FROM our extant sources it would seem that Mani (c.216–276) was born near Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the capital of the Persian Empire; that he began his own special teaching in 240; that opposition from the Zoroastrians forced him into exile in India, and that he propagated his teaching rapidly by preaching far and wide in the E.; that in 242 he returned to the capital and may have approached Sapor I, who first gave him active support and then attacked him; and that under his second successor, Bahram I, he was put to death by being flayed alive, and his disciples banished.

Mani’s system was a radical offshoot of the Gnostic traditions of E. Persia. Deeply influenced by St Paul (Manichaeism struck Christians as a ‘Pauline heresy’), Mani transformed the cramped, ritualist views of the Judaeo-Christian sect in which he had been brought up into a coherent body of Gnostic dogma,

 uncompromisingly dualistic, consequential, and deeply conscious of having ‘unveiled’ truths of universal validity.

It was based on a supposed primeval conflict between light and darkness.

It taught that the object of the practice of religion was to release the particles of light which Satan had stolen from the world of Light and imprisoned in man’s brain

and that Jesus, Buddha, the Prophets, and Mani had been sent to help in this task.

For the Manichaean believer, the whole physical universe was mobilized to create this release. The Gnostic myth of salvation has seldom been presented on so grandiose a cosmic scale, worked out in rigorous detail;

every phase of the movements of the sun, moon, and stars was a stage in the deliverance of the believer’s soul,

and every ritual act of the individual had resonance among the heavenly bodies.

To achieve this release, severe asceticism, including vegetarianism, was practised.

There existed in the sect a hierarchy of grades professing different standards of austerity;

the ‘Elect’

were supported by the ‘Hearers’

in their determined missionary endeavours and in an otherworldly state of perfection. The Manichaeans’ enemies attributed to them many abominable practices, but St Augustine, with his exceptional opportunities for being well informed, nowhere criticized their morals.

The sect spread rapidly. It appears to have been established in Egypt before the end of the 3rd cent., and at Rome early in the 4th. In the later 4th cent. Manichaeans were numerous in Africa. How far the sect directly influenced such heretics as the Albigensians, Bogomils, and Paulicians is disputed; for some similarities of practice would account for the charges of ‘Manichaeism’ laid against them. On the other hand, the Turfan fragments attest its survival in Chinese Turkestan down to the 10th cent.; and, as the ‘Doctrine of Light’, it still flourished in 13th-cent. Fukien.

Mani (or Manes c.216–276) and Manichaeism. It is impossible to state in brief compass the facts relating to the life of Mani (or, acc. to the usual W. form of his name, ‘Manichaeus’), the founder of Manichaeism, as the relatively late sources of his life are mutually contradictory in their details. The chief sources are: (1) the writings of certain of the Church Fathers, notably St Ephraem Syrus, Titus of Bostra, Serapion of Thmuis, and esp. St Augustine of Hippo (who was himself a Manichee for nine years before his conversion); (2) a report of a reputed dialogue between Mani and a bishop, Archelaus, the so-called ‘Acta Archelai’, which was issued by one Hegemonius; (3) references in various medieval Muslim historians who came across Manichaeism in Babylonia, notably Al-Biruni; (4) a collection of Manichaean documents, discovered in 1904–5 at Turfan and elsewhere in Chinese Turkestan, and published by F. W. K. Müller and others; (5) another collection of Manichaean documents of the 3rd and 4th cents. found in Egypt in 1930 and published by C. Schmidt, H. J. Polotsky, and others, which, if not from Mani himself, embody the teaching of his earliest disciples; and (6) a biography of Mani, prob. translated from a Syriac original, more recently discovered in Egypt. This casts a new light on his evolution as a young man, in the environment of a Judaeo-Christian sect, the Elkesaites.

