View source for List of Gnostic texts

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{{Gnosticism}}
[[Gnosticism]] used a number of [[religious text]]s that are preserved, in part or whole, in ancient [[manuscript]]s, or lost but mentioned critically in [[Church Fathers|Patristic]] writings.

There is significant scholarly debate around what Gnosticism is, and therefore what qualifies as a "Gnostic text."<ref>{{Citation | last =Dillon | first =Matthew J. |pages=23–38| year =2016 | chapter =Gnosticism Theorized: Major Trends and Approaches to the Study of Gnosticism | editor-last =DeConick | editor-first =April D. | title =Religion: Secret Religion |volume=| publisher =MacMillan Reference US | chapter-url =https://hcommons.org/deposits/item/hc:34031/}}</ref>

==Gnostic texts==
===Gnostic texts preserved before 1945===
Prior to the 1945 [[Nag Hammadi library|discovery at Nag Hammadi]], only the following texts were available to students of Gnosticism. Reconstructions were attempted from the records of the [[Heresiology|heresiologists]], but these were necessarily coloured by the motivation behind the source accounts.
* Works preserved by the Church:
** ''[[Acts of Thomas]]'' (Especially ''[[Hymn of the Pearl]]'' or ''The Hymn of the Robe of Glory'')
** ''The [[Acts of John]]'' (Especially ''[[The Hymn of Jesus]]'')
* The [[Bruce Codex]] (purchased in 1769 by [[James Bruce]]):
** ''[[Books of Jeu]]'', also known as ''The Gnosis of the Invisible God''
** The ''[[Untitled Text]]''
* The [[Askew Codex]] ([[British Museum]], bought in 1784):
** ''[[Pistis Sophia]]: Books of the Savior''
* The [[Berlin Codex]] or The Akhmim Codex (found in [[Akhmim]], [[Egypt]]; bought in 1896 by Carl Reinhardt):
** ''[[Gospel of Mary]]''
** ''[[Apocryphon of John]]''
** an [[epitome]] of the ''[[Acts of Peter]]''
** ''[[The Sophia of Jesus Christ|The Wisdom of Jesus Christ]]''
* Unknown origin:
** ''[[Secret Gospel of Mark|The Secret Gospel of Mark]]''
** ''The [[Hermetica]]''

