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Pistis Sophia: A Gnostic Gospel
This edition of the Pistis Sophia is a complete and accurate reprint of the original translation by G.R.S. Mead in 1921. It contains all of Mead’s original notes and running commentary, as well as his annotated bibliography which includes numerous sources and further research material for the reader.
The Pistis Sophia is a gnostic text thought to have been written sometime between the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. According to Mead, there were two codices discovered in the late 18th century that contained the original work. The Bruce Codex was brought to Oxford by the famous Scottish traveler Bruce in 1769, and the Askew Codex was given to the British Museum by the heirs of a wealthy doctor in 1785. Both codices were thereafter translated by experts and their contents ordered in a fashion that seemed proper according to their best abilities. Mead’s translation followed these efforts, but as he says in his introduction, the order of the contents was changed “to place the contents of these Coptic translations roughly in such a sequence that the reader may be led from lower to higher grades of the Gnosis.”
The Pistis Sophia itself is of such a marvelous and complex nature, that it is hard to describe in a short space. But generally, the book shows the risen Jesus revealing the lower and higher mysteries to a group of his followers over the period of 22 years. Included in these mysteries are complex cosmologies that the human soul must travel through in order to reach Gnosis with the Father. A new story of the rise and fall of a restorative figure known as the Pistis Sophia is also given by Christ.
The text in the first three of the four books is a dialogue between Jesus and his disciples, including Mary Magdalene, who is the most active in the discussion. Other disciples involved include John the Virgin, Andrew, Bartholomew, James, John, Mary, Martha, Mathew, Philip, Salome, Simon the Canaanite, and Thomas. It is apparent, based on the character of the text, that the work was a compilation of various earlier editions, as some subjects and events are covered multiple times with slight variations. Changes in certain words used in describing the same ideas also illustrate that the collected works were from different time periods.
The first book details how Jesus, after his resurrection, stayed with his disciples for eleven years teaching the lowest of the mysteries. An intricate cosmology is introduced through the details of Jesus ascending the so called aeons in order to do battle with certain servants (archons) of the creator god who stands between human beings and gnosis. It is in this cosmology that the new myth of the Pistis Sophia is introduced and discussed continuing into the second book, where connection between the current work and the Book of Jeu is demonstrated. Interestingly, unlike such other Gnostic myths such as the Apocryphon of John, the Pistis Sophia myth is limited to the lower aeons, not herself being a divine being from the higher levels of heaven.
The third book concerns the ethical code for the adherents of Christianity, and outlines punishments for the transgression of that ethical system. Additionally, human beings and their spiritual nature are discussed, along with their connectedness to each other and when they should be given the mysteries.
The fourth book details further cosmological and astrological systems, including myths of fallen archons and their imprisonment within certain zodiacal spheres. Five realms of punishment with their corresponding types of sinners are revealed, along with the ritual and requirements for their release.
The Pistis Sophia is a gnostic text thought to have been written sometime between the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. According to Mead, there were two codices discovered in the late 18th century that contained the original work. The Bruce Codex was brought to Oxford by the famous Scottish traveler Bruce in 1769, and the Askew Codex was given to the British Museum by the heirs of a wealthy doctor in 1785. Both codices were thereafter translated by experts and their contents ordered in a fashion that seemed proper according to their best abilities. Mead’s translation followed these efforts, but as he says in his introduction, the order of the contents was changed “to place the contents of these Coptic translations roughly in such a sequence that the reader may be led from lower to higher grades of the Gnosis.”
The Pistis Sophia itself is of such a marvelous and complex nature, that it is hard to describe in a short space. But generally, the book shows the risen Jesus revealing the lower and higher mysteries to a group of his followers over the period of 22 years. Included in these mysteries are complex cosmologies that the human soul must travel through in order to reach Gnosis with the Father. A new story of the rise and fall of a restorative figure known as the Pistis Sophia is also given by Christ.
The text in the first three of the four books is a dialogue between Jesus and his disciples, including Mary Magdalene, who is the most active in the discussion. Other disciples involved include John the Virgin, Andrew, Bartholomew, James, John, Mary, Martha, Mathew, Philip, Salome, Simon the Canaanite, and Thomas. It is apparent, based on the character of the text, that the work was a compilation of various earlier editions, as some subjects and events are covered multiple times with slight variations. Changes in certain words used in describing the same ideas also illustrate that the collected works were from different time periods.
