятиной tithes и оказал почести Маруфе. В пехлевийской традиции этот царь осуждается за нечестивость. Агафий Миринейский обращает внимание на то, что род магов возвысился после того, как царем персов стал Артаксар, победивший парфян и совершавший таинства магов; и во времена Агафия все общественные дела у персов устраивались по советам и предсказаниям магов, и лишь с их одобрения действия считались законными и справедливыми. Магусеи. Термин «магусеи» (магусии) проник в античную литературу из перевода сочинения Бардесана. Сирийский автор называл браки с родственниками персидским обычаем, и указывал, что магусеи (те персы, которые жили вне своей страны), продолжали его. Близкий текст содержится в Псевдо-Клементинах . По Страбону, в Каппадокии в его время обитал большой клан магов, которых называли пирефами (греч. «возжигатели огня»), и было множество святилищ персидским божествам. Известно, что в Каппадокии в эллинистическое время использовали зороастрийский календарь. При этом в текстах эпохи Ахеменидов зафиксирован не зороастрийский календарь, а древнеперсидский, с названиями месяцев по сельскохозяйственным работам. О магусеях рассказывает каппадокиец Василий Великий в письме 258. По его изложению, магусеи пришли в его страну из Вавилона. Они — потомки Зарнувана, передают учение от отца к сыну, не имея книг, практикуют родственные браки, считают огонь богом и отвергают жертвы животных. Приск рассказывает, что в 464 году персидское посольство в Константинополе жаловалось, что магам, которые издревле обитают во владениях ромеев, ромеи препятствуют в богопочитании и поклонении негасимому огню, на что ромеи ответили, что не беспокоят магов за вероисповедание. Пища, одежда и атрибуты Диоген указывает, что маги ели овощи, сыр и грубый хлеб. Порфирий сообщает о трёх видах магов, различавшихся по отношению к мясоедению. Де Йонг считает эти сообщения недостоверными, ибо в зороастрийских текстах ничего не говорится о вегетарианстве {foreign influence ??}. По Страбону, маги держали в руках связку палочек из тамариска, произнося заклинания. Эта связка, первоначально представлявшая собой просто пучок травы, известна как барэсман или барсом. Об использовании прутьев сообщают ряд других античных авторов. Белую одежду магов отмечает источник Диогена. Плутарх приводит толкование, согласно которому они носят такую одежду в уподобление сиянию и блеску и в противопоставление мраку и Аиду. По Геродоту, приносящий жертву носит тиару с миртовыми ветвями (согласно Бойс, сообщение Геродота о совершении жертвы мирянином в присутствии жреца ошибочно), по Павсанию, эту тиару на голове носит сам маг. Страбон описывает её подробнее: тиара из войлока felt, её свисающие концы спускаются по щекам, закрывая губы; эта последняя деталь соответствует ахеменидским изображениям магов. (Древнеиранская религия в античных источниках) // Magi (Latin plural of magus; Ancient Greek: magos; Old Persian: maguš, Persian: mogh; English singular magian, mage, magus, magusian, magusaean) is a term, used since at least the 4th century BCE, to denote followers of Zoroaster, or rather, followers of what the Hellenistic world associated Zoroaster with, which was – in the main – the ability to read the stars, and manipulate the fate that the stars foretold. Pervasive throughout the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia until late antiquity and beyond, Greek mágos, "Magian" or "magician," was influenced by (and eventually displaced) Greek goēs(γόης), the older word for a practitioner of magic, to include astrology, alchemy and other forms of esoteric knowledge. This association was in turn the product of the Hellenistic fascination for (Pseudo-) Zoroaster, who was perceived by the Greeks to be the "Chaldean" "founder" of the Magi and "inventor" of both astrology and magic. Among the skeptical thinkers of the period, the term 'magian' acquired a negative connotation and was associated with tricksters and conjurers. This pejorative meaning survives in the words "magic" and "magician". In English, the term "magi" is most commonly used in reference to the Gospel of Matthew's 'wise men from the East', or 'three wise men', though that number does not actually appear in Matthew's account. The plural "magi" entered the English language around 1200, in reference to the Biblical magi of Matthew 2:1. The singular appears considerably later, in the late 14th century, when it was borrowed from Old French in the meaning magician together with magic. Alamy - Pictures From History

* Hermeticism [Hermetism; Герметизм, герметика] (-III-XII). Hermeticism, or Hermetism, is a label used to designate a philosophical system that is primarily based on the purported teachings of Hermes Trismegistus (a legendary Hellenistic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth). These teachings are contained in the various writings attributed to Hermes (the Hermetica), which were produced over a period spanning many centuries (c. 300 BCE – 1200 CE), and may be very different in content and scope. One of the most common uses of the label is to refer to the religio-philosophical system propounded by a specific subgroup of Hermetic writings known as the 'philosophical' Hermetica, the most famous of which is the Corpus Hermeticum (a collection of seventeen Greek Hermetic treatises written between c. 100 and c. 300 CE). This specific, historical form of Hermetic philosophy is sometimes more restrictively called Hermetism, to distinguish it from the philosophies inspired by the many Hermetic writings of a completely different period and nature. A more open-ended term is Hermeticism, which may refer to a wide variety of philosophical systems drawing on Hermetic writings, or even merely on subject matter generally associated with Hermes (most notably, alchemy often went by the name of "the Hermetic art" or "the Hermetic philosophy"). The most famous use of the term in this broader sense is in the concept of Renaissance Hermeticism, which refers to the wide array of early modern philosophies inspired by, on the one hand, Marsilio Ficino's (1433–1499) and Lodovico Lazzarelli's (1447–1500) translation of the Corpus Hermeticum, and on the other, by Paracelsus' (1494–1541) introduction of a new medical philosophy drawing upon the 'technical' Hermetica (i.e., astrological, alchemical, and magical Hermetica, such as the Emerald Tablet). In 1964, Frances A. Yates advanced the thesis that Renaissance Hermeticism, or what she called "the Hermetic tradition", had been a crucial factor in the development of modern science. While Yates's thesis has since been largely rejected, the important role played by the 'Hermetic' science of alchemy in the thought of such figures as Jan Baptist van Helmont (1580–1644), Robert Boyle (1627–1691) or Isaac Newton (1642–1727) has been amply demonstrated. Throughout its history, Hermeticism was closely associated with the idea of a primeval, divine wisdom, revealed only to the most ancient of sages, such as Hermes Trismegistus. In the Renaissance, this developed into the notion of a prisca theologia or "ancient theology", which asserted that there is a single, true theology which was given by God to some of the first humans, and traces of which may still be found in various ancient systems of thought. Thinkers like Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463–1494) supposed that this 'ancient theology' could be reconstructed by studying (what were then considered to be) the most ancient writings still in existence, such as those attributed to Hermes, but also those attributed to, e.g., Zoroaster, Orpheus, Pythagoras, Plato, the 'Chaldeans', or the Kaballah. This soon evolved into the idea, first proposed by Agostino Steuco (1497–1548), that one and the same divine truth may be found in the religious and philosophical traditions of different periods and places, all considered as different manifestations of the same universal perennial {enduring, universal, of all time} philosophy. In this perennialist context, the term 'Hermetic' tended to lose even more of its specificity, eventually becoming a mere byword for the purported divine knowledge of the ancient Egyptians, especially as related to alchemy and magic. Despite their occasional use of authentic Hermetic texts and concepts, this generic and pseudo-historical use of the term was greatly popularized by nineteenth- and twentieth-century occultists.

* As above, so below [Hermeticism; Как выше, так и ниже, Макрокосм и микрокосм]. "As above, so below" is a motto associated with sacred geometry, Hermeticism, and the Tarot. The phrase derives from a passage in the Emerald Tablet (variously attributed to Hermes Trismegistus or Pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana). The 16th-century scholar Chrysogonus Polydorus provides the following version translated from the original Arabic into Latin: "Quod est inferius est sicut quod est superius. Et quod est superius est sicut quod est inferius, ad perpetranda miracula rei unius." In Hermeticism, the phrase can be taken to indicate that earthly matters reflect the operation of the astral plane, particularly "by other means than mundane chains of cause and effect, such as Jungian synchronicities or correspondences." In a secular context, the phrase can refer to the idea that the microcosm reflects the macrocosm – for example, that individual or domestic ills can result from larger societal ills {'sick society'}. The Message, intended as a "version of the New Testament in a contemporary idiom", uses the maxim in its translation of the Lord's Prayer from Matthew 6:10. (The prayer's phrase is traditionally rendered "on earth, as it is in heaven".) "Our Father in heaven, Reveal who you are. Set the world right; Do what's best – as above, so below." Additionally, a quote from the apocryphal book Ascension of Isaiah has similar phrasing: “there I saw Sammael [sic] and his hosts, and there was great fighting therein. ...as above so on the earth [below] also“. // Sacred geometry. Sacred geometry ascribes symbolic and sacred meanings to certain geometric shapes and certain geometric proportions. It is associated with the belief that a god is the geometer of the world. The geometry used in the design and construction of religious structures such as churches, temples, mosques, religious monuments, altars, and tabernacles has sometimes been considered sacred. The concept applies also to sacred spaces such as temenoi, sacred groves, village greens, pagodas and holy wells, and the creation of religious art. The belief that a god created the universe according to a geometric plan has ancient origins. Plutarch attributed the belief to Plato, writing that "Plato said god geometrizes continually" (Convivialium disputationum, liber 8,2). // What is sacred geometry? Sacred geometry is essentially the study of the spiritual meaning of various shapes. It can be applied to the forms, numbers, and patterns seen throughout the natural world. The spiral of a snail's shell, the captivating pattern of a single snowflake, and the branches of a tree can all be examples of sacred geometry. Sacred geometry is also thought to exist beyond the naked eye, both on a cellular level and in the stars and orbiting planets. The idea that the universe follows an intricate equation dates as far back as ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian cultures. It received more attention centuries later in ancient Greece, popularized by philosophers like Pythagoras and Plato. (...) Sacred geometry espouses the idea that everything is connected. (...) Spiral. From a snail's shell to the Earth spiraling around the sun as we travel through space, the spiral, also referred to as the Fibonnaci sequence or the Golden Ratio, can be thought of as a physical manifestation of the expression "as above, so below." Sacred Geometry Is Literally Everywhere — Here's Where To Look & How To Use It

* Esoteric Christianity [Hermetic Christianity; Эзотерическое христианство] (I). Esoteric Christianity (also known as Hermetic Christianity) is an ensemble of spiritual currents which regard Christianity as a mystery religion, and profess the existence and possession of certain esoteric doctrines or practices of which the public is unaware (or even to which they may be denied access) {"secret knowledge"} but which are understood by a small group of people. These spiritual currents share some common denominators, such as heterodox or heretical Christian theology; the canonical gospels, various apocalyptic literature, and some New Testament apocrypha as sacred texts;[citation needed] and disciplina arcani, a supposed oral tradition from the Twelve Apostles containing esoteric teachings of Jesus the Christ. The first clear mention of people who saw Christianity as a mystery religion with esoteric unveiled transcendental teachings were the Gnostic Christian groups, that originated in the 1st century in Christian Jews milieus. Some non-Christian Jewish related groups also talked about esoteric teachings, secrets and initiation, like the Mandeans {Mandaeans are an ethnoreligious group indigenous to the alluvial plain of southern Mesopotamia and are followers of Mandaeism, a Gnostic religion. The Mandaic language is a dialect of southeastern Aramaic and is closely related to the language of the Babylonian Talmud. Some scholars connect the early Mandaeans with the Jewish sect of the Nasoraeans. It appears that Mani, the founder of Manichaeism, was partly influenced by the Mandaeans.}, who are still existing today and claims to be the followers of John the Baptist, and the Essenes and Therapeutae. Some modern scholars believe that in the early stages of non-Gnostic Christianity, a nucleus of oral teachings were inherited from Palestinian and Hellenistic Judaism. In the 4th century, it was believed to form the basis of a secret oral tradition which came to be called disciplina arcani. The mainstream theologians, however, believe that it contained only liturgical details and certain other traditions which remain a part of some branches of mainstream Christianity. Reincarnation was accepted by most of Gnostic Christian sects such as Valentinianism and Basilidians, but denied by the proto-orthodox one. While hypothetically considering a complex multiple-world transmigration scheme in De Principiis, Origen denies reincarnation in unmistakable terms in his work Against Celsus and elsewhere. Despite this apparent contradiction, most modern Esoteric Christian movements refer to Origen's writings (along with other Church Fathers and biblical passages) to validate these ideas as part of the Esoteric Christian tradition outside of the Gnostic schools, who were later considered heretical in the 3rd century.

* Cerinthus [gnostic; Керинф] (fl c 50-100). Cerinthus was an early Gnostic, who was prominent as a heresiarch in the view of the early Church Fathers. Contrary to the Church Fathers, he used the Gospel of Cerinthus, and denied that the Supreme God made the physical world. In Cerinthus' interpretation, the Christ descended upon Jesus at baptism {adoptionism} and guided him in ministry and the performing of miracles, but left him at the crucifixion. Similarly to the Ebionites, he maintained that Jesus was not born of a virgin, but was a mere man, the biological son of Mary and Joseph. Early Christian tradition describes Cerinthus as a contemporary to and opponent of John the Evangelist, who may have written the First Epistle of John and the Second Epistle of John to warn the less mature in faith and doctrine about the changes Cerinthus was making to the original gospel. According to early Christian sources, the Apostle John wrote his gospel specifically to refute the teachings of Cerinthus. All that is known about Cerinthus comes from the writing of his theological opponents. // Gospel of Cerinthus. The Gospel of Cerinthus is a lost gospel used by Cerinthus and by Carpocrates. According to Epiphanius, this is a Jewish Gospel or Gnostic Gospel identical to the Gospel of the Ebionites and, apparently, is a truncated version of Matthew's Gospel. Bardy calls it a "Judaizing" rather than Gnostic gospel.

* Simon Magus [Simon the Sorcerer/Magician, simony; Симон Волхв] (I; 'founder of gnosticism'). Simon Magus, also known as Simon the Sorcerer or Simon the Magician, was a religious figure whose confrontation with Peter is recorded in Acts 8:9–24. The act of simony, or paying for position, is named after Simon who tried to buy his way into the power of the Apostles. According to Acts, Simon was a Samaritan magus or religious figure of the 1st century AD and a convert to Christianity, baptised by Philip the Evangelist. Simon later clashed with Peter. Accounts of Simon by writers of the second century exist, but are not considered verifiable. Surviving traditions about Simon appear in orthodox texts, such as those of Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Hippolytus, and Epiphanius, where he is often described as the founder of Gnosticism, which has been accepted by some modern scholars, while others reject that he was a Gnostic, just designated as one by the Church Fathers. Justin, who was himself a 2nd-century native of Samaria, wrote that nearly all the Samaritans in his time were adherents of a certain Simon of Gitta, a village not far from Flavia Neapolis. According to Josephus, Gitta (also spelled Getta) was settled by the tribe of Dan. Irenaeus held him as being the founder of the sect of the Simonians. Hippolytus quotes from a work he attributes to Simon or his followers the Simonians, Apophasis Megale, or Great Declaration. According to the early church heresiologists, Simon is also supposed to have written several lost treatises, two of which bear the titles The Four Quarters of the World and The Sermons of the Refuter. In apocryphal works including the Acts of Peter, Pseudo-Clementines, and the Epistle of the Apostles, Simon also appears as a formidable sorcerer with the ability to levitate and fly at will. He is sometimes referred to as "the Bad Samaritan" due to his malevolent character. The Apostolic Constitutions also accuses him of "lawlessness" (antinomianism). // Simon Magus, also known as Simon the Sorcerer and Simon the Magician, came from the village of Gitta (also spelled Getta) in Samaria, according to Justin Martyr; a site settled by the tribe of Dan according to Josephus. Justin, who was himself a 2nd-century native of Samaria, wrote that nearly all the Samaritans in his time were adherents of Simon. Surviving orthodox texts, such as those of Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Hippolytus, and Epiphanius, regarded Simon as the source of all heresies, including Gnosticism. (...) Revelation 7:4–8 mentions that people from the twelve tribes of Israel will be sealed. The selection of the twelve tribes does not include the names of Ephraim and Dan, although their names were used for the twelve tribes that settled in the Promised Land. It has been suggested that this could be because of their pagan practices. This led Irenaeus, Hippolytus of Rome and some Millennialists to propose that the Antichrist will come from the tribe of Dan. (Tribe of Dan)

* Menander [gnostic; Менандр Антиохийский] (I). Menander was a first-century CE Samaritan gnostic and magician. He belonged to the school of the Simonians, becoming its leader after the death of his master and instructor, Simon Magus, who was in Rome during the reign of Emperor Claudius. He is mentioned in the works of Irenaeus, Tertullian and others. Justin Martyr is the oldest source of knowledge about Menander after he met some of the devoted Menandrians in their old age. Justin suggested that Menander was born in Cappareteia and established a school in Antioch where he announced himself the messiah and vowed to defeat the angels that were keeping the world in captivity, possibly through exorcism. When the Simonians divided during the Gnostic schism {??}, Menander called his part of the sect Menandrians, holding the belief that the world was made by angels. His ideas contrasted with those of Saturninus of Antioch and the Satornilians, who believed the world was made by only seven angels against the will of a "Father on high". Menander held that a water baptism was essential as the source for eternal youth. Menander held solid to the belief that as head of the church, he was the savior and Power of God. Menander maintained that "the primary power continues unknown to all but that he himself is the person who has been sent forth from the presence of the invisible beings as a savior, for the deliverance of men". Other magicians including Basilides and Cerdo became followers of Menander and were said to have "given immense development to his doctrines" with differing ethical consequences. It has been suggested that some of those who tried to interpret the doctrines of Menander, such as Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, took things far too literally. Irenaeus for instance, claimed that, according to his followers, those in receipt of Menander's water baptism no longer grew old and became immortal.

* Фебуфис [Thebutis] (I). // (4) Он [Егезипп] же сообщает и о возникновении современных ересей: «После Иакова Праведного {James the Just}, пострадавшего по той же причине, что и Господь, епископом был поставлен его двоюродный брат Симеон, сын Клеопы. Его предложили все, как двоюродного брата Господня. Церковь в то время называли чистой девой, потому что никто еще не обольстил ее суетным учением. (5) Обольщать ее учением одной из семи ересей, существовавших в народе (от них был и он), начал Фебуфис, недовольный тем, что не стал епископом. Отсюда вышел Симон и его последователи — симониане; Клеобий и его последователи — клеобиане; Досифей и его последователи— досифиане; Горфей и его последователи — горфеане и маiсбофеи. От них же менандриане, маркиониты, карпократиане, валентиниане, василидиане и сатурнилиане {gnostic heresies}: каждый вводил свое собственное, отличное от чужих, учение. (6) От них и пошли лжехристы, лжепророки, лжеапостолы; своими губительными речами против Бога и Христа они раздробили церковное единство». (PDF) БОГОСЛОВСКИЕ ТРУДЫ, 24. ЦЕРКОВНАЯ ИСТОРИЯ ЕВСЕВИЯ ПАМФИЛА // According to Hegesippus, Simeon prevailed against Thebutis, whom the church fathers deemed a Judaizing heresiarch, and led most of the Christians to Pella before the outbreak of the First Roman–Jewish War in 66 and the destruction of Herod's Temple in 70. (Simeon of Jerusalem) // Epiphanius traces the origin of Ebionitism to the Christians who fled to Pella after the destruction of Jerusalem, A.D. 66 (adv. Hoer. 29:1). According to Hegesippus (Hist. Ecclesiastes 4:22), one Thebutis, at Jerusalem, about the beginning of the second century, "began to corrupt the Church secretly on account of his not being made a bishop." McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia - Ebionites // (GB) Bargil Pixner - Paths of the Messiah and Sites of the Early Church from Galilee to Jerusalem

* Cerdo [Gnostic; Кердон] (II). Cerdo was a Syrian gnostic who was deemed a heretic by the Early Church around the time of his teaching, circa 138 AD. Cerdo started out as a follower of Simon Magus, like Basilides and Saturninus, and taught at about the same time as Valentinus, Marcion and them. According to Irenaeus, he was a contemporary of the Roman bishop Hyginus, residing in Rome as a prominent member of the Church until his forced expulsion therefrom. He taught that there were two gods, one that demanded obedience while the other was good and merciful. According to Cerdo, the former was the God of the Old Testament who had created the world. He also said that the latter God was superior but that he was only known through his son, Jesus. Like later gnostics, he was a docetist who rejected the bodily resurrection of the dead. Doctrine. According to the account of Irenaeus (i. 27 and iii. 4), Cerdo had not the intention of founding a sect apart from the church. He describes him as more than once coming to the church and making public confession, and so going on, now teaching his doctrine in secret, now again making public confession, now convicted in respect of his evil teaching, and removed from the communion of the brethren (aphistamenos tes ton adelphon synodias). Some understand this to mean that Cerdo voluntarily withdrew himself from communion, but it is preferred to understand the word passively, with the old translator of Irenaeus, "abstentus est a religiosorum hominum conventu." The account given by Irenaeus of the doctrine of Cerdo is that he taught that the God preached by the law and the prophets was not the Father of Jesus Christ; for that the former was known, the latter unknown; the former was just, the latter good. The account given by Pseudo-Tertullian (Haer. vi.) may be regarded as representing that given in the earlier Syntagma of Hippolytus, which was also made use of by Philaster (Haer. 44) and Epiphanius (Haer. 41). It runs that Cerdo introduced two first principles (archai) and two gods, the one good, the other evil, the latter of whom was the creator of the world. Here we are to note the important difference that to the good god is opposed in the account of Irenaeus a just one; in that of Hippolytus, an evil one. In the later Refutation of Hippolytus, Cerdo is said to have taught three principles of the universe, agathon, dikaion, hylen. Ps.-Tertullian goes on to say that Cerdo rejected the law and the prophets, and renounced the Creator, teaching that Christ was the son of the higher good deity, and that he came not in the substance of flesh but in appearance only, and had not really died or really been born of a virgin. He adds that Cerdo only acknowledged a resurrection of the soul, denying that of the body. Ps.-Tertullian adds, but without support from the other authorities, that Cerdo received only the Gospel of St. Luke, and that in a mutilated form; that he rejected some of Paul's epistles and some portions of others, and completely rejected the Acts and the Apocalypse. There is every appearance that Ps.-Tertullian here transferred to Cerdo what in his authority was stated of Marcion. Marcion. It does not appear that Cerdo left any writings, nor is there evidence that those who report to us his doctrine had any knowledge of it independent of the form it took in the teaching of his Marcionite successors. Consequently, it is not possible now to determine with any certainty how much of the teaching of Marcion had been anticipated by Cerdo, or to say what points of disagreement there were between the teaching of the two. Hippolytus, in his Refutation, makes no attempt to discriminate the doctrines of Cerdo and Marcion. Tertullian, in his work against Marcion, mentions Cerdo four times, but each time only as Marcion's predecessor. Кердон. Ке́рдон (лат. Cerdone; конец I века — первая половина II века) — христианский богослов, ересиарх, гностик. Кердон родился в Сирии, где был последователем учения Симона Волхва. При епископе Гигине Кердон прибыл из Сирии в Рим. Кердон перенял элементы учений Ираклеона и Саторнила. В столице Кердон старался выглядеть верующим христианином, вначале он скрыл свои гностические воззрения, но распространял их тайно между римскими христианами. Заблуждения Кердона были раскрыты, но Кердон принёс покаяние и отрекся от своего учения. Однако "раскаяние" Кердона было непродолжительным. Возможно, под предлогом открытой исповеди в храме Кердон как раз распространял своё учение. Вскоре вновь заметили, что Кердон проповедует между христианами своё вероучение. Не дожидаясь отлучения от Церкви, Кердон сам отделяется от неё и создаёт собственное религиозное сообщество. Одним из выдающихся учеников Кердона был Маркион. Последователи Кердона были названы в более позднее время — кердониане (др.-греч. κερδωνιανοί; лат. cerdoniani; др.-рус. приобрѣтьници ← от др.-греч. κέρδος — выгода, прибыль); маркионисты испытали сильное влияние Кердона. Епископ Рима отлучает Кердона от Церкви. Учение. Изучая и сравнивая Ветхий и Новый Завет, Кердон пришёл к выводу о том, что иудейство и христианство несовместимы. Если согласно Ветхому Завету за грех следует строгое наказание, то Новый Завет устанавливает необходимость снисхождения и милосердия к грешникам. Ветхий закон требует сурово наказать врагов, а Евангелие учит любить врагов. Эту противоположность Кердон объяснил тем, что Бог Ветхого Завета иной, чем Бог Нового Завета — Отец Иисуса Христа. Кердон делает вывод о том, что существуют два предвечных начала мира. Одно из них — злое, оно было творцом мира и Ветхого Завета; а другое — доброе, оно - источник Нового Завета. Первое начало (Демиург) даёт закон Моисею и открывается пророкам. Второе начало — Отец Христа - открывается людям только через Иисуса, которого он посылает. Христос принимает не человеческое тело, а призрачную плоть. Человечество создано, согласно Кердону, Демиургом, злым началом, а значит, материальный мир есть зло. По этой причине доброе начало не может принять зло — созданное Демиургом; иными словами, Кердон проповедует докетизм. Так как материя - от Демиурга, то будущее воскресение - это воскресение исключительно душ, но не тел, учит Кердон. Кроме того, Кердон отвергал большую часть книг Священного Писания. О Кердоне писали многие христианские авторы: Ириней Лионский в книге «О ересях» (книга 1-я, глава XXVII, и книга III-я, глава IV); Ипполит Римский в труде «Философумены» (книга VII, главы 29 и 37); Феодорит Кирский в сочинении «Еретические басни» (книга I, глава 24); Епифаний Кипрский в трактате «Панарион»; Тертуллиан в книге «Против Маркиона».

