Document Type

Contribution to Book

Publication Date

2018

Publisher

Brill

Source Publication

The Embroidered Bible: Studies in Biblical Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha in Honour of Michael E. Stone

Source ISSN

9789004357211

Abstract

From one of the Manichaean psalms we learn that in the final moments of his life Mani was beholding his heavenly double with “eyes of light.” This was not the only encounter this Syrian visionary had with his upper celestial identity. The Cologne Mani Codex tells us that the heavenly counterpart first manifested himself to Mani at the age of twelve and he continued his visits, to assist with revelations, until Mani’s death. In several texts Mani’s celestial alter ego is designated as a spirit and even called the Paraclete, the same title the Holy Spirit bears in the Fourth Gospel. The conception of the adept’s heavenly correlative also appears in several early Christian accounts, including the Shepherd of Hermas, Clement of Alexandria’s Excerpta ex Theodoto, and Aphrahat’s Demonstrations. Similar traditions can further be found in early heterodox Christian accounts, including the Gospel of Thomas, Pistis Sophia, and various apocryphal Acts of the Apostles.

Comments

Accepted version. "Unveiled Faces: The Heavenly Counterpart Traditions in Joseph and Aseneth," in The Embroidered Bible: Studies in Biblical Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha in Honour of Michael E. Stone (eds. L. DiTommaso, M. Henze and W. Adler. Boston: Brill, 2018: 771-808. Publisher link. © 2018 Brill. Used with permission.

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