In Sethian Gnostic texts, the Five Seals are typically described as a

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

al rite involving a series of five full immersions in holy running or "living water," symbolizing spiritual ascension to the divine realm. The Five Seals are frequently mentioned in various Sethian Gnostic texts from the Nag Hammadi library. While some scholars consider the Five Seals to be literary symbolism rather than an actual religious ritual, Birger A. Pearson believes that the Five Seals refer to an actual ritual in which the initiate was ritually immersed in water five times. Pearson also finds many parallels between the Sethian ritual of the Five Seals and the Mandaean baptismal ritual of masbuta.

Tractates

Tractates in the Nag Hammadi library that mention the Five Seals include: *

Apocryphon of John The ''Apocryphon of John'', also called the ''Secret Book of John'' or the ''Secret Revelation of John'', is a 2nd-century Sethianism, Sethian gnosticism, Gnostic Christian pseudepigrapha, pseudographical text attributed to John the Apostle ...

Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit Two versions of the formerly lost ''Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit,'' also informally called the ''Coptic Gospel of the Egyptians''John D. Turner: "Since the late 1940s it has become customary to refer to it inappropriately as the Gospel ...

* Trimorphic Protennoia * Zostrianos The

, Trimorphic Protennoia, Zostrianos, and Apocalypse of Adam also mention

Micheus, Michar, and Mnesinous In Sethian Gnostic texts, Micheus, Michar, and Mnesinous are the three heavenly spirits that preside over the rite of baptism, performed in the wellspring of Living Water. They are mentioned in the Nag Hammadi tractates of the '' Holy Book of th ...

as three heavenly guardian spirits presiding over the rite of baptism performed in the wellspring of Living Water, while

Yesseus Mazareus Yessedekeus In Sethian Gnostic texts, Yesseus Mazareus Yessedekeus is the personification of the Living Water. He is mentioned in the Nag Hammadi tractates of the '' Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit'', ''Zostrianos'', and ''Apocalypse of Adam''. Etym ...

(i.e.,

Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

the Righteous 'ho dikaios'' is equated with the Living Water. In contrast, Marsanes mentions Thirteen Seals rather Five Seals.

Apocryphon of John

At the end of the

, the Five Seals are described as protecting against death. This quote has a parallel in Saying 19 of the

Coptic Coptic may refer to: Afro-Asia * Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya * Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century * Coptic alphabet ...

Gospel of Thomas, attributed to Jesus.

Trimorphic Protennoia

In the Trimorphic Protennoia, the Five Seals are described in the following manner: #When you enter the light, you will be glorified by those who give glory, #and those who enthrone will enthrone you. #You will receive robes from those who give robes, #and the baptizers will baptize you, #and you will become exceedingly glorious, as you were in the beginning, when you were light. In more detail later in the same text: #I delivered him to those who give robes, Yammon, Elasso, Amenai, and they clothed him with a robe from the robes of light. #I delivered him to the baptizers, and they baptized him, Micheus, Michar, Mnesinous, and they immersed him in the spring of the

ater Ater (Hebrew אֲתַר) is an Old Testament male name. #A descendant of Hezekiah, who returned from Babylon ; #An Israelite, who subscribed to Nehemiah’s covenant #A porter ; {{bibleverse, , Nehemiah, 7:45 Set index articles on Hebrew Bible ...

of life. #I delivered him to those who enthrone, Bariel, Nouthan, Sabenai, and they enthroned him from the throne of glory. #I delivered him to those who glorify, Ariom, Elien, Phariel, and they glorified him with the glory of the fatherhood. #Those who rapture raptured, Kamaliel, ...anen, Samblo, the servants of great holy luminaries, and they took him into the place of the light of his fatherhood.

Zostrianos

In Zostrianos, the protagonist Zostrianos is baptized five times in the name of Autogenes, the divine Self-Generated One.

Parallels

The number five was also an important symbolic number in

Manichaeism Manichaeism (; in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian Empire, Parthian ...

, with heavenly beings, concepts, and others often grouped in sets of five.

References