* Marcion of Sinope [Маркион Синопский] (c 85-c 160; theologian, evangelist, dualist; proto-gnostic?). Marcion of Sinope was an early Christian theologian, an evangelist, and an important figure in early Christianity. Marcion preached that the benevolent God of the Gospel who sent Jesus Christ into the world as the savior was the true Supreme Being, different from and opposed to the malevolent demiurge or creator god, identified with the Hebrew God of the Old Testament. He considered himself a follower of Paul the Apostle, whom he believed to have been the only true apostle of Jesus Christ, a doctrine called Marcionism. Marcion published the earliest extant fixed collection of New Testament books, Early Church Fathers such as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Tertullian denounced Marcion as a heretic, and he was excommunicated by the church of Rome around 144. He published the first known canon of Christian sacred scriptures, which contained ten Pauline epistles (the Pastoral epistles weren't included) and a shorter version of the Gospel of Luke (the Gospel of Marcion). This made him a catalyst in the process of the development of the New Testament canon by forcing the proto-orthodox Church to respond to his canon.

* Marcionism [Маркионитство] (II). Marcionism was an Early Christian dualist belief system that originated in the teachings of Marcion of Sinope in Rome around the year 144. Marcion believed that Jesus was the savior sent by God, and Paul the Apostle was his chief apostle, but he rejected the Hebrew Bible and the God of Israel. Marcionists believed that the wrathful Hebrew God was a separate and lower entity than the all-forgiving God of the New Testament. Marcionism, similar to Gnosticism, depicted the God of the Old Testament as a tyrant or demiurge. Маркионитство. Маркиони́тство — гностическое течение в раннем христианстве, связанное с именем Маркиона. Маркиониты (лат. marcionistæ) проповедовали дуализм, считая, что справедливый, но жестокий и мстительный Бог Ветхого Завета (Демиург материального мира) не имеет ничего общего с истинным, всеблагим и трансцендентным Богом — Отцом Небесным, сыном которого и был Иисус Христос. // How far Marcion admitted a Trinity of persons in the supreme Godhead is not known; Christ is indeed the Son of God, but he is also simply "God" without further qualification; in fact, Marcion's gospel began with the words; "In the fifteenth year of the Emperor Tiberius God descended in Capharnaum and taught on the Sabbaths". However daring and capricious this manipulation of the Gospel text, it is at least a splendid testimony that, in Christian circles of the first half of the second century the Divinity of Christ was a central dogma. To Marcion however Christ was God Manifest not God Incarnate. His Christology is that of the Docetae rejecting the inspired history of the Infancy, in fact, any childhood of Christ at all; Marcion's Savior is a "Deus ex machina" of which Tertullian mockingly says: "Suddenly a Son, suddenly Sent, suddenly Christ!" New Advent – Marcionites

* Saturninus of Antioch [Сатурнин из Антиохии] (fl 100-120; gnostic). Saturninus or Satornilus (active 100–120 AD) was an early Gnostic Christian from the 1st century Simonian school. He is quoted in the works of Irenaeus, Justin Martyr and Hegesippus. Biography. He was supposed to be an apprentice of Menander, who had learned under Simon Magus and established a school in Antioch. Saturninus and Basilides were among his greatest students and went to teach after him, the former staying in Antioch and the latter moving to Alexandria. Saturninus adhered to Menander's doctrines while Basilides developed them in different ways {"Gnostic schism" ??}. However, while Menander called himself the messengers of God, Saturninus considered Jesus Christ the only who could receive this title, and therefore might have been the first teacher to introduce Christ in Gnosticism. At the same time, he also introduced the notion of the God of Judaism being an evil impostor {before Marcion}, the Platonic idea of a descended spark of life, and the idea that there are different classes of men. Finally, Saturninus might have been the source of docetism mentioned by Ignatius of Antioch in his letters. Saturninus endorsed harsh asceticism, committing to vegetarianism and celibacy, and was accused of introducing the idea of encratism {Encratites forbade marriage and counselled abstinence from meat. They rejected marriage – declaring women and sex the work of Satan[9] – and also intoxicants, calling wine 'drops of venom from the great Serpent'.}. Doctrine. Saturninus preached that matter was impure, and that the world had been created by seven rebel angels (known as the planetary archons), the leader of which called himself the God of the Jews in imitation to the true God, the Father of all. However, while tyrannical, those angels weren't the main satanic figure, but neutral entities. Unlike Simon and Menander, Saturninus was a dualist, believing that God was opposed by an equal principle that would be Satan, distinct from the demiurgic archons. After rebelling against God to create the world, the rebel angels would have switched their battle against Satan and his servants, who desired to dominate this creation. Man would have been created by the angels after a shining vision that appeared before them from above, but as they were unable to make him capable of standing erect, God took pity on them and helped their creation, inspiring a spark on life on some men. However, Satan would have intervened as well as the serpent of Eden, creating marriage and procreation, as well as making the rest of the men evil. Men were initially ruled by the God of Jews, but as he was a false deity, and not powerful enough to shield them from Satan's influence, the true God would have sent a spirit savior, Jesus Christ. According to other versions, he was sent because the archons opposed the Father. In any case, since flesh was susceptible to evil, he was merely a docetic being, and through his presence he would have passed the knowledge to overthrow the God of Jews, destroy the wicked, and make the sparks of life return to the Higher God. Saturninus might have been influenced by Zoroastrianism, as the dualism between God and Satan is similar to that of Ahura Mazda and Ahriman, while his seven angels would be similar to the Amesha Spenta. His demonization of the God of Jews, also done by his gnostic partners, might have been a consequence of the anti-Jewish sentiment caused among Christians and Romans by the Bar Kokhba revolt. // Сатурнин или Сатурнин (активен в 100–120 годах нашей эры) был ранним гностикомхристианином из 1 века симонианской школы. Он цитируется в работах Иринея , Тертуллиана и Епифания и др. hrwiki.ru - Сатурнин из Антиохии - Saturninus of Antioch

* Gnostic schism [??; Гностический раскол ??]. The schism between Gnostic Christians and those who would come to be called Orthodox Christians occurred in the second century A.D. The exact time for the split is unclear, but Gnosticism went from being considered a perfectly valid form of Christianity to heresy at some point before the turn of the century. Information on early Gnostic Christians is limited as many of their writings were lost, and their ideas died out over the centuries. “Gnostic Gospels” have been uncovered, however, and they show both an amazing degree of similarity to the Gospels today and a great deal of difference. Gnostic Gospels are often identifiable by their lack of background details or context. They are simply the sayings of Jesus with little of the surrounding narrative that modern Christians expect in a Bible. Gnostics are perhaps best known for their belief that a “Divine Spark” resides in each human being and that this spark is the only part of a person that can be saved. The body is doomed to die away, but this Divine Spark would survive. To free this Divine Spark, a person was meant to seek the secret knowledge locked away in the Gospels. Gnosticism, then, emphasized education and study rather than faith or good works. beliefnet - 4 Schisms in Christianity // Saturninus <> Basilides ??

* Carpocrates of Alexandria [gnostic; Карпократ] (II). Carpocrates of Alexandria was the founder of an early Gnostic sect from the first half of the 2nd century. As with many Gnostic sects, one knows of the Carpocratians {Карпократы} only through the writings of the Church Fathers, principally Irenaeus of Lyons and Clement of Alexandria. As these writers strongly opposed Gnostic doctrine, there is a question of negative bias when using this source. While the various references to the Carpocratians differ in some details, they agree as to the libertinism of the sect, a charge commonly levied by pagans against Christians and conversely by Christians against pagans and heretics. They believe, he writes, that Jesus was not divine; but because his soul was "steadfast and pure", he "remembered those things which he had witnessed within the sphere of the unbegotten God" (similar to Plato's concept of Anamnesis). Because of this, Jesus was able to free himself from the material powers (what other Gnostics call Archons, the Demiurge, etc.). Carpocratians believed they themselves could transcend the material realm, and therefore were no longer bound by Mosaic law, which was based on the material powers, or by any other morality, which, they held, was mere human opinion. Irenaeus offers this belief as an explanation of their licentious behaviour. Irenaeus then goes on to provide his further, slightly different, explanation. The followers of Carpocrates, he says, believed that in order to leave this world, one's imprisoned eternal soul must pass through every possible condition of earthly life. Moreover, it is possible to do this within one lifetime. As a result, the Carpocratians did "all those things which we dare not either speak or hear of" so that when they died, they would not be compelled to incarnate again but would return to God. (Borges depicts a fictional sect with this belief in his short story "The Theologians".) Irenaeus says that they practised various magical arts as well as leading a licentious life. He also says that they possessed a portrait of Christ, a painting they claimed had been made by Pontius Pilate during his lifetime, which they honoured along with images of Plato, Pythagoras and Aristotle "in the manner of the Gentiles". Carpocrates is also mentioned by Clement of Alexandria in his Stromateis. Clement quotes extensively from On Righteousness which he says was written by Epiphanes, Carpocrates' son. No copy outside of Clement's citation exists, but the writing is of a strongly antinomian bent. It claims that differences in class and the ownership of property are unnatural, and argues for property and women to be held in common. Clement insists on the alleged licentiousness of the Carpocratians, claiming that at their Agape (meaning an early Christian gathering) they "have intercourse where they will and with whom they will". According to Clement, Carpocrates was from Alexandria although his sect was primarily located in Cephallenia. Epiphanius of Salamis writes that Carpocratians derived from a native of Asia, Carpocrates, who taught his followers to perform every obscenity and every sinful act. And unless one proceeds through all of them, he said, and fulfils the will of all demons and angels, he cannot mount to the highest heaven or get by the principalities and authorities. Карпократ. Карпокра́т (лат. Carpocrates) — гностик из Александрии II века н. э. Видел задачу жизни в отрешении от мира и в презрении к создавшим его мятежным низшим звёздным духам, а путь к такому презрению в совершении всевозможных плотских грехов. Большую известность, несмотря на короткую жизнь (умер в 17 лет), приобрёл сын и ученик Карпократа — Епифан. Учение. {Основная статья: Карпократы} Последователи Карпократа и Епифана основали в 160 году н. э. в Риме особую христианско-гностическую секту карпократиан, разделявших мнение учителя, что лучший способ презирать материальный мир — это совершать все возможные плотские грехи, сохраняя свободу духа, или бесстрастие, не привязываясь ни к какому отдельному бытию или вещам и внешнюю законность заменяя внутренней силой веры и любви, а также что необходимо на собственном опыте изведать всевозможные грехи, чтобы отделаться от всех и получить свободу. Проповедь принципа общности жён привела к обвинению их в распутстве. Среди восьмидесяти христианских ересей «Панариона» (ок. 378 года) последователи Карпократа занимали 27-е место[значимость факта?].

* Carpocratians [Карпократы] (II). A sect of Gnostics founded by Carpocrates of Alexandria. The sect claimed Christ derived the mysteries of his religion from the Temple of Isis in Egypt, where he was said to have studied for six years, and that he taught them to his apostles, who transmitted them to Carpocrates. Members used theurgic incantations and had their own peculiar greetings, signs and words, and symbols and degrees of rank. The Carpocratians believed in metampsychosis and the preexistence of the soul, but rejected the resurrection of the body. They had some beliefs in common with the Basilideans. The sect endured until the sixth century. Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology - Carpocratians // /Карпократы. Карпократиа́не (лат. carpocratiani), также карпокра́ты (лат. carpocrates; carpocras) и каниты, — последователи платоника-александрийца Карпократа (II век), образовавшие в Риме около 150/160 года одну из гностических школ (сект).

* Gnostics - accusations of ritual orgies [Гностики - обвинения в ритуальные оргии]. Clement mentions by name various Gnostic groups (Basilidians, Carpocratians, Antitaktai, and many other unnamed sects) that held lavish banquets, after which they extinguished the lights and indulged in sexual promiscuity. Their practices are compared to the cult of Aphrodites Pandemos {Plato: goddess of sensual pleasures, in opposition to Aphrodite Urania, or "the heavenly Aphrodite"; Aphrodisia festival} and her supposed "mysteries." Some groups of Gnostics in the second century and the beginning of the third (according to Clement) treated women as common property and in their agapē practiced what they preached, interpreting sexual intercourse as a "mystical communion." encyclopedia.com - ORGY: ORGY IN THE ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN WORLD

* TODO:  Gnostics - accusations of ritual infanticide.

* Epiphanes [gnostic; Епифан] (II). Epiphanes is the author of On Righteousness, a notable early Gnostic literary work that promotes communist principles, that was published and discussed by Clement of Alexandria, in Stromaties, III. Epiphanes was also attributed with founding Monadic Gnosis. G.R.S. Mead however thinks that Epiphanes was a legend and may not have been an actual person, that the real author of On Righteousness may be the Valentinian, Marcus. According to Clement, Epiphanes was born on Cephalonia in the late 1st Century or early 2nd Century to Carpocrates (his father), and Alexandria of Cephalonia (his mother). Epiphanes died at the age of 17. Clement wrote that Epiphanes was "worshipped as a god with the most elaborate and lascivious rites by the Cephalonians, in the great temple of Samē, on the day of the new moon." Mead discusses that the idea of temple worship is probably a misunderstanding, that Clement may have mistaken the worship of the moon god Epiphanes with a person of the same name. The Epiphany was a sun-moon festival at the Samē temple. The new moon's life of 17 days (in the lunar cycle) may have been misunderstood as Epiphanes' 17 years of life. On the other hand, Vanderbilt Professor Kathy L. Gaca (The Making of Fornication:Eros, Ethics, and Political Reform in Greek Philosophy and Early Christianity, University of California Press, 2003) promotes a view of Epiphanes as one of the voices in early Christianity who held a positive and liberationist view of sexual pleasure, and who was among those like him who were ultimately silenced by the victorious leadership represented by Clement of Alexandria, Tatian, Ambrose, Jerome and Augustine. Another legend that Epiphanes led Monadic Gnosis, may have come from misunderstanding of the Greek word eiphanes which may have been mistaken as a personal name if in text, when in fact the Greek means distinguished, as in a distinguished teacher. On Righteousness. A notable belief attributed to Epiphanes and described in On Righteousness was the idea of communal living or communism, including shared property and spouses. The text begins: "The righteousness of God is a kind of sharing along with equality." The idea of communal living may have come from Plato's ideas in The Republic. Clement took this very seriously as a sign of libertine promiscuity, but the real followers were likely to be more philosophical and merely observant of the Early Christian practice of Agape, communal feasts and property. Епифан (гностик). Епифан (др.-греч. Ἐπιφανής, II век) — христианский гностик, сын и ученик Карпократа. Прожил короткую жизнь (17 лет) и написал книгу «О справедливости». О нём известно только из «Строматов» Климента Александрийского (ок. 150—215). По словам Климента, Епифан был столь популярен, что ему поклонялись как богу; впрочем, современные учёные (Е. В. Афонасин) в этом сомневаются. Владимир Соловьёв отмечал распространение и почитание образа Епифана среди карпократов. Учение Епифана представляет собой раннюю форму коммунизма. Он говорит о Боге как о Творце природной гармонии, справедливость которой заключается в принадлежности мира всем населяющим его существам. Человек же, по Епифану, произвёл закон, освящающий собственность, и тем нарушил божественную справедливость. Путь к утраченной гармонии Епифан видит в отмене частной собственности и учреждении общности жён. Епифан критикует даже библейский текст, считая противоречащей всему устройству мира десятую заповедь. Книга Епифана привлекала внимание спустя длительное время, автора сравнивали с Прудоном и Руссо. Ренан писал: «Епифан не столько христианин, сколько утопист. Идея абсолютной справедливости завела его в дебри… Сбитый с толку „Республикой“ Платона, которой он поверил серьёзно, он дошел до самых плачевных софизмов». В некоторых списках Иринея Лионского (ок. 130—202) упоминается другой гностик Епифан, принадлежавший к течению валентиниан, но сейчас считается, что его имя возникло из-за ошибки писца.

* Hegesippus [Егесипп] (110-180; writer). Hegesippus, also known as Hegesippus the Nazarene, was a Christian writer of the early Church who may have been a Jewish convert and certainly wrote against heresies of the Gnostics and of Marcion.

* Tatian [of Adiabene; Tatian the Syrian/Assyrian; Татиан/Тациан Ассириец ] (c 120-c 180; theologian; gnostic?). Tatian of Adiabene, or Tatian the Syrian or Tatian the Assyrian, (Latin: Tatianus) was an Assyrian Christian writer and theologian of the 2nd century. Tatian's most influential work is the Diatessaron, a Biblical paraphrase, or "harmony", of the four gospels that became the standard text of the four gospels in the Syriac-speaking churches until the 5th-century, after which it gave way to the four separate gospels in the Peshitta version. Life. Concerning the date and place of his birth, little is known beyond what Tatian tells about himself in his Oratio ad Graecos, chap. xlii (Ante-Nicene Fathers, ii. 81–82): that he was born in "the land of the Assyrians", scholarly consensus is that he died c. AD 185, perhaps in Adiabene. He travelled to Rome, where he first encountered Christianity. During his prolonged stay in Rome, according to his own representation, his abhorrence of the pagan cults sparked deep reflections on religious problems. Through the Old Testament, he wrote, he grew convinced of the unreasonableness of paganism. He adopted the Christian religion and became the pupil of Justin Martyr. During this period Christian philosophers competed with Greek sophists. Like Justin, Tatian opened a Christian school in Rome. Knowledge of Tatian's life following the death of Justin in AD 165 is to some extent obscure. Irenaeus remarks that after the death of Justin, he was expelled from the church for his Encratitic (ascetic) {apostolic ??} views {"false Church" in development ??}. (Eusebius claims he founded the Encratitic sect), as well as for being a follower of the gnostic leader Valentinius. It is clear that Tatian left Rome, perhaps to reside for a while in either Greece or Alexandria, where he may have taught Clement of Alexandria. Epiphanius relates that Tatian established a school in Mesopotamia, the influence of which extended to Antioch in Syria, and was felt in Cilicia and especially in Pisidia. The early development of the Syrian church furnishes a commentary on the attitude of Tatian in practical life. Thus for Aphrahat {Syriac Christian author of the third century} baptism conditions the taking of a vow in which the catechumen promises celibacy. This shows how firmly the views of Tatian were established in Syria, and it supports the supposition that Tatian was the missionary of the countries around the Euphrates. Theology. The starting-point of Tatian's theology is a strict monotheism which becomes the source of the moral life. Originally, the human soul possessed faith in one God, but lost it with the fall. In consequence, under the rule of demons, man sank into the abominable error of polytheism. By monotheistic faith, the soul is delivered from the material world {Gnostic ??} and from demonic rule and is united with God {neoplatonic, proto-Hesychast ??}. God is spirit (pneuma), but not the physical or stoical pneuma; he was alone before the creation, but he had within himself potentially the whole creation. Some scholars consider Tatian's creation theology as the beginning of teaching "ex nihilo" (creation from "nothing"). The means of creation was the dynamis logike ("power expressed in words"). At first there proceeded from God the Logos {a very thin line between Logos theology and Gnostiscism ??} who, generated in the beginning, was to produce the world by creating matter from which the whole creation sprang. Creation is penetrated by the pneuma hylikon, "world spirit," which is common to angels, stars, men, animals, and plants. This world spirit is lower than the divine pneuma, and becomes in man the psyche or "soul," so that on the material side and in his soul man does not differ essentially from the animals; though at the same time he is called to a peculiar union with the divine spirit, which raises him above the animals. This spirit is the image of God in man, and to it man's immortality is due. The first-born of the spirits (identified with Satan) fell and caused others to fall, and thus the demons originated. The fall of the spirits was brought about through their desire to separate man from God, in order that he might serve not God but them. Man, however, was implicated in this fall, lost his blessed abode and his soul was deserted by the divine spirit, and sank into the material sphere, in which only a faint reminiscence of God remained alive. As by freedom man fell, so by freedom he may turn again to God. The Spirit unites with the souls of those who walk uprightly {humans}; through the prophets he reminds men of their lost likeness to God. Although Tatian does not mention the name of Jesus, his doctrine of redemption culminates in his Christology.

