Gnostic

Gnostic is an adjective and a noun referring to Gnosticism, a diverse collection of ancient religious movements that centered on gnosis, a form of esoteric knowledge believed to confer salvation. The term derives from the Greek gnosis, knowledge, and it came to describe groups claiming privileged insight into the divine realms and the true nature of reality.

Core ideas common to many Gnostic systems include a distinction between a transcendent, hidden God and a lower, often imperfect creator deity who rules the material world. The human being is viewed as having a divine spark trapped in a physical body, and salvation is achieved through awakening to this inner knowledge, which liberates the soul from the material cosmos and enables reunion with the higher divine fullness, or pleroma. Mythic narratives frequently explain creation and the fall in terms of emanations, aeons, and the actions of the Demiurge and other intermediate beings.

Gnosticism flourished from the 1st to the 3rd centuries CE across the Mediterranean and Near East, producing various sects such as the Valentinians, Sethians, and Basilideans. It often produced its own scriptures, many of which were later discovered in the Nag Hammadi library (Egypt, 1945) and provide substantial insight into Gnostic thought and practice.

In modern usage, the term gnostic describes adherents of Gnosticism or beliefs that stress inner, experiential knowledge as the path to spiritual liberation. The label is also used more broadly, sometimes pejoratively, to describe movements perceived to emphasize secret knowledge over faith.