ORIGIN: Gnostic Christian
TYPE: Primordial female force in the Cosmos.
KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP: Unknown origins to circa 400 CE.
SYNONYMS: Pistis Sophia
CENTER(S) OF CULT: Undefined cells within the area of early Christian influence.
LITERARY SOURCES: Plato and other Greek philosophers; Nag Hammadi codices.
INFORMATION: According to the Gnostic Christian writers whose thoughts were a syncretization of Jewish, ancient Near Eastern, and Greek philosophical elements, Sophia descended from Pistis (faith) before the formation of the cosmos. She is described as a likeness of Pistis and seems to be the primeval element of light. She acts as a mediator or "Veil" between the immortal beings (Archons) and mankind. She is also the challenger to the primordial "shadow" that becomes chaos. In the Nag Hammadi text On the origin of the world, Pistis Sophia generates Yaldabaoth, the father or "prime parent" of the seven androgynous beings who rule the heavens in the likeness of the original authorities so that the likeness may persist forever. See also Pistis and Yaldabaoth.