* Encratites [gnostics; Энкратиты, воздержники] (II). The Encratites ("self-controlled") were an ascetic 2nd-century sect of Christians who forbade marriage and counselled abstinence from meat. Eusebius says that Tatian was the author of this heresy. It has been supposed that it was these Gnostic Encratites who were chastised in the epistle of 1 Timothy (4:1-4) {1 Timothy 4:1-4 NIV 1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,}. Early history. The first mention of a Christian sect of this name occurs in Irenæus. They are mentioned more than once by Clement of Alexandria, who says that they are named from "Temperance". Hippolytus of Rome refers to them as "acknowledging what concerns God and Christ in like manner with the Church; in respect, however, of their mode of life, passing their days inflated with pride"; "abstaining from animal food, being water-drinkers and forbidding to marry"; "estimated Cynics rather than Christians". On the strength of this passage it is supposed that some Encratites were perfectly orthodox in doctrine, and erred only in practice.[citation needed] Origen says they did not acknowledge St. Paul’s Epistles. Later history. Somewhat later this sect received new life and strength by the accession of a certain Severus, after whom Encratites were often called Severians. These Severian Encratites accepted the Law, the Prophets, and the Gospels, but rejected the Book of the Acts and cursed St. Paul and his Epistles. But the account given by Epiphanius of the Severians rather betrays Syrian Gnosticism than Judaistic tendencies. They rejected marriage – declaring women and sex the work of Satan – and also intoxicants, calling wine 'drops of venom from the great Serpent'. Epiphanius states that in his day Encratites were very numerous throughout Asia Minor, in Pisidia, in the Adustan district of Phrygia, in Isauria, Pamphylia, Cilicia, and Galatia. In the Roman Province and in Syrian Antioch, they were found scattered here and there. They split up into a number of smaller sects of whom the Apotactics were remarkable for their condemnation of private property, the Hydroparastatæ or Aquarii for their use of water instead of wine in the Eucharist. Suppression. In the Edict of 382, Theodosius pronounced the sentence of death on all those who took the name of Encratites, Saccophori, or Hydroparastatæ, and commanded Florus, the Magister Officiorum, to make strict search for these heretics, who were, in his view, Manichæans in disguise.[citation needed]

* Severian Encratites [Severians, Verbal Monophysites, gnostics; Севириане] (II?). See also Encratites. The Severians were a sect of gnostic Encratites. Epiphanius supposes their leader Severus to have preceded Tatian (founder of Encratites) but Eusebius, Theodoret, and Jerome make him Tatian's successor. These latter authorities are followed by most ecclesiastical historians, and the silence of Irenaeus and Hippolytus regarding Severus renders the later date most probable. Ephiphanius ascribes to the Severians a belief in the well known Gnostic power Ialdaboth (Yaldabaoth) who appears in the Ophite system as the first offspring of Bythus and Ennoia. The Severians held that Ialdaboth was a great ruler of the powers, that from him sprung the Devil: that the Devil being cast down to the earth in the form of the serpent produced the vine, whose snake-like tendrils indicate its origin: that the Devil also created woman and the lower half of man.

* Basilides [gnostic; Василид] (fl 117-138). Basilides was an early Christian Gnostic religious teacher in Alexandria, Egypt who taught from 117 to 138 AD, and claimed to have inherited his teachings from the apostle Saint Matthias. He was a pupil of either the Simonian teacher Menander, or a supposed disciple of Peter named Glaucias. The Acts of the Disputation with Manes state that for a time he taught among the Persians. According to Agapius of Hierapolis he appeared in the 15th year of Trajan reign (113 AD). He is believed to have written over two dozen books of commentary on the Christian Gospel (now all lost) entitled Exegetica, making him one of the earliest Gospel commentators. The followers of Basilides, the Basilidians, formed a movement that persisted for at least two centuries after him – Epiphanius of Salamis, at the end of the 4th century, recognized a persistent Basilidian Gnosis in Egypt. It is probable, however, that the school melded into the mainstream of Gnosticism by the latter half of the 2nd century. Doctrine. {Main article: Basilidians} Creation. The descriptions of the Basilidian system given by our chief informants, Irenaeus (in his Adversus Haereses) and Hippolytus (in his Philosophumena), are so strongly divergent that they seem to many quite irreconcilable. According to Hippolytus, Basilides was apparently a pantheistic evolutionist[clarification needed]; and according to Irenaeus, a dualist and an emanationist. His view of creation, according to the orthodox heresiologists, was likely similar to that of Valentinus, whom he rivaled, being based on a "doctrine of emanations" proceeding from an uncreated, ineffable Pleroma. Like his rival, Basilides taught that matter, and the material universe, are evil, and that the God of the Old Testament, who was responsible for creation, is a misguided archon or lesser deity. Historians, such as Philip Shaff, have the opinion that: "Irenaeus described a form of Basilideanism which was not the original, but a later corruption of the system. On the other hand, Clement of Alexandria surely, and Hippolytus, in the fuller account of his Philosophumena, probably drew their knowledge of the system directly from Basilides' own work, the Exegetica, and hence represent the form of doctrine taught by Basilides himself". Faith and Election. Like other gnostics, Basilides taught that salvation comes through knowledge and not faith. This knowledge, or gnosis, was considered esoteric, a revelation to human beings by the divine being, Jesus Christ. Faith played no part in salvation. Indeed, Basilides believed faith was merely "an assent of the soul to any of the things which do not excite sensation, because they are not present". He also believed faith was a matter of "nature," not of conscious choice, so that men would "discover doctrines without demonstration by an intellective apprehension". Basilides also appears to have accumulated forms of dignity in accordance with ones' faith. Because Basilides believed faith was a matter of nature, doubtlessly he pushed election so far as to sever a portion of mankind from the rest, as alone entitled by Divine decree to receive a higher enlightenment. In this sense it must have been that he called "the elect a stranger to the world, as being by nature supermundane". Biblical canon. The canon of Basilides had its own Gospel alongside the Gospel of John, rejected the Epistle of Titus (this section is incomplete). Metempsychosis. Basilides likewise brought in the notion of sin in a past stage of existence suffering its penalty here, "the elect soul" suffering "honourably through martyrdom, and the soul of another kind being cleansed by an appropriate punishment." To this doctrine of metempsychosis the Basilidians are likewise said to have referred the language of the Lord about requital to the third and fourth generations; Origen states that Basilides himself interpreted Romans 7:9 { Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.} in this sense, "The Apostle said, 'I lived without a law once,' that is, before I came into this body, I lived in such a form of body as was not under a law, that of a beast namely, or a bird." However, if there be any who suffers without previous sin, it will not be "by the design of an [adverse] power", but as suffers the babe who appears to have committed no sin. The infant is said to receive a benefit when it is subjected to suffering, "gaining" many hardships. Hell. Origen complained that Basilides deprived men of a salutary fear by teaching that transmigrations are the only punishments after death. Martyrdom. Because Basilides held to a fatalistic view of metempsychosis, he believed the Christian martyrs were being punished not for being Christians, but for sins they had committed in the past. This is why Origen says that he depreciated the martyrs. Passions. The Basilideans were accustomed to call the passions Appendages, stating that these are certain spirits that append themselves to rational souls in a certain primitive turmoil and confusion. Then, they imitate the actions of those they are appended to, and not only acquire the impulses of the irrational animals, but even imitate the movements and beauties of plants. These Appendages can also have characteristics of habit [derived from stones], as the hardness of a diamond. It is impossible to determine the precise origin of this singular theory, but it was probably connected with the doctrine of metempsychosis, which seemed to find support in Plato's Timaeus. St. Clement of Alexandria stated that the plurality of souls makes the body a Trojan horse. Practices. Marriage. Reciting the views of different heretics on marriage, Clement gives specimens of the teaching of Basilides and his son Isidore, by way of rebuke to the immorality of the later Basilidians. He first reports the exposition of Matthew 19:12 (or a similar evangelic passage), in which there is nothing specially to note except the interpretation of the last class of eunuchs as those who remain in celibacy to avoid the distracting cares of providing a livelihood. He goes on to the paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 7:9, interposing in the midst an illustrative sentence from Isidore, and transcribes the language used about the class above mentioned. But suppose a young man either poor or depressed, and in accordance with the word [in the Gospel] unwilling to marry, let him not separate from his brother; let him say 'I have entered into the holy place, nothing can befall me'; but if he have a suspicion, let him say, 'Brother, lay thy hand on me, that I may sin not,' and he shall receive help both to mind and to senses; let him only have the will to carry out completely what is good, and he shall succeed. But sometimes we say with the lips, 'We will not sin,' while our thoughts are turned towards sinning: such as one abstains by reason of fear from doing what he wills, lest the punishment be reckoned to his account. But the estate of mankind has only certain things at once necessary and natural, clothing being necessary and natural, but sexual intercourse natural, yet not necessary. Epiphany. Although we have no evidence that Basilides, like some others, regarded Jesus's Baptism as the time when a Divine being first was joined to Jesus of Nazareth, it seems clear that he attached some unusual significance to the event. St. Hippolytus of Rome implied that Basilides regarded the Baptism as the occasion when Jesus received "the Gospel" by a Divine illumination. "They of Basilides," says Clement, "celebrate the day of His Baptism by a preliminary night-service of [Scripture] readings." The Venice MS. states that the Basilideans celebrated the night before the Epiphany singing and flute-playing in a heathen temple at Alexandria: so that probably the Basilidian rite was a modification of an old local custom. Meat offered to idols and apostasy. Eusebius of Caesarea is quoting Agrippa Castor, when he states that Basilides: "taught also that the eating of meat offered to idols and the unguarded renunciation of the faith in times of persecution were matters of indifference". However, from St. Clement of Alexandria's Stromata, it appears that Agrippa Castor misunderstood the purpose of Basilides's argument, partly from the actual doctrine and practices of later Basilidians; but it may also have had some justification in incidental words which have not been preserved.[citation needed] It appears as if Basilides was actually saying that the eating of meat offered to idols and apostasy weren't condemned for immorality, but were punishments because of immorality. Silence. According to Agrippa Castor, Basilides "in Pythagorean fashion" prescribed a silence of five years to his disciples. Prophets. Agrippa Castor stated that Basilides "invented prophets for himself named Barcabbas and Barcoph, and others that had no existence". The alleged prophecies apparently belonged to the apocryphal Zoroastrian literature popular with various Gnostics. Traditions of Matthias. According to Basilides and Isidore, Matthias spoke to them mystical doctrines which he heard in private teaching from the Saviour. Origen also and after him Eusebius refer to a "Gospel" of or according to Matthias. The true name was apparently the Traditions of Matthias.

* Basilideans [Basilidians, gnostics; Василидиане] (II-IV). The Basilidians or Basilideans were a Gnostic sect founded by Basilides of Alexandria in the 2nd century. Basilides claimed to have been taught his doctrines by Glaucus, a disciple of St. Peter, though others stated he was a disciple of the Simonian Menander. Of the customs of the Basilidians, we know no more than that Basilides enjoined on his followers, like Pythagoras, a silence of five years; that they kept the anniversary of the day of the baptism of Jesus as a feast day and spent the eve of it in reading; that their master told them not to scruple eating things offered to idols. The sect had three grades – material, intellectual and spiritual – and possessed two allegorical statues, male and female. The sect's doctrines were often similar to those of the Ophites and later Jewish Kabbalism. Basilidianism survived until the end of the 4th century as Epiphanius knew of Basilidians living in the Nile Delta. It was however almost exclusively limited to Egypt, though according to Sulpicius Severus it seems to have found an entrance into Spain through a certain Mark from Memphis. St. Jerome states that the Priscillianists were infected with it. Cosmogony of Hippolytus. The descriptions of the Basilidian system given by our chief informants, Irenaeus (Adversus Haereses) and Hippolytus (Philosophumena), are so strongly divergent that they seem to many quite irreconcilable. According to Hippolytus, Basilides was apparently a pantheistic evolutionist; and according to Irenaeus, a dualist and an emanationist. Historians such as Philip Shaff have the opinion that "Irenaeus described a form of Basilidianism which was not the original, but a later corruption of the system. On the other hand, Clement of Alexandria surely, and Hippolytus, in the fuller account of his Philosophumena, probably drew their knowledge of the system directly from Basilides' own work, the Exegetica, and hence represent the form of doctrine taught by Basilides himself". The fundamental theme of the Basilidian system is the question concerning the origin of evil and how to overcome it. A cosmographical feature common to many forms of Gnosticism is the idea that the Logos Spermatikos {Stoics} is scattered into the sensible cosmos, where it is the duty of the Gnostics, by whatever means, to recollect these scattered seed-members of the Logos and return them to their proper places (cf. the Gospel of Eve). "Their whole system," says Clement, "is a confusion of the Panspermia (All-seed) with the Phylokrinesis (Difference-in-kind) and the return of things thus confused to their own places." Creation. According to Hippolytus, Basilides asserted the beginning of all things to have been pure nothing. He uses every device of language to express absolute nonentity. Nothing then being in existence, "not-being God" willed to make a not-being world out of not-being things. This not-being world was only "a single seed containing within itself all the seed-mass of the world," as the mustard seed contains the branches and leaves of the tree. Within this seed-mass were three parts, or sonships, and were consubstantial with the not-being God. This was the one origin of all future growths; these future growths did not use pre-existing matter, but rather these future growths came into being out of nothing by the voice of the not-being God. First sonship. Part subtle of substance. The first part of the seed-mass burst through and ascended to the not-being God. Second sonship. Part coarse of substance. The second part of the seed-mass to burst forth could not mount up of itself, but it took to itself as a wing of the Holy Spirit, each bearing up the other with mutual benefit. But when it came near the place of the first part of the seed-mass and the not-being God, it could take the Holy Spirit no further, it not being consubstantial with the Holy Spirit. There the Holy Spirit remained, as a firmament dividing things above the world from the world itself below. Third sonship and the Great Archon. Part needing purification. From the third part of the seed-mass burst forth into being the Great Archon, "the head of the world, a beauty and greatness and power that cannot be uttered." He too ascended until he reached the firmament which he supposed to be the upward end of all things. There he "made to himself and begat out of the things below a son far better and wiser than himself". Then he became wiser and every way better than all other cosmical things except the seed-mass left below. Smitten with wonder at his son's beauty, he set him at his right hand. "This is what they call the Ogdoad, where the Great Archon is sitting." Then all the heavenly or ethereal creation, as far down as the moon, was made by the Great Archon, inspired by his wiser son. Another Archon arose out of the seed-mass, inferior to the first Archon, but superior to all else below except the seed-mass; and he likewise made to himself a son wiser than himself, and became the creator and governor of the aerial world. This region is called the Hebdomad. On the other hand, all these events occurred according to the plan of the not-being God. Gospel. The Basilidians believed in a very different gospel than orthodox Christians. Hippolytus summed up the Basilidians' gospel by saying: "According to them the Gospel is the knowledge of things above the world, which knowledge the Great Archon understood not: when then it was shewn to him that there exists the Holy Spirit, and the [three parts of the seed-mass] and a God Who is the author of all these things, even the not-being One, he rejoiced at what was told him, and was exceeding glad: this is according to them the Gospel." That is, the Basilidians believed from Adam until Moses the Great Archon supposed himself to be God alone, and to have nothing above him. But it was thought to enlighten the Great Archon that there were beings above him, so through the Holy Spirit the Gospel was conveyed to the Great Archon. First, the son of the Great Archon received the Gospel, and he in turn instructed the Great Archon himself, by whose side he was sitting. Then the Great Archon learned that he was not God of the universe, but had above him yet higher beings; and confessed his sin in having magnified himself. From him the Gospel had next to pass to the Archon of the Hebdomad. The son of the Great Archon delivered the Gospel to the son of the Archon of the Hebdomad. The son of the Archon of the Hebdomad became enlightened, and declared the Gospel to the Archon of the Hebdomad, and he too feared and confessed. It remained only that the world should be enlightened. The light came down from the Archon of the Hebdomad upon Jesus both at the Annunciation and at the Baptism so that He "was enlightened, being kindled in union with the light that shone on Him". Therefore, by following Jesus, the world is purified and becomes most subtle, so that it can ascend by itself. When every part of the sonship has arrived above the Limitary Spirit, "then the creation shall find mercy, for till now it groans and is tormented and awaits the revelation of the sons of God, that all the men of the sonship may ascend from hence". When this has come to pass, God will bring upon the whole world the Great Ignorance, that everything may like being the way it is, and that nothing may desire anything contrary to its nature. "And in this wise shall be the Restoration, all things according to nature having been founded in the seed of the universe in the beginning, and being restored at their due seasons." Christ. As for Jesus, other than a different account of the Nativity, the Basilidians believed in the events of Jesus' life as they are described in the Gospels. They believed the crucifixion was necessary, because by the destruction of Jesus' body the world could be restored.

* Adamites [N-Africa, original innocence; Адамиты] (II-IV). The Adamites, or Adamians, were adherents of an Early Christian sect that gathered in North Africa in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th centuries. There were later similar sects in Europe. Ancient Adamites. The obscure sect, dating probably from the 2nd century, professed to have regained Adam's primeval innocence. Various accounts are given of their origin. Some have thought them to have been an offshoot of the Carpocratian Gnostics {Carpocrates of Alexandria}, who professed a sensual mysticism and a complete emancipation from the moral law. Theodoret (Haer. Fab., I, 6) held this view of them, and identified them with the licentious sects whose practices are described by Clement of Alexandria. Others, on the contrary, consider them to have been misguided ascetics, who strove to extirpate carnal desires by a return to simpler manners, and by the abolition of marriage. St. Epiphanius and Augustine of Hippo mention the Adamites by name, and describe their practices. They called their church "Paradise", claiming that its members were re-established in Adam and Eve's state of original innocence. Accordingly, they practiced "holy nudism", rejected the concept of marriage as foreign to Eden, saying it would never have existed but for sin, and lived in absolute lawlessness, holding that, whatever they did, their actions could be neither good nor bad. Адамиты. Адами́ты, или адамиа́не, адамитя́не (лат. adamiani; др.-рус. адамане) — общее название приверженцев христианской секты, проповедовавших возвращение к святости и невинности первобытных людей в раю — Адама и Евы. Самой яркой чертой большинства адамитов было требование ходить нагими. Кроме того, большая по сравнению с традиционным христианством свобода сексуальных отношений служила поводом для обвинения адамитов в распутстве. В перечне 80-ти христианских ересей «Панарионе» (ок. 378 года) адамиане на 52-м месте. (...)

* Antitaktai [Opposers, Gnostics; Антитакты] (II/III ??). The “Opposers” (Antitactae) Clement includes among his examples of libertinism a group he calls the “Opposers” (hoi antitaktai). (GB) Michael Allen Williams - Rethinking "Gnosticism": An Argument for Dismantling a Dubious Category // Антитакты. АНТИТАКТЫ (от греч. antitaktomai - сопротивляюсь). Еретическая секта, образовавшаяся в первые века христианства; она признавала бога невольным виновником зла {"mitigated Marcionists" ??}, полагая, что все дурное произошло от одного из творений с началом нравственного зла, которое и развило в людях все дурное и побудило вступить в борьбу с богом. Словарь иностранных слов русского языка

* Valesians [gnostics; Валезиане] (III). The Valesians were a Christian sect that advocated self-castration. The sect was founded by Valens (of Bacetha Metrocomia; not to be confused with the Roman Emperor of the same name), an Arabian philosopher who established the sect sometime in the second century AD. They were notorious for forcibly castrating travelers whom they encountered and guests who visited them {Skoptsy argument}. They are known chiefly from the Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis, which describes how disciples of the sect were not allowed to eat meat until they had been castrated, because those who are not castrated might be tempted to lust by eating certain foods. According to the Panarion, their views on authorities and powers were similar to those of Sethianism or of the Archontics. Their doctrine was condemned as heresy by the Synod of Achaia in approximately 250 AD. The sect appears in The Temptation of Saint Anthony by Flaubert. // Archontics: Gnostic sect; austerity, extreme poverty;  "pretend to fast after the manner of the monks, deceiving the simple, and boast of having renounced all property.", "they condemn baptism and reject the participation of the Holy Mysteries as something introduced by the tyrant Sabaoth, and teach other fables full of impiety." // Sethianism. The Sethians were one of the main currents of Gnosticism during the 2nd and 3rd century CE, along with Valentinianism and Basilideanism. The Sethians (Latin Sethoitae) are first mentioned, alongside the Ophites, in the 2nd century. (...) The demiurge creates Adam, during the process unwittingly transferring the portion of power stolen from Sophia into the first physical human body. He then creates Eve from Adam's rib, in an attempt to isolate and regain the power he has lost. By way of this he attempts to rape Eve who now contains Sophia's divine power; several texts depict him as failing when Sophia's spirit transplants itself into the Tree of Knowledge. Thereafter, the pair are "tempted" by the serpent, and eat of the forbidden fruit, thereby once more regaining the power that the demiurge had stolen. As is evident, the addition of the prologue radically alters the significance of events in Eden. Rather than emphasizing a fall of human weakness in breaking God's command, Sethians (and their inheritors) emphasize a crisis of the Divine Fullness as it encounters the ignorance of matter, as depicted in stories about Sophia. Eve and Adam's removal from the Archon's paradise is seen as a step towards freedom from the Archons. Therefore, the snake in the Garden of Eden becomes a heroic, salvific figure rather than an adversary of humanity or a 'proto-Satan'. Eating the fruit of Knowledge is the first act of human salvation from cruel, oppressive powers. // Случаи оскопления. В христианском мире первый случай оскопления известен в III веке: знаменитый ученый Ориген оскопил себя во избежание соблазна, за что был лишен священства. Защищая себя, Ориген ссылался на превратно толкуемый текст евангелиста Матфея: "суть бо С. и т. д.". Оскопление как ересь появилась в III веке, независимо от влияния Оригена, в Палестине, в гор. Филадельфии, под названием валезианской ереси, до имени аравийского философа Валезия. В 249 г. эта ересь была предана проклятию; дальнейшая судьба ее неизвестна. Энциклопедический словарь Ф.А. Брокгауза и И.А. Ефрона - Скопцы // В Валезианцы были христианской сектой, защищавшей самокастрация. Секта была основана Валенс (из Bacetha Metrocomia; не путать с Римский император с таким же именем), арабского философа, основавшего секту где-то во втором веке нашей эры. Они были известны тем, что насильно кастрировали путешественников, которых они встречали, и гостей, которые их посещали. Они известны в основном из Панарион из Епифаний Саламинский, который описывает, как ученикам секты не разрешалось есть мясо, пока они не были кастрированы, потому что те, кто не кастрировали, могли быть соблазнены похоть употребляя определенные продукты. Согласно Панарион, их взгляды на власть и полномочия были аналогичны взглядам Сифианство или из Архонтология. Их учение было осуждено как ересь Синод Ахайи примерно в 250 г. н.э. Секта появляется в Искушение святого Антония к Флобер. ru.wikiqube.net - Валезианцы - Valesians // Валезиа́не, или вали́сии, или валисиа́не — христианская секта III в. По свидетельству святого Епифания Кипрского, она возникла около 240 года в Филадельфии и получила название от Валезия, который, по примеру Оригена, оскопил себя, проповедуя совершенное «умерщвление плоти» и вегетарианство. Когда вокруг Валезия стали собираться последователи, филадельфийский епископ отлучил их от церкви, и валезиане удалились в Каменистую Аравию. Первый Никейский собор осудил оскопление, с тех пор валезиане исчезли. Валисии упоминаются Епифанием в «Панарионе» в числе 80 ересей и Иоанном Дамаскиным в книге «О ста ересях вкратце», у обоих авторов это 58 ересь. Валисии описаны Августином в книге «De Haeresibus ad Quodvultdeum Liber Unus» и безымянным автором трактата «Предестинат» (лат. «Praedestinatus»); у обоих авторов это 37 ересь. У Филастрия валисии в его книге «Liber de Haeresibus» не упоминаются.