===Complete list of codices found in Nag Hammadi===
[[File:Nag Hammadi Codex vii 70 top.jpg|thumbnail|right|upright=1.1|The final section of the [[Second Treatise of the Great Seth]]]]
* Codex I (also known as ''The [[Jung Codex]]''):
** ''[[The Prayer of the Apostle Paul]]''
** ''The [[Apocryphon of James]]'' (also known as the Secret Book of James)
** ''The [[Gospel of Truth]]''
** ''The [[Treatise on the Resurrection]]''
** ''The [[Tripartite Tractate]]''
* [[Nag Hammadi Codex II|Codex II]]:
** ''The [[Apocryphon of John]]''
** ''The [[Gospel of Thomas]]'' a sayings gospel
** ''The [[Gospel of Philip]]''
** ''The [[Hypostasis of the Archons]]''
** ''[[On the Origin of the World (Nag Hammadi)|On the Origin of the World]]''
** ''The [[Exegesis on the Soul]]''
** ''The [[Book of Thomas the Contender]]''
* Codex III:
** ''The [[Apocryphon of John]]''
** ''The [[Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians|Gospel of the Egyptians]]''
** ''[[Epistle of Eugnostos|Eugnostos the Blessed]]''
** ''[[The Sophia of Jesus Christ]]''
** ''The [[Dialogue of the Savior]]''
* Codex IV:
** ''The [[Apocryphon of John]]''
** ''The [[Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians|Gospel of the Egyptians]]''
* Codex V:
** ''[[Epistle of Eugnostos|Eugnostos the Blessed]]''
** ''The [[Coptic Apocalypse of Paul|Apocalypse of Paul]]''
** ''The [[First Apocalypse of James]]''
** ''The [[Second Apocalypse of James]]''
** ''The [[Apocalypse of Adam]]''
* Codex VI:
** ''The [[Acts of Peter and the Twelve]] Apostles'' (includes [[The Hymn of the Pearl]])
** ''[[The Thunder, Perfect Mind]]''
** ''[[Authoritative Teaching]]''
** ''The [[Concept of Our Great Power]]''
** ''[[Plato's Republic|Republic]]'' by [[Plato]] – The original is not Gnostic, but the [[Nag Hammadi library]] version is heavily modified with then-current Gnostic concepts.
** ''[[The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth]]'' – a [[Hermetica|Hermetic]] treatise
** ''[[The Prayer of Thanksgiving]]'' (with a hand-written note) – a [[Hermetica|Hermetic]] prayer
** ''[[Asclepius (Hermetic treatise)|Asclepius]] 21–29'' – another [[Hermetica|Hermetic]] treatise
* Codex VII:
** ''The [[Paraphrase of Shem]]''
** ''The [[Second Treatise of the Great Seth]]''
** ''[[Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter]]''
** ''The [[Teachings of Silvanus]]''
** ''The [[Three Steles of Seth]]''
* Codex VIII:
** ''[[Zostrianos]]''
** ''The [[Letter of Peter to Philip]]''
* Codex IX:
** ''[[Melchizedek#In Nag Hammadi Library|Melchizedek]]''
** ''The [[Thought of Norea]]''
** ''The [[Testimony of truth]]''
* Codex X:
** ''[[Marsanes]]''
* Codex XI:
** ''The [[Interpretation of Knowledge]]''
** ''A [[Valentinian Exposition]]'', ''On the Anointing'', ''On Baptism'' (A and B) and ''On the Eucharist'' (A and B)
** ''[[Allogenes]]''
** ''[[Hypsiphrone]]''
* Codex XII
** ''The [[Sentences of Sextus]]''
** ''The [[Gospel of Truth]]''
** ''Fragments''
* [[Nag Hammadi Codex XIII|Codex XIII]]:
** ''[[Trimorphic Protennoia]]''
** ''On the [[Origin of the World (Nag Hammadi)|Origin of the World]]''
** ''Fragments''

The so-called "Codex XIII" is not a codex, but rather the text of ''Trimorphic Protennoia'', written on "eight leaves removed from a thirteenth book in late antiquity and tucked inside the front cover of the sixth." (Robinson, NHLE, p.&nbsp;10) Only a few lines from the beginning of ''Origin of the World'' are discernible on the bottom of the eighth leaf.

===Mandaean texts===
{{main|List of Mandaic manuscripts}}
* [[Ginza Rabba]] (''The Great Treasure'', also known as ''The Book of Adam'') (DC 22)
* [[Qulasta]] (''Canonical Prayerbook'') (DC 53) (see also [[list of Qulasta prayers]])
** Sidra d-Nišmata (''Book of Souls'') (first part of the Qulasta)
** {{ill|Niania (book)|lt=ʿNiania|fa|کتاب انیانی}} (''The [[Call and response (music)|Responses]]'') (part of the Qulasta)
* Drašâ d-Jōhânā (''[[Mandaean Book of John]]'', also known as ''The Book of Kings'')
* [[Diwan Abathur]] (''Scroll of Abatur'') (DC 8)
* [[Harran Gawaitha]] (''Scroll of Great Revelation'') (DC 9, 36)
* Diwan Maṣbuta d-Hibil Ziwa (''[[The Baptism of Hibil Ziwa]]'') (DC 35)
* Alf trisar šuialia (''[[The 1012 Questions]]'') (DC 36 [complete, with all 7 books], DC 6 [incomplete])
* Šarh d-qabin d-Šišlam Rabbā (''[[The Wedding of the Great Šišlam]]'') (DC 38)
* Šarh d-Traṣa d-Taga d-Šišlam Rabbā (''[[The Coronation of the Great Šišlam]]'' – describes a ritual for the ordination of the Mandaean clergy)
* Asfar Malwāšē (''[[The Book of the Zodiac]]'') (DC 31)
* Diwan Malkuta ʿLaita (''[[Scroll of Exalted Kingship]]'') (DC 34)