The first book details how Jesus, after his resurrection, stayed with his disciples for eleven years teaching the lowest of the mysteries. An intricate cosmology is introduced through the details of Jesus ascending the so called aeons in order to do battle with certain servants (archons) of the creator god who stands between human beings and gnosis. It is in this cosmology that the new myth of the Pistis Sophia is introduced and discussed continuing into the second book, where connection between the current work and the Book of Jeu is demonstrated. Interestingly, unlike such other Gnostic myths such as the Apocryphon of John, the Pistis Sophia myth is limited to the lower aeons, not herself being a divine being from the higher levels of heaven.
The third book concerns the ethical code for the adherents of Christianity, and outlines punishments for the transgression of that ethical system. Additionally, human beings and their spiritual nature are discussed, along with their connectedness to each other and when they should be given the mysteries.
The fourth book details further cosmological and astrological systems, including myths of fallen archons and their imprisonment within certain zodiacal spheres. Five realms of punishment with their corresponding types of sinners are revealed, along with the ritual and requirements for their release.
212 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1921
282 people are currently reading
1031 people want to read
About the author
G.R.S. Mead
658 books50 followersGeorge Robert Stowe Mead, who always published under the initialism G.R.S. Mead, was a historian, writer, editor, translator, and an influential member of the Theosophical Society, as well as founder of the Quest Society. His scholarly works dealt mainly with the Hermetic and Gnostic religions of Late Antiquity, and were exhaustive for the time period.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
October 31, 2007
I don't remember the first time I read it, but I recently reread it from beginnning to end and realize that every time I do I notice somthing more than before. Profound things that make you talk out loud to yourself.I'm impressed with all ancient books, I feel like they are windows into life in those times.
October 29, 2015
A most interesting read...
There is a strange beauty in this work, and an even greater strangeness in its message. I have read many religious texts, but this one seems very fascinating and original. It is a form of Christianity, maybe more true to the original, yet vastly different from the canonical texts.
Unfortunately, most of the language of the book is cryptic and covered with metaphors. As much information on Gnosticism had been lost, offering a correct interpretation is probably impossible.
Beyond the text and the action, interesting and logical answers come to serious questions that all Christians had pondered at least once in a while: Why is the Universe so full of imperfections? Why there is so much evil in this world ?
There is a strange beauty in this work, and an even greater strangeness in its message. I have read many religious texts, but this one seems very fascinating and original. It is a form of Christianity, maybe more true to the original, yet vastly different from the canonical texts.
Unfortunately, most of the language of the book is cryptic and covered with metaphors. As much information on Gnosticism had been lost, offering a correct interpretation is probably impossible.
Beyond the text and the action, interesting and logical answers come to serious questions that all Christians had pondered at least once in a while: Why is the Universe so full of imperfections? Why there is so much evil in this world ?
October 2, 2014
Here you will find what might be called the classical "gnostic" text Representative of the Valentinian school, the Pistis Sophia (Faith and Wisdom personified in some sense) gives what often passes for the central myth of gnosticism. Readers of the recently disclosed (by National Geographic most popularly) Gospel of Judas will immediately note the similarity between their cosmological portions--not the point usually emphasized by commentators. I personally wonder at the mindset of the third-fourth century Mediterranean world which invested the heavens with so much meaning. How much is symbolical? How much is meant literally? How much is lost if the astronomical associations are beliefs are removed?
What is left is the kernal of feeling which many moderns share, namely, that this, the quotidian world, our existence in it, is not quite right, not really real. Some of this is simply ethical repulsion at the order of things, political and natural. Some of this is despair at our own personal failings, a sense that the world, other people, our parents, our jobs, our kids bring us down to being less than we could be or really are. There is certainly some truth to this, a truth we conceptualize very differently, we in our representative "democracies", than the ancients, in their autarchies and shameless oligarchies, did. But there is at least this kernal of meaning that connects our decadences. (See my little essay entitled "Millenial Gnosis in the Matrix" for more on this theme).
G.R.S. Mead is to be credited for this early, and influenial, translation. Perhaps he deserves five stars, but I find most such literature tedious to the extreme--thus a compromising three.
