The Reception of Pistis Sophia and Gnosticism: Uncovering the Link between Esoteric Milieus and Contemporary Academia.

This article surveys the reception of the Gnostic text Pistis Sophia in esoteric milieus in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. The first part of the article contains an overview of the text and scholarship on it. Then follows a study of the reception of Pistis Sophia in a broader array...

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Publicado en:Aries Vol. 23; no. 2; pp. 262 - 301
Autor principal: Linjamaa, Paul
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Brill Academic Publishers 2023
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: The Reception of Pistis Sophia and Gnosticism: Uncovering the Link between Esoteric Milieus and Contemporary Academia.
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        au: Linjamaa, Paul
        affil: Lund University, Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, Sweden, Lund
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        Gnosticism
        Spirituality
        Political attitudes
        Gender
        Counterculture
        Europe
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          Europe
          Gnosticism
          Spirituality
          Political attitudes
          Gender
          Counterculture
      keyword:
        Ancient Wisdom Tradition
        Counter Culture
        esotericism
        libertinism
        Pistis Sophia
        reception of Gnosticism
        theosophy
      ab: This article surveys the reception of the Gnostic text Pistis Sophia in esoteric milieus in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. The first part of the article contains an overview of the text and scholarship on it. Then follows a study of the reception of Pistis Sophia in a broader array of esoteric circles. It becomes clear that the text was hailed as an example of ancient and great spiritual wisdom, although seldom discussed in detail theologically. Next, this is compared to the academic reception at the same time where it was, as previous scholars have made clear, discarded due to what was understood as a discrepancy with "Gnostic" characteristics. This article shows that Pistis Sophia was not discarded in esoteric circles but rather read in light of already established esoteric trajectories, for example Blavatsky's, Krumm-Heller's, or Papus' particular spiritual evolutionary perspectives. Lastly, it is argued that the understanding of Gnosticisms that both these receptions reflect is still very much active today: academics and esoteric groups are guided by similar trajectories vis-à-vis Gnosticism, seeing it as a representative of a "universal religious essence" associated with progressive attitudes (for example regarding sex and gender), which allows/forces them to renegotiate the ancient sources themselves.
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    language: English
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