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Nag Hammadi Codex II in Its Fourth

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Nag Hammadi Codex II in Its Fourth 2 CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . 5 ABSTRACT . 8 DECLARATION AND COPYRIGHT STATEMENT . 9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . 10 1. INTRODUCTION . 11 The Nag Hammadi Codices after ‘Gnosticism’. 11 Order and Themes: Alternative Scripture? . 15 Pachomian Ownership? Arguments from Codicology . 21 Ideological Affinity? . 29 Introducing the Pachomian Sources . 29 Pachomian Ideology and Practice . 35 2. THE APOCRYPHON OF JOHN AS A THEMATIC PROLOGUE . 45 The Significance and Prominence of the Apocryphon of John . 45 The Narrative . 48 Sexual Complexity: Asceticism and Anti-Feminism? . 62 Carnal Union and Spiritual Unity . 64 Feminine Wiles: The Placement of Sexual Desire in Codex II . 67 Sex: Despicable or Distorted? . 72 Knowledge Revealed and Preserved . 77 The Struggle of the Soul . 79 3 3. ETHICS AND PRACTICE: ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE BODY, THE WORLD, AND OTHERS IN THE GOSPELS OF THOMAS AND PHILIP . 83 Defining ‘Asceticism’ . 83 The Gospel of Thomas . 86 Origins of the Text and the ‘Ascetic’ Argument . 86 The Counter Debate . 89 A More Nuanced Position? . 92 The Gospel of Philip . 108 Metaphorical Marriage? The Bridal Chamber . 108 ‘Appropriate’ Sexuality . 114 Social Responsibility and Attitudes towards Other Christians . 127 4. THE DEMISE OF COSMIC THREAT AND REWARD FOR THE DEVOTED: THE HYPOSTASIS OF THE ARCHONS AND ON THE ORIGIN OF THE WORLD . 135 The Consequences of Earthly Actions . 135 The Hypostasis of the Archons . 138 Making a Mockery of Malice . 145 Sexuality: The Roles of Eve and Norea . 156 Reinterpreting the ‘Chosen Generation’ . 161 On the Origin of the World . 164 Eschatology Cosmic and Individual . 164 5. UNDERSTANDING AND LIBERATING THE SOUL: THE EXEGESIS ON THE SOUL AND THE BOOK OF THOMAS THE CONTENDER . 177 The Exegesis on the Soul . 178 Soul’s Transgression . 186 4 Soul’s Reunion and Rebirth . 196 The Book of Thomas the Contender . 207 An Ascetic Epilogue for Monks? . 207 6. CONCLUSION . 226 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 239 WORD COUNT: 79, 591 5 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Frequently used terms: NH Nag Hammadi NHL Nag Hammadi Library NHC Nag Hammadi Codices CII Nag Hammadi Codex II BG Codex Papyrus Berolinensis 8502 NT New Testament OT Old Testament Pach.S Pachomian Sources Ancient Sources: BO The Bohairic Life of Pachomius G1 The First Greek Life of Pachomius Paral. The Paralipomena LH Palladius’ Historia Lausiaca (Lausiac History) Ep. Amm. The Letter of Ammon Test. Hors. The Testament of Horsiesius VA Vita Antonii (The Life of Anthony) AH Irenaeus’ Adversus Haereses (Against Heresies) ApJohn Apocryphon of John GThom Gospel of Thomas GPhil Gospel of Philip HypArch Hypostasis of the Archons OrigWorld On the Origin of the World 6 ExSoul Exegesis on the Soul ThomCont Book of Thomas the Contender Other Abbreviations: BIFAO Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale CRAI Comptes rendus séances de l’Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres ETR Etudes théologiques et religieuses HTR Harvard Theological Review JA Journal Asiatique JAC Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JECS Journal of Early Christian Studies JJP Journal of Juristic Papyrology JR Journal of Religion JRH Journal of Religious History JRS Journal of Religious Studies JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament HR History of Religions Mus Le Muséon NTS New Testament Studies NovT Novum Testamentum RHR Revue de l’histoire des religions RTP Review of Philosophy and Theology SecCent Second Century SR Studies in Religion ST Studia Theologica TJT Toronto Journal of Theology TLZ Theologische Literaturzeitung 7 VC Vigiliae Christianae References to Nag Hammadi Codex II tractates 2-7, unless otherwise stated, are taken from the two volume critical text edition in the Coptic Gnostic Library series: Bentley Layton, ed., Nag Hammadi Codex II, 2-7 together with XIII, 2*, Brit. Libr. Or. 4926 (1), and P. Oxy. 1, 654, 655 (Leiden: Brill, 1989). References to the Apocryphon of John, unless otherwise stated, are taken from the synoptic edition of Michael Waldstein and Frederick Wisse, The Apocryphon of John: Synopsis of Nag Hammadi Codices II,1; III,1; and IV,1 with BG 8502,2 (Leiden: Brill, 1995). All references to Pachomian literature are taken from Armand Veilleux’s translations in his three volume Pachomian Koinonia: The Lives, Rules, and Other Writings of Saint Pachomius and his Disciples (Kalamazoo, Mich.: Cistercian Publications, 1980). 