* Bardaisan [Бардесан, Вардесан] (154-222; gnostic teacher). Bardaisan, known in Arabic as Ibn Daisan and in Latin as Bardesanes, was a Syriac or Parthian gnostic and founder of the Bardaisanites. A scientist, scholar, astrologer, philosopher, hymnographer, and poet, Bardaisan was also renowned for his knowledge of India, on which he wrote a book, now lost. (...) Porphyry states that on one occasion at Edessa, Bardaisan interviewed an Indian deputation of holy men (Ancient Greek: "śramaṇas") who had been sent to the Roman emperor Elagabalus or another Severan emperor, and questioned them as to the nature of Indian religion. The encounter is described in Porphyry De abstin., iv, 17 and Stobaeus (Eccles., iii, 56, 141): "For the polity of the Indians being distributed into many parts, there is one tribe among them of men divinely wise, whom the Greeks are accustomed to call Gymnosophists. But of these there are two sects, one of which the Bramins preside over, the Samanaeans the other. The race of the Bramins, however, receive divine wisdom of this kind by succession, in the same manner as the priesthood. But the Samanaeans are elected, and consist of those who wish to possess divine knowledge. And the particulars respecting them are the following, as the Babylonian Bardaisan narrates, who lived in the times of our fathers, and was familiar with those Indians who, together with Damadamis, were sent to Caesar. All the Bramins originate from one stock; for all of them are derived from one father and one mother. But the Samanaeans are not the offspring of one family, being, as we have said, collected from every nation of Indians."— Porphyry De abstin., iv. (...) Various opinions have been formed as to the real doctrine of Bardesanes. As early as Hippolytus (Philosoph., VI, 50) his doctrine was described as a variety of Valentinianism, the most popular form of Gnosticism. Adolf Hilgenfeld in 1864 defended this view, based mainly on extracts from St. Ephrem {Ефрем Сирин [Ephrem the Syrian] (ок 306-373)}, who devoted his life to combating Bardaisanism in Edessa. However, it has been argued that the strong and fervent expressions of St. Ephrem against the Bardaisanites of his day are not a fair criterion of the doctrine of their master. The extraordinary veneration of his own countrymen, the very reserved and half-respectful allusion to him in the early Fathers, and above all the "Book of the Laws of the Countries" suggest a milder view of Bardaisan's aberrations. Like the Early Christians, Bardaisan believed in an Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, whose will is absolute, and to whom all things are subject. God endowed man with freedom of will to work out his salvation and allowed the world to be a mixture of good and evil, light and darkness. All things, even those we now consider inanimate, have a measure of liberty. In all of them the light has to overcome the darkness. Shashrastani states: "The followers of Daisan believe in two elements, light and darkness. The light causes the good, deliberately and with free will; the darkness causes the evil, but by force of nature and necessity. They believe that light is a living thing, possessing knowledge, might, perception and understanding; and from it movement and life take their source; but that darkness is dead, ignorant, feeble, rigid and soulless, without activity and discrimination; and they hold that the evil within them is the outcome of their nature and is done without their co-operation". He apparently denied the resurrection of the body, though believed Christ's body was endowed with incorruptibility as with a special gift. Bardaisan postulated that after six thousand years this Earth shall have an end, and a world without evil would take its place. Bardaisan also thought the sun, moon and planets were living beings, to whom, under God, the government of this world was largely entrusted; and though man was free, he was strongly influenced for good or for evil by the constellations. According to St. Ephrem, Sun and Moon were considered male and female principles, and the ideas of heaven amongst the Bardaisanites were not without an admixture of sensuality (or "obscenities"). Led by the fact that "spirit" is feminine in Syriac, Bardaisan might have held unorthodox views on the Trinity.

* Bardaisanites [gnostics; Бардесаниты, сирийский гностицизм] (III). Бардесан (154—222). Бардеса́н , или Бар-Дайсан, или Вардесан, или Вардисиан, или Бардезанес — ассирийский философ, богослов и поэт. Гностик. Создатель ассирийского литературного языка. Учение Бардесана, в сущности, та же валентинова система (II век), отчасти упрощённая, отчасти с наложением иранского дуализма. Более характерна его дуалистическая психология. В каждом человеке он признавал две души — высшую, пневматическую, и низшую, материальную. Но последняя с безусловной необходимостью подчинена судьбе, действующей через астральное начало в семи светилах, изображающих в нашем низшем мире семь небесных эонов. Пневматическая же душа, как прямое порождение Хакмут, нисколько не зависит от судьбы и звёзд; она свободна на добро и зло. В заключение мирового и исторического процесса все духовные существа, очищенные земными испытаниями, соединяются с ангелами и участвуют в брачном пире Христа и Софии-Хакмут, достигающих своего окончательного и полного сочетания (сизигии). Bardaisan, known in Arabic as Ibn Daisan and in Latin as Bardesanes, was a Syriac or Parthian gnostic and founder of the Bardaisanites. A scientist, scholar, astrologer, philosopher, hymnographer, and poet, Bardaisan was also renowned for his knowledge of India, on which he wrote a book, now lost. // БАРДЕСАНИТЫ - Гностическая секта в I веке, основанная сирийцем Бардесаном.

* Зурванизм [Зерванизм; Zurvanism] (III). Зурванизм — предположительно философское течение в среде зороастрийских священнослужителей во времена Сасанидов, которым осуществляется попытка трактовки «Доктрины дуализма», 30-й ясны. Отличалось от основного зороастрийского направления — маздеизма — почитанием единого верховного божества Зервана (Зурвана), олицетворения бесконечного пространства и времени, породившего братьев-близнецов Ахура Мазду и Ангра-Майнью. По словам Мирчи Элиаде, миф о Зерване дошел до нас в пересказе двух армянских (Егише Вардапет и Езник Кохбаци) и двух сирийских (Теодор бар Конай и Йоханнан бар Пенкайе) авторов[источник не указан 3523 дня]. Таким образом, в настоящее время неизвестно никаких аутентичных «зурванитских» текстов. Zurvanism. Zurvanism is a hypothetical religious movement of Zoroastrianism in which the divinity Zurvan is a First Principle (primordial creator deity) who engendered equal-but-opposite twins, Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu. Zurvanism is also known as "Zurvanite Zoroastrianism", and may be contrasted with Mazdaism {dualism}. In Zurvanism, Zurvan was perceived as the god of infinite time and space and was aka ("one", "alone"). Zurvan was portrayed as a transcendental and neutral god, without passion, and one for whom there was no distinction between good or evil. The name Zurvan is a normalized rendition of the word, which in Middle Persian appears as either Zurvān, Zruvān or Zarvān. The Middle Persian name derives from Avestan zruvan-, "time", which is grammatically without gender. (...) Materialist Zurvanism. Materialist Zurvanism was influenced by the Aristotelian and Empedoclean view of matter, and took "some very queer forms". While Zoroaster's Ormuzd created the universe with his thought, materialist Zurvanism challenged the concept that anything could be made out of nothing. This challenge was a patently alien idea, discarding core Zoroastrian tenets in favor of the position that the spiritual world – including heaven and hell, reward and punishment – did not exist. (...) Ascetic Zurvanism. Ascetic Zurvanism, which was apparently not as popular as the materialistic kind, viewed Zurvan as undifferentiated Time, which, under the influence of desire, divided into reason (a male principle) and concupiscence (a female principle). According to Duchesne-Guillemin, this division is "redolent of Gnosticism or – still better – of Indian cosmology". Fatalistic Zurvanism. The doctrine of Limited Time (allotted to Ahriman by Zurvan) implied that nothing could change this preordained course of the material universe, and the path of the astral bodies of the 'heavenly sphere' was representative of this preordained course. It followed that human destiny must then be decided by the constellations, stars and planets, who were divided between the good (the signs of the Zodiac) and the evil (the planets): "Ohrmazd allotted happiness to man, but if man did not receive it, it was owing to the extortion of these planets". (Menog-i Khirad 38.4–5) Fatalistic Zurvanism was evidently influenced by Chaldean astrology and perhaps also by Aristotle's theory of chance and fortune. The fact that Armenian and Syrian commentators translated Zurvan as "Fate" is highly suggestive. // Zurvanism is an extinct branch of Zoroastrianism in which the divinity Zurvan is a First Principle (primordial creator deity) who engendered equal-but-opposite twins, Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu. Zurvanism is also known as "Zurvanite Zoroastrianism", and may be contrasted with Mazdaism. In Zurvanism, Zurvan was perceived as the god of infinite time and space and was aka ("one", "alone") {the One ??}. Zurvan was portrayed as a transcendental and neutral {uninvolved ??} god, without passion, and one for whom there was no distinction between good or evil. The name Zurvan is a normalized rendition of the word, which in Middle Persian appears as either Zurvān, Zruvān or Zarvān. The Middle Persian name derives from Avestan zruvan-, "time", which is grammatically without gender. // Among Basilius’s numerous works only his Letters, numbering 365, partly written to himself, are of importance for Iranian studies. Letter XL (Loeb ed., I, pp. 232-33), a letter from the emperor Julian (the Apostate) to Basilius, mentions the empire of Persia and the Sasanian Šāhpūr (Sapor), “that descendant of Dareios,” but this letter is unanimously and rightly regarded as spurious and was so regarded even in Byzantine times. Of greater value is Letter CCLVIII (Loeb ed., IV, pp. 34ff.), written in 377 to Bishop Epiphanius of Salamis in Cyprus. At the end of this letter Basilius is dealing with the Magusaeans (magousaioi; cf. Syriac magušāyā “magicus,” e.g., in the Syriac Acts of Martyrs and Ephraem Syrus), identified in the same letter with the Magi (magoi), “colonists having long ago been introduced to our country [i.e., Cappadokia] from Babylon.” Basilius mentions inter alia the importance they ascribe to oral tradition, their rejection of the slaying of animals, their unlawful marriages (i.e., next-of-kin marriages, xwēdōdah),and their belief in fire as God (i.e., the usual theme also in Oriental Christian anti-Zoroastrian polemics; cf. moxrapašt “worshipping ashes” in Armenian texts). The last lines of Basilius’s letter, however, reflect unusual, but probably genuine, Zurvanite traditions: “But regarding their descent from Abraham, no one of the Magi has up to the present told us any myths (emythológēsen) about that, but they ascribe to themselves a certain Zarnouas (Zar[n]ouán tina) as the beginning of the (human) race (the microcosm),” i.e., Zurvān/Time as macrocosm is the source of man. Also, according to Šahrestānī (tr. T. Haarbrücker, pt. 1, Halle, 1850, p. 276) “the Great Zurvān” (or, in the opinion of others, Gayōmart) was the first origin of man, as the Armenian Moses of Khorene has it, although confusing three distinct myths. The role of Abraham hinted at in Basilius’s letter is seen again in the Farhang-e jahāngīrī, where Zurvān is identified with Abraham. Encyclopædia Iranica - BASILIUS OF CAESAREA

* Фатак [Паттиций, отец Мани, секта мугатасилахов; Pātik] (II/III). Отец Мани, Фатак, (лат. Патицций), был язычником, но вследствие некоего "божественного видения", посетившего его в храме веры его предков, стал последователем иудео-христианского учения мугатасилахов. В этой общине больше внимания уделяли правилам и ограничениям, нежели вере в спасение через Иисуса. Так, Паттиций принял такие заветы, как отказ от мяса, вина и женщин. Несмотря на то, что Паттиций был уже женат и жена ждала от него ребенка, он принял решение уйти из дому и поселиться вместе с членами обшины. // (...) что пророк Мани, например, изначально принадлежал к иудеохристианской секте мугатасилахов, для которой была характерна иудейская строгость в поведении. (GB) Георгий Катюк - Израиль, которого не было, или Подлинная история еврейского // Родители Мани были аристократами и происходили из Парфии. Его мать принадлежала к царствующему тогда парфянскому роду. Детство Мани прошло в Ктесифоне, население которого представляло собой причудливую смесь людей самых разных национальностей, языков, вероисповеданий, что повлияло на формирование мировоззрения Мани. Государственной религией был зороастризм, а официальными языками были греческий и арамейский. Отец Мани Паттиций однажды пришел, как обычно в храм, чтобы совершить поклонение местным богам. Внезапно он услышал, что кто-то настойчего призывает его не есть мяса, не пить вина и воздерживаться от женщин. Паттиций попытался отогнать видения и даже выбежал из храма. Но на следующий день когда он снова вернулся к молитвам, призывы возобновились. Так продолжалось несколько дней и, в конце концов, отцу Мани ничего не оставалось, как принять все заветы, внушаемые ему голосом свыше. Паттиций стал ревностным сторонником иудейско-христианской общины мугатасилахов (“крестящие самих себя”). Это была из тех многочисленных сект, которые больше внимания уделяли запретам и предписаниям “истинной жизни”, нежели вере в спасительную роль Иисуса Христа. Отец Мани решил больше не входить в покои жены, хотя до этого считал крепкий семейный очаг - основой семейной жизни. Он поселился вместе с членами своей общины, но продолжал заботиться о своей семье, а когда Мани исполнилось 4 года, Паттиций его взял к себе в общину и начал обучать основам новой веры, желая сделать из мальчика ревностного последователя идей секты. Мани - пророк синкретической религии

* Manichaeism [radical dualists; Манихейство] (III). Manichaeism was a major religious movement that was founded by the Iranian prophet Mani (Latin: Manichaeus or Manes; c. 216–276 AD) in the Sasanian Empire. Manichaeism taught an elaborate dualistic cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness. Through an ongoing process that takes place in human history, light is gradually removed from the world of matter and returned to the world of light, whence it came. Its beliefs were based on local Mesopotamian religious movements and Gnosticism. It revered Mani as the final prophet after Zoroaster, Gautama Buddha, and Jesus. Manichaeism was quickly successful and spread far through the Aramaic-speaking regions. It thrived between the third and seventh centuries, and at its height was one of the most widespread religions in the world. Manichaean churches and scriptures existed as far east as China and as far west as the Roman Empire. It was briefly the main rival to Christianity before the spread of Islam in the competition to replace classical paganism. Beginning with the pagan emperor Diocletian, Manichaeism was persecuted by the Roman state and was eventually stamped out of the Roman Empire. Manichaeism survived longer in the east than in the west, and it appears to have finally faded away after the 14th century in south China, contemporary to the decline of the Church of the East in Ming China. Even still, there is a growing corpus of evidence that some form of Manichaeism may persist in some areas of China, though these reports are often contradictory and more research is needed before definitively stating that Manichaeism is extant to the modern day. While most of Manichaeism's original writings have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived. An adherent of Manichaeism was called a Manichaean or Manichean, or Manichee, especially in older sources. Mani was an Iranian, born in 216 in or near Seleucia-Ctesiphon (now al-Mada'in) in the Parthian Empire. According to the Cologne Mani-Codex, Mani's parents were members of the Jewish Christian Gnostic sect known as the Elcesaites. (...) Mani believed that the teachings of Buddha, Zoroaster, and Jesus were incomplete, and that his revelations were for the entire world, calling his teachings the "Religion of Light". Manichaeism taught an elaborate dualistic cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness. Through an ongoing process that takes place in human history, light is gradually removed from the world of matter and returned to the world of light, whence it came. Its beliefs were based on local Mesopotamian gnostic and religious movements. Манихейство. В первой половине III века персидская религия Зороастра пережила реформацию в связи с государственным переворотом. В 227 г. стала у власти, сменивши династию Арзакидов, новая династия Сассанидов, заботившаяся о национальном подъеме всей жизни. Оказалось, что и религия народная утратила лучшие духовные свои стороны, унаследованные от Зороастра, превратившись в грубый дуализм с внешним обрядовым богослужением. Была признана необходимость исправления религии; неудивительно, если при этом обнаружил свое влияние гностицизм вообще и в частности сирийский гностицизм, основатель которого Вардесан умер лишь в 222 г. Занятые со времени династии Сассанидов делами восстановления религии в прежнем блеске, персидские маги решили признавать единый принцип Церуане — Акерене (Zeruane Akerene), а грубый дуализм и его представителей магусеев (Magusaer al thanaviah) устранить, изгнать. Нет ничего удивительного в том, что при этом могли найтись люди, которые иначе понимали реставрацию или реформацию религии, убежденные, что предлагаемый ими опыт есть единственно правильный и истинный. В Персии в это время таким человеком оказался Манес. Западные, греческие и восточные писатели противоречат в описании его жизни. Западные называют его Кубриком (Cubricus) и делают его вольноотпущенным рабом. Напротив того, по восточным персидским рассказам Манес (Mani, Manes, Manichaus) есть отпрыск, отрасль важнейшего рода магов и славился, как ученый и художник. По матери он происходил будто бы из царской династии Арзакидов и родился в 215-216 г. в Вавилонии. Чрезвычайно характерным для учения Манеса, как и для гностицизма, является открытый дуализм; их главная проблема — происхождение духовно-чувственной природы из двух принципов, а практическая цель — освобождение от материи духовного начала. Источниками учения Манеса были персидские, вавилонские, иудейские и гностические представления. До сих пор является недостаточно выясненным вопросом, насколько манихейство воспользовалось христианством. К Иисусу манихейство выступает враждебным, считая Его диавольской природы; но с другой стороны, оно заимствует у христианства его учреждения {institutions} и культовые действия — деление последователей на слушателей и совершенных, употребление крещения и причастия. Притягательная сила манихейства заключается в смешении элементов всех великих восточных религий в такой форме, какая наиболее отвечала настроению восточных. (...) Иисусу в Его работе помогает Св. Дух, живущий в эфире. Тогда как демоны, злые духи, всячески препятствуют процессу освобождения... Человек — образ смешанного мира; в нем две души — световая и злая душа. Царь мрака собрал большую часть находившегося у него света и заключил его в Адаме. Затем он создал ему из ила Еву в намерении пленить Адама чрез страсть, раздробить обитающую в нем световую натуру и сделать чрез такое ослабление невозможным освобождение. Портал Саратовской митрополии - Церковное вероучение в первые три века - Манихейство