What is left is the kernal of feeling which many moderns share, namely, that this, the quotidian world, our existence in it, is not quite right, not really real. Some of this is simply ethical repulsion at the order of things, political and natural. Some of this is despair at our own personal failings, a sense that the world, other people, our parents, our jobs, our kids bring us down to being less than we could be or really are. There is certainly some truth to this, a truth we conceptualize very differently, we in our representative "democracies", than the ancients, in their autarchies and shameless oligarchies, did. But there is at least this kernal of meaning that connects our decadences. (See my little essay entitled "Millenial Gnosis in the Matrix" for more on this theme).
G.R.S. Mead is to be credited for this early, and influenial, translation. Perhaps he deserves five stars, but I find most such literature tedious to the extreme--thus a compromising three.
October 19, 2013
Peter hates women lol. Very eye opening book, and teachings similar to escaping Buddhist samsara cycle.
December 21, 2024
I started with an excitement to explore what gnostic literature might have to offer, in terms of rich, arcane world building. Busy, richly populated heavens and other inhuman domains, multiplicities of heretofore unexplored factions, involvements and motivations scarcely intelligible to man.
Then my experience kind of changed. I couldn't help but feel anything but majorly disturbed and depressed that *earnest belief* in this kind of pungent nonsense pervades human heritage. I couldn't finish it.
Then my experience kind of changed. I couldn't help but feel anything but majorly disturbed and depressed that *earnest belief* in this kind of pungent nonsense pervades human heritage. I couldn't finish it.
March 13, 2021
This book really gives more context to the teachings of this great being. descriptions of the journeys that are taken to each planet to attain great mysteries and seals. Different orders of the celestials are mentioned with a understanding of there purposes. yashua relationships with his various disciples is shown and his deep teachings that he gave to not only his mother but Mary Magdeline is seen. The chaos wished to consume the light of the beautiful pistis sophia so she cried to the universal divine creator with conviction and trust and eventually she was brought back to her higher station. her words sound very similiar to the verses found in the psalms and proverbs of the hebrews. her creation yalboath is given a format of introduction and alot of questions are answered such as why "god" was amazed at the light and diferent structures within the celestial realms.
August 4, 2024
I put off reading this book for years because someone described it as long and tedious. But some references to it I read recently convinced me I ought to give it a go. I got Mead's translation as a kindle version because it is cheap and I can easily highlight and make notes in a kindle book. The book did have tedious parts but in the main I thought it moved on well enough. I liked it well enough that I reserved a more up to date translation with notes from the library (over 900 pages!) One feature I thought was interesting was the many references to the canonical N.T., which indicates to me that the canon was pretty well settled by the time Pistis Sophia was written. Another feature which surprised me in this work was the evil nature of Adamas, because othe Gnostic works present him as a good figure.
Read
September 22, 2024Well that was a trip. Supports my thesis of heterodox appropriation of the apostles (the apostles were such a force and well known for receiving Jesus' teaching that heterodox writers had to put their own teachings in Jesus mouth as delivered to the disciples). This whole thing is from a completely different world; if you wonder why books like this aren't in the canon, just read it and ask whether something of this sort has any relation to the background of Jewisj monotheism that Christianity grew out of.
August 9, 2011
Interesting read...I think that it was inspired, but not by God, and I don't believe it was written by Mary. Sounds like the viewpoint of Lucifer the angel who was cast out of heaven and resentful and whiny about it.
January 19, 2026
Pistis Sophia is a central text of Gnostic Christianity that presents salvation not as forgiveness of sin, but as awakening through knowledge. Framed as post-resurrection teachings of Jesus to his disciples (11 years), the text describes a complex spiritual cosmology while simultaneously offering a symbolic map of the soul’s journey. Its core concern is remembering one’s divine origin.
At the heart of the text is Sophia, a figure who represents both divine Wisdom and the human soul. Drawn by desire for the true Light, she acts without full understanding and falls from the higher spiritual realms into lower worlds governed by oppressive powers (the Archons). Her fall is treated as ignorance and misdirected longing. Trapped and stripped of her light, Sophia suffers until she begins to remember who she is.
Sophia’s restoration unfolds through thirteen repentance hymns, which are stages of awakening. In them, she names her error, identifies the forces that bind her, withdraws her consent from false authorities, and gradually regains her lost light. Progress is slow and cumulative, emphasizing that liberation comes through persistence, clarity, and inner trust, not sudden rescue. This is a baseline of gnosis.
In Pistis Sophia Jesus appears not as a sacrificial savior but as a revealer and guide, teaching the mechanics of spiritual ascent and assisting Sophia without replacing her agency.
