A Gnostic Eucharistic Theology in Brief

Celebration of the Eucharist as the second ordinance which Jesus gave to his disciples, the first being baptism, is the central mystery of the Christian continuum practiced by adherents of nearly all traditions and having an equal number of different theologies associated with its institution.

Although the institution of the Eucharist has a very clear Scriptural basis, it would be in error to think that it is something solely found within the limitations of New Testament scripture as we know from related practices in the Mediterranean from Egypt to the Orphic mysteries of Ancient Greece and Rome. While some may view this as a point of detraction against the Eucharist’s integrity as practiced in contemporary Christianity, from a Gnostic perspective this fact points to the universality of God’s covenant with Creation.

From a Christian perspective the Eucharist begins and ends with Christ, something likewise affirmed in Gnostic scripture: “The Eucharist is Jesus. In Syriac it is called pharisatha (broken bread), which is ‘one who is spread out,’ since Jesus came to crucify the world.”[1] In order to understand the Eucharist, one must first understand Christ. Amongst the early Christian and Gnostic communities there was, as today, a wide variety of Christological interpretations.

Whereas the outer Church would almost unilaterally agree that the personhood of Christ in Jesus are united in one or single nature, the general consensus amongst Gnostics then and now would be much closer to a monophysite or semi-docetic interpretation in which the nature of Christ in Jesus is singular or that Christ in the person of Jesus was permeable in a way that his physical existence was at least semi-illusory. Because of our limitations of perception, we are only able to hint at the nature of Christ however, but from scripture bother perspectives and conjecture his essence is pre-existent from his physical body:

“In the beginning was the word and the word was with god, and the word was god. He was in the beginning with god. Through him everything came to be. What came to be in him was life and life was the light of all people and the light in the darkness shone and the darkness could not apprehend the light.”[2]

The nature of Christ, at the very least, can be characterized as light – not merely physical light, but illumination of consciousness. It is through Christ we are illuminated into the original light which pre-existed all things. In Gnostic cosmology, all things exist by an act of emanation from a point of singularity that is pre-existent and pervades all space and all time yet remains, for the most part, perceptually incomprehensible.

The emanation which we call Christ is the closet to both our own earthly natures but unique in its ability to draw all things back to the singular source. Since all things consist of substance, it is therefore possible from a Gnostic interpretation to pneumatically affirm the real presence in the mystery of the Eucharist:

“The world eats bodies, and everything eaten in the world dies. Truth eats life, but no one fed on truth will find death. Jesus came and he carried food, giving life to whoever wanted it so they might not die”[3]

The Eucharist therefore is not merely a commemorative meal instituted by Jesus as affirmed in the synoptic gospels Mark 14: 16-25; Matthew 26:26-29; Luke 22:13-20 and later by Paul in I Corinthians 11:23-11:25; it is a perpetual act of God experiencing humanity that humanity may experience God and through this act of understanding (henosis), reunite in communion (synaxis) with the original state of unity that preceded Creation. In this Christ is not merely understood to be the physical Jesus of Nazareth, rather the eternal principal of the Christ existing pervasively throughout all eternity.

This varies only slightly in the understanding of the mystery as elucidated from Catholic and subsequent Protestant theologies in that it is understood to be a truly universal and participatory ritual that is not limited only to Christians alone, but to and for all persons in all times as part of the commemoration of our divine origins as part of that unity which manifests itself as the emanated spectrum of the Light of God’s unity throughout Creation. In order to understand this, we must understand the Eucharist not only as the consuming of bread and wine, but as synergetic act – leitourgia – between us as individuals and the community and the community and God, as stated by pseudo-Dionysius in the third chapter of The Ecclesiastical Heirarchy:

“For a start, let us reverently behold what is above all characteristic of this, though also of the other hierarchic sacraments, namely, that which is especially referred to as ‘Communion’ and ‘gathering’ [synaxis]. Every sacredly initiating operation draws our fragmented lives together into a one-like divinization. It forges a divine unity out of the divisions within us. It grants us communion and union with the One.”[4]

This synaxionomic operation further illustrates the immanence of God in His perpetual covenant with humanity by ensuring that all who participate in the Mystery of the Eucharist are transformed by the living presence of the Christ through the mediums of bread and wine.

Is this to be understood that the Eucharist as practiced by Gnostics is to be understood under strictly pneumatic principals – in short, not at all. Scripture from both the Gnostic and Christian sources seem to unanimously indicate that the sacrifice of the Eucharist is very real indeed with the material elements of bread and wine being transformed into the body and blood of the Christ: “The word…the holy one is… food and drink.”[5] In this way the Eucharist amongst Gnostics is every bit the same meal consumed by Christians to this day as it is the same sacred feast of the body and blood God as understood and observed by initiates of the great mystery traditions and schools from ancient times to the present day.