===Other===
* The Hymn of Jesus
* [[Acts of Peter]]
* [[Coptic Apocalypse of Peter]]
* [[Dialogue of the Saviour]]
* [[Odes of Solomon]]
* [[Gospel of Judas]]
* [[Gospel of the Saviour]]

===Quoted or alluded===
These texts are mentioned or partially quoted in the writings of the Church Fathers.
* ''[[Gospel of Basilides]]'' mentioned by [[Origen]], [[Jerome]], [[Ambrose]], [[Philip of Side]], and [[Bede]].
* [[Basilides]]' ''Exegetica'' mentioned in [[Hippolytus of Rome]] (''[[Refutatio Omnium Haeresium]]'' VII, ixv and X, x) and [[Clement of Alexandria]] (''[[Stromata]]'' IV, xii and IV, xxiv–xxvi)
* [[Epiphanes (gnostic)|Epiphanes]]' ''On Righteousness'', mentioned in Clement of Alexandria ('''Str.''' III, ii).
* [[Heracleon]], Fragments from his Commentary on the Gospel of John, mentioned in Origen (''Commentary on the Gospel of John'')
* [[Naassene Fragment]] mentioned in Hippolytus (''Ref.'' 5.7.2–9).
* [[Ophite Diagrams]] mentioned in [[Celsus]] and Origen
* [[Ptolemy (gnostic)|Ptolemy's]] ''Commentary on the Gospel of John Prologue'', mentioned in [[Irenaeus]].<ref>''[[On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis|Adversus haereses]]'', I, viii, 5.</ref>
* Ptolemy's ''Letter to Flora'', mentioned in [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]].<ref>''Hær.'' XXXIII, 3–7.</ref>
* Theodotus: ''Excerpta Ex Theodoto'' mentioned in Clement of Alexandria.

==Manuscripts==
* [[Askew Codex]] contains [[Pistis Sophia]] and some other unknown texts.
* [[Berlin Codex]], 5th century, contains a fragmentary [[Gospel of Mary]], out of nineteen pages, pages 1–6 and 11–14 are missing entirely, the [[Apocryphon of John]], [[The Sophia of Jesus Christ]], and an [[epitome]] of the [[Act of Peter]].
* [[Bruce Codex]] contains the first and second [[Books of Jeu]] and three fragments – an untitled text, an untitled hymn, and the text "On the Passage of the Soul Through the Archons of the Midst".
* [[Codex Tchacos]], 4th century, contains the [[Gospel of Judas]], the [[First Apocalypse of James]], the [[Letter of Peter to Philip]], and a fragment of [[Allogenes]].
* [[Nag Hammadi library]] contains a large number of texts (for a complete list see [[Nag Hammadi library#Complete list of codices found in Nag Hammadi|the listing]])
* Three [[Oxyrhynchus]] papyri contain portions of the [[Gospel of Thomas]]:
** [[Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1|Oxyrhyncus 1]]: this is half a leaf of papyrus which contains fragments of logion 26 through 33.
** [[Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 654|Oxyrhyncus 654]]: this contains fragments of the beginning through logion 7, logion 24 and logion 36 on the flip side of a papyrus containing [[surveying]] data.
** [[Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 655|Oxyrhyncus 655]]: this contains fragments of logion 36 through logion 39 and is actually 8 fragments named ''a'' through ''h'', whereof ''f'' and ''h'' have since been lost.

==See also==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
* '''General topics'''
** [[New Testament apocrypha]]
** [[Development of the New Testament canon]]
** [[Pseudepigrapha]]
** [[Gnosticism]]
** [[Textual criticism]]
** [[Agrapha]]
{{col-2}}
* '''Related literature'''
** [[List of Gospels]]
** [[Apocalyptic literature]]
** [[Epistles]]
** [[Acts of the Apostles (genre)]]
** [[List of New Testament papyri]]
** [[Hypostasis of the Archons]]
** [[Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies]]
{{col-end}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.gnosis.org/library.html The Gnostic Society Library]
* [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/gnostics.html Gnostics, Gnostic Gospels, & Gnosticism] – from earlychristianwritings.com

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