What is the ogdoad?

The Ogdoad was a system of eight deities, four gods and their consorts (the number four was considered to represent completeness). Each pair represented the male and female aspects of the four creative powers or sources.

Who is the highest god in Gnosticism?

Monad
150–210) used the term Monad to mean the highest god that created lesser gods, or elements (similar to Aeons). In some versions of Christian gnosticism, especially those deriving from Valentinius, a lesser deity known as the Demiurge had a role in the creation of the material world separate from the Monad.

What is a gnostic heretic?

GNOSTICISM: GNOSTICISM AS A CHRISTIAN HERESY. In short, it appears that Gnostics were defined as heretics by their opponents well before they stopped considering themselves to be spiritual members of the larger Christian community.

What is cultural Gnosticism?

Gnosticism is an ancient name for a variety of religious ideas and systems, originating in Jewish-Christian milieux in the first and second century CE. The Mandaeans are an ancient Gnostic sect still active in Iran and Iraq with small communities in other parts of the world.

What is the meaning of Ogdoad in Gnosticism?

In Gnosticism. The Gnostic Ogdoad is attributed as follows: The Abyss (Bythos) (masculine) gave rise to Silence (Grace/Thought) (feminine). They combined to give rise to Mind (masc.) and Truth (fem.). These are the Roots which bring forth the AEONS.

Who was the founder of the Gnostic religion?

This article is about the concept in Gnosticism. For the deities in Egyptian mythology, see Ogdoad (Egyptian). The concept of an Ogdoad appears in Gnostic systems of the early Christian era, and was further developed by the theologian Valentinus ( ca. 160 AD).

What kind of Gnostic system is Hebdomad?

Accordingly, those Gnostic systems which are tinctured by Grecian philosophy, while leaving untouched the doctrine of seven or eight material heavens, develop in various ways the theory of the region above them. In the system of Basilides, as reported by Hippolytus ( vii. 20 sqq. ), Ogdoad and Hebdomad are merely names of place.

Which is the most important number in Gnosticism?

Ogdoad (Gnosticism) The number eight plays an important part in Gnostic systems, and it is necessary to distinguish the different forms in which it appeared at different stages in the development of Gnosticism. The earliest Gnostic systems included a theory of seven heavens and a supercelestial region called the Ogdoad.