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[1] Gospel of Philip. Isenberg, Wesley (trans.), The Gnostic Bible

[2] The Gospel of John. Barnstone, William (trans.), The Gnostic Bible

[3][3] Gospel of Philip. Ibid.

[4] Ecclesiastical Hierarchy. Rorem, Paul. Pseudo-Dionysius: The Complete Works.

[5] On the Eucharist (B). Robinson, James. The Gnostic Bible

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Good in Silence, from the writings of Mani

“It is good for us to be silent; let us not think in our heart that our God is forgetful of us, for before us all hardships will disappear like gloomy shadows before the glorious Sun. Our Father’s Covenant, the profit and the loss, is shared among us, we are true sons, the heirs of their fathers! There is nothing at all that is free from suffering that will rest in the end; even the very seed that is sown finds no way to live unless it dies, but through its death it lives and gives life also. Let us too strengthen ourselves, my brothers, for see, the Rest has come to us that we may receive the blessing of all these things we have spoken of, and dwell together in the glorious Land of the Light!”

For many people, especially in our particular culture, being religious is associated with outward displays of one’s particular belief. From wearing crucifixes, to turbans, to mantillas or even performing and publicizing our acts of charity on social media; those of us who belong to one or many of the religious ideologies of our time are quick to talk about our experiences, perhaps even at the cost of interrupting otherwise non-religious or non-spiritual discussions. “It is good for us to be silent”, however, in order that we are able to listen and receive the subtle messages that God provides us in our daily lives, frequently far removed from the synagogue, mosque or church.

There are many instances in which God speaks to us in silence, or silence preceding an epiphany of God’s designs for us. In the Book of Job this is illustrated frequently in the moments as Job reflects and dialogues during his plight: “There was silence, then I heard a voice: ‘Can mankind be just before God?

Can a man be pure before his Maker?” (Job 4:16-17); or when others rebuke Job during his sorrow, “Shall your boasts silence men? And shall you scoff and none rebuke? “For you have said, ‘My teaching is pure,
and I am innocent in your eyes.’ “But would that God might speak, and open His lips against you, and show you the secrets of wisdom!” (Job 11: 3-6).

The Covenant of God is a dynamic relationship and, as with many of our earthly experience, silence is sometimes the only appropriate way we can convey or impart our love for one another. Funerals are frequently an unnecessarily sober affair that during which we exchange many silent affirmations toward the family and friends of the deceased to convey our love or support for them in spite of “celebrating” their lives. There is an appropriateness to this silence however – it empowers us to transcend words and in a period of emotional darkness convey a pure love for our brothers and sisters and keeping alive, in a way, the light of the Sacred Flame that the life of those who had passed on may have imparted to us in their own journey.

Joy and Sorrow, from the Gospel According to John

“And Jesus said: You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. A little while, and you shall not see me; and again a little while, and you will see me. Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no man will take your joy away from you. Up until now, you have you asked nothing in my name; ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you. Nobody has a greater love than this that a one lay down their life for their friends. You are my friends, if you do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I do not call you servants, for the servant knows not what the lord does; but I have called you my friends, for all things that I have heard of my father I have made known unto you. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”

One of the primary detractions leveled against the writings of the Gnostic mothers and fathers is almost invariably that those who follow the Inner Church are almost invariably pessimistic of the world and Creation in comparison to the supposedly life-affirming teachings conveyed by the Apostolic Fathers such as the hope for salvation from a god who has cursed creation with an indelible mark for disobeying a rule made that he knew would be broken in the first place.

In this light, it seems safe to say that the early Gnostic writers were much more realistic in simply stating that the world as we know it is far from ideal. This is not to say that Creation itself is flawed or somehow deficient; how could the same Creator of the entirety of the Universe have the audacity to say, “It is good” following each of the six days accounted for in the Creation myth? Instead, the Gnostic mothers and fathers are pointing to the reality that no matter how hard we try, until we are able to fully view things as Christ himself views things, unpleasant cognitions such as sorrow are things with which we will have to cope.

Sorrow is as an unpleasant experience for anyone who has ever experienced pain, suffering, or loss; but it is sometimes when faced with these kinds of unpleasantness a certain epiphany occurs where we are able to step outside our usual solipsistic world-view and break out of suffering and look objectively at the conditions which led to this state. In the spiritual life of some mystics, the Dark Night of the Soul is an extremely sorrowful and confusing state where the mystic suddenly feels she or he has lost their connection with God as they know Him and, through often dogged determinism, are able to realize that the only separation they experienced was brought on by their own perceptual difficulties in connecting with the source of Creation.