8 ABSTRACT Scholarship to date on the Nag Hammadi Codices has been predominantly concerned with establishing the compositional history and doctrinal affiliations of each tractate within the collection. Much less attention has been paid to the library as a fourth-century collection of texts, which must have been understood by the compiler/s of the codices as having ideological coherence, and overarching messages. The present thesis is first and foremost an attempt to address this deficiency. Due to the site of the codices’ discovery in the Egyptian desert being in close proximity to the Pachomian monastery at Phbow, the suggestion was made that perhaps these monks were once the owners of the collection, forced to purge their monastery of these texts due to the increasing concern of the Alexandrian Church over the circulation of what it viewed to be ‘heretical’ religious documents. This ‘Pachomian connection’ was substantiated mainly by the apparent promotion of ascetic practice and a value placed on knowledge both in the Pachomian movement and many of the tractates from Nag Hammadi, as well as the presence of some monastic documents in the waste paper used to strengthen the covers of the codices. None are sufficient to conclude a relationship between the two. Moreover, scholarly conception of the Nag Hammadi Library as a representative of ‘Gnosticism,’ which since the critiques of this category by the likes of Williams (1996) and King (2004) has been something of a taboo term, meant that inquiry into connections with Pachomian monastic literature was too invested in searching for so-called ‘Gnostic’ overlap. On the contrary, this work argues that in order to gain a better understanding of why the Nag Hammadi texts were collected and collated in the way that they were, and how and why they might have been utilised by Christian inhabitants of the Egyptian desert, they must be viewed primarily as a fourth-century Christian collection. The thesis attempts to offer a fresh perspective on the question of monastic usage by viewing the Nag Hammadi texts simply as part of the Egyptian Christian landscape, rather than as a ‘heretical’ invasion of it. In order to conduct a controlled and sufficiently detailed analysis, this thesis examines one sub-collection of the Nag Hammadi Library – Codex II, alongside contemporaneous Pachomian monastic literature, and suggests agreement on various centralised issues. Building on the suggestions of Michael Williams (1996) and James Robinson (2004), that meaningful order can be detected in the arrangement of the Nag Hammadi Codices, the thesis contends that Nag Hammadi Codex II develops certain key themes through the particular sequencing of its tractates. Each of these, it is argued, would have been attractive to a fourth-century Pachomian monastic readership. Firstly, asceticism must be moderated so as not to lose sight of its spiritual value amidst competitive arrogance. Secondly, one’s duty to share and encourage the promulgation of spiritual truths among one’s brethren is of vital importance. Thirdly, identification as an ‘elite’ spiritually superior individual is in no way predetermined, as older definitions of ‘Gnosticism’ have suggested, but based entirely on one’s conscious choice to leave behind worldly pursuits. 9 DECLARATION AND COPYRIGHT STATEMENT DECLARATION No portion of the work referred to in the thesis has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institute of learning. COPYRIGHT STATEMENT i. The author of this thesis (including any appendices and/or schedules to this thesis) owns certain copyright or related rights in it (the “Copyright”) and she has given The University of Manchester certain rights to use such Copyright, including for administrative purposes. ii. Copies of this thesis, either in full or in extracts and whether in hard or electronic copy, may be made only in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) and regulations issued under it or, where appropriate, in accordance with licensing agreements which the University has from time to time. This page must form part of any such copies made. iii. The ownership of certain Copyright, patents, designs, trade marks and other intellectual property (the “Intellectual Property”) and any reproductions of copyright works in the thesis, for example graphs and tables (“Reproductions”), which may be described in this thesis, may not be owned by the author and may be owned by third parties. Such Intellectual Property and Reproductions cannot and must not be made available for use without the prior written permission of the owner(s) of the relevant Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions. iv. Further information on the conditions under which disclosure, publication and commercialisation of this thesis, the Copyright and any Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions described in it may take place is available in the University IP Policy (see http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/DocuInfo.aspx?DocID=487), in any relevant Thesis restriction declarations deposited in the University Library, The University Library’s regulations (see http://www.manchester.ac.uk/library/aboutus/regulations) and in The University’s policy on Presentation of Theses. 10 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost I would like to thank the Department of Religions & Theology at the University of Manchester for providing me with the scholarship that enabled me to carry out this research. I am especially grateful for the helpful feedback that I received from members and friends of the department following my presentation of some early work on this thesis to the Ehrhardt Seminar. I extend my extreme gratitude to my supervisor, Dr.
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