THE GNOoTlC CONCEPTION OF THE CROSS. 



107 



Divine, lost in the world, but now to be restored. Christ is not 

 complete till all are brought together and established in Him, 

 the Stauros, Who purifies and sustains. According to the Acts 

 of Thomas, Christ overthrows the Demiurge and collects all of 

 one nature with. Himself into one place. 



The same thought underhes the formula used by the ascending 

 soul to the Archons in the Gospel of PhiHp : "I have gathered 

 together my Hmbs which were scattered abroad.''* Probably 

 the soul identifies itself with Christ Who gathers together His 

 elect. But in both cases there would appear to be some influence 

 from the Egyptian myth of the gathering together of the scattered 

 members of Osiris, and to the mystery in which his various 

 aspects as dead, dismembered, and reconstructed was shown. f 

 It is well known that in Eg}^tian theology the soul of the dead 

 is constantly identified w4th Osiris. More and more do we find 

 how great was the influence of Egyptian rehgion and myth upon 

 both Gnosticism and popular Christianity in the early centuries. 



In the Gospel of Peter the resurrection is seen by the soldiers 

 in the following manner : " They see coming forth from the tomb 

 three men, and the two supporting the One, and a Cross follow- 

 ing them. And of the two the head reached to heaven, but 

 the head of Him that was led by them overpassed the heavens. 

 And they heard a voice from the heavens, saying, ' Hast Thou 

 preached to them that slept ? ' And an answer was heard from 

 the Cross, ' Yea.' " Here the Cross is a duplicate of Christ, 

 and answers for Him respecting the mission in Hades.J 



A similar reduplication occurs in the Acts of Philip. Philip 

 caused the earth to swallow his pagan opponents. As they 

 descend to Hades they confess the Crucified, and say, " Behold 

 the Cross illumines us," and pray Christ to manifest Himself 

 to them. Christ appears and upbraids Philip; then with His 

 hand He marks a Cross in the air, coming down from above, even 



* Epiphanius, xxvi, 13. 



t See J. G. Frazer, Attis, Adonis, and Osiris, p. 259. 



t The great size of Christ corresponds to that of the Cross reaching to- 

 heaven in the Encomiasta Anonyma (cited above) and in the Acts of Philip 

 (see below). In the Wanderings of the Apostles, Christ is said to have 

 appeared in various forms, sometimes very large, so that at times his 

 head reached even to heaven. Cf. Shepherd of Hermas, Simil, ix, 6, 1, 

 Christ is so tall that He surpassed the tower in height. In the Passia 

 Perpeluae, § 10, Christ is a Man of marvellous greatness, so as to overpass 

 the top of the amphitheatre. In the opinion of the Rabbins, Adam before 

 the Fall had a vast stature. 



