A Dictionary of Gnosticism

As editor of The Gnostic magazine and author of several books on apocryphal scriptures, Andrew Phillip Smith draws on his extensive knowledge of Gnosticism to provide a succinct yet thorough compilation for scholars and spiritual seekers alike. Smith not only defines the terminology of the Nag Hammadi library and the ancient Gnostics, but also their successors such as the Manichaeans, Mandaeans and Cathars. His definitions also cover Hermeticism, the apocrypha, medieval heresy, dualism, and the modern Gnostic revival. "Andrew Phillips Smith offers us yet another key opportunity to expand our knowledge of Gnosticism. A fascinating, solidly-researched key resource for students, academics, and practitioners alike "A 'beacon of Light' for our time! Highly recommended."— Dr Karen Ralls, Oxford, author of The Templars and the Grail. Blockbuster films like The Matrix and Stigmata have helped fuel the continued fascination with Gnosticism, a pre-Christian Western religion based on the direct knowledge of the Divine, which itself provides salvation. Although The Matrix conveys complex concepts like archons and dualism with marvelous simplicity, Gnostic texts do anything but. Curious new students of Gnosticism find they are swiftly bombarded with numerous foreign, often un-translated, and barely pronounceable terms like 'Acinetos' and 'Deitharbathas'. Now for the first time, a comprehensive guide to all aspects of Gnosticism and related spirituality is available to the public in a straightforward dictionary. Andrew Phillip Smith was born and grew up in Penarth in south Wales in the United Kingdom and took his degree in computer science at the University College of Wales, Swansea. From 1987, Andrew worked in computing in London, including a two-year stint providing technical support for the publishers Harcourt Brace. From 1997-2007 Andrew lived in Northern California near the Sierra Nevada mountain range, where he began his writing career. In his time he has busked on the streets of London playing a small harp, delivered leaflets, worked as a security guard, as a letterpress printer and as a librarian to a private library. Andrew's previous titles include The Gnostics: History, Tradition, Scriptures, Influence and several books in Skylight Paths' annotated and explained series: The Lost Sayings of Jesus, The Gospel of Philip, and Gnostic Writings on the Soul. He now lives in Dublin, Ireland, with his wife Tessa Finn and his son Dylan.