Sethite

The Sethites were a Gnostic Christian sect that flourished in the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE. They are named after Seth, the third son of Adam and Eve, whom they considered a divine being and the true heir to the spiritual lineage of humanity. According to Sethite beliefs, Seth was born of a divine union and was a spiritual progenitor who transmitted secret knowledge or gnosis to his descendants. This gnosis was believed to be a means of salvation, allowing individuals to awaken to their true spiritual nature and escape the material world.

Sethite cosmology often involved a complex hierarchy of spiritual beings, with a supreme, unknowable God at the apex. They viewed the material world as a creation of a lesser, ignorant deity (often identified with the Old Testament God) and saw themselves as possessing the divine spark that could ascend back to the true spiritual realm. Their scriptures, which are now largely lost but referenced in the writings of church fathers like Irenaeus and Epiphanius, included texts such as the Gospel of Matthias and the Secret Book of John. These texts often contained allegorical narratives and pronouncements of gnosis. The Sethites were often in conflict with orthodox Christianity, which viewed their teachings as heretical.