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Pistis Sophia · 22 of 160 · tr. George Horner

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Deliver me because of my enemies; for thou art (he) who knoweth my reproach with my shame and my disgrace: all those who afflict me (are) in thy presence. My heart looked out for a reproach with wretchedness; I looked out for him who will grieve with me, I found him not, and he who will comfort me I discovered him not. They gave gall for my food; they gave me to drink vinegar in my thirst. Let their table become in their presence unto a snare with a trap and a recompense with a scandal; and bow (down) their back every time. Pour upon them thy wrath and the anger of [52 ] thy wrath let it catch them. Let their abode be made desert; and let there be not him who dwelleth in their abodes. Because he whom thou smotest they pursued him; they added upon the pain of his wounds, they added unlawfulness upon their unlawfulnesses; and let them not come in unto thy righteousness; let them wipe them out of the book of those who live, and let them not write them with the righteous. I am a poor (one) suffering also pains; the salvation of thy face, O God, is that which accepted me. T shall bless the name of God in a song, and I shall exalt him in a blessing. It will please God more than a new calf which putteth forth horn and hoof. Let the poor [52 ] see and be glad. Seek after God that your souls may live. Because the Lord heard the poor (ones) and he despised not those who are in fetters of brass. Let the heavens with the earth bless the Lord, the sea with all the (things) which (are) in it, because the Lord will deliver Sion; and they will build the cities of the Ioudaia and dwell there and inherit it. The seed of his servants will possess it, and those who love his name will dwell in it. It happened therefore, Mariham having finished these words unto Jesus in the midst of the disciples, said she to him, My Lord, this is the explanation (of the) mystery (in margin) of the repentance of the Pistis Sophia. It happened therefore, Jesus having heard Mariham saying [53 ] these words, said he to her, Well (done) Mariham the happy, the Pleroma, or the all-blessed of Pleroma, this (woman) whom they will call happy in every generation. Added also Jesus in the word, said he, Added also the Pistis Sophia she hymned in a second Repentance saying thus, O Light of the Lights I believed thee, leave me not in the darkness even unto the completion of my time, help me and deliver me through thy mysteries. Incline thine ear unto me and 29 deliver me. Let the power of thy light deliver me and take me away unto the Aeons which are on high; because thou art he who will deliver me and take me unto the Height [53 ] of thy Aeons. Deliver me, O Light from this power of face of lion, and from the emanations of the Self-willed of the Gods. Because thou, O Light, art he whose light I believed, and whose light I trusted indeed from at first. And I believed him from the hour (in) which he emanated me, and thou indeed art he who caused them to emanate me, and I myself, I believed thy light from at first. And having believed thee, were not mocking me the Rulers of the Ages saying, She ceased from her mystery? Thou (art) he who will deliver me, and thou art my Saviour, and thou art my mystery, O Light.
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Themes
Anthropomorphismtheology

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

The divine is addressed with human-like attributes such as ears, face, and the capacity to hear and deliver.

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Body As Obstacleanthropology

The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.

The text describes physical suffering and enemies as hindrances to divine deliverance.

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Cosmic Dualismtheology

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

A clear opposition is drawn between the divine Light and the material realm of enemies and darkness.

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Divine Lighttheology

The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.

The passage repeatedly centers on the 'Light of the Lights' as the primary object of belief and salvation.

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Eschatological Judgmentsoteriology

Final, collective cosmic judgment as an event in which the wicked are sentenced and the cosmos restored; distinct from psychopomp_journey (individual passage at death) and emphasising verdict where Zoroastrian frashokereti emphasises restoration.

The text includes petitions for the Lord to hear the poor and deliver Sion with cities built for dwelling.

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Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

Salvation is defined by direct belief in the Light from the moment of emanation rather than through ritual or faith alone.

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Hidden Sayingssoteriology

Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.

Mariham explains a 'mystery' of repentance reserved for those ready to receive it.

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Inner Lightanthropology

The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.

The speaker identifies with the Light that emanated them from the beginning.

