The Gospel of Truth

Valentinian Edition

The Gospel of Truth is one of the most beautiful texts in the Nag Hammadi library — a lyrical, meditative homily attributed to Valentinus, the most influential Gnostic teacher of the 2nd century. Valentinus was, for a time, a candidate for Bishop of Rome. He lost. His texts were declared heretical. Irenaeus of Lyon devoted five books to refuting him.

Codex Digital EditionComing soonEdition currently in preparation

Edition004

FormatDigital PDF

Editorial statusIn review

TraditionGnostic Gospels

Before you read

Context without the mythology.

Codex ISO separates the surviving evidence from later interpretation, so you can encounter the text without being told what to believe about it first.

01 / Historical context

Attributed to Valentinus, condemned as heresy circa 180 AD by Irenaeus of Lyon. Ordered destroyed at the Council of Nicaea.

02 / Why it matters

The fog has lifted. The text they called heresy is here.

From / associated with the text

““Ignorance of the Father brought about anguish and terror. And the anguish grew solid like a fog, so that no one was able to see.””

THE CODEX STANDARD

Source before story.

We identify the edition, translation and surviving evidence; distinguish documentation from tradition; and state uncertainty rather than turning it into a sales claim.

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Continue the archive

The Gospel of Truth

Context without the mythology.

Source before story.

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