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    STUDIA THEOLOGIA ORTHODOXA - Issue no. 1 / 2007  
         
  Article:   GNOSTICISM. APPEARAME, CONCEPTS, ORGANIZATION, CLASSIFICATIONS, INFLUENCES.

Authors:  IOAN-GHEORGHE ROTARU.
 
       
         
  Abstract:  Gnosticism. Appearame, Concepts, Organization, Classifications, Influences. Gnosticism has appeared at the end the first century, first in Palestina, afterwards everywhere where the Christianity had spread. The founders of gnosticism has their roots from Simon the Magus, they claimed that they kept a secret knowledge, „gnosis” received secretly from apostles, „gnosis”, which no ordinary Christian can understand, but only the initiated ones. (gr. gnostikon = initiated). The morpheme „gnosis” has been used in of classic Greek language in order to express „the action of knowledge”, where ever its substantivized form knowledge comes from. Gnosis has functions and characteristics of fundamental ontological viewed from philosophical approach, or from a moral-theological approach for the human nature. Gnosis was a knowledge which not everybody has the skill to understand. Paul the Apostle, named gnosis like a false knowledge. (gr. pseudonomos gnosis). What gnosis is ? A way to be, a lifestyle and concrete conduct or existential which presents itself to be on absolute knowledge which saves, redeems by itself. It presents itself like divine revelation, which appeals all the time to ancestral mission which would be transmited over through initiated ones. This initiated people, no matter of their philosophical, religion or cultural approach, they are named gnostics. Gnosticism is known through the work of those who tried to discourage it (Hegesip. Irineu, Hipolit, Adamantiu, Tertullian, Epifaniou, Filastriu de Brescia, Teodoret de Cyr) and from Clement Alexandrin’s and Origen’s works. The very rich gnostic literature was lost all most entirely. From this literature has been kept some bits from 7 volumes from Greek Patrology of. J.P.Migne. It has been kept another writing named Faith, Wisdom. The knowledge of gnosticism is relative because all Christian’s writings which did combat gnostic trend hasn’t been kept. Gnosticism is a sistem of heresy, strange and complicated through the multitude and variation of its ideas. The founders (pioneers) of gnosticism were people with philosophical inclinations or those with a philosophical background, they tried to work out a sincretism of all the religious and all the philosopher up to then, under the Jesus Christ’s guidness, a kind of ecumenism of human origin. The old Christian writers have perceived the origin of gnosticism in antic philosophy mostly the platonical ones. From gnostic trend came out: orientalism (has been discovered even budist elements) Persan dualism, the Greek Eleusinian Mysteries, Egyptinian Mysteries, blended with magic, babilonian astrology, Platon’s philosophy, stoical philosophy, Pitagora’s philosophy, Judaism cabbala (a mystic concept of numbers semnification), the element’s of Christian thinking. Gnosticism was a religious phenomenon with syncretic character, embracing ideas from different old denominations, with some of them even from Judaism and Christianity. Gnosticism is prior to Christianity and it’s not the internal evolution product of it, but of a strong syncretic trend, which try to attract even the Christianity in the large river of religions and philosophical mixture of concepts. Gnosticism is the endeavour to do from science a superior understanding of religion, a profound study of its mistery. Gnosticism has rationdized the religion and has considered that ensure the possibility of salvation and the knowledge of the truth through this way. All the gnostic systems considered that through gnosis they would come to happiness. Gnosis worked with some philosophical elements but it has religions aim, but in Christianity the gnostics tried to give religions dogmas and practice a philosophical expression.  
         
     
         
         
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