Gnostic Scriptures and Fragments

Bruce Codex: Fragment of a Gnostic Text
"On the Passage of the Soul"

Archive Note:

This beautiful fragment tells the tale of the soul of the Gnostic as it makes its passage out of creation, past the "Archons of the Midst", toward its true home in the Light.  As the soul approaches each terrifying and fiercely powerful Archon, it presents a key of liberation:  to each is given "the mystery of their fear", and the fear's name.  (These untranslatable Coptic names are only very roughly represented in the text, below.)  Knowing fear "face to face", and naming it, the soul is  liberated from the Archons' restraint upon free passage.   

On the Passage of the Soul
Through the Archons of the Midst

[Beginning missing] . . . the souls by theft:

when they take my soul to that place
it will give to them the mystery of their fear, which is  XAPIHP

And when they take it to the places of all the ranks of the Paraplex,
the great and powerful Archon, who is spread out upon the way of the Midst,
who carries off the souls by theft:

when they take my soul to that place
it will give to them the mystery of their fear, which is  AXPW

And again when they take my soul to the place of Typhon,
the great and powerful Archon with the face of an ass`s
who is spread out upon the way of the Midst,
who carries off the souls by theft:

                when they take my soul to that place
                it will give to them the mystery of their fear, which is PPAWP

And again when they take my soul to the place of all the ranks of Jachthanabas,
the great and powerful Archon,
who is full of anger, the successor of the Archon of the outer darkness, the place in which all forms change,
who is powerful,
who is spread out upon the way of the Midst,
who carries off the souls by theft:

                when they take my soul to that place
                it will give to them the mystery of their fear which is AWHPNEUPSAZPA

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