The women stand out the most. They ask deep questions and understand and interpret Jesus.
Mary Magdalene embodies direct gnosis: intuitive, experiential understanding that penetrates symbols without needing external authority. She speaks most often and most deeply, representing awakened consciousness itself. Mary, the mother of Jesus, represents wisdom rooted in memory and continuity and the capacity to recognize truth through lineage, tradition, and inner resonance rather than analysis alone.
Alongside them, Martha and Salome complete the picture by grounding insight in reality. Martha represents practical and ethical intelligence, asking how spiritual knowledge translates into right action and lived order. Salome embodies critical discernment, the courage to question, clarify, and test meaning at its boundaries. Together, these women form a coherent epistemic system: insight, memory, application, and inquiry, presenting a radically feminine model of spiritual authority.
No wonder it didn’t fit the orthodox Christian model.
It speaks about the journey of souls, growth and reincarnation.
At the heart of the text is Sophia, a figure who represents both divine Wisdom and the human soul. Drawn by desire for the true Light, she acts without full understanding and falls from the higher spiritual realms into lower worlds governed by oppressive powers (the Archons). Her fall is treated as ignorance and misdirected longing. Trapped and stripped of her light, Sophia suffers until she begins to remember who she is.
Sophia’s restoration unfolds through thirteen repentance hymns, which are stages of awakening. In them, she names her error, identifies the forces that bind her, withdraws her consent from false authorities, and gradually regains her lost light. Progress is slow and cumulative, emphasizing that liberation comes through persistence, clarity, and inner trust, not sudden rescue. This is a baseline of gnosis.
In Pistis Sophia Jesus appears not as a sacrificial savior but as a revealer and guide, teaching the mechanics of spiritual ascent and assisting Sophia without replacing her agency.
The women stand out the most. They ask deep questions and understand and interpret Jesus.
Mary Magdalene embodies direct gnosis: intuitive, experiential understanding that penetrates symbols without needing external authority. She speaks most often and most deeply, representing awakened consciousness itself. Mary, the mother of Jesus, represents wisdom rooted in memory and continuity and the capacity to recognize truth through lineage, tradition, and inner resonance rather than analysis alone.
Alongside them, Martha and Salome complete the picture by grounding insight in reality. Martha represents practical and ethical intelligence, asking how spiritual knowledge translates into right action and lived order. Salome embodies critical discernment, the courage to question, clarify, and test meaning at its boundaries. Together, these women form a coherent epistemic system: insight, memory, application, and inquiry, presenting a radically feminine model of spiritual authority.
No wonder it didn’t fit the orthodox Christian model.
It speaks about the journey of souls, growth and reincarnation.
April 19, 2024
What is written in this book is very confronting when compared to main stream Christianity.
How ever in this book Jesus expounds on some parables found in the common bible revealing it's real meaning and not the meaning pastors tell you.
A lot of this is questions from Jesus disciples and answers from Jesus.
A lot of expose on the light realms and there inhabitants, there is also rather in depth details on what happens in the after life, if you can call it an after life.
Absorbing all the information in this book is rather difficult. The terminologies are difficult to comprehend, one has to try to imagine what a thing Is that Jesus speaks of.
Whether it be Sophia Pistis, Kronos, Adamas, Yaldobaoth or barbello. Trying to perceive this in the mind's eye is hard.
Understanding the consequences of one's sins and it's punishments is daunting.
The doctrines about the rulers really makes sense as to why the earth and the human race is the way it is.
This book really challenges and deconstructs modern Christianity. It also presents itself as a challenge to life itself.
The gnosis is confessed in this unlike in the nag Hammadi but both books share the same themes which is not ironic as these books were found centuries apart.
A great book for self reformation.
How ever in this book Jesus expounds on some parables found in the common bible revealing it's real meaning and not the meaning pastors tell you.
A lot of this is questions from Jesus disciples and answers from Jesus.
A lot of expose on the light realms and there inhabitants, there is also rather in depth details on what happens in the after life, if you can call it an after life.
Absorbing all the information in this book is rather difficult. The terminologies are difficult to comprehend, one has to try to imagine what a thing Is that Jesus speaks of.
Whether it be Sophia Pistis, Kronos, Adamas, Yaldobaoth or barbello. Trying to perceive this in the mind's eye is hard.
Understanding the consequences of one's sins and it's punishments is daunting.