* Manichaeism and Christ [Христос в манихействе]. As for the figure of Jesus in Manichaeism, we can follow Mary Boyce in distinguishing three manifestations: 1) "Jesus the Splendour", an emanation of the Third Messenger, the light redeemer, who in the very beginning brings Adam the liberating gnosis and who continues to act accordingly. 2) The "Suffering Jesus" (Jesus Patibilis), who represents the sum of light caught in matter, in Manichaean language "crucified light". This passive, suffering light appears in personal form as the Living Self. It is symbolized in its passive aspect by the cross of light or in its active aspect by the child or boy calling the redeemer for help. 3) "Jesus the Messiah", the prophet and "Son of God" who seemingly assumed human form and {seemingly} suffered on the cross. In true Gnostic fashion, Mani rejects the idea of genuine passion of the light redeemer, who is represented on earth by the prophet Jesus. Historically, the prophet Jesus is only important because he is the forerunner of Mani. Furthermore, his suffering symbolizes and typefies the suffering of the soul bound up in matter and longing for salvation. (GB) H. J. Klimkeit - Manichaean Art and Calligraphy // Итак, мы можем сделать вывод, что манихейская ересь, подобно гностицизму, представляла собой смесь элементов христианства с началами религии Зороастра. По учению Мани, давшего начало этой ереси, борьба в мире начал духа и материи, добра и зла, света и тьмы составила историю неба и земли, в которой проявилась деятельность: животворного Духа, бесстрастного Иисуса и страждущего Иисуса – "Душа мира." Иисус бесстрастный, сойдя на землю, принял только вид человека (докетизм), учил людей и обетовал пришествие Утешителя. Обещанный Утешитель явился в лице Мани, очистил извращенное людьми учение Иисуса и открыл Царство Божие. Мани проповедовал строгий аскетизм. Обвиненный в искажении религии Зороастра, Мани был убит в Персии. Ересь эта распространялась преимущественно в Западной половине Римской империи и была особенно сильна в IV и V веках. Ересь манихейства оценивает воплощение как греховное или чреватое грехом. Это восприятие происходит от кабалистической традиции, коренящейся в более древних восточных учениях, согласно которым творение мира было грехопадением божества (угасание божественного света до плотской тьмы). (...) Так, по их учению, Господь Иисус Христос дает жизнь материи и становится Душою Мира, созданного диаволом, – и в то же время кощунственно отожествляется со Змеем-искусителем, научившим первого человека вкусить от древа знания {?? Naassenes, Ophites ?? Karpov: cosmology: Son of the earth ??}. Райхона - Ересь – манихейство // Признав материю «богом», хотя и злым, во что обратили они дух, т.е. своего «доброго бога»?.. Они поместили его в солнце, как в источник света. Но солнце для нас является источником света не духовного, а материального. Не есть ли поэтому их дух или «добрый бог» та же материя, но лишь менее грубая, невидимая для глаз и неосязаемая intangible? Нам пришлось не так давно слышать объяснение этого рода на лекции об оккультных науках некоего Лемана (псевдоним Астарта). Скучнейший и бездарнейший лектор этот высказал, между прочим, следующую мысль, до которой дошел, конечно, не своим умом: «Душа Мира это мозг Бога, это эфир или флюид {материя}, который, проникал во всякое тело природы, служит проводником тепла и электричества; это то, что некогда Парацельс (алхимик и каббалист XVI века) нашел на дне своей реторты». Вот тот, чисто материалистический смысл, который каббалисты, пантеисты, гностики, манихеи, франкмасоны придают понятиям Бог, Дух, Начало Всего, Душа Мира {<> spiritism/spiritualism - ectoplasm}. Наконец, рядом с обожествлением материи, Манихеи, подобно гностикам, для привлечения христиан, использовали и идею о божественности Христа, дерзновенно и чудовищно исказив ее. Так, по их учению, Господь Иисус Христос дает жизнь материи и становится Душою Мира, созданного диаволом, — и в то же время кощунственно отожествляется со Змеем-искусителем, научившим первого человека вкусить от древа знания. Вместе с безбожием, облеченным в туманные и мистические формы, социалистическая и анархическая идеи составляли, как мы видели, основание учения Манихеев. Бутми Надежда - Каббала, ереси и тайные общества - III. МАНИХЕИ // Христология, сотериология и эсхатология. Для победы над восставшими архонтами, а также для спасения Адама Третий посланник {??} «вызвал» новую эманацию - Иисуса-сияние {Jesus the Splendour}, Который, усмирив архонтов {passed through seven realms ?? (Cathar)}, воплотился в Еве и убедил Адама вкусить от древа познания. Т. о., Иисус открыл Адаму и каждой человеческой душе путь к спасительному знанию (Kephalaia (I). 38. 93. 29-34). Иисус-сияние также «вызвал» Разум света, эманацией которого является «Двойник». Поднятие на луну и солнце спасенных душ осуществляет Столп славы, или Cовершенный человек,- др. эманация Третьего посланника (Смагина. 2011. С. 180-183). Иисуса-сияние манихеи отличали от Иисуса Христа, о Котором повествуется в НЗ и Который, по их учению, является одним из «апостолов» - предшественников Мани. В сочинениях противников М. содержатся многочисленные указания на то, что манихейская христология носила докетический характер: манихеи считали тело Иисуса Христа, равно как и его смерть и воскресение лишь видимостью (см., напр.: Aug. Contr. Faust. 11. 3; 16. 12). В аутентичной манихейской литературе, в т. ч. в соч. «Кефалайя», действительно говорится о пришествии Иисуса Христа без тела или в «духовном теле» (Kephalaia (I). 1. 12. 21-26), что сближает позицию М. с учением вост. школы гностиков-валентиниан о «духовном теле» (πνευματικὸν σῶμα) Иисуса. Тем не менее в «Кефалайя» содержится и фрагмент, в к-ром упоминается о Его трехдневном восстании из мертвых (Ibid. 1. 13. 6). Возможно, манихеи воспринимали Иисуса-сияние и Иисуса Христа как различные функции одного Лица; исследователи также выделяют др. Его роли в манихейском мифе, в т. ч. «страждущий Иисус» и эсхатологический Судья (см.: Rose. 1979; Смагина. 2011. С. 305-309). После явления Иисуса как Судьи начнется великая война, в ходе которой свет будет окончательно освобожден от тьмы, а видимый мир погибнет в великом огне. Частицы тьмы и души осужденных будут навечно заключены в некой «глыбе» lump (βῶλος). После этого начнется новый, третий {??} период, в к-ром добро и зло окончательно разделены. Время будет упразднено, светлые божества и души спасенных вознесутся в новый эон. Православная энциклопедия - МАНИХЕЙСТВО // Manichaeism's views on Jesus are described by historians: "Jesus in Manichaeism possessed three separate identities: (1) Jesus the Luminous, (2) Jesus the Messiah and (3) Jesus patibilis (the suffering Jesus). (1) As Jesus the Luminous {Jesus the Splendour} ... his primary role was as supreme revealer and guide and it was he who woke Adam from his slumber and revealed to him the divine origins of his soul and its painful captivity by the body and mixture with matter. (2) Jesus the Messiah was a historical being who was the prophet of the Jews and the forerunner of Mani. However, the Manichaeans believed he was wholly divine, and that he never experienced human birth, as the physical realities surrounding the notions of his conception and his birth filled the Manichaeans with horror. However, the Christian doctrine of virgin birth was also regarded as obscene. Since Jesus the Messiah was the light of the world, where was this light, they reasoned, when Jesus was in the womb of the Virgin? Jesus the Messiah, they believed, was truly born only at his baptism {'adopted' (??)}, as it was on that occasion that the Father openly acknowledged his sonship {adoptianism ??}. The suffering, death and resurrection of this Jesus were in appearance only as they had no salvific value but were an exemplum of the suffering and eventual deliverance of the human soul and a prefiguration of Mani's own martyrdom. (3) {Jesus patibilis (the suffering Jesus)} The pain suffered by the imprisoned Light-Particles in the whole of the visible universe, on the other hand, was real and immanent. This was symbolized by the mystic placing of the Cross whereby the wounds of the passion of our souls are set forth {??}. On this mystical Cross of Light was suspended the Suffering Jesus (Jesus patibilis) who was the life and salvation of Man. This mystica cruxificio was present in every tree, herb, fruit, vegetable and even stones and the soil {'every rock has the spark of divinity in it' ??}. This constant and universal suffering of the captive soul is exquisitely expressed in one of the Coptic Manichaean psalms." (Manichaeism) // Иисус Великолепие - Jesus the Splendour. Иисус Великолепие это ранее существовавший аспект Иисус в манихейство. Он приносит знание о тайнах прошлого, настоящем и пророчестве будущего, с одной стороны, и умении различать Добро и зло к человечеству, с другой стороны. Соответственно, именно Иисус освобождает Адам и советует ему есть из Древо познания сбежать из тюрьмы принц Тьмы. Кефалайя. Хотя Иисуса редко называют Иисус Великолепие в других манихенских сочинениях его обычно называют таковым в Кефалая Учителя. В Кефалаи Иисус - эманация Отец величия и очевидно идентичен Третий посланник {??} и живое слово, вызванный, чтобы восстановить ущерб, нанесенный восстанием Архонты. Когда Иисус Великолепие спускается на землю, он позже принимает форму плоти, чтобы проявить себя в материальном мире. ru.wikiqube.net - Иисус Великолепие - Jesus the Splendour // Мать жизни, Первочеловек и Живой дух умоляют Отца света сделать "третий вызов". Появляется Третий посланник, во многом сходный с иранским Митрой, и, несомненно, продолжающий его; вместе с тем Третий посланник предвосхищает уже и образ человеческого посланника сил света, самого Мани (Итого фигурирует семь высших существ царства света; ср. сакральную роль числа семь.) Русская апокрифическая студия - Манихеи

* Manichean Cross [dubious source, Saint Thomas Cross, Marthoma Cross]. Manichean Christianity. According to Rudolf Steiner (Anthroposophy) the prophet Mani began a stream of Christianity which will have great tasks in the future when Good confronts Evil. The elements of this path and how it relates to the Rosicrucian path and the Grail Christianity of Parzifal/Parsifal/Percival will be discussed here. It is also mentioned by Max Heindel of the Rosicrucian Fellowship. The Cathars, Albigenses,Waldenses and Knights Templar were in one way or another a continuation of the stream {some shared features, like a hatred for clergy and/or Jews}. Manichean Cross. Could this be the original Manichean Cross?: [[image: Saint Thomas Cross]]. "Those who advocate using the crucifix in the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church instead of the Mar Thoma Cross claim that the Mar Thoma Cross is actually the "Manichean Cross" - a symbol of Manicheanism (a heretical early Christian sect that blended Christian and Zoroastrian beliefs and whose founder, Manichee, claimed to be the incarnation of the Holy Spirit)." The cross has a dove above it representing the Holy Spirit. The lotus below is meant to represent the Father. The lotus in the East also represents the flowering of great beauty from the sludge and slime. Perhaps here, another symbol of the good overcoming evil and its results. The following is about the fuss this cross has caused in the Mar Thoma Church: "The warring factions in the Church could be described as the traditionalists and the reformists. The traditionalists maintain that the Syro-Malabar Church is a daughter-Church of the Chaldean Church with headquarters in Baghdad. They are for the adoption of the whole East Syrian (Chaldean) liturgy said to be prevalent in the Church in Kerala from the fifth century to the 16th century when the Latin Church established its sway with the advent of the Portuguese. "According to the reformists, the traditionalists are for the removal of the crucifix and abolition of prayers like Rosary and Way of the Cross among other things and for the introduction of `Chaldean vestiges' like the Persian Cross, sanctuary veil and `Bema,' (a separate table to be placed in the front or in the middle of the aisle). "The crucifix has disappeared from many convents which easily succumbed to the Chaldean propaganda,'' says noted religious scholar Prof. Scaria Zacharia. The crucifix, a matter of great religious and emotional attachment is being replaced by what is called the `Mar Thoma Cross'. The reformists contend that this cross is the Manichean Cross, a symbol of a heretic Church of a non-Catholic origin, which has since become defunct." // Manichaean Painting of the Buddha Jesus (XII). The Manichaean Painting of the Buddha Jesus (Chinese: "Sacred Image of Christ"), is a Chinese Southern Song dynasty silk hanging scroll preserved at the Seiunji Temple in Kōshū, Yamanashi, Japan. It measures 153.5 cm in height, 58.7 cm in width, dates from the 12th to 13th centuries, and depicts a solitary nimbate figure on a dark-brown medieval Chinese silk. According to the Hungarian historian Zsuzsanna Gulácsi, this painting is one of the six documented Chinese Manichaean hanging scrolls from Zhejiang province from the early 12th century, which titled Yishu fo zhen (lit. "Silk Painting of the Buddha [Prophet] Jesus"). Description. The painting depicts a monumental, solitary figure, with glittering lines of gold and various colours. The upper half is occupied by a cloaked deity seated in lotus position and hands held close to one another in front of the chest. He is holding in his left hand a red lotus pedestal on where a small gold cross (Cross of Light) is seated. In addition to the nimbus around the head, there is a faint outline of a large mandorla that frames the body and reaches the upwards, where a tasselled canopy hung above the nimbus. The lower half is filled by an elaborate pedestal, which is a multilayered hexagonal stand supporting a lotus with lush sets of petals that open in five orderly rings. Each petal evokes the form of a miniature altar. History. The history of this hanging scroll represents a unique case of religious metamorphosis, for it has been used by three religions. It can be divided into three episodes: before ca. 1552, the image was venerated by Manichaeans from southern China. From 1552 (or 1608) to 1612, during this period of sixty years (at most), the painting functioned as a Christian object in Japan. No written records, only legend at Seiunji Temple, suggests that the painting belonged to an executed Christian daimyō Arima Harunobu, before it ended up in the Buddhist temple. The most recent, which has lasted approximately four hundred years, when the scroll has been used as a Buddhist work of art in the Seiunji Temple in Japan. The Japanese Buddhists considered it a depiction of Ākāśagarbha, a celestial bodhisattva worshipped in Esoteric Buddhism.

* Synod of Gangra [Гангрский собор] (340). The Synod of Gangra was held in 340, at Gangra (in modern Turkey). The synod condemned Manichaeans, and their practices. The concluding canons of the synod condemned the Manichaeans for their actions, and declared many of their practices anathematised. The canons of the synod condemned and anathematised the practices of: the condemnation of marriage; forbidding the eating of most forms of meat; urging slaves to flee their masters; arguing that married priests could not perform valid sacraments; condemning normal church services and holding their own; distributing church revenues without the consent of the bishop {??}; remaining celibate for reasons other than holiness; reviling married persons and the celebration of Christian love-feasts {??}; wearing certain types of ascetic clothing "as if this gave him righteousness" and condemning others; women wearing men's clothing under the pretense of asceticism; women leaving their husbands; parents abandoning their children; children leaving their parents; women cutting off their hair "from pretended asceticism"; fasting on a Sunday under the pretense of asceticism; refusing to honour Christian martyrs {??}. Although merely a local synod, its decisions were later ratified by the Council of Chalcedon, which is of immense importance in the early history of Christianity (see also First seven Ecumenical Councils). Most modern Christian groups, whether Protestant, Roman Catholic, or Eastern Orthodox, accept the Council of Chalcedon's decisions, but some Eastern Christians, including the Oriental Orthodox and the Assyrians, reject it.

* Eusebius on Mani [Евсевий Кесарийский о Манесе]. In the mean time, also, that madman Manes, (Mani is of Persian or Semitic origin) as he was called, well agreeing with his name, for his demoniacal heresy, armed himself by the perversion of his reason, and at the instruction of Satan, to the destruction of many. He was a barbarian in his life, both in speech and conduct, but in his nature as one possessed and insane. Accordingly, he attempted to form himself into a Christ, and then also proclaimed himself to be the very paraclete and the Holy Spirit, and with all this was greatly puffed up with his madness. Then, as if he were Christ, he selected twelve disciples, the partners of his new religion, and after patching together false and ungodly doctrines, collected from a thousand heresies long since extinct, he swept them off like a deadly poison, from Persia, upon this part of the world. Hence the impious name of the Manichaeans spreading among many, even to the present day. Such then was the occasion of this knowledge, as it was falsely called, that sprouted up in these times. (Manichaeism)

* Hydroparastatæ [Encratites, "water-drinkers"; Гидропарастаты] (IV?). See Encratites. // Severian Encratites; water i.o. wine in the Eucharist.

* Saccophori [Severian Encratites, "sack-carriers", penitents; Саккофоры] (IV). See Encratites. // Saccophori (sack-carriers), a name of a small party of professing penitents in the 4th century, who went about always dressed in the coarse apparel which their name implies. They appear to have been a subdivision of the Encratites- those, namely, who thought fit to make an outward profession of their rule. St. Basil puts together the Encratites, Saccophori, and Apotactics as an offshoot of the Marcionites (Basil, Can. Epist. 2, can. 47). Theodosius made a decree, which was renewed by Honorius, that some of the Manichueans, who went by the name of Encratites, Saccophori, or Hydroparastatse, should be punished with death (Cod. Theod. lib. 16, tit. 5, "De Haeret." leg. 9). Both the Marcionites and the Manichaeans held the doctrine of Two Principles; and it is no wonder that the Encratites are referred now to one, now to the other of these sects. But their true origin appears to be from the former. St. Basil's Canon is one relating to the baptism of these sects. SEE ENCRATITES. McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia -Saccophori

* Euchites [Messalians, Lycopetrians, proto-Hesychasts ??; мессалиане, эвхиты/евхиты, эвфемиты, пнеуматики, адельфиане] (IV). {<> Eutychians !!} The Euchites or Messalians were a Christian sect from Mesopotamia that spread to Asia Minor and Thrace. The name 'Messalian' comes from the Syriac mṣallyānā, meaning 'one who prays' {'Hesychast'}. They are first mentioned in the 370s by Ephrem the Syrian, and Epiphanius, and Jerome, and are also mentioned by Archbishop Atticus, Theodotus of Antioch, and Archbishop Sisinnius. They were first condemned as heretical in a synod of 383 AD (Side, Pamphylia), whose acta was referred to in the works by Photius. Their leader was supposedly a man named Peter who claimed to be Christ. Before being stoned to death for his blasphemies, he promised his followers that after three days he would rise from his tomb in the shape of a wolf, attracting the title of Lycopetrus or Peter the Wolf. Christians believed it was not Peter who would come out of the grave, but a devil in disguise. They continued to exist for several centuries, influencing the Bogomils of Bulgaria, who are called Lycopetrians in an abjuration formula of 1027, and, thereby, the Bosnian Church, the Patarenes and Catharism. By the 12th century the sect had reached Bohemia and Germany[citation needed] and, by a resolution of the Council of Trier (1231), was condemned as heretical. Michael Psellos, a Byzantine monk, accused Bogomils and Euchites of orgiastic practices such as incest and homosexuality. Furthermore, he argued that children born from these promiscuous activities were brought before a Satanic assembly after eight days, offered up to Satan and then cannibalistically eaten. This cannibalistic act was supposedly a parody of baptism. Similar accusations have a long history, and it is debated between historians if they are truthful of any degree. Euthymios Zigabenos is another source for these accusations. The idea of these unholy acts can be tracked back to alleged practices of certain Gnostic sects. A similar literary tradition regarding heresies seems to have been brought into existence already during reign of Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Modern scholarship has questioned, though, whether a coherent heretical movement existed behind these condemnations, and has emphasised instead the friction in the Eastern Church caused by Messalianism's 'ascetical practices and imagistic language far more characteristic of Syriac Christianity than of the imperial Church centred on Constantinople'. Teachings. The sect's teaching asserted that: 1) The essence (ousia) of the Trinity could be perceived by the carnal senses {proto-Hesychasm (??)}. 2) The Threefold God transformed himself into a single hypostasis (substance) in order to unite with the souls of the perfect. 3) God has taken different forms in order to reveal himself to the senses. 4) Only such sensible revelations of God confer perfection upon the Christian. 5) The state of perfection, freedom from the world and passion, is therefore attained solely by prayer, not through the church, baptism and or any of the sacraments, which have no effect on the passions or the influence of evil on the soul (hence their name, which means "Those who pray"). Messalians taught that once a person experienced the essence of God they were freed from moral obligations or ecclesiastical discipline. They had male and female teachers whom they honored more than the clergy, the "perfecti". The condemnation of the sect by St John Damascene and Timothy, priest of Constantinople, expressed the view that the sect espoused a sort of mystical materialism. Their critics also accused them of incest, cannibalism and "debauchery" (in Armenia their name came to mean "filthy") but scholars reject these claims. // mystical materialism is the thought that the entire universe is composed of matter, without mind; this philosophy is mystical since matter has never been MYSTICAL MATERIALISM - Brill (pdf - instant download) // The Euchites, a 4th-century antinomian sect from Macedonia held that the Threefold God transformed himself into a single hypostasis in order to unite with the souls of the perfect. They were anti-clerical and rejected baptism and the sacraments, believing that the passions could be overcome and perfection achieved through prayer. {Heresy in Christianity} // Во второй половине 4 в. в некоторых монашеских обществах Сирии и Малой Азии стали обнаруживаться странные воззрения, перешедшие затем в ересь. Находясь непрестанно в молитвах, некоторые монашествующие доходили до такого самообольщения, что свою молитву поставили превыше всего и единственным средством к спасению. Отсюда и название их — евхиты или мессалиане, что значит, в переводе с греческого и еврейского языков, молящиеся. Они учили, что каждый человек, в силу происхождения от Адама, приносит с собой в мир злого демона, во власти которого он весь находится. Крещение не освобождает человека от него; одна только усердная молитва может изгнать демона. Когда усиленной молитвой изгоняется демон, место его занимает Всесвятой Дух и обнаруживает свое присутствие ощутительным и видимым образом, а именно: освобождает тело от волнений страстей и совершенно отвлекает душу от наклонности ко злу, так что после этого ненужными становятся ни внешние подвиги для обуздания тела, ни чтение св. Писания, ни принятие таинств, ни вообще какой-либо закон. К этим заблуждениям, подрывающим все церковные учреждения, евхиты присоединили заблуждение чисто догматического характера: они отрицали троичность Лиц в Боге, представляя Лица формами проявления одного и того же Божества. Отказавшись от подвигов, первого условия монашеской жизни, монахи-евхиты проводили время в праздности, избегая всякого рода труда, как унижающаго духовную жизнь, и питались только милостыней: но в то же время, ощущая в себе мнимое присутствие Св. Духа, они предавались созерцаниям и в пылу расстроенного воображения грезили, что они телесными очами созерцают Божество. По этой особенности евхитов называли еще энтузиастами, а также корефами от мистических плясок, которым они предавались, или, по именам их представителей, лампецианами, адельфианами, маркианистами и проч. Евхиты по внешности принадлежали к Церкви и старались скрывать от православных свои мнения и учения. Только к концу 4 в. епископу Антиохийскому Флавиану удалось обличить их главу Адельфия, после чего духовная и светская власти стали их преследовать. Но евхитские воззрения тем не менее не уничтожились. В 11 в. во Фракии снова становится известной евхитская ересь. Обыкновенно евхитов 11 в. упоминают в связи с евхитами 4 века, которые, не уничтожившись после церковного осуждения, продолжали существовать тайно в восточных монастырях в 5 и последующих веках. Так как евхиты 4 в. смотрели на все материальное как на зло, то легко могло случиться, что они в последующие века в круг своего миросозерцания приняли дуалистические воззрения древнейших гностиков и манихеев. Из восточных монастырей евхиты проникли в монастыри фракийские и здесь в 9 в. стали известны под тем же древним названием евхитов или энтузиастов, но с видоизмененным учением. Учение евхитов 9 в. представляется в таком виде: Бог Отец имел двух сыновей: старшего (Сатанаила) и младшего (Христа) {influence on Bogomilism}. Старший господствовал над всем земным, а младший над всем небесным. Старший отпал от Отца и основал на земле независимое царство. Младший, оставшийся верным Отцу, занял место старшего; он разрушил царство Сатанаила и восстановил мировой порядок. — Евхиты 11 в. так же, как и древние их собраться собратья {??}, свою молитву ставили высшей степенью нравственного совершенства и единственным залогом спасения, равно как разными искусственными средствами {drugs ??} достигали экзальтированного состояния, во время которого, как они уверяли, получали откровения и удостаивались видения духов. Магия и теургия, с присоединением еще живого магнетизма {месмеризма; "animal magnetism", mesmerism: a natural energy transference occurring between all animated and inanimate objects}, были в ходу у евхитов. Ересь евхитов, исследованием которой занималось византийское правительство в 11 в., скоро растворилась в ереси богомильской, развившейся особенно в 12 веке. Эпоха Вселенских Соборов - Евхиты (мессалиане) // Азбука веры - Сергей Васильевич Булгаков - Справочник по ересям, сектам и расколам - Евхиты, или Мессалиане // В IV веке известны дуалистические ереси мессалиан, учивших, что Сатана пребывает внутри человека и во всём господствует над ним {??}, и присциллиан, об учении которых почти ничего не известно. (Ереси в христианстве)

