The Apocryphon of John

In brief

The most complete account of the classic Gnostic myth. The risen Christ reveals to the apostle John the unknowable Monad, the emanation of Barbelo and the Aeons, Sophia's fall, the birth of the ignorant creator Yaldabaoth and his archons, and the way the divine spark was hidden in humanity. It survives in four Coptic copies, three from Nag Hammadi and one in the Berlin Codex; Irenaeus knew a version around 180 CE.

Key ideas

• ✦The Monad is beyond all names and attributes
• ✦Barbelo, the first thought, and the Aeons
• ✦Sophia's fall and Yaldabaoth's ignorance
• ✦The divine spark in humanity and its awakening

Why it matters

Nearly every image in Luxryne's Gnostic course, from the Pleroma to the archons, is drawn from this text. It is the key to understanding Sethian Gnosis.