The Secret Writing According to John (Apocryphon of John), Codex II, 1 · 9 of 24 · tr. Samuel Zinner

Pigera-Adamas and Seth

Further, from the Precognition of Perfect Mind, by means of the revelation of the will of the unseen Spirit and the will of the self-generated one, (issued forth) <the> Perfect Man, the first revelation, even the truth.

He is the one whom the virginal Spirit named Pigera-Adama(s), and he appointed him over [II, 9] the first aeon together with the Mighty One, the self- generated one, Christ, by the first light, Armozel, escorted by his powers. Further, [IV, 14] the unseen one granted him a spiritual, invulnerable strength, and he spoke and extolled and praised the unseen Spirit, saying:

‘On your account the All has come forth into being,

and to you will return the All.

I will praise and extol you

and the self-generated one,

and the three aeons,

the Father, the Mother, the Son,

the perfect power.’

He appointed also his son Seth over the second aeon, in front of the second light, Oroiel, and inside the third aeon

the seed of Seth was appointed over the third light, Daveithai, and (inside it) were placed the souls of the holy ones.

Further, inside the fourth aeon were placed the souls of those unacquainted with the Fullness, and who failed to repent immediately, but who instead continued (unrepentant) for some time, and who repented (only) afterwards. These are the fourth light, Eleleth. These are creatures who extol the unseen Spirit.

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Themes

Aeonscosmology

Divine archetypal beings or eternal attributes dwelling within the Pleroma, often arranged in male-female syzygies.

The passage lists specific aeons (Armozel, Oroiel, Daveithai, Eleleth) and describes the appointment of divine figures over them.

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Cosmogonycosmology

Narratives or doctrines of cosmic origin — how heaven, earth, and the primordial deities first came into being. The Kojiki's deities born alone on the Plain of High Heaven, Voluspo's Ginnungagap, Genesis's tohu wa-bohu, the Timaeus's Demiurge fashioning the Receptacle, the Hesiodic Theogony, the Kalevala's egg-cosmogony, Egyptian Nun-and-Atum. Distinct from emanation_hierarchy (structural-ontological cascade), letters_of_creation (mechanism of creation), and apocatastasis/frashokereti (end-state restoration); cosmogony is temporally-narrative beginning.

The passage narrates the origin of the cosmos and the placement of souls within specific aeons following the emergence of the Perfect Man.

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Emanation Hierarchycosmology

A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.

The passage explicitly details a cascading structure of divine beings flowing from the Unseen Spirit through Perfect Mind to the Perfect Man and subsequent aeons.

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Pleromacosmology

The divine fullness or totality of the highest realm, populated by aeons and divine attributes, contrasted with the deficient material world.

The text describes the 'Fullness' (Pleroma) as the source from which all things come forth and to which they return, populated by aeons and divine powers.

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Pneumatic Electsoteriology

A spiritual elite who possess the divine spark and are predestined for salvation, contrasted with psychic (faithful) and hylic (material) persons.

The text distinguishes between the 'souls of the holy ones' placed in the third aeon and those who were initially unacquainted with the Fullness, implying a hierarchy of spiritual status.

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Prayerpraxis

Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.

The Perfect Man is described as speaking to 'extol and praise' the unseen Spirit, constituting a form of divine address.

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Return To Sourcesoteriology

The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.

The Perfect Man declares that 'to you will return the All,' establishing the teleological goal of cosmic return to the divine origin.

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