* Priscillianism [Christian dualists; Присциллианство] (IV).  Priscillianism was a Christian {monastic ??} sect developed in the Iberian Peninsula under the Roman Empire in the 4th century by Priscillian. It is derived from the Gnostic doctrines taught by Marcus, an Egyptian from Memphis. Priscillianism was later considered a heresy by both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The Priscillianists taught a Gnostic-Manichaean doctrine of dualism, a belief in the existence of two kingdoms, one of Light and one of Darkness. Angels and the souls of men were said to be severed from the substance of the Deity. Human souls were intended to conquer the Kingdom of Darkness, but fell and were imprisoned in material bodies. Thus both kingdoms were represented in man. Their conflict was symbolized on the side of Light by the Twelve Patriarchs, heavenly spirits, who corresponded to certain of man's powers, and on the side of Darkness by the Signs of the Zodiac, the symbols of matter and the lower kingdom. The salvation of man consists in liberation from the domination of matter. The twelve heavenly spirits having failed to accomplish their release, the Saviour came in a heavenly body that appeared to be like that of other men. Through His doctrine and His apparent death, he released the souls of the men from the influence of earthly matter. These doctrines could be harmonized with the teaching of Scripture only by a complex system of exegesis, rejecting conventional interpretations and relying on personal inspiration. The Priscillians respected most of the Old Testament but rejected the Creation story. They believed that several of the apocryphal Scriptures were genuine and inspired. Because the Priscillians believe that matter and nature were evil, they became ascetics and fasted on Sundays and Christmas Day. Because their doctrines were esoteric and exoteric, and because it was believed that men in general could not understand the higher paths, the Priscillianists, or at least those of them who were enlightened, were permitted to tell lies for the sake of a holy end. Augustine wrote a famous work, "Contra Mendacium" ("Against Lying"), in reaction to this doctrine. // Priscillian (died c. 385) was a wealthy nobleman of Roman Hispania who promoted a strict form of Christian asceticism. He became bishop {simony ??} of Ávila in 380. Certain practices of his followers (such as meeting at country villas instead of attending church) were denounced at the Council of Zaragoza in 380. Tensions between Priscillian and bishops opposed to his views continued, as well as political maneuvering by both sides. Around 385, Priscillian was charged with sorcery and executed by authority of the Emperor Maximus. The ascetic movement Priscillianism is named after him, and continued in Hispania and Gaul until the late 6th century. Tractates by Priscillian and close followers, which had seemed lost, were discovered in 1885 and published in 1889. Priscillian’s execution is seen as the first example of secular justice intervening in an ecclesiastical matter.  // Присциллианство - Priscillianism. Присциллианство это Христианин-вдохновленная система убеждений, разработанная в Пиренейский полуостров под властью Римской империи в 4 веке Присциллиан. Это получено из Гностик-Манихейский доктрины, преподаваемые Маркусом, Египтянин из Мемфис. Позднее присциллианство считалось ересь обоими Восточная Православная Церковь и Римская католическая церковь. https://ru.vvikipedla.com/wiki/Priscillianism // At the other extreme of the Roman Empire, in Spain, also in the fourth century, Priscillian (d. 385) combined the ideals of monastic asceticism {??} with astrological lore and certain dualistic ideas which are not clearly known but which may owe something to Gnostic influence. Priscillian was put to death as a magician by the Roman emperor. His doctrines were not formally condemned by the Church until the sixth century, after which they seem to have left little trace except in books. Heresies of the high middle ages : selected sources, translated and annotated / by Walter L. Wakefield and Austin P. Evans.

* Silvanus [Constantine, 'Constantine-Silvanus'; Константин-Сильван] (d 684; founder of the Paulicians) was the founder of the Paulicians, a Christian movement in 7th century Armenia, who sought to return to the purity of the church in the time of Paul the Apostle. They were considered heretical by the Byzantine Church. // Constantine-Silvanus (died 684) was the founder of the Paulicians, a Christian movement in 7th century Armenia, who sought to return to the purity of the church in the time of Paul the Apostle. They were considered heretical by the Byzantine Church. Constantine was born in Mananali, near Samosata, Commagene. About 653 A.D., Constantine became friends with a traveling Armenian who had been held captive by the Saracens. The traveler gave Constantine a copy of the four gospels and the letters of Paul. Reading the gospels and epistles caused Constantine to change his name to Silvanus, after the companion of Paul, and begin preaching, gathering around him a group of followers who rejected what they considered the image worship and superstition of the Byzantine Church. Silvanus founded his first congregation, who became known as Paulicians, in Kibossa, near Colonia, in Armenia. For thirty years he traveled extensively, along the Euphrates valley, across the Taurus Mountains, and into the western parts of Asia Minor, making converts on the way. His missionary activities came to the attention of the Byzantine Emperor, Constans II, known as Constantine Pogonatus (the bearded). The Emperor issued a decree condemning the teachings of Silvanus and sentenced him to death by stoning. Simeon, the officer sent to carry out the execution, ordered Silvanus’ friends and followers to stone him. The followers refused and dropped their stones, except for one young man, Justus, whom Silvanus had raised like an adopted son, who cast a stone at Silvanus and killed him. Simeon was impressed with the piety of Silvanus’ followers and joined them, taking the name Titus. Justus betrayed Titus and the Paulicians by informing on them to the bishop. Emperor Justinian II ordered Titus and all the Paulicians to be burned to death as heretics in 690. // "basing his message solely on the New Testament, began to teach that there were two gods {'principles' (??)}: a good god who had made men's souls, and an evil god who had created the entire physical universe including the human body {-> Marcion, Manichaeism, Gnosticism}. His followers, who became known as Paulicians, were not marked by extreme deviance in lifestyle compared to contemporaries, despite their belief that the world was evil, and were renowned as good fighting men". // Название «павликиане» дано им их противниками; сами они называли себя просто «христианами», в то время как последователей церквей Византийской империи они именовали «ромеями», считая их отступниками от истинного учения Христа. Название «павликиане» происходит от имени апостола Павла, которого павликиане предположительно чтили выше других апостолов. Основное ядро движения составляли крестьяне и частично городские низы, хотя последователи павликиан были в разных слоях общества. (...) Основателем церкви павликиан был армянин Константин из деревни Мананалис близ Самосаты, учивший во второй половине VII века. Константин принял имя Сильван, в честь сподвижника Павла {??}. Этим была заложена традиция среди павликиан называть себя именами сподвижников Павла. (Павликиане)

* Catharism [Publicane, Patarens, Bougres, Albigensians; Катары] (XII-XIV). Catharism (from the Greek: katharoi, "the pure [ones]") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic revival movement that thrived in some areas of Southern Europe, particularly northern Italy and what is now southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. The followers were known as Cathars and are now mainly remembered for a prolonged period of persecution by the Catholic Church which did not recognise their belief as truly Christian. Catharism appeared in Europe in the Languedoc region of France in the 11th century and this is when the name first appears. The adherents were also sometimes known as Albigensians after the city Albi in southern France where the ovement first took hold. The beliefs are believed to have been brought from Persia or the Byzantine Empire. // Yes, they were a form of Pauline Christianity, in some ways similar to the one formed by Marcion, denying the “Old Testament” and its deity, and believed in a spiritual Jesus similar to Docetism, and the “God” of the “New Testament”. Quora - Did Catharism/the Cathar heresy actually exist? // The name Cathari for dualist heretics was first used in narratives of the examination of heretics at Cologne in 1163. Although their connection with the Catharistae, a branch of the Manichaeans known to St. Augustine, has been suggested, the derivation of the name from the Greek Katharos is generally accepted: “Cathars, that is, pure”. The name caught on with Catholic writers after it was used by the Third Lateran Council in 1179, and in the Middle Ages other etymologies were suggested: from “cat,” for example, or from the root catha, meaning “purifying flow”. (WE) // The term was later often used in documents of the Inquisition, from where it passed into the first historical studies dedicated to the "Albigensian heresy". Despite the fact that the word "Cathars", in fact, was a dismissive nickname, it has long been entrenched as the main name, along with "Albigensians". In addition to these two, the names “Manicheans”, “Origenists”, “Fifla”, “Publicane”, “Weavers”, “Bulgarians” (Fr. bougres), "Patarens". QATARI HERESY. THE CATHAR RELIGION, THE DEATH OF THE CATHARS AND THE CATHAR CASTLES // Cathari. (From the Greek katharos, pure), literally "puritans", a name specifically applied to, or used by, several sects at various periods. The Novatians of the third century were frequently known as Cathari, and the term was also used by the Manichæans. In its more usual sense, Cathari was a general designation for the dualistic sects of the later Middle Ages. Numerous other names were in vogue to denominate these heretics. Without speaking of the corrupted forms of "Cazzari", "Gazzari", in Italy, and "Ketzer" in Germany, we find the following appellations: "Piphili", "Piphles", in Northern France and Flanders; "Arians", "Manichæans", and "Patareni", owing to real or alleged doctrinal similarity; "Tesserants", "Textores" (Weavers), from the trade which many of the members followed. Sometimes they were erroneously styled "Waldenses" by their contemporaries. From the demagogue Arnold of Brescia and the heretical bishop Robert de Sperone, they were called "Arnoldistæ" and "Speronistæ". To their geographical distribution they owed the names of "Cathari of Desenzano" or "Albanenses" (from Desenzano, between Brescia and Verona, or from Alba in Piedmont, Albano, or perhaps from the provinces of Albania); "Bajolenses" or "Bagnolenses" (from Bagnolo in Italy); "Concorrezenses" (probably from Concorrezo in Lombardy); "Tolosani" (from Toulouse); and especially "Albigenses" (from Albi). The designations "Pauliciani", of which "Publicani", "Poplicani", were probably corruptions, and "Bulgari", "Bugri", "Bougres", point to their probable Oriental origin. Among recent historians there is a pronounced tendency to look upon the Cathari as the lineal descendants of the Manichæans. The doctrine, organization, and liturgy of the former, in many points, reproduce the doctrine, organization, and liturgy of the early disciples of Manes. The successive appearance of the Priscillianists, the Paulicians, and the Bogomili, representatives to some extent of similar principles, fairly establishes the historical continuity between the two extreme links of the chain -- the Manichæans of the third, and the Cathari of the eleventh, century. In the present state of our knowledge, however, conclusive proofs in favour of the genetical dependence of the Cathari on the Manichæans are lacking. Some differences between the two religious systems are too radical to find a sufficient explanation in the appeal to the evolution of human thought. Among the Cathari we look in vain for that astronomical mythology, that pagan symbolism, and the worship of the memory of Manes, which were important characteristics of Manichæism. However attractive it may be to trace the origin of the Cathari to the first centuries of Christianity, we must be cautious not to accept as a certain historical fact what, up to the present, is only a probable conclusion.  The Catholic Encyclopedia on the Cathari

* Cathars as successors of Bogomilism [Катары как преемники богомилов]. The Cathars originated from an anti-materialist reform movement within the Bogomil churches of the Balkans calling for what they saw as a return to the Christian message of perfection, poverty and preaching, combined with a rejection of the physical to the point of starvation. The reforms were a reaction against the often perceived scandalous and dissolute lifestyles of the Catholic clergy in southern France. Their theology, neo-Gnostic in many ways, was basically dualist. Several of their practices, especially their belief in the inherent evil of the physical world, conflicted with the doctrines of the Incarnation of Christ and Catholic sacraments. This led to accusations of Gnosticism and attracted the ire of the Catholic establishment. They became known as the Albigensians, because there were many adherents in the city of Albi and the surrounding area in the 12th and 13th centuries. (..) Between 1022 and 1163, the Cathars were condemned by eight local church councils, the last of which, held at Tours, declared that all Albigenses should be put into prison and have their property confiscated. The Third Lateran Council of 1179 repeated the condemnation. Innocent III's diplomatic attempts to roll back Catharism were met with little success. After the murder of his legate Pierre de Castelnau in 1208, and suspecting that Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse was responsible, Innocent III declared a crusade against the Cathars. He offered the lands of the Cathar heretics to any French nobleman willing to take up arms. From 1209 to 1215, the Crusaders experienced great success, capturing Cathar lands and perpetrating acts of extreme violence, often against civilians. From 1215 to 1225, a series of revolts caused many of the lands to be regained by the Cathars. A renewed crusade resulted in the recapturing of the territory and effectively drove Catharism underground by 1244. The Albigensian Crusade had a role in the creation and institutionalization of both the Dominican Order and the Medieval Inquisition. The Dominicans promulgated the message of the Church to combat alleged heresies by preaching the Church's teachings in towns and villages, while the Inquisition investigated heresies. Because of these efforts, by the middle of the 14th century, any discernible traces of the Cathar movement had been eradicated. The Albigensian Crusade is considered by many historians to be an act of genocide against the Cathars. // For example, Mazdaism (Mazdean Zoroastrianism) is both dualistic and monotheistic (but not monist by definition) since in that philosophy God—the Creator—is purely good, and the antithesis—which is also uncreated–is an absolute one. Zurvanism (Zurvanite Zoroastrianism), Manichaeism, and Mandaeism are representative of dualistic and monist philosophies since each has a supreme and transcendental First Principle from which the two equal-but-opposite entities then emanate. This is also true for the lesser-known Christian gnostic religions, such as Bogomils, Catharism, and so on.

* Book of the Secret Supper [Откровение Иоанна Богослова, апокриф, Вопросы Иоанна] (X). {<> Апокриф Иоанна, Тайная книга Иоанна} The Book of the Secret Supper (Cena Secreta), also known as Interrogatio Iohannis (The Questions of John), The Book of John the Evangelist and The Gospel of the Secret Supper. The Book of the Secret Supper was a Bogomil apocryphal text from Bulgaria, possibly based on a now lost Paulician treatise, which also became an important Cathar scripture. The book was translated into Latin and introduced to Italy in the late 12th century, then taken to Provence before the Albigensian Crusade by the Cathar bishop Nazarials or Nazario. (...) The Book of the Secret Supper is a first-person narrative beginning "I, John…" in which John the Evangelist poses a series of questions to Jesus at a secret supper in the kingdom of heaven. Creation. The book begins with the story of the opposing forces of the God, the Invisible Father and creator of good, and Satan, the creator of evil. The book exhibites a mitigated dualism by stating that Satan was a former angel of God before falling, shining white before his fall and burns red after. Jesus tells John how Satan took over the semi-created world, descending from the third heaven and recruiting angels to join him “according to the plan of the Governor Most High.” Satan brought forth all living things, plants, animals, fish and birds, then created man and woman from clay in order to serve him, animating the man with an angel from the second heaven and the woman with an angel from the first heaven. The angels were distressed at having to inhabit material forms. Satan encouraged them to sin, but they did not know how, so Satan filled the woman with a longing for sin, then created a serpent from his spittle, inhabited it and seduced her with its tail {Kapov}. He then filled Adam with lust for debauchery with the result that all their children were offspring of the devil and of the serpent. Nativity. Jesus then describes his own birth, telling John that the Father sent an angel, in the form of Mary, to receive Him in the Holy Spirit. Jesus descended from the seventh heaven and came forth from her ear {anti-genital ??}. Satan then sent Elijah in the form of John the Baptist to give a false baptism by water, but John is warned that only baptism in spirit by Jesus can bring about the remission of sin. Those baptized with water marry, but those baptized in the spirit remain celibate. Last Judgement. The final part of the book is a description of the Last Judgement when those who have followed an angelic life shall be honored, while those who lived a life of iniquity shall find wrath, fury and distress in everlasting fire. Satan, after waging war upon the just, will be bound with unbreakable bonds and cast into a pool of fire. Then the Son of God will sit on the right hand of his Father, the righteous will be set among the choirs of angels, God shall be in the midst of them and wipe away their tears, and of His kingdom there shall be no end for ever and ever. Откровение Иоанна Богослова (апокриф). Откровение Иоанна Богослова — христианский апокриф. Приписывается Иоанну Богослову, создавшему Откровение, признанное Церковью каноническим. По содержанию — существенно отличается от канонического писания. В апокрифе обильно цитируются Книги Ветхого и Нового Заветов, но не все цитаты подлинные. Возможно, определённая часть текста (та, где содержатся эти неподлинные цитаты) является позднейшей вставкой. Пользовалось широкой популярностью и оказало заметное влияние на христианскую эсхатологическую литературу. На Западе было известно как «Книга св. Иоанна» или «Вопросы св. Иоанна и ответы Господа Христа» (Iterrogationes S. loannis et responsiones Christi domini). На Русь попало в XII—XIII веках и было непосредственно переведено с греческого оригинала. В сохранившихся рукописях оно имеет пространный заголовок: «Слово святаго Иоанна Богословца о пришествии Господа, како хощет прийти на землю», но с его публикацией в сборнике Н. Тихонравова (1863 г.) за ним закрепилось название «Вопросы Иоанна Богослова Господу на горе Фаворской».

* Альбигойцы [Albigenses] (XII-XIII). Альбигойцы (лат. Albigenses, фр. Albigeois) — еретическое христианское дуалистическое движение, существовавшее в Лангедоке (на юге современной Франции) в XII—XIII веках и уничтоженное вследствие Альбигойских войн. В XIII веке бежавшие в Италию предводители секты предпринимали попытки возродить ересь в Лангедоке, но они были пресечены инквизицией. Последние альбигойцы исчезли не позднее середины XIV века. Альбигойство являлось одной из ветвей катарской ереси. Основным отличием альбигойцев от остальных катаров была их приверженность абсолютному дуализму, то есть они не были монотеистами, веря в существование двух независимых богов. Это вероучение (лат. Ordo Drugonthiae) они восприняли от Константинопольской богомильской церкви в 1167 году. Альбигойцы имели организованную религиозную структуру и собственную священную иерархию, созданную по образцу православных автокефальных церквей. Центрами альбигойских «церквей» (лат. ecclesia) были города Альби, Тулуза, Каркассон и или Валь-д'Аран, или Ажен. // Albigenses. Albigenses the members of a heretic sect in southern France in the 12th–13th centuries, identified with the Cathars. Their teaching was a form of Manichaean dualism, with an extremely strict moral and social code including the condemnation of both marriage and procreation. The heresy spread rapidly until ruthlessly crushed by the elder Simon de Montfort's crusade (1209–31) and by an Inquisition. The name is from medieval Latin, from Albiga, the Latin name of Albi, the town in southern France where the Albigenses originated. OxEnc - Albigenses

