Three Steles of Seth

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Gnosticism

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Persian Gnosticism
Mandaeism
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Syrian-Egyptic Gnosticism
Sethians
Thomasines
Valentinians
Basilideans

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Cerinthus
Valentinus

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Gnosticism in popular culture

Gnostic texts
Nag Hammadi Library
Codex Tchacos
Gnosticism and the New Testament

Related Articles
Gnosis
Pythagoreanism
Neoplatonism and Gnosticism
Esoteric Christianity
Theosophy

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The Three Steles of Seth is a sethian gnostic text from the New Testament apocrypha. The main surviving copies come from the Nag Hammadi library, and were translated and explained by professor Paul-Jean Claude (retired),member of the Nag Hammadi Research group of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, Laval University (Québec).

The text concerns a revelation to Dositheos about 3 steles (text written into specially created stones). Many scholars think they are designed as liturgy.

The text is thought to be from the sethian sect of gnostics (the sect that viewed the biblical Seth as their hero, who was reincarnated as Jesus). Their other texts include the Apocalypse of Adam, Apocryphon of John, the Trimorphic Protennoia, and the Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians.

The text is thought to be a 3rd century development of the sethian group of gnostics, as they became more separated from christianity, and closer to Platonism.


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