From this perspective, sorrow comes about as a natural fear of being separated from that which we love. When Jesus speaks in the above gospel, “Nobody has a greater love than this that a one lay down their life for their friends.” He is foreshadowing the extreme sorrow and suffering he is willing to go through in order to demonstrate God’s continual, loving, covenant with Creation and encourages us to go to similar lengths for one another as co-participants in Creation. If we are truly loving of one another, we will experience sorrow for ourselves and others – this is the root of where we are able to learn compassion, literally “to suffer with” our brothers and sisters and share with their joys as well as sufferings in a covenant of God’s love.

Jesus Praying in Gethsemane

Advice on the Mystical Life

In his essay, Hunger in the Pews, Father Benedict Auer O.S.B. observes how many people in our post-modern religious milieu continue to “file into churches throughout this country hungering for the Word of God or even an inspirational word or two… in the face of almost endless disappointment hoping beyond hope that they may get something to take back home with them to help them through their week.” Despite America being unique among the industrialized world in the emphasized role of religion in daily life, most Americans tend to be representative of  a phenomena of people who, in Auer’s words, “a whole generation of Catholic illiterates.” Sadly, this is not only true of American Catholics – it can equally apply across the board of many major and minor Christian denominations – it is also true of those who, having left their pews, have turned to the mystical path hoping to find some kind of recourse (or counter-point) to the spirituality of their youth.

Since the New Age phenomenon of the 1960’s, many millions of people have turned to mysticism as the answer to their problems with exoteric religious teachings, paying thousands of dollars sometimes for seminars on meditation, creative visualization, empowered prayer, etc. The majority of these people, unfortunately, become quickly when they realize that the mystical life is not a “feel good” pursuit as many gurus or authors (misre-) present it but is, as many have accurately noted, a path beset with many external and internal dangers and trials. The high failure, or drop-out, rate for those who pursue the mystical life comes primarily from the lack of qualified instructors or peers in one’s spiritual community as well as the unfortunate severing of the mystical in post-Enlightenment era academic and philosophical inquiry. Among those who are fortunate enough to find sound resources (mostly in the form of literature, though sometimes mentors) toward understanding the mystical experience, this often solitary path can still lead the student astray if they are unable to find an appropriate peer or group to act as a sounding board resulting in the accumulations of various aggrandizements, delusions, or misperceptions.

Amongst those in esoteric religious groups, the above dangers can be especially potent. Anyone with some experience or involvement in contemporary, alternative religious movements likely have some experience or another with individuals (or themselves) undergoing some kind of spiritual crisis. In her essay, Magusitis: A Hydra in Sheep’s Clothing, Nadine Drisseq examines the pitfalls of transcendence: “Some very common examples of archetypal intoxication are: the Wiccan who thinks he is the martyr of the goddess, or the Thelemite who thinks she is the reincarnation of Aleister Crowley. Whilst transcendental states are useful, enjoyable and provide experience of the Numinons, they too have their baggage.” She further breaks down the stages of “infection” amongst those whose mystical pursuit has gone awry:

“PRIMARY STAGE: The magician is immuno-magickally compromised since all the necessary and underlying basis for infection are present. This stage is a latency period where the magician exhibits behavior of talking big to make himself feel better, gloating at people who are magickally less experienced, and general feelings of personal insecurity. Instances of paranoia are common, and the magician feels isolated if these issues are not brought out and dealt with.

SECONDARY STAGE: The magician starts to believe that others are out to get her. She feuds with others, often curses people or groups of people (since cursing makes her feel more powerful and confident). She gloats when others have misfortune as it makes her feel more powerful compared to them (her perceived enemies). She takes the slightest comment the wrong way. She gets upset when she does not win an argument, and this can be combined with the childish mechanisms of sulking (which sometimes gets results through guilt tripping the person she is sulking at). Childish spats of anger and foot stomping are also not uncommon. These behaviors may not be quite so obvious but are translations of these childish idiosyncrasies.

TERTIARY STAGE: The magician really starts to lose it. Tertiary stage is rarely observed by the magickal culture at large because by this time the magician is so enraged / paranoid / sulky / paranoid that she withdraws from from public or community interaction. I have also heard of instances of the magician putting on a lot of weight along with this stage, although this may be a parallel and not a symptom.”

Replace “magician” with “seeker”, “student” or “practitioner”, and it can be illustrated that this problem can arise across most, if not all, spiritual boards. For those of us whose mystical experience comes through the lens of Christianity (in particular Christian Gnosticism), there are fortunately some avenues for those to “check themselves” as they progress along the inward, or mystical, path.