* Albigensian Crusade [Альбигойские войны, Альбигойский крестовый поход] (1209-1229). The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (1209–1229); French: Croisade des albigeois, Occitan: Crosada dels albigeses) was a 20-year military campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, in southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown and promptly took on a political flavour, resulting in not only a significant reduction in the number of practising Cathars, but also a realignment of the County of Toulouse in Languedoc, bringing it into the sphere of the French crown, and diminishing both Languedoc's distinct regional culture and the influence of the counts of Barcelona.  The Cathars originated from an anti-materialist reform movement within the Bogomil churches of the Balkans calling for what they saw as a return to the Christian message of perfection, poverty and preaching, combined with a rejection of the physical to the point of starvation. The reforms were a reaction against the often perceived scandalous and dissolute lifestyles of the Catholic clergy in southern France. Their theology, neo-Gnostic in many ways, was basically dualist. Several of their practices, especially their belief in the inherent evil of the physical world, conflicted with the doctrines of the Incarnation of Christ and Catholic sacraments. This led to accusations of Gnosticism and attracted the ire of the Catholic establishment. They became known as the Albigensians, because there were many adherents in the city of Albi and the surrounding area in the 12th and 13th centuries.  Between 1022 and 1163, the Cathars were condemned by eight local church councils, the last of which, held at Tours, declared that all Albigenses should be put into prison and have their property confiscated. The Third Lateran Council of 1179 repeated the condemnation. Innocent III's diplomatic attempts to roll back Catharism were met with little success. After the murder of his legate Pierre de Castelnau in 1208, and suspecting that Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse was responsible, Innocent III declared a crusade against the Cathars. He offered the lands of the Cathar heretics to any French nobleman willing to take up arms. From 1209 to 1215, the Crusaders experienced great success, capturing Cathar lands and perpetrating acts of extreme violence, often against civilians. From 1215 to 1225, a series of revolts caused many of the lands to be regained by the Cathars. A renewed crusade resulted in the recapturing of the territory and effectively drove Catharism underground by 1244. The Albigensian Crusade had a role in the creation and institutionalization of both the Dominican Order and the Medieval Inquisition. The Dominicans promulgated the message of the Church to combat alleged heresies by preaching the Church's teachings in towns and villages, while the Inquisition investigated heresies. Because of these efforts, by the middle of the 14th century, any discernible traces of the Cathar movement had been eradicated. The Albigensian Crusade is considered by many historians to be an act of genocide against the Cathars. Cathar theology. {Main article: Catharism § General beliefs}. [[Map showing the development from Paulicianism to Catharism: Paulicians -> Bogomils -> Waldensians -> Cathars]] Derived in part from earlier forms of Gnosticism, the theology of the Cathars was dualistic, a belief in two equal and comparable transcendental principles: God, the force of good, and the demiurge, the force of evil. Cathars held that the physical world was evil and created by this demiurge, which they called Rex Mundi (Latin, "King of the World"). Rex Mundi encompassed all that was corporeal, chaotic and powerful. The Cathar understanding of God was entirely disincarnate: they viewed God as a being or principle of pure spirit and completely unsullied by the taint of matter. He was the God of love, order, and peace. Jesus was an angel with only a phantom body, and the accounts of him in the New Testament were to be understood allegorically. As the physical world and the human body were the creation of the evil principle, sexual abstinence (even in marriage) was encouraged. Civil authority had no claim on a Cathar, since this was the rule of the physical world. Accordingly, the Cathars refused to take oaths of allegiance or volunteer for military service. Cathar doctrine opposed killing animals and consuming meat. Cathars rejected the Catholic priesthood, labelling its members, including the pope, unworthy and corrupted. Disagreeing on the Catholic concept of the unique role of the priesthood, they taught that anyone, not just the priest, could consecrate the Eucharistic host or hear a confession. They rejected the dogma of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and Catholic teaching on the existence of Purgatory. Catharism developed its own unique form of "sacrament" known as the consolamentum, to replace the Catholic rite of baptism. Instead of receiving baptism through water, one received the consolamentum by the laying on of hands. Cathars regarded water as unclean because it had been corrupted by the earth, and therefore refused to use it in their ceremonies. The act was typically received just before death, as Cathars believed that this increased one's chances for salvation by wiping away all previous sins. After receiving consolamentum, the recipient became known as perfectus. Prior to becoming a "perfect", believing Cathars were encouraged but not required to follow Cathar teaching on abstaining from sex and meat, and most chose not to do so. Once an individual received the consolamentum, these rules became binding. Cathar perfects often went through a ritual fast called the endura. After receiving the consolamentum, a believer would sometimes take no food and rely only on cold water, a practice eventually resulting in death. The procedure was typically performed only by those close to death already. Some members of the Church claimed that if a Cathar upon receiving the consolamentum showed signs of recovery, the person would be smothered to death in order to ensure entry into Heaven. This did sometimes happen but there is little evidence that it was common practice. Despite Cathar anti-clericalism, there were men selected amongst the Cathars to serve as bishops and deacons. The bishops were selected from among the perfect. Background. The Cathars were part of a widespread spiritual reform movement in medieval Europe which began about 653 when Constantine-Silvanus brought a copy of the Gospels to Armenia. In the following centuries a number of dissenting groups arose, gathered around charismatic preachers, who rejected the authority of the Catholic Church. These groups based their beliefs and practices on the Gospels rather than on Church dogma and sought a return to the early church and the faith of the Apostles. They claimed that their teaching was rooted in Scripture and part of Apostolic tradition. Sects such as the Paulicians in Armenia, Bogomils from Bulgaria and the Balkans, Arnoldists in northern Italy, Petrobrusians in southern France, Henricans in Switzerland and France, and Waldensians of the Piedmont area on the border of France and Italy, were violently persecuted and repressed. The Paulicians were ordered to be burned to death as heretics; the Bogomils were expelled from Serbia and later subjected to the Inquisition and the Bosnian Crusade; Peter of Bruys, leader of the Petrobrusians, was pushed into a bonfire by an angry mob in 1131. A number of prominent 12th century preachers insisted on it being the responsibility of the individual to develop a relationship with God, independent of an established clergy. Henry of Lausanne criticized the priesthood and called for lay reform of the Church. He gained a large following. Henry's preaching focused on condemning clerical corruption and clerical hierarchy, and there is no evidence that he subscribed to Cathar teachings on dualism. He was arrested around 1146 and never heard from again. Arnold of Brescia, leader of the Arnoldists, was hanged in 1155 and his body burnt and thrown into the Tiber River, "for fear", one chronicler says, "lest the people might collect them and honour them as the ashes of a martyr". The Waldensians, followers of Peter Waldo, experienced burnings and massacres. Although these dissenting groups shared some common features with the Cathars, such as anti-clericalism and rejection of the sacraments, they did not, except perhaps the Paulicians and Bogomils, subscribe to Cathar dualist beliefs. They did not specifically invoke dualism as a tenet. The Cathars may have originated from the Bogomils, as some scholars believe in a continuous Manichaean tradition which encompassed both groups. That view is not universally shared. By the 12th century, organized groups of dissidents, such as the Waldensians and Cathars, were beginning to appear in the towns and cities of newly urbanized areas. In western Mediterranean France, one of the most urbanized areas of Europe at the time, the Cathars grew to represent a popular mass movement, and the belief was spreading to other areas. One such area was Lombardy, which by the 1170s was sustaining a community of Cathars. The Cathar movement was seen by some as a reaction against the corrupt and earthly lifestyles of the clergy. It has also been viewed as a manifestation of dissatisfaction with papal power. In Cologne in 1163, four Cathar men and a girl who had traveled to the city from Flanders were burned after refusing to repent. Burnings for heresy had been very uncommon, and in the past had sometimes taken place at the behest of noblemen for political rather than religious reasons over the objections of leading Catholic clergy. After this event however, they grew more frequent. [[This Pedro Berruguete work of the 15th century depicts a story of Saint Dominic and the Albigensians, in which the texts of each were cast into a fire, but only Saint Dominic's proved miraculously resistant to the flames]]. Catharism continued to spread. Cathar theology found its greatest success in the Languedoc. The Cathars were known as Albigensians because of their association with the city of Albi, and because the 1176 Church Council which declared the Cathar doctrine heretical was held near Albi. The condemnation was repeated through the Third Lateran Council of 1179. In Languedoc, political control and land ownership was divided among many local lords and heirs. Before the crusade, there was little fighting in the area and it had a fairly sophisticated polity. Western Mediterranean France itself was at that time divided between the Crown of Aragon and the County of Toulouse. On assuming the papacy in 1198, Pope Innocent III resolved to deal with the Cathars and sent a delegation of friars to the province of Languedoc to assess the situation. The Cathars of Languedoc were seen as not showing proper respect for the authority of the French king or the local Catholic Church, and their leaders were being protected by powerful nobles, who had a clear interest in independence from the king. At least in part for this reason, many powerful noblemen embraced Catharism despite making little attempt to follow its strict lifestyle restrictions. In desperation, Innocent turned to Philip II of France, urging him to either force Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse to deal with the heresy or depose him militarily. By 1204, he offered to bless those willing to go on a military campaign against the Cathars with the same indulgence given to crusaders travelling to the Holy Land (the Fourth Crusade, in its late stages at the time, had not shown any signs of going in that direction). However, Philip was engaged in conflict with King John of England, and was unwilling to get involved in a separate conflict in the Languedoc. Hence, the plan stalled. One of the most powerful noblemen, Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse, did not openly embrace Cathar beliefs, but was sympathetic to Catharism and its independence movement. He refused to assist the delegation. He was excommunicated in May 1207 and an interdict was placed on his lands. Innocent tried to deal with the situation diplomatically by sending a number of preachers, many of them monks of the Cistercian order, to convert the Cathars. They were under the direction of the senior papal legate, Pierre de Castelnau. The preachers managed to bring some people back into the Catholic faith, but for the most part, were renounced. Pierre himself was extremely unpopular, and once had to flee the region for fear that he would be assassinated. On January 13, 1208, Raymond met Pierre in the hope of gaining absolution. The discussion did not go well. Raymond expelled him and threatened his safety. The following morning, Pierre was killed by one of Raymond's knights. Innocent III claimed that Raymond ordered his execution; William of Tudela blames the murder entirely on "an evil-hearted squire hoping to win the Count's approval". Pope Innocent declared Raymond anathematized and released all of his subjects from their oaths of obedience to him. However, Raymond soon attempted to reconcile with the Church by sending legates to Rome. They exchanged gifts, reconciled, and the excommunication was lifted. At the Council of Avignon (1209) Raymond was again excommunicated for not fulfilling the conditions of ecclesiastical reconciliation. After this, Innocent III called for a crusade against the Albigensians, with the view that a Europe free of heresy could better defend its borders against invading Muslims. The time period of the Crusade coincided with the Fifth and Sixth Crusades in the Holy Land. // Catharism

* Innocent III - Vergentis in senium [Иннокентий III - Vergentis in senium]. At the beginning of his second year as pope, Innocent turned his attention to the problem of heresy within the borders of Christendom. In a decretal letter, Vergentis in senium (March 25, 1199), that he sent to Viterbo, a city within the Papal States, Innocent declared that heresy was treason against God. Consequently, in pursuing heretics, he applied the sanctions and employed the procedural norms used in ancient Roman treason trials. This began Innocent’s long campaign to eradicate heresy, which lasted until the end of his pontificate and culminated in the Albigensian Crusade. Cathar (Albigensian) heretics had become prevalent in southern France. As early as 1199 the pope sent legates to deal with these heretics and their supporters, and in 1206 St. Dominic began to preach to the heretics with Innocent’s support. These efforts produced few results. Finally, in 1208, following the assassination of the papal legate, Innocent launched a Crusade against the heretics and gave the participants full Crusader indulgences and privileges. The war lasted until after Innocent’s death. Even after a political settlement brought the fighting to an end, the Cathar heresy flourished in the region until the beginning of the 14th century. Innocent’s Crusade was significant, despite the survival of Catharism, because with it the pope began the practice of using the Crusade to combat papal enemies wherever they were found. Later popes called for Crusades against disobedient Christian rulers and even cardinals of the church. (Britannica - Innocent III) // В начале своего второго года в качестве Папы Иннокентий обратил внимание на проблему ереси в границах христианского мира. В декретальном письме Vergentis in senium (25 марта 1199 г.), который он послал в Витербо, город в Папской области, Иннокентий объявил ересь изменой Богу. Следовательно, преследуя еретиков, он применял санкции и процессуальные нормы, которые использовались в древнеримских судебных процессах о государственной измене. Это положило начало долгой кампании Иннокентия по искоренению ереси, которая длилась до конца его понтификата и завершилась Альбигойский крестовый поход. Катар (Альбигойцы ) еретики получили распространение на юге Франции. Еще в 1199 г. папа послал легатов разобраться с этими еретиками и их сторонниками, а в 1206 г. Святой Доминик начал проповедовать еретикам при поддержке Иннокентия. Эти усилия принесли мало результатов. Наконец, в 1208 году , после убийства папского легата, Иннокентий начал крестовый поход против еретиков и дал участникам полный Крестоносец {adjectify: крестовые} индульгенции и привилегии. Война длилась до смерти Иннокентия. Даже после того, как политическое урегулирование положило конец боевым действиям, ересь катаров процветала в регионе до начала 14 века. Крестовый поход Иннокентия был значительным, несмотря на выживание катаризма, потому что с ним папа начал практику использования крестового похода для борьбы с папскими врагами, где бы они ни находились. Позднее папы призывали к крестовым походам против непослушных христианских правителей и даже кардиналов церкви. Иннокентий III | папа

* Garatenses [Гаратенсы] (XII ??). Garatenses: a term applied to a school of Cathar believers founded by Bishop Garatus in Concoresso (In modern Italy). this is the term used in the famous Liber de Duobus Principiis. Cathar Terminology + A Cathar Glossary // Так как Босния исторически и геополитически связана с Миланом торговыми путями венецианцев, то существует гипотеза, что слово "патарен" происходит от названия бедного района Милана - Патария. Вполне возможно, однако, что это район Милана был назван Патарией по месту расселения патаренов. Оттуда же пошло другое название - "конкорекане" (от местечка Конкореццо - Concorezzo, к северо-востоку от Милана). Другие итальянские названия - "баньоленсы" (bagnolenses), "гаратенсы" (garatenses - одна из сект в северной Италии, в которой власть принадлежала старейшинам) и просто "склавини", то есть "славяне" - все, кто был славянского происхождения и поддерживал контакты с босняцкими богомилами. Смоленцев-Соболь Н. Православие и Орден Храма

* Concorricii [Concorezzenses; ??] (XII ??). Concorricii: Cathars from Concoresso (In modern Italy). Cathar Terminology + A Cathar Glossary

* Durand of Huesca [ex-Waldensian; Дурандо де Гуеска] (c 1160-1224). Durand of Huesca was a Spanish Waldensian, who converted in 1207 to Catholicism. Durand had been a disciple of Peter Waldo, who had been excommunicated in 1184. Around the early 1190s Durand wrote Liber Antihaeresis against the Cathars, which is considered perhaps the best primary source on early Waldensian thought. In 1207, a religious conference was held between Catholics and Waldenses at Pamiers. Participating in the conference were Bishop Fulk of Toulouse, Bishop Navarrus of Couserans, and mentor of Dominic of Caleruega, Diego de Acebo Bishop of Osma. Shortly thereafter Durand and several other Waldenses returned to the Church. Durand's decision to return to the Catholic Church was based on an interest in defending the sacraments and the Incarnation against what he saw as a dualist heresy. In 1208 they organized themselves into the religious community of the Poor Catholics for the conversion of Waldenses. Pope Innocent III granted formal approval in 1210 and Durand was elected prior.

* Bonacursus [ex-Cathar; Бонакурс] (XII). Bonacursus was a 12th-century Italian Cathar who converted to Catholicism and released a confessional report to the people of Milan exposing the nature of the Cathar heresy entitled "Manifestatio haeresis catharorum quam fecit Bonacursus" sometime between 1176 and 1190. He also reported on the Pasagian heresy as well as the Arnoldists.

* Hartuvinus [Cathar; ??] (XII). We learn from this same author, that these heretics showed themselves, at times, more moderate in regard to marriage. One called Hartuvinus allowed a youth amongst them to marry a maiden, but required they should be both virgins, and not proceed beyond the first child; which I take notice of, in order to show the oddities of a sect contradictory to itself, and often forced to act counter to its own principles. (PDF) JAMES BENIGN BOSSUET - THE HISTORY OF THE VARIATIONS OF THE PROTESTANT CHURCHES, 1902

* Desiderius [Cathar; ??] (XII ??). "doctrines which approached orthodox Christianity: for example, that Christ really performed miracles and had a truly human body in which he actually died and rose again" // Moneta several times refers to different anonymous heretical texts, but he also uses two texts by named Cathars: Tetricus, an absolute dualist, and Desiderius, a mitigated dualist attested in other sources, whose work was also owned and used by Aquinas. Lucy J. Sackville - Heresy in Thirteenth-Century Catholic Texts

* Louis VIII of France [Людовик VIII] (1187-1226). Louis VIII, nicknamed The Lion (French: Le Lion), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. From 1216 to 1217, he invaded and claimed the Kingdom of England. Louis participated in the Albigensian Crusade in southern France, driving it to its successful and deadly conclusion. He was the only surviving son of King Philip II of France by his first wife, Isabelle of Hainaut, from whom he inherited the County of Artois.

* Вознесение Исайи [Мученичество Исайи + Видение Исайи; The Ascension/Vision of Isaiah] (I/II). «Вознесе́ние Иса́йи» (лат. Ascensio Isaiae) — раннехристианский апокриф, который составлялся различными авторами с конца I в. до IV в. В апокрифе повествуется о чудесных видениях пророка Исайи, а также о его мученической смерти. Текст апокрифа «Вознесение Исайи» состоит из двух частей, написанных в разное время, это «Мученичество Исайи» (в главах 1-5) и «Видение Исайи» (в главах 6-11). В «Мученичестве Исайи» рассказывается о том, как царь Езекия призывает к себе своего сына Манассию. Пророк Исайя предсказывает, что Маннасия не будет придерживаться завещания своего отца (гл. 1), что вскоре и сбылось. Затем Исайя вместе с другими пророками убегает от гонения из Иерусалима (2. 1-11). Однако Манассия сумел найти Исайю, и повелел казнить его, что и было сделано (5.1-16). После этого повествование переходит к «Видению Исайи». В нем рассказывается, как пророк Исайя был вознесен на небо, где ему было дано откровение, что Господь снизойдет на землю, пройдет через 7 небес, родится от Девы Марии, пострадает и умрет мученической смертью на кресте, воскреснет, и вознесется на небеса. В конце апокрифа Исаия пророчествует царю Езекии о конце мира. // The Vision of Isaiah [apocrypha]. This is an apocalyptic ("visionary") work of great antiquity and unquestioned authenticity, probably dating to before the second century; it manifests early Gnostic Christian influence. It was apparently known to some early Christian writers; Jerome and Epiphanius both quote sections of the text. The Vision of Isaiah was possessed by the Bogomils in the twelfth century and had reached the Languedoc in a Latin translation by the early thirteenth century. Cathar possession and use of the Vision of Isaiah is very well attested and witnesses both their access to transmissions of early Christian writings from the East, and their identification with traditions of Christianity that had preserved and honored these writings. Cathars probably valued this text not only because it seemingly supported their theology, but also because it gives testament to a primary and Gnostic visionary experience. The Vision of Isaiah is known to be part of a larger compilation of texts collectively called the Ascension of Isaiah. The Vision is an "ascension text" -- recounting Isaiah's visionary journey through the seven heavens to the Throne of God. It bears comparison to the Enoch and Merkabah literature of the first century (for example, compare the Merkabah vision text found among the Dead Sea Scrolls). The section in Chapter 4 speaking of the "Robe of Glory" recalls the vision of the "Robe of Glory" found in the Acts of Thomas. (Text) The Gnostic Society Library - Cathar Writings and Rituals - The Vision of Isaiah // Ascension of Isaiah. The Ascension of Isaiah is a pseudepigraphical Judeo-Christian text. Scholarly estimates regarding the date of the Ascension of Isaiah range anywhere between the final decades of the first century to the early decades of the third century, though scholars prefer some time in the early 2nd century. The reason for this large range in dating is due to the fact that there is virtually no information that allows for a confident dating into any specific period. Many scholars believe it to be a compilation of several texts completed by an unknown Christian scribe who claimed to be the Prophet Isaiah, while an increasing number of scholars in recent years have argued that the work is a unity by a single author that may have utilized multiple sources. The book has three main sections: 1) The first part of the book (chapters 1-5), generally referred to as the Martyrdom of Isaiah, recounts and expands on the events of 2 Kings chapter 21. Isaiah warns the dying Hezekiah that his heir, Manasseh, will not follow the same path. When Manasseh takes over, and Isaiah's warning proves true, Isaiah and a group of fellow prophets head into the desert, and a demon named Beliar inspires a false prophet named Belkira to accuse Isaiah of treason. The king consequently condemns Isaiah to death, and although Isaiah hides in a tree, he is found, and Belkira leads the execution. 2) Into the middle of this (3:13-4:22) is a Christian apocalypse called the Testament of Hezekiah, describing a vision of the coming of Jesus, the subsequent corruption of the Christian church, the rule of Beliar, and the second coming. All of this is phrased in such a way that it is clearly a code for the persecution of the Church by Nero and the belief that Nero was an Antichrist. 3) The second part of the book (chapters 6-11) is referred to as the Vision of Isaiah and describes an angel-assisted journey, prior to the events of the first part of the book, by Isaiah through the Seven Heavens. In its surviving form it is clearly written from a Christian perspective, concentrating on Jesus' death and his resurrection, and especially the ascension of Jesus. The birth of Jesus is curiously described as being preceded by Jesus descending through each of the heavens, disguising himself as an angel appropriate to each as he goes. The extant complete manuscripts of the Ascension of Isaiah include a brief account of Jesus' nativity, birth, and crucifixion (11:2-22). However, according to Jonathan Knight, "the problem with chapter 11 is that these traditions are found in only one branch of the textual tradition, that represented by the Ethiopic translation (E). The Slavonic and one of the two Latin translations (S and L2) replace them with a short summary of the earthly appearance so that their authenticity—including the Marian material—is disputed."

* Cathar cosmology [Космология катаров]. Cathar cosmology identified two twin, opposing deities. The first was a good God, portrayed in the New Testament and creator of the spirit, while the second was an evil God, depicted in the Old Testament and creator of matter and the physical world. The latter, often called Rex Mundi ("King of the World"), was identified as the God of Judaism, and was also either conflated with Satan or considered Satan's father, creator or seducer. They addressed the problem of evil by stating that the good God's power to do good was limited by the evil God's works and vice versa. However, those beliefs were far from unanimous. Some Cathar communities believed in a mitigated dualism similar to their Bogomil predecessors, stating that the evil god, Satan, had previously been the true God's servant before rebelling against him. Others, likely a majority over time given the influence reflected on the Book of the Two Principles, believed in an absolute dualism, where the two gods were twin entities of the same power and importance. All visible matter, including the human body, was created or crafted by this Rex Mundi; matter was therefore tainted with sin. Under this view, humans were actually angels seduced by Satan before a war in heaven against the army of Michael, after which they would have been forced to spend an eternity trapped in the evil God's material realm. The Cathars taught that to regain angelic status one had to renounce the material self completely. Until one was prepared to do so, they would be stuck in a cycle of reincarnation, condemned to live on the corrupt Earth.

