RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Ophites Optatus
ture is stripped away. Redemption proper consists partly in the weakening of the mundane powers, partly in the revelation of knowledge that endows its possessor with mastery over those mundane powers. The bearer of salvation is invariably a being from the higher world, the Soter, or Christ; and he stands, in every instance, more or less closely allied with the personality of Jesus. Hence the Ophites did not efface the character of Christianity as a historic, redemptive religion; but the Savior of sinners they changed into some heavenly being who brings knowledge to men concerning the divine sphere, and thus elevates them. The union of this heavenly being with the man Jesus is conceived in various ways. In some quarters it is supposed to take place at his birth; in others, at the age of twelve; and again, at his baptism. However, the matter is no such great problem for the Ophites as it came to be for the theology of the Church; because, in the case at hand, the divine incarnation is not at all the great decisive fact for salvation, but redemption rather consists principally in the revelation of the redemptive Gnosis. Neither does any salutary significance attach itself to events in the life of Christ; such as his death and resurrection. At best, these occurrences are susceptible of a symbolic interpretation. Nor, indeed, is there any question of an atonement; this is unnecessary for the reason that, under the very determinism of the Gnosis, there can be no question of guilt in the premises. The innocent subject involved in matter must be set free by being brought into touch with the spiritual, which result is effected through the Gnosis, or the revelation of the higher world and redemptive rites.
In the first place, the work of redemption simply brought to souls the possibility of entering the
realm of light; whereas the realization
5. The of this entrance is still menaced by all
Mysteries, sorts of difficulties. The soul must be
purified of unclean elements by means of prescribed ceremonies, and must learn the magic formulas by whose aid it can protect itself against the wiles of the archons. These ideas appear as the more popular embodiments of the Gnosis in most of the Ophite sects. They are also practically the most important, being sect-producing. In the Coptic documents, the number of these rites multiplied incredibly. This expansion was promoted by penitential discipline, in that against recurrent sins after participation in the expiatory sacraments new mysteries had to be devised. As may well be understood, this artificial sacramentalism neutralizes all moral interest. The believer's trust rests altogether in the mysteries. Through these it is that the soul attains to that estate in which no hostile powers can further molest it. Such ceremonial sanctities occur also among some earlier Ophitic sects. But we naturally learn very little on the subject from the treatises on heresy, because these sacraments are secret and are not communicated to the uninitiated. So early as in the Naassenian Hymn, Jesus is represented as saying: " I will descend with the seals in my hand," with some obvious implication evidently of such mystic rites. The mysteries furthermore consist in showing the
forms of the gods, and in yielding up the secret of the holy way, as it is phrased in the Hymn. This holy way is the one which the spiritual soul must follow when liberated from the body, in order to gain entrance into the divine sphere. The gods are the archons, who design to barricade this way. Accordingly, the soul must be exactly acquainted with the successive series of these beings, and know what to say to each and every one of them for an effectual countersign. Sometimes, as in the Coptic documents, these consist of mere senseless conglomerations of sounds such as are found in the papyri of ancient magic. Here then, religion has sunk to the lowest grade of sorcery. The conquest of obstacles on the way to the world beyond finds a place also in the apocryphal accounts of the apostles; notably, in the apostles' prayers before their death. These apocryphal Acts are not assignable to any definite sect; they are products of a vulgar type of Gnosis. But they are still free from magic art; and God is entreated simply for help against adverse powers. Morality is neglected where men's whole concern is preempted by redemptive magic. The sects are both of a libertine cast committing the most abominable excesses, and ascetic. The history of the Ophitic sects is one of continuous degeneration; so that, eventually, the Church in general overcame them easily. See Gnosticism, § 2, for reference to articles which illumine the subject.