other · religious

Pistis Sophia

c. 250–300 CE · Early Christian / Gnostic · Egypt

Book 1 — The Ascent of Jesus Through the Heavens

1It came to pass, when Jesus had risen from the dead,
2That he passed eleven years discoursing with his disciples,
3And instructing them only up to the regions of the First Commandment
4And up to the regions of the First Mystery.
5Now on the fifteenth day of the moon in the month Tybi,
6Which is the day on which the moon is full,
7On that day then, when the sun had risen in his going,
8There came forth behind him a great light-power shining most exceedingly,
9And there was no measure to the light conjoined with it.
10For it came out of the Light of lights,
11And it came out of the last mystery,
12Which is the four-and-twentieth mystery,
13From within without — those which are in the second space of the First Mystery.
14And that light-power descended on Jesus and surrounded him entirely,
15While he was seated removed from his disciples,
16And he shone most exceedingly.
17And Jesus ascended or was taken up into the height,
18Shining most exceedingly in an immeasurable light.
19And the disciples gazed after him and none of them spake,
20Until he had gone into heaven.

The Lament of Pistis Sophia

21It came to pass then, when Jesus had come into the midst of his disciples,
22That he said unto them: Rejoice and exult,
23For I have brought the solution of all the mysteries of the kingdom of the Light.
24And Mary Magdalene came forward and said: My Lord, I have understood
25All the things which thou hast said. Now therefore, my Lord, hearken to me
26That I may speak openly the repentance which Pistis Sophia hath uttered.
27This is the repentance which Pistis Sophia hath uttered,
28When she was in the chaos below:
29Save me, O Light, for evil thoughts have entered into me.
30I have gone astray — I have gone into the darkness of the chaos below.
31I have gone out of my region and the light has departed from me.
32I have come into a region where there is no light, but only darkness and shadow.
33And I am helpless, for my power has failed.
34And I called out to the Light — but it heard me not.
35And I stretched forth my hands toward thee — but thou didst not see me.
36For my sins are many before thee.
37The false god who is self-willed has taken my light.
38And I am without light.
39Now therefore, O Light of lights, I am in darkness.
40Save me, O Light; for through thee will I be saved.

The Mysteries of the Treasure-House

41Then Jesus said: Amen, amen, I say unto you:
42I am not the First Mystery; I am the First Mystery which is last,
43Even the four-and-twentieth mystery.
44And I am the Receiver of the Light.
45And the First Mystery of the Ineffable
46Dwelleth in the light of my garment.
47Philip came forward and said: My Lord, on what do thou delay,
48That thou dost not reveal unto us the mysteries of the Light?
49Jesus said unto him: Philip, blessed art thou and all your generation,
50Because in you will be fulfilled all the pleroma and all perfection.
51Now therefore the Pistis Sophia hath been saved from the chaos,
52And she hath been led above the thirteenth aeon.
53And she will enter into the inheritance of her light.
54And all the powers were shaken: those of the left and those of the right,
55And all those of the middle, and all the rulers and all the aeons
56And all the heavens were shaken and the whole earth was shaken.
57And all those who are in the world of men were shaken with a great fear,
58And fell down on their faces.
59For the mystery of all the mysteries of the Ineffable had drawn nigh.

notes

Pistis Sophia ("Faith Wisdom") is the most complete Gnostic text known before the Nag Hammadi discovery of 1945. It survives in a single Coptic manuscript (the Askew Codex) purchased in London in 1773 and now in the British Library. The text purports to be the revelations given by the risen Jesus to his disciples — prominently featuring Mary Magdalene as the chief questioner — over eleven years after the resurrection. It describes the fall and redemption of a divine being called Pistis Sophia (a female divine principle), who descends from the heavenly realms into the material chaos through pride, repents, and is restored by the Light through the agency of Jesus. The cosmological framework is complex: thirteen aeons, emanations of the Ineffable, the treasury of the Light, and a hierarchy of divine mysteries. Mary Magdalene asks and answers 39 of the 64 questions put to Jesus — a strikingly prominent role that reflects Gnostic communities where women held significant authority. Translation after G.R.S. Mead (1921). Public domain.

currently held: British Library, London (Askew Codex)

GnosticCosmologyPhilosophyAfterlifeRitual

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