* Dualistic cosmology [Дуалистическая космология]. Dualistic cosmology is a collective term. Many variant myths and creation motifs are so described in ethnographic and anthropological literature. These motifs conceive the world as being created, organized, or influenced by two demiurges, culture heroes, or other mythological beings, who either compete with each other or have a complementary function in creating, arranging or influencing the world. There is a huge diversity of such cosmologies. In a Chukchi example, the two beings do not compete, rather collaborate. They contribute to the creation in a coequal way. They are neither collateral nor consanguineous relatives. In many other instances the two beings are not of the same importance or power (sometimes, one of them is even characterized as gullible). Sometimes they can be contrasted as good versus evil. They may be often believed to be twins or at least brothers. Dualistic motifs in mythologies can be observed in all inhabited continents. Zolotaryov concludes that they cannot be explained by diffusion or borrowing, but are of convergent origin: they are related to a dualistic organization of society (moieties); in some cultures, this social organization may have been ceased to exist, but mythology may preserve memories in more and more disguised ways. Types of dualism. Radical Dualism - or absolute Dualism which posits two co-equal divine forces. Manichaeism conceives of two previously coexistent realms of light and darkness which become embroiled in conflict, owing to the chaotic actions of the latter. Subsequently, certain elements of the light became entrapped within darkness; the purpose of material creation is to enact the slow process of extraction of these individual elements, at the end of which the kingdom of light will prevail over darkness. Manicheanism likely inherits this dualistic mythology from Zoroastrianism, in which the eternal spirit Ahura Mazda is opposed by his antithesis, Angra Mainyu; the two are engaged in a cosmic struggle, the conclusion of which will likewise see Ahura Mazda triumphant. 'The Hymn of the Pearl' included the belief that the material world corresponds to some sort of malevolent intoxication brought about by the powers of darkness to keep elements of the light trapped inside it in a state of drunken distraction. Mitigated Dualism - is where one of the two principles is in some way inferior to the other. Such classical Gnostic movements as the Sethians conceived of the material world as being created by a lesser divinity than the true God that was the object of their devotion. The spiritual world is conceived of as being radically different from the material world, co-extensive with the true God, and the true home of certain enlightened members of humanity; thus, these systems were expressive of a feeling of acute alienation within the world, and their resultant aim was to allow the soul to escape the constraints presented by the physical realm. Examples. Gnosticism. Gnosticism is a diverse, syncretistic religious movement consisting of various belief systems generally united in the teaching that humans are divine souls trapped in a material world created by an imperfect god, the demiurge, who is frequently identified with the Abrahamic God. The demiurge may be depicted as an embodiment of evil, or in other instances as merely imperfect and as benevolent as its inadequacy permits. This demiurge exists alongside another remote and unknowable supreme being that embodies good. Bogomils, Paulicans and Cathars are typically seen as being imitative of Gnosticism. Whether or not the Cathari possessed direct historical influence from ancient Gnosticism is a matter of dispute. The basic conceptions of Gnostic cosmology are, however, to be found in Cathar beliefs (most distinctly in their notion of a lesser creator god). Unlike the second century Gnostics, they did not apparently place any special relevance upon knowledge (gnosis) as an effective salvific force. Uralic peoples. In a Nenets myth, Num and Nga collaborate and compete with each other, creating land, there are also other myths about competing-collaborating demiurges. Comparative studies among Uralic peoples and Kets. Among others, also dualistic myths were investigated in researches which tried to compare the mythologies of Siberian peoples and settle the problem of their origins. Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov and Vladimir Toporov compared the mythology of Ket people with those of Uralic peoples, assuming in the studies, that there are modelling semiotic systems in the compared mythologies; and they have also made typological comparisons. Among others, from possibly Uralic mythological analogies, those of Ob-Ugric peoples and Samoyedic peoples are mentioned. Some other discussed analogies (similar folklore motifs, and purely typological considerations, certain binary pairs in symbolics) may be related to dualistic organization of society — some of such dualistic features can be found at these compared peoples. It must be admitted that, for Kets, neither dualistic organization of society nor cosmological dualism has been researched thoroughly: if such features existed at all, they have either weakened or remained largely undiscovered; although there are some reports on division into two exogamous patrilinear moieties, folklore on conflicts of mythological figures, and also on cooperation of two beings in creating the land: the diving of the water fowl. If we include dualistic cosmologies meant in broad sense, not restricted to certain concrete motifs, then we find that they are much more widespread, they exist not only among some Uralic peoples, but there are examples in each inhabited continent. Chukchi. A Chukchi myth (it has many variations) reports the creation of the world, and in some variations, it is done by the collaboration of several beings (birds, collaborating in a coequal way; or the creator and the raven, collaborating in a coequal way; or the creator alone, using the birds only as assistants). Religion-wiki - Dualistic cosmology

* Kenoma [gnosticism; Кенома]. Valentinius, a mid-2nd century Gnostic thinker and preacher, was among the early Christians who attempted to align Christianity with middle Platonism. Valentinius pooled dual concepts from the Platonic world of ideal forms, or fullness (pleroma), and the lower world of phenomena, or emptiness (kenoma, κένωμα). Employing a third concept of cosmos, what is manifest, Valentinian initiates could exegete scripture in light of these three aspects of correlated existence. The void. "The pleroma is the abode of the Æons . . . they are, or they comprise, the eternal ideas or archetypes of the Platonic philosophy. . . . Separated from this celestial region by Horus . . . or Boundary . . . lies the ‘kenoma’ or ‘void’—the kingdom of this world, the region of matter and material things, the land of shadow and darkness. Here is the empire of the Demiurge or Creator, who is not a celestial Æon at all, but was born in this very void over which he reigns. Here reside all those phenomenal, deceptive, transitory things, of which the eternal counterparts are found only in the pleroma. . . . All things are set off one against another in these two regions: just as 'The swan on still St Mary’s lake, Floats double, swan and shadow.' Not only have the thirty Æons their terrestrial counterparts; but their subdivisions also are represented in this lower region. The kenoma too has its ogdoad, its decad, its dodecad, like the pleroma. There is one Sophia in the supramundane region, and another in the mundane; there is one Christ who redeems the Æons in the spiritual world, and a second Christ who redeems mankind, or rather a portion of mankind, in the sensible world. There is an Æon Man and another Æon Ecclesia in the celestial kingdom, the ideal counterparts of the Human Race and the Christian Church in the terrestrial. . . . The topographical conception of the pleroma moreover is carried out in the details of the imagery. The second Sophia, called also Achamoth, is the desire, the offspring, of her elder namesake, separated from her mother, cast out of the pleroma, and left ‘stranded’ in the void beyond, being prevented from returning by the inexorable Horus who guards the frontier of the supramundane kingdom." — Lightfoot, pp. 266–67. (...) Hysterema. Elsewhere, the usual antithesis to Pleroma is not Kenoma, but Hysterema (ὑστέρημα). As the system is reported by Hippolytus (vi. 31, p. 180) this word is used as the complement of the word Pleroma, denoting all that is not included in the meaning of the latter word. Thus the Horos or boundary is described as separating the Hysterema from the Pleroma, itself partaking of the nature of both; but preserving all inside fixed and immovable by permitting nothing from without to enter. We can understand in the same sense the passage in Epiphanius (Haer. 31, 4, p. 166), where the same name is given to the Demiurge; for it appears in the case of the word Hebdomas that the Valentinians gave to the Demiurge the name of the realm over which he ruled, and from which he had his origin. (...)

* Pleroma [gnosticism; Плерома]. Pleroma (Koinē Greek, literally "fullness") generally refers to the totality of divine powers. It is used in Christian theological contexts, especially in Gnosticism. The term also appears in the Epistle to the Colossians,[Col 2:9] which is traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle, although its authenticity is increasingly doubted by modern scholars. The word is used 17 times in the New Testament. The word literally means "fullness", from the verb plēróō (πληρόω, "to fill"), from plḗrēs (πλήρης, "full"). Gnosticism. {See also: Kenoma} In Gnosticism the use becomes yet more stereotyped and technical, though its applications are still very variable. The Gnostic writers appeal to the use in the NT (e.g. Iren I. iii. 4), and the word retains from it the sense of totality in contrast to the constituent parts; but the chief associations of pleroma in their systems are with Greek philosophy, and the main thought is that of a state of completeness in contrast to deficiency (hysterema, Iren. I. xvi. 3; Hippol. vi. 31), or of the fulness of real existence in contrast to the empty void and unreality of mere phenomena (kenoma, Iren. I. iv. 1). Thus in Cerinthus it expressed the fulness of the Divine Life out of which the Divine Christ descended upon the man Jesus at his baptism, and into which He returned (Iren. I. xxvi. 1, III. xi. 1, xvi. 1). In the Valentinian system it stands in antithesis to the essential incomprehensible Godhead, as 'the circle of the Divine attributes,' the various means by which God reveals Himself: it is the totality of the thirty aeons or emanations which proceed from God, but are separated alike from Him and from the material universe. It is at times almost localized, so that a thing is spoken of as 'within,' 'without,' 'above,' 'below' the Pleroma: more often it is the spirit-world, the archetypal ideal existing in the invisible heavens in contrast to the imperfect phenomenal manifestations of that ideal in the universe. Thus 'the whole Pleroma of the aeons' contributes each its own excellence to the historic Jesus, and He appears on earth 'as the perfect beauty and star of the Pleroma' (teleiotaton kallos kai astron tou pleromatos, Iren. I. xi. 6). Similarly it was used by writers as equivalent to the full completeness of perfect knowledge (Pistis Sophia, p. 15). "[Some] confess that the Father of all contains all things, and that there is nothing whatever outside of the Pleroma (for it is an absolute necessity that, [if there be anything outside of it,] it should be bounded and circumscribed by something greater than itself), and that they speak of what is without and what within in reference to knowledge and ignorance, and not with respect to local distance; but that, in the Pleroma, or in those things which are contained by the Father, the whole creation which we know to have been formed, having been made by the Demiurge, or by the angels, is contained by the unspeakable greatness, as the centre is in a circle, or as a spot is in a garment . . . ." — Iren. II. iv. 2 Again, each separate aeon is called a pleroma in contrast to its earthly imperfect counterpart, so that in this sense the plural can be used, pleromata (Iren. I. xiv. 2); and even each individual has his or her Pleroma or spiritual counterpart (to pleroma autes of the Samaritan woman,—Heracleon, ap. Origen, xiii. p. 205). It thus expressed the various thoughts which we should express by the Godhead, the ideal, heaven; and it is probably owing to this ambiguity, as well as to its heretical associations, that the word dropped out of Christian theology. It is still used in its ordinary untechnical meaning, e.g. Theophylact speaks of the Trinity as pleroma tou theou; but no use so technical as that in Ignatius reappears. Diagram of the Pleroma. First the • (Point), the Monad, Bythus (the Deep), the unknown and unknowable Father. Then the Δ (Triangle), Bythus {??} and the first emanated pair or Duad, Nous (Mind) and its syzygy Aletheia (Truth).

* Ogdoad [gnosticism; Огдоад]. The concept of an Ogdoad appears in Gnostic systems of the early Christian era, and was further developed by the theologian Valentinus (ca. 160 AD). The number eight plays an important part in Gnostic systems, and it is necessary to distinguish the different forms in which it appeared at different stages in the development of Gnosticism. The earliest Gnostic systems included a theory of seven heavens and a supercelestial region called the Ogdoad. Astronomical theories had introduced the concept of seven planetary spheres with an eighth above them, the sphere of the fixed stars. In the system of Valentinus, the seven heavens, and even the region above them, were regarded as but the lowest and last stage of the exercise of creative power. Above them was the Pleroma, where were exhibited the first manifestations of the evolution of subordinate existence from the great First Principle.

* Aeon [gnosticism; Эон]. In many Gnostic systems, various emanations of God are known by such names as One, Monad, Aion teleos (αἰών τέλεος "The Broadest Aeon"), Bythos (βυθός, "depth" or "profundity"), Proarkhe ("before the beginning", προαρχή), Arkhe ("the beginning", ἀρχή), and Aeons. In different systems these emanations are differently named, classified, and described, but emanation theory is common to all forms of Gnosticism. In Basilidian Gnosis they are called sonships (υἱότητες huiotetes; sing.: υἱότης huiotes); according to Marcus, they are numbers and sounds; in Valentinianism they form male/female pairs called syzygies (Greek συζυγίαι, from σύζυγοι syzygoi, lit. "yokings together"). This source of all being is an Aeon, in which an inner being dwells, known as Ennoea ("thought, intent", Greek ἔννοια), Charis ("grace", Greek χάρις), or Sige ("silence", Greek σιγή). The split perfect being conceives the second Aeon, Nous ("mind", Greek Νους), within itself. Complex hierarchies of Aeons are thus produced, sometimes to the number of thirty. These Aeons belong to a purely ideal, noumenal, intelligible, or supersensible world; they are immaterial, they are hypostatic ideas. Together with the source from which they emanate, they form Pleroma ("fullness", Greek πλήρωμα). The lowest regions of Pleroma are closest to darkness—that is, the physical world. The transition from immaterial to material, from noumenal to sensible, is created by a flaw, passion, or sin in an Aeon. According to Basilides, it is a flaw in the last sonship; according to others the sin of the Great Archon, or Aeon-Creator, of the Universe; according to others it is the passion of the female Aeon Sophia, who emanates without her partner Aeon, resulting in the Demiurge (Greek Δημιουργός), a creature that should never have been. This creature does not belong to Pleroma, and the One emanates two savior Aeons, Christ and the Holy Spirit, to save humanity from the Demiurge. Christ then took a human form (Jesus), to teach humanity how to achieve Gnosis. The ultimate end of all Gnosis is metanoia (Greek μετάνοια), or repentance—undoing the sin of material existence and returning to Pleroma. Aeons bear a number of similarities to Judaeo-Christian angels, including roles as servants and emanations of God, and existing as beings of light. In fact, certain Gnostic Angels, such as Armozel, are also Aeons. (...) Valentinus assumed, as the beginning of all things, the Primal Being or Bythos, who after ages of silence and contemplation, gave rise to other beings by a process of emanation. The first series of beings, the Aeons, were thirty in number, representing fifteen syzygies or pairs sexually complementary. (...) Tertullian's Against the Valentinians gives a slightly different sequence. The first eight of these Aeons, corresponding to generations one through four below, are referred to as the Ogdoad. First generation: Bythos Βύθος (the One) and Sige Σιγή (Silence, Charis, Ennoea, etc.); Second generation: Nous Νοΰς (Nus, Mind) and Aletheia Άλήθεια (Veritas, Truth); Third generation, emanated from Nous and Aletheia: Sermo (the Word; Logos Λόγος) and Vita (the Life; Zoe Ζωή); Fourth generation, emanated from Sermo and Vita: Anthropos Άνθρωπος (Homo, Man) and Ecclesia Έκκλησία (Church). (...) Sige. In the system of Valentinus, as expounded by Irenaeus (i. 1), the origin of things was traced to two eternal co-existent principles, a male and a female. The male was called Bythos or Proarche, or Propator, etc.; the female had the names Ennoea, Charis and Sige. The whole Aeonology of Valentinus was based on a theory of syzygies, or pairs of Aeons, each Aeon being provided with a consort; and the supposed need of the co-operation of a male and female principle for the generation of new ones, was common to Valentinus and some earlier Gnostic systems. But it was a disputed point in these systems whether the First Principle of all was thus twofold. There were those, both in earlier systems, and even among the Valentinians who held, that the origin of things was to be traced to a single Principle, which some described as hermaphrodite; others said was above all sex. And among the Valentinians who counted thirty Aeons, there were those who counted Bythos and Sige as the first pair; others who asserted the Single Principle excluded Bythos from the number, and made out the number of thirty without reckoning him. Thus Irenaeus says of the Valentinians (I. ii. 4. p. 10), "For they maintain that sometimes the Father acts in conjunction with Sige, but that at other times he shows himself independent both of male and female." And (I. xi. 5) "For some declare him to be without a consort, and neither male nor female, and, in fact, nothing at all; while others affirm him to be masculo-feminine, assigning to him the nature of a hermaphrodite; others, again, allot Sige to him as a spouse, that thus may be formed the first conjunction." Hippolytus supposes Valentinus to have derived his system from that of Simon {Magus}; and in that as expounded in the Apophasis Megale, from which he gives extracts, the origin of things is derived from six roots, divided into three pairs; but all these roots spring from a single independent Principle, which is without consort. The name Sige occurs in the description which Hippolytus (vi. 18) quotes from the Apophasis, how from the supreme Principle there arise the male and female offshoots nous and epinoia. The name Sige is there given not to either of the offshoots but to the supreme Principle itself: however, in the description, these offshoots appear less as distinct entities than as different aspects of the same Being. (...) Ennoea. In the attempts made by the framers of different Gnostic systems to explain the origin of the existing world, the first stage in the process was usually made by personifying the conception in the divine mind of that which was to emanate from Him. We learn from Justin Martyr (Ap. I. 26), and from Irenaeus (I. 23), that the word Ennoea was used in a technical sense in the system of Simon. The Latin translation of Irenaeus either retains the word, or renders "mentis conceptio." Tertullian has "injectio" (De Anima, 34). In the Apophasis Megale cited by Hippolytus (Ref. vi. 18, 19, p. 174), the word used is not Ennoia but Epinoia. Irenaeus states (I. 23) that the word Ennoea passed from the system of Simon into that of Menander. In the Barbeliot system which Irenaeus also counts as derived from that of Simon (I. 29), Ennoea appears as one of the first in the series of emanations from the unnameable Father. In the system of Valentinus (Iren. I. i.) Ennoea is one of several alternative names for the consort of the primary Aeon Bythos. For the somewhat different form in which Ptolemaeus presented this part of the system see Irenaeus (I. xii.). Irenaeus criticises this part of the system (II. xiii.). The name Ennoea is similarly used in the Ophite system described by Irenaeus (I. xxx.). Charis. Charis, in the system of Valentinus, was an alternative name, with Ennoea and Sige, for the consort of the primary Aeon Bythos (Iren. i. 4). The name expresses that aspect of the absolute Greatness in which it is regarded not as a solitary monad, but as imparting from its perfection to beings of which it is the ultimate source; and this is the explanation given in the Valentinian fragment preserved by Epiphanius (Haer. xxxi. 6), dia to epikechoregekenai auten thesaurismata tou Megethous tois ek tou Megethous. The use of the word Charis enabled Ptolemaeus (quoted by Irenaeus, i. 8) to find in John 1:14 the first tetrad of Aeons, viz., Pater, Monogenes, Charis, Aletheia. The suspicion arises that it was with a view to such an identification that names to be found in the prologue of St. John's Gospel were added as alternative appellations to the original names of the Aeons. But this is a point on which we have no data to pronounce. Charis has an important place in the system of Marcus (Irenaeus, i. 13). The name Charis appears also in the system of the Barbelitae (Irenaeus, i. 29), but as denoting a later emanation than in the Valentinian system. The word has possibly also a technical meaning in the Ophite prayers preserved by Origen (Contra Celsum, vi. 31), all of which end with the invocation he charis synesto moi, nai pater, synesto. // Aeons. The superstructure of the celestial system, the celestial world of Aeons, is here developed in the most complicated way. These Aeons belong to the purely ideal, noumenal, intelligible, or supersensible world; they are immaterial, they are hypostatic ideas. Together with the source from which they emanate they form the Pleroma. The transition from the immaterial to the material, from the noumenal to the sensible, is brought about by a flaw, or a passion, or a sin, in the female Aeon Sophia. Epiphanius alleges that the Valentinians "set forth their thirty aeons in mythologic fashion, thinking that they conformed to the years of Jesus". Of the eight celestial beings of the Ogdoad, four are peculiar to the Valentinian system. The third pair of Aeons, Logos and Zoe, occur only here, and the place of this pair is not firmly established, and occur sometimes before and sometimes after the fourth pair of Aeons, the Anthropos and the Ekklesia. We cannot be far wrong in suspecting that Valentinus was influenced by the prologue of the fourth Gospel (we also find the probably Johannine names Monogenes and Parakletos in the series of Aeons). (Valentinianism)

* Barbeliot system [gnosticism; Барбелиотская система]. In the section of Irenaeus immediately preceding that of which we have just given an account, there is a summary of a system which has been called Barbeliot, from its use of the name Barbelo to denote the supreme female principle. It contains some of the essential features of the scheme just described, of which it seems to have been a development, principally characterized by a great wealth of nomenclature, and, with the exception of the name which has given a title to the system, all derived from the Greek language. (Ophites) // Barbelo. Barbēlō refers to the first emanation of God in several forms of Gnostic cosmogony. Barbēlō is often depicted as a supreme female principle, the single passive antecedent of creation in its manifoldness. This figure is also variously referred to as 'Mother-Father' (hinting at her apparent androgyny), 'First Human Being', 'The Triple Androgynous Name', or 'Eternal Aeon'. So prominent was her place amongst some Gnostics that some schools were designated as Barbeliotae, Barbēlō worshippers or Barbēlōgnostics. The nature of Barbēlō. Nag Hammadi Library. In the Apocryphon of John, a tractate in the Nag Hammadi Library containing the most extensive recounting of the Sethian creation myth, the Barbēlō is described as "the first power, the glory, Barbēlō, the perfect glory in the aeons, the glory of the revelation". All subsequent acts of creation within the divine sphere (save, crucially, that of the lowest aeon Sophia) occurs through her coaction with God. The text describes her thus: "This is the first thought, his image; she became the womb of everything, for it is she who is prior to them all, the Mother-Father, the first man (Anthropos), the holy Spirit, the thrice-male, the thrice-powerful, the thrice-named androgynous one, and the eternal aeon among the invisible ones, and the first to come forth." Pistis Sophia. In the Pistis Sophia Barbēlō is named often, but her place is not clearly defined. She is one of the gods, "a great power of the Invisible God" (373), joined with Him and the three "Thrice-powerful deities" (379), the mother of Pistis Sophilight" or heavenly body (13, 128; cf. 116, 121); the earth apparently is the "matter kishan choure of Barbēlō" (128) or the "place of Barbēlō" (373). In patristic texts. She is obscurely described by Irenaeus as "a never-aging aeon in a virginal spirit", to whom, according to certain "Gnostici", the Innominable Father wished to manifest Himself, and who, when four successive beings, whose names express thought and life, had come forth from Him, was quickened with joy at the sight, and herself gave birth to three (or four) other like beings. She is noticed in several neighbouring passages of Epiphanius, who in part must be following the Compendium of Hippolytus, as is shown by comparison with Philaster (c. 33), but also speaks from personal knowledge of the Ophitic sects specially called "Gnostici" (i. 100 f.). The first passage is in the article on the Nicolaitans (i. 77 f.), but is apparently an anticipatory reference to their alleged descendants the "Gnostici" (77 A; Philast.). According to their view Barbēlō lives "above in the eighth heaven"; she had been 'put forth' "of the Father"; she was mother of Yaldabaoth (some said, of Sabaoth), who insolently took possession of the seventh heaven, and proclaimed himself to be the only God; and when she heard this word she lamented. She was always appearing to the Archons in a beautiful form, that by beguiling them she might gather up her own scattered power. Others, Epiphanius further seems to say (78 f.), told a similar tale of Prunikos, substituting Caulacau for Yaldabaoth. In his next article, on the "Gnostici", or Borborites (83 C D), the idea of the recovery of the scattered powers of Barbēlō recurs as set forth in an apocryphal Book of Noria, Noah's legendary wife. "For Noah was obedient to the archon, they say, but Noria revealed the powers on high and Barbelo, the scion of the powers—the opposite of the archon, as the other powers are. And she intimated that what has been taken from the Mother on High by the archon who made the world, and others with him—gods, demons, and angels—must be gathered from the power in the bodies, through the male and female emissions." In both places Epiphanius represents the doctrine as giving rise to sexual libertinism. Mircea Eliade has compared these Borborite beliefs and practices involving Barbēlō to Tantric rituals and beliefs, noting that both systems have a common goal of attaining primordial spiritual unity through erotic bliss and the consumption of menses and semen. In a third passage (91 f.), enumerating the Archons said to have their seat in each heaven, Epiphanius mentions as the inhabitants of the eighth or highest heaven "her who is called Barbēlō", and the self-gendered Father and Lord of all things, and the virgin-born (αὐτολόχευτον) Christ (evidently as her son, for according to Irenaeus her first progeny, "the Light", was called Christ); and similarly he tells how the ascent of souls through the different heavens terminated in the upper region, "where Barbēro or Barbēlō is, the Mother of the Living" (Genesis 3:20). (...) Significance. In Gnostic accounts of God, the notions of impenetrability, stasis and ineffability are of central importance. The emanation of Barbēlō may be said to function as an intermediary generative aspect of the Divine, or as an abstraction of the generative aspect of the Divine through its Fullness. The most transcendent hidden invisible Spirit is not depicted as actively participating in creation. This significance is reflected both in her apparent androgyny (reinforced by several of her given epithets), and in the name Barbēlō itself. Several plausible etymologies of the name have been proposed.

* Paracelsus [alchemist; Парацельс] (c 1493-1541). Paracelsus, born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance. He was a pioneer in several aspects of the "medical revolution" of the Renaissance, emphasizing the value of observation in combination with received wisdom. He is credited as the "father of toxicology". Paracelsus also had a substantial impact as a prophet or diviner, his "Prognostications" being studied by Rosicrucians in the 1600s. Paracelsianism is the early modern medical movement inspired by the study of his works.