Greco-Christian stream·Pistis Sophia·First Book — Post-Resurrection Discourses·Chapter 44
Philip is commended and continueth writing
Jesus had heard Philip speak these words, that he said: "Well said, Philip, well-beloved · I shall speak, and [of all things which I shall] do, and of all that thou shalt see
Source context
- Theme
- Pistis Sophia's eleventh repentance — the soul's pleading address to the light-world for deliverance from the emanations of Self-willed
- Soul-faculty
- Sentient Soul
Steiner
not engaged in the GA corpus
Cross-tradition
- Neoplatonic henology (Plotinus, Enneads I.6)Plotinus describes the fallen soul's recognition of its alienation from the One and its turning (epistrophē) back toward the source as the precondition of ascent — a structural parallel to Pistis Sophia's repeated repentance-addresses to the light.
- Kabbalistic teshuvah doctrine (Zohar, Parasha Vayakhel)The Zoharic concept of teshuvah as a soul-movement that reconstitutes the broken vessel through repeated return exhibits cross-tradition congruence with the iterative repentance structure across successive chapters of Book One.
Chapter 44
CHAPTER 44
Philip is commended and continueth writing.It came to pass then, when Jesus had heard Philip speak these words, that he said: "Well said, Philip, well-beloved. Now, therefore, come, take thy seat and write thy portion of all the discourses which I shall speak, and [of all things which I shall] do, and of all that thou shalt see."
And forthwith Philip sat down and wrote.
It came. to pass thereafter that Jesus continued again in the discourse and said unto his disciples: "Then did Pistis Sophia cry to the Light. It forgave her sin, in that she had left her region and gone down into the darkness. She uttered the sixth repentance, saying thus:
The sixth repentance of Sophia."'1. I have sung praises |74. unto thee, O Light, in the darkness below.
"'2. Hearken unto my repentance, and may thy light give heed to the voice of my supplication.
"'3. O Light, if thou thinkest on my sin, I shall not be able to stand before thee, and thou wilt abandon me,
"'4. For thou, O Light, art my saviour; because of the light of thy name I have had faith in thee, O Light.
"'5. And my power hath had faith in thy mystery; and moreover my power hath trusted in the Light when it was among those of the height; and it hath trusted in it when it was in the chaos below.
"'6. Let all the powers in me trust in the Light when I am in the darkness below, and may they again trust in the Light if they come into the region of the height.
"'7. For it is [the Light] which hath compassion on us and delivereth us; and a great saving mystery is in it.
"'8. And it will save all powers out of the chaos because of my transgression. For I have left my region and am come down into the chaos.'
"Now, therefore, whose mind is exalted, let him understand."