Skip to content
EntityQ19921036· pop 9· linked from 150 articles

Barbēlō (Greek: Βαρβηλώ) refers to the first emanation of God in several forms of Gnostic cosmogony. Barbēlō is often depicted as a supreme female principle, the single passive antecedent of creation in its manifold. This figure is also variously referred to as 'Mother-Father' (hinting at her apparent androgyny), 'The Triple Androgynous Name', or 'Eternal Aeon'. So prominent was her place amongst some Gnostics that some schools were designated as Barbeliotae, Barbēlō worshippers or Barbēlō gnostics.

~10 min read

Encyclopedic overview

12 sections
Contents
  • The nature of Barbēlō
  • Nag Hammadi Library
  • The Gospel of Judas
  • Pistis Sophia
  • In patristic texts
  • Significance
  • See also
  • References
  • Citations
  • Works cited
  • Other sources
  • Further reading

Barbēlō (Greek: Βαρβηλώ) refers to the first emanation of God in several forms of Gnostic cosmogony. Barbēlō is often depicted as a supreme female principle, the single passive antecedent of creation in its manifold. This figure is also variously referred to as 'Mother-Father' (hinting at her apparent androgyny), 'The Triple Androgynous Name', or 'Eternal Aeon'. So prominent was her place amongst some Gnostics that some schools were designated as Barbeliotae, Barbēlō worshippers or Barbēlō gnostics.

==The nature of Barbēlō==

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Barbelo” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Available in 9 languages

via Wikidata sitelinks · CC0