The Incarnate Logos in Gnostic Theology

Wincenty Myszor

doi:10.18290/rh.2018.66.3-4e

Wincenty Myszor University of Silesia in Katowice

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18290/rh.2018.66.3-4e

Keywords: Christology; Docetism; Christian Gnostics; the doctrine of two natures

Abstract

The Polish version of the article was published in “Roczniki Humanistyczne,” vol. 58–59 (2010–2011), issue 3.

The popular version of Gnostic Christology in textbooks presents it as a Docetic Christology. The new texts by Christian Gnostics, uncovered in Nag Hammadi, prove that Gnostic Christology was first and foremost the Christology of the Church. It seems thus that Adolf Harnack’s term “the doctrine of two natures” describing the Gnostic approach is correct. The article quotes examples of Gnostic utterances from Tractatus Tripartitus of Nag Hammadi Codex I. Gnostic theology was close to Logos-centred Christology. The Gnostic statements also contain many other references to ecclesiastical theology. The author of Tractatus Tripartitus was clearly influenced by Church theology, but some ideas were later abandoned by the official doctrine of the Church.

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