The doctrines about the rulers really makes sense as to why the earth and the human race is the way it is.
This book really challenges and deconstructs modern Christianity. It also presents itself as a challenge to life itself.
The gnosis is confessed in this unlike in the nag Hammadi but both books share the same themes which is not ironic as these books were found centuries apart.
A great book for self reformation.
January 26, 2025
While often times tedious, this gem is very interesting for those who will take their time. I spent many of a time, stopping and looking up various names I've never seen before. Or having seen names that, at least for a quick search, were unknown to a surface level. Not recommended for anyone that thinks this will be like talking to friend who is high or tripping drugs. While it does get into areas of wonder and celestial bureaucracy, it comes off much more as a Monday office meeting where people are asking seemingly the same question over and over again, until they are allowed to go home.
December 7, 2025
Intricate and bewildering, I don't know if anyone alive today can even fully understand what's going on in this text. I think too much of the necessary context has simply been lost to time. There are so many strange concepts, celestial realms and beings with symbolic names, complex and contradictory cosmologies, it'll make your head spin trying to decipher it. But when you step back and look at the big picture, it does kind of come together - it's the story of spiritual consciousness trapped in a dark illusion, clawing its way back to the light it came from.
dnf
January 11, 2024i really liked the bit where there was a whole chapter setting up the revelation of a single word and than it was just [ . . .?]
The cosmology was interesting.
Peter's animosity towards Mary shows up again. hmm..
The cosmology was interesting.
Peter's animosity towards Mary shows up again. hmm..
December 31, 2024
One of Jesus student's, forgot his name, deadas told him to shut the women up so they can talk? And Mary said she's afraid of him few more chapters before that? What? Hit that man with holy light already.
April 19, 2025
Reincarnation, Egyptian mythology- Mait as well as Greek Gods, with dungeons and dragons, what more could you ask for in a book. Have you read the Book of Enoch or do you know about Amenta?
If the Christians only knew what torture awaits their souls…
If the Christians only knew what torture awaits their souls…
January 11, 2020
5 stars even though i got stuck at the 5th chapter.
January 26, 2021
the mystery of the universe.
August 16, 2024
A very complex book, sometimes difficult to grasp and cofusing. A must read though for those who are interested in understanding esoteric Christianity.
Read
April 18, 2025DNF - incomprehensible
July 23, 2025
Bastante raro pero es curioso y entretenido, aunque si no vas a hacer un estudio ni lo lees por esoterismo tiene mucha paja.
October 5, 2025
Truly the most insightful and informative document on Earth. Our current human condition is reflected so well in this ancient text.
November 6, 2025
I can see why this is considered “hidden knowledge.” Anyone who believes this absolute garbage should be laughed in their faces. I have never read 400 pages of not only nothing but repeated nothing!
July 19, 2024
That's like christian cosmology on steroids. A very interesting read for those who are into early Christian sects and gnostic traditions. This edition helps the reader a lot since it organizes the text into chapters and sub-chapters, which is not available in many cases for these early gnostic texts.
August 23, 2012
La cura dell' edizione , affidata a Luigi Moraldi , è , come sempre sotto il sigillo di questa firma , ottima .
Pistis Sophia è un crogiuolo di tradizioni religiose e paralleli letterari , una tappa intrigante per chi dopo la lettura dei Vangeli è rimasto con domande irrisolte e non è soddisfatto dalle risposte del Catechismo "ufficiale".
Avvertenza : lo stile di scrittura non è amichevole - è un libro che richiede una certa dose di motivazione da parte di chi lo legge.
Pistis Sophia è un crogiuolo di tradizioni religiose e paralleli letterari , una tappa intrigante per chi dopo la lettura dei Vangeli è rimasto con domande irrisolte e non è soddisfatto dalle risposte del Catechismo "ufficiale".
Avvertenza : lo stile di scrittura non è amichevole - è un libro che richiede una certa dose di motivazione da parte di chi lo legge.
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November 9, 2019This was an obscure text... unfamilier to say the least... comprised the words of the messiah whilst remaining on the Earth for a full eleven years after being crucified, killed, and resurrected and before ascending to heaven. These words along with the interpretations of the disciples comprise the discourse inscribed in this text. I did not read on Kindle but rather on a loan copy from the Chicago Public Library system.
March 18, 2009
i love the use of language and it's historical value
November 14, 2024
Great explanation, deep dive into Gnosticism and the significance of Sophia.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews