Pistis Sophia

A Gnostic Miscellany: Being for the Most Part Extracts from the Books of the Saviour, to Which Are Added Excerpts from a Cognate Literature

By: G.R.S. Mead

Narrated by: Matthew Schmitz

Pistis Sophia is a Gnostic text discovered in 1773, possibly written between the third and fourth centuries AD. The existing manuscript, which some scholars place in the late fourth century, relates one Gnostic group's teachings of the transfigured Jesus to the assembled disciples, including his mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Martha.

This is G.R.S. Mead's translation of the Pistis Sophia, the most extensive Gnostic scripture available until the discovery of Nag Hammadi texts in 1945. The Pistis Sophia is a startling blend of primitive Christianity and Hellenic Paganism, with other elements such as reincarnation, astrology, mystery religion and Hermetic magic.

The goddess makes an appearance in the guise of Sophia, a fallen angel. The text is notable because the female disciples of Jesus are treated as active participants in the discourse, in a way that would be unimaginable in later Christianity. Tensions between the men and women disciples are not glossed over.

©2023 Matthew Schmitz (P)2023 Matthew Schmitz

Intriguing

It was suggested to me to read this 10 times. The audio version will assist in this. There are many layers of this story that need to be directed to come into understanding. I look forward to this. much like peeling an onion, the layers are many. More will be revealed as familiarity through exposure brings me closer to the meanings of key points, a bit cryptic, but I suspect only because I am not familiar with the stories within quite yet. Fascinating.