Editing Monad (Gnosticism)

{{Other uses|Monad (disambiguation)}}{{Short description|Adaptation of the Greek philosophical concept}}

In some [[Gnostic]] systems, the [[Creator deity|supreme being]] is known as the '''Monad''', '''[[Neoplatonism#The One|the One]]''', '''[[Absolute (philosophy)|the Absolute]]''', '''Aiōn Teleos''' (the Perfect [[Aeon (Gnosticism)|Aeon]], {{lang|grc|αἰών τέλεος}}), '''Bythos''' (Depth or Profundity, {{lang|grc|Βυθός}}), '''Proarchē''' (Before the Beginning, {{lang|grc|προαρχή}}), '''Hē Archē''' (The Beginning, {{lang|grc|ἡ ἀρχή}}), the '''Ineffable Parent''', and/or the '''primal Father'''. The Monad is an adaptation of concepts of the [[Monad (philosophy)|monad in Greek philosophy]] to Christian belief systems.

The ''[[Apocryphon of John]]'', written {{circa|180}}, gives the following description:
{{blockquote|The Monad is a monarchy with nothing above it. It is he who exists as God and Father of everything, the invisible One who is above everything, who exists as incorruption, which is in the pure light into which no eye can look.  "He is the invisible Spirit, of whom it is not right to think of him as a god, or something similar. For he is more than a god, since there is nothing above him, for no one lords it over him. For he does not exist in something inferior to him, since everything exists in him. For it is he who establishes himself. He is eternal, since he does not need anything. For he is total perfection.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/apocjn.html | title=The Apocryphon of John - Frederik Wisse - the Nag Hammadi Library }}</ref>}}

==Historical background==
The term ''monad'' comes from the Greek feminine noun ''monas'' ([[nominative]] singular, μονάς), "one unit," where the ending ''-s'' in the nominative form resolves to the ending ''-d'' in [[declension]].<ref>Francis E. Peters Greek Philosophical Terms: A Historical Lexicon 1970 p. 42.</ref>

Prominent [[early Christian]] gnostics like [[Valentinus (Gnostic)|Valentinus]] taught that the Monad is the high source of the [[Pleroma]], the region of light constituting "the fullness of the Godhead." Through a process of [[Emanationism|emanation]], various divine entities and realms emerge from the One. Arranged hierarchically, they become progressively degraded due to their remoteness from the Father. The various emanations of the One, totaling thirty in number (or 365, according to [[Basilides]]), are called [[Aeon (Gnosticism)|Aeons]]. Among them exist [[Jesus]] (who resides close to the Father) and the lowest emanation, [[Sophia (Gnosticism)|Sophia (wisdom)]], whose fall results in the creation of the material world.<ref>Louis P. Pojman, "Valentinus," in ''The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy'', 3rd ed., ed. Robert Audi.</ref>

According to [[Theodoret]]'s book on heresies (''Haereticarum Fabularum Compendium'' i.18), the Arab Christian [[Monoimus]] (c. 150–210) used the term Monad to mean the highest [[god]] that created lesser [[deity|gods]], or elements (similar to Aeons). In some versions of Christian gnosticism, especially those deriving from Valentinius, a lesser deity known as the [[Demiurge]] (see also [[Neoplatonism]], [[Plotinus]]) had a role in the creation of the material world separate from the Monad. In these forms of gnosticism, the God of the [[Old Testament]], [[Tetragrammaton|YHWH]], is often considered to have been the Demiurge, not the Monad,<ref>Louis P. Pojman, "gnosticism," in ''The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy'', 3rd ed., ed. Robert Audi.</ref> or sometimes different passages are interpreted as referring to each.

According to [[Hippolytus of Rome]], this view was inspired by the [[Pythagoreanism|Pythagoreans]], for whom the first existing thing was the [[Monad (philosophy)|Monad]], which begat the [[Dyad (Greek philosophy)|dyad]], which begat the [[number]]s, which begat the [[Point (geometry)|point]], begetting [[line (geometry)|line]]s, and so on.<ref>[[Diogenes Laërtius]], ''[[Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers]]''.</ref> Pythagorean and [[Platonism|Platonic philosophers]] like [[Plotinus]] and [[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]] condemned the "[[gnosis]]" that would later characterize Gnostic systems for their treatment of the Monad or One (see [[Neoplatonism and Gnosticism]]).

For a long time, legend persisted that a young man by the name of [[Epiphanes (gnostic)|Epiphanes]], who died at the age of 17, was the leader of Monadic Gnosticism. However, scholars think the legend may have come from misunderstanding of the Greek word ''epiphanēs'' which may have been mistaken as a personal name if in text, when in fact the Greek means ''distinguished'', as in a ''distinguished teacher.''<ref>Mead, G.R.S. 1900. [http://www.gnosis.org/library/grs-mead/fragments_faith_forgotten/fff34.htm ''"Epiphanes'', ''Fragments of a Faith Forgotten'', pp. 232–235], available online by The Gnostic Society Library.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Hayyi Rabbi]]
*[[Ein Sof]]
*[[Monad (disambiguation)]]
*''[[Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit]]''

== References ==
<references />
[[Category:Monad (philosophy)]]
[[Category:Conceptions of God]]
[[Category:Gnostic cosmology]]
[[Category:Gnostic deities]]
[[Category:Gnostic terms and concepts]]
[[Category:Names of God in Gnosticism]]