The ''Teachings of Silvanus'' is one of the books found in the

Nag Hammadi library The Nag Hammadi library (also known as the " Chenoboskion Manuscripts" and the "Gnostic Gospels") is a collection of early Christian and Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. Thirteen leather-bound papyr ...

. It is generally dated around 150. The author is unknown, but it is pseudonymously attributed to a companion of

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

and

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

– "

Silas Silas or Silvanus (; Greek: Σίλας/Σιλουανός; fl. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the New Testament accompanied Paul the Apostle on his second missionary journey. Name and ...

" of chapters 15-18 of the book of Acts, also known in New Testament epistles by the name "Silvanus". Two of the more interesting verses are 99.13, which states

Christ 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 ...

has a single hypostasis (hidden spiritual reality) and 102.3, which states Christ is incomprehensible with respect to his hypostasis. The word ''hypostasis'' was later adopted as part of the doctrine of the

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

Nicene The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is a ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. It is not a Gnostic text, but has some anti-gnostic warnings, along with orthodox Christian teachings in including verses 110,14-19:

"Know who Christ is, and acquire him as a friend, for this is the friend who is faithful. He is God and teacher. This one, being God became man for your sake."

There is also a large focus on multiple subjects. First, God is seen as the one true Creator, and Christ is the “incarnate Wisdom of God” (Robinson 346). Christ is the savior of the world who made great sacrifices so that everyone might have a chance to be saved from the clutches of Satan. Additionally, there is an emphasis on ethics and earning God's favor through moderation, as well as prayers, proverbs, and hymns. It is a rare find because its content relates to early Christian Wisdom, and it is believed to have been popular in monastic circles.

References

Silvanus, Teachings of Works of unknown authorship Nag Hammadi library {{manuscript-stub