It is highly advisable that one attracted to Christian mysticism have at least some understanding of scriptural study and prayer practice. For Catholics, this is easily obtained through undergoing courses such as the Rite of Christian Initiation in Adults; for others joining a Bible study group may also be of some benefit as well. In addition to this, attending interfaith prayer meetings such as Taizé or even some Quaker meetings might be of some help as well – especially for those who are disaffected by conventional churchmanship. For many self-identified Gnostics, finding and attending a church may be somewhat difficult depending on what part of the country in which one lives; here, participating in online social networking sites such as Facebook may be their only connection to other Gnostics, in particular Gnostic clergy. Finding members of churches such as Ecclesia Gnostica, the Apostolic Johannite Church, Ecclesia Gnostica Mysteriorum or the Alexandrian Gnostic Church should be fairly easy and participation on interest pages can yield some great results where one can meet new people and peers.

If possible, the potential mystic should also engage in a thorough study of classical literature on mysticism. Anthologies such as the Philokalia, the Classics of Western Spirituality through Paulist Press, and the writings of Theresa of Avila, Julian of Norwich, and Meister Eckhart should provide a valuable background. These should be read slowly and ideally with a friend who is either familiar with the material or can read along with you and with whom you can exchange notes and reflections. Auditing religious studies courses, in particular medieval religion or attending monastic retreats is another possibility that should not be overlooked. Throughout the entire process, keeping a journal is also highly advisable as a way of storing and reexamining one’s comprehension of what you are studying. Setting aside regular time for prayer, study and reflection by this point should become a part of daily experience.

After about six months to a year of regular study and practice, one should by this point attempt to find a peer or member of clergy with pastoral experience with whom they can discuss their experiences and discuss their growth either by phone or in person. It’s a common misconception that the mystical life must be a solitary experience. Most Gnostic and esoteric communities are largely led by members who lead secular lives in addition to their participation in religious life and do not offer (at this point) cloistered monastic groups. How this may or may not change in the future is yet to be seen. In absence of being able to find a spiritual guide, finding a good counselor who is open to discussing spirituality is an option that should not be overlooked.

The mystical life, while often a solitary experience, does not need to be a lonely experience. After nearly fifteen years in pursuit of mystical and contemplative life and falling into some of the above pitfalls along the way, I have been fortunate enough to have support along the way by people who have been able to provide me the advice I have given and wish to share it with those who have the discipline to follow through on this very rewarding approach to understanding the divine in its manifold splendor. Keeping balance is (no pun intended) the fulcrum of any healthy spirituality – keeping things in perspective, keeping a fit body and mind, and being constantly devoted to the practice will yield many years of fulfillment. Enlightenment, however, is up to you.

Third Sunday after Epiphany

The Kingdom of Light from the Book of Sophia

“Preach to the whole world: fight yourselves and receive the mysteries of the Light in this afflicted time, and go into the kingdom of the Light. Do not add day to day or cycle to cycle, hoping to come to receive the mysteries when we come to the world in another cycle. Now such people do not know when the number of the Perfect Souls will be complete, and I shall shut the Gates of Light, and from that time no one shall go in, because the mystery of the first mystery has been accomplished, for whose sake the universe has come into being.”

Following the resurrection, Christ gave the following admonition to his followers: “[Go] and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This admonition, known by many as the Great Commission, is one of the primary tenants of Christianity. Among those of us in the spiritual Church, there is some hesitancy to follow this teaching having possibly experienced for ourselves the efforts of those in the external Church to make us conform to the limitations of a literalist interpretation of scripture and has made proselytization is something of a dirty word in our communities – for good reason.

As spiritual Christians, or Gnostics, we are encouraged equally to abide by the teachings of the Jesus as well as the higher laws of the living words of the Christ within. It is our duty to embody the Word of God and to go forth into the world to share with others the good news of the immanence of the Kingdom of God which is here and now, within and without. For us to follow the Great Commission, we are enjoined to be examples of the Sacred Flame and to encourage others in their knowledge of God, by whatever way they know Him.

We are not to presuppose that by our knowledge we are somehow superior to others or that by virtue of our knowledge we are guaranteed a place in Heaven – that knowledge is known only to God alone. Our commission is to do God’s work for God’s sake, not for ours; exemplifying the same humility that Jesus exhibited when incarnate in the world. We will fail and fall along the way, that is understood, but the importance is to continue on as Paul speaks in 1 Corinthians 9:23 to, “do all this for the sake of the gospel, that [we] may share in its blessings.”

