Pistis Sophia · 27 of 160 · tr. George Horner

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It happened therefore, having afflicted her all the material emanations of the Self-Willed, she cried out, saying the fifth Repentance, saying: O Light of my salvation, I hymn unto thee in the Place of the Height, and also [63 ] in the Chaos.

I shall hymn unto thee in my hymn.

I hymned unto thee in the Height, and that in which I hymned unto thee while I am being in the Chaos, let it come before thy face; and take heed, O Light, unto my repentance, because my power was full of darkness and my light came down unto the Chaos.

I became also as the Ruler of the Chaos, those who are going unto the darkness below.

I became as a material body which has not him who will deliver him in the Height.

I became also as (things of) matter from which they took away their power, casting in the Chaos these which thou didst not deliver, and they perished by thy precept.

Now therefore, they put me in the darkness (M) below, in darknesses and in (things of) matter being dead, and there being not power in them.

Thou broughtest thy precept upon me, and with every [64 ] thing which thou orderest: and thy spirit ran (away), it left me, and also through thy precept helped me not the emanations of my Aeon, and they hated me and they ceased from me; and also I perished, not for ever; and my light was diminished in me: and I cried up unto the Light in all the light which is in me, and I spread my hands up unto thee.

Now therefore, O Light, wilt thou not complete thy precept in the Chaos?

And the deliverers those who are coming according to thy precept, will they not 35 arise in the darkness and come and be disciples to thee?

Will they not say the mystery of thy name in the Chaos (or otherwise rather will they say thy name in a matter of Chaos) this in which thou wilt not purify?

But I [64 ] hymned up unto thee, O Light and my repentance will attain thee up unto the Height.

Let thy Light come upon me, because they took away my light from me.

And I became in tribulations because of the light, since the time (in) which they emanated me.

And I having looked at the Height unto the light, I looked down unto the power of light which (is) in the Chaos.

I arose I came down: thy precept came upon me, and the fears which thou orderedst unto me disturbed me, and they surrounded me being numerous as water, they laid hold on me together in all my time: and by thy precept thou didst not let my fellow emanations to help me, and thou didst not let my partner to deliver me out of my afflictions.

This [65 ] therefore is the fifth repentance which said the Pistis Sophia in the Chaos, they having finished afflicting her, all the material emanations of the Self-willed.

These therefore, while Jesus is saying unto his disciples said he to them, He who hath ear to hear let him hear, and he whose spirit is bubbling in him, let him come forward and say the explanation of the meaning of the fifth repentance of the Pistis Sophia.

Themes

◆Aeonscosmology

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

The text mentions 'emanations of my Aeon' and 'my fellow emanations' as active agents that hate the speaker.

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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 speaker describes being transformed into a 'material body' and perishing in darkness below due to material afflictions.

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◆Cosmic Dualismtheology

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

The passage is structured around the fundamental opposition of Light vs. Darkness and Chaos vs. Height.

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◆Divine Lighttheology

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

Light is the central divine agent invoked throughout the text as a source of salvation and purification.

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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 references 'material emanations' flowing from the Self-Willed and the Height, implying a downward flow of being.

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◆Hidden Sayingssoteriology

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

The text explicitly states that the disciples must hear 'the explanation of the meaning' of the Repentance to understand its deeper truth.

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◆Inner Lightanthropology

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

The speaker cries up unto the Light in all the light which is in me, indicating an internal divine presence.

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◆Kenomacosmology

The void or emptiness outside the pleroma; the realm of matter, ignorance, and deficiency.

The Chaos is described as a realm of darkness and matter where the speaker perishes and is not delivered.

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◆Living Godtheology

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

The divine Light is addressed directly with personal pronouns ('O Light', 'Thou'), indicating an active responsive reality.

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◆Prayerpraxis

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

The passage consists of direct hymns and petitions to the Light and includes instructions for disciples to hear the explanation of the meaning.

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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's cry is directed upward to the Height and Light from which they have fallen into darkness.

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◆Ritual Puritypraxis

The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.

The speaker seeks purification in the Chaos where they were not delivered by the divine precept.

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◆Sacred Namestheology

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

The text emphasizes saying the mystery of the Light's name in the Chaos as a key action for purification and deliverance.

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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 vividly depicts the speaker's condition of being 'in darknesses' and 'dead' in matter after their light was diminished.

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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 speaker cries up unto the Light in the Height from their state of being in the Chaos below.

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Related passages · 2 parallels

◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 10 (part 3)

“It was she in whom the voice of God promised again to introduce the living, holy substance from heaven, and to generate anew and in divine power the faded image of God that was contained therein." 1 ( Grace , vii. 18.) This, however, did n…”

Both passages describe a mystical figure (Pistis Sophia and Eve) who undergoes suffering and affliction in a chaotic or fallen state, seeking redemption and deliverance through divine intervention. They share themes of repentance, divine light, and the restoration of a divine image or essence.

◆mandaean|Gnostic John the Baptizer — The Story of the Breach with Judaism|Section 6

“"Go, go," says she unto them, "ye fools, ye abortions, 4 ye who were not of the world. 5 I am no woman who is stripped for wantoning; and it is not that I have fallen in love with a man. Stripped am I not for returning to you and for again…”

Both passages depict a figure (Pistis Sophia and Miryai) who has suffered and is seeking redemption or deliverance from a state of darkness or affliction. They both involve a cry for help to a higher power or light, and a theme of repentance and purification.