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Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

God is depicted as active and responsive, hearing the poor and delivering Sion.

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Meditationpraxis

Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting.

The text includes a hymn of praise and contemplative prayer directed to the divine.

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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.

A distinction is made between the righteous who live and those who are written out of the book of life.

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Poverty Of Spiritanthropology

Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty).

The speaker identifies as a poor one suffering pains and seeks salvation through God's face.

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Prayerpraxis

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

The passage is structured as a direct petitionary address to God for deliverance and blessing.

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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 speaker prays to be delivered unto the Aeons which are on high.

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Sacred Namestheology

Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.

The speaker prays to be delivered through 'thy mysteries' and blesses the name of God.

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Separation From Sourcesoteriology

The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive.

The passage explicitly describes the soul's current state as suffering pains and being in darkness without a companion to comfort.

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Spiritual Ascentpraxis

A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.

The prayer asks for delivery unto the Aeons which are on high.

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Theosis Deificationsoteriology

The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy.

Mariham is called 'Pleroma' or 'all-blessed' and identified with the divine Light.

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Related passages · 8 parallels
christian_mysticism|Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation)|IV-b
No, they are certainly not; for the work of the angels is the will of God, and the will of God is the work of the angels; their service to us does not hinder their joy nor their working. If God told an angel to go to a tree and pluck cater…”
Shared concept: Poverty Of Spirit — Eckhart's radical reading of Matthew 5:3 — the saint as one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and has nothing, having emptied even the will and the self with which to receive God; distinct from renunciation_of_wealth (material poverty). (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 2, Section 1n
200 Redemption is a work performed by the whole Trinity through the Second Person. (So, too, is Creation. Cf. p. 65, n. 2). 201 i. e. We strive to distinguish the two planes of Being in God. Cf. Athan. Creed: “Neither confounding…”
Shared concept: Theosis Deification — The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy. (derived)
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XX
Omitting, therefore, these things, we may reasonably adduce a second cause, assigned by you, of the above mentioned particulars: viz. “ that the soul says and imagines these things, and that they are the passions of it, excited from small i…”
Shared concept: Gnosis Direct Knowledge — Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone. (derived)
hinduism|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book III|Sutra 7
This threefold power, of Attention, Meditation, Contemplation, is more interior than the means of growth previously described. Very naturally so; because the means of growth previously described were concerned with the extrication of the sp…”
Shared concept: Meditation — Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting. (derived)
jewish_mysticism|The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation)|Page 3 (part 11)
1-10, 18, 19 as a natural sequel, where p. xxvi [paragraph continues] Enoch summons his children to receive his parting words. Then comes the Apocalypse of weeks, xciii. 1-10, xci. 12-17. The original order of the text, therefore, was:…”
Shared concept: Eschatological Judgment — Final, collective cosmic judgment as an event in which the wicked are sentenced and the cosmos restored; distinct from psychopomp_journey (individual passage at death) and emphasising verdict where Zoroastrian frashokereti emphasises restoration. (derived)
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XXI
Is, therefore, what you add in the third place more true; viz. “ that there is a certain mixed form of hypostasis, consisting of our soul and divine inspiration externally derived ?” Consider this then more accurately, lest we should be dec…”
Shared concept: Inner Light — The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection. (derived)
western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XIX (part 7)
In the reduction of your soul to its simplest self, its divine essence, you realize this union—this identity. But this sublime condition is not of permanent duration. It is only now and then that we can enjoy this elevation above the limi…”
Shared concept: Separation From Source — The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive. (derived)
hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 10: The Sermon on the Mount|Section 1a
The Key <This longer tractate presents itself explicitly as a summary or abridgement of the General Sermons (CH II-IX), and discusses the Hermetic view of knowledge and its role in the lives and afterlives of human beings. The attentive re…”
Shared concept: Pneumatic Elect — A spiritual elite who possess the divine spark and are predestined for salvation, contrasted with psychic (faithful) and hylic (material) persons. (derived)