Wpływ myśli gnostyckiej i manichejskiej na niektóre praktyki sekty pryscyliańskiej

Abstract

Priscilian’s thought is under the influence of the Gnostic-Manichee doctrine. The common themes are: rejecting marriage, dualism of principles, emanation pantheism, the fall of soul and its return to divinity, gnosis as cognition of a higher level, extreme asceticism, astral fatalism, allegoric interpretation of Holy Scriptures, the antagonism of soul and body, apocalyptic doctrine, or the symbolism of numbers. The starting point in the above reflection is rejecting marriage by Priscilianists. Considering procreation to be deplorable means to consider it as sinful. The sinfulness of the act of procreation is transferred irreversibly to matter, making it evil in its essence, evil in the entire internal complexity. In that case taking part in procreation means taking part in evil. So, there arises a question: if the matter is evil in its essence, can it be the exclusive work of the only God, good in His nature? The answer is negative. Therefore, one has to admit the existence of another being, who the entire material world comes from; no matter how it will be called: God, the beginning, the foundation, the first reason. So, what appears to be a usual ascetic practice, leads to the thesis of surprising metaphysical consequences. On the ground of principles, though, it leads to manichee dualism. An incomplete condition of preserved sources does not allow a precise explanation of the influence of Gnostic and Manichee doctrines on Priscillianists. Tractates are not the source, from which all the above statements can be inferred. Undoubtedly, however, in this work Priscillian seems to be an expert of various heterodox trends of his times. Priscillian condemns them because church demands it in its legal acts.