Parable of the Pearl in the Mud from the Gospel of Philip

“If a pearl is cast down into the mud it loses no value, if it is rubbed with balsam oil, it gains no value. It always is precious in its owner’s eyes. Wherever they are, the children of god are precious in the eyes of the father.”

The parable of the Pearl in the Mud follows a common theme in the various narratives Jesus shared with his disciples. In the outer Church, the most famous of these is in Matthew 7:6, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine, lest haply they trample them under their feet, and turn and rend you”; from which we get the well-worn admonition to not cast pearls before swine. Yet, in this parable we are informed that even if thrown in the mud the pearl does not lose its value any more so than it would if it were to be anointed with precious oils.

In the Gospels the Pearl most commonly represents the teachings of Scripture as in Matthew or in the Gospel of Thomas: “Don’t give what is holy to dogs, for they might throw them upon the manure pile. Don’t throw pearls [to] pigs…”; yet in this case the Pearl is the embodied message of the seeker of gnosis which, being internalized, does not lose nor gain any value since it is itself priceless, as affirmed in the narrative in Matthew 13:45-46 and contains within itself the very essence of Kingdom of Heaven.

This parable also fits in nicely with the lesson taken from the Book of the Sophia, who herself descended into the lowest emanations and remained unchanged in essence. Those who have obtained the wisdom of God are simultaneously the bearers of a great and vast store of treasure as well as embodiments of that treasure itself by virtue of their ability to disperse that wisdom. Being undefiled by the knowledge (gnosis) of God, the sharing of wisdom is no longer something about which we need to remain cautious but, instead, it is incumbent upon us to share in our own individual ways that others may likewise be saved.

Gnosticism and Christianity: an Overview

Inspired by a few conversations I’ve been having recently with people regarding Gnosticism, I’ve decided to borrow (and plagiarize) the side-by-side comparison chart method found on the well-known inter and intra-faith website Patheos* to, perhaps, provide a useful comparative analysis of the interrelationship between Christianity and Gnosticism.

Making any definitive statement about Gnosticism as a whole is fraught with much difficulty considering the varying definitions of the subject itself as well as variations within this particular religious tradition. As such, I have tried to remain inclusive of Jewish, Christian and non-Christian variations and perspectives of Gnosticism while still trying to present it as part of a continuum of related ideas.

*I’m sorry Patheos writers for not coming up with my own wording, I was being lazy. You guys rock.

Christianity		Gnosticism
Quick Facts
Symbol	+	⊕
Formed	33CE	2nd Century BCE
Adherents	2,100,000,000	Unknown
Origin	Palestine	Near East, Egypt
Deity	God (Trinity)	God (Remote, supreme monadic divinity and/or Trinity)
Sacred Text	Bible	Bible, Nag Hammadi Library, miscellaneous texts
Headquarters	None	None
Details
Origins	Christianity Origins	Gnostic Origins
Beginnings	Christianity originated in the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who was born circa 4 BCE in Roman-occupied Palestine, a Jewish province of the Roman Empire.	Gnosticism appears to have occurred as early as the 2nd century BCE, eventually fusing with Christianity by the 2nd Century CE around Alexandria, Egypt.
Influences	The Jewish, Greek, and Roman cultures of the formative first two centuries of the Common Era had a deep and lasting influence on the new faith of Christianity.	The Jewish, Greek, Egyptian and, later, emergent Christian cultures between the 2nd Century BCE and 2nd Century CE had a deep and lasting influence on the development of Gnosticism.
Founders	Christianity is founded in the life and teachings of Jesus, and was established in Jerusalem and propagated throughout the Roman Empire in the 1st century CE by enthusiastic evangelists.	Gnosticism was founded in the diverse social and religious milieus of Hellenized Palestine and Egypt and by the 2nd Century had fused primarily with Christianity by enthusiastic philosophers.
Scriptures	Christian scriptures are gathered in the Christian Bible, which contains the Jewish scriptures in addition to the twenty-seven books of the New Testament.	Gnostic scriptures are gathered in the Christian Bible, which contains the Jewish scriptures in addition to canonical and non-canonical scripture of the New Testament as well as Greek and Egyptian philosophical texts collectively known as the Nag Hammadi Library.
Historical Perspectives	What scholars do and do not believe with regard to Christianity influences the ways in which they interpret its history, both past and present. There has been an increasing consciousness of the global diversity of Christianity.	What scholars do and do not believe with regard to Gnosticism as a religion or continuum of related philosophical ideas influences the ways in which they interpret its history, both past and present. Gnosticism is difficult to define as a distinct religion or philosophy.