Convenient collection of texts ed. A. Adam, Texte zum Manichäismus (Kleine Texte für Vorlesungen und Übungen, 175; 1954; enlarged edn., 1969); fuller collection of texts, in Ger. tr., by J. P. Asmussen and A. Böhlig, Die Gnosis [ed. W. Förster], 3: Der Manichäismus (Zurich, 1980). The texts discovered in Egypt in 1930, which were reported in 1933, were shared mainly between the Chester Beatty Collection and the Berlin Academy; those in the former collection have been ed. by H. J. Polotsky, Manichäische Homilien (Stuttgart, 1934) and C. R. C. Allberry, A Manichaean Psalm-Book, pt. 2 (ibid., 1938), and those in the latter by C. Schmidt and others, Kephalaia, 1. Hälfte (ibid., 1940), all with introds. by H. Ibscher. The Psalm Book is also ed. by G. Wurst (Corpus Fontium Manichaeorum, Series Coptica, 1 etc.; Turnhout, 1996 ff.). Eng. tr. of The Kephalaia of the Teacher, with introd. by I. Gardner (Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies, 37; Leiden, 1995). On the Life of Mani, see A. Henrichs and L. Koenen, ‘Ein griechischer Mani-Codex (P. Colon. inv. nr. 4780)’, Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 5 (1970), pp. 97–216 (the first report). It was ed., with comm., by idd., ibid. 19 (1975), pp. 1–85; 32 (1978), pp. 87–199; 44 (1981), pp. 201–318; and 48 (1982), pp. 1–59. Pages 1–99.8 of the codex are repr., with Eng. tr., by R. Cameron and A. J. Dewey, The Cologne Mani Codex (Society of Biblical Literature, Texts and Translations, 15; Missoula, Mont., 1979). Crit. edn., with Ger.tr., by L. Koenen and C. Römer (Papyrologica Coloniensia, 14; Opladen, 1988). The first crit. study of Manichaeism was I. de Beausobre, Histoire critique de Manichée et du manichéisme (2 vols., Amsterdam, 1734–9). Important later works include F. C. Baur, Das manichäische Religionsystem (1831); G. Flügel, Mani, seine Lehre, seine Schriften (1862); F. Cumont and M. A. Kugener, Recherches sur le manichéisme (2 vols., 1908–12); P. Alfaric, Les Écritures manichéennes (2 vols., 1918–19). F. C. Burkitt, The Religion of the Manichees (Donnellan Lectures for 1924; 1925); H. C. Puech, Le Manichéisme (1949); G. Widengren, Mani und der Manichäismus (Urban-Bücher, 57; Stuttgart [1961]; Eng. tr. 1965); F. Decret, Aspects du manichéisme dans l’Afrique romaine: Les controverses de Fortunatus, Faustus et Felix avec Saint Augustin (Études Augustiniennes, 1970); id., L’Afrique Manichéenne (IV^e—V^e siècles): Étude historique et doctrinale (2 vols., ibid., 1978). There is also a more popular study by id., Mani et la tradition manichéenne (Maîtres spirituels, 1974). E. Rose, Die manichäische Christologie (Studies in Oriental Religions, 5; Wiesbaden, 1979). S. N. C. Lieu, Manichaeism in the Later Roman Empire and Medieval China (Manchester [1985]). P. Brown, ‘The Diffusion of Manichaeism in the Roman Empire’, Journal of Roman Studies, 59 (1969), pp. 92–103. A. Böhlig in TRE 22 (1992), cols. 25–45, s.v. ‘Manichäismus’.

Manichaen Scroll Art

Manichaeanism

https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/religion-and-philosophy/manichaeanism

Authored By:
Yamauchi, Edwin
Published In:2022

Manichaeanism
Manichaeanism is a historical religious movement founded by the prophet Mani in the 3rd century CE in Mesopotamia. Mani, who claimed to have received divine revelations from his celestial twin, introduced a dualistic worldview centered on the struggle between light and darkness. He taught that a Great God exists in the realm of light, while a malevolent force, Ahriman, resides in darkness. Central to Manichaean belief is the idea that salvation comes through gnosis, or revealed knowledge, rather than traditional water baptism.

The movement's followers were divided into two groups: the elite electi, who practiced strict asceticism, and the lay auditors, who engaged in agriculture to support the community. Manichaean texts, originally composed in Syriac and Middle Persian, include a wealth of manuscripts discovered in regions such as Turkestan, indicating the movement's extensive geographical reach across Palestine, Egypt, and beyond. Despite facing persecution, including a significant edict against them in 297 CE, Manichaeanism thrived for centuries and influenced later dualistic sects in Europe and the Middle East. Notably, the philosopher Saint Augustine was once a follower before converting to Christianity and writing against the movement.

Mani (c. 216-276 c.e.) was born in Mesopotamia to parents who belonged to the Persian Arsacids. He claimed that he received his first revelation from his celestial twin at the age of twelve. According to the Cologne Mani Codex (third century c.e.; English translation, 1979), Mani’s family belonged to the Jewish-Christian Elchasaite sect.
Upon his second revelation at the age of twenty-four, Mani rejected the water baptisms of this sect and preached instead salvation by gnosis (revealed knowledge). Mani proclaimed his gospel in Mesopotamia, Persia, and India and enjoyed the patronage of Shāpūr I (r. 240-272 c.e.) but then was killed by Bahrām I.
Mani taught that there were two independent principles, light and darkness. In the first epoch, the Great God (Zurvan) lived apart in the realm of light, while Ahriman lived in the realm of darkness. In the second epoch, Primal Man (Ohrmizd) was defeated by the prince of darkness. An envoy, the Living Spirit, liberated Primal Man, who made the physical universe from the bodies of the sons of darkness. The powers of darkness created Adam and Eve and sought to retain in their descendants the particles of light. Christ was sent to enlighten people with gnosis and to liberate the particles of light that they unknowingly possess.
Manichaeans were divided into the elite electi and the laymen, known as auditores, or “hearers.” The elect abstained from marriage and from eating meat. The auditors harvested fruits and vegetables, which contained particles of light. When the elect ate the produce, they would liberate the light by burping so that they could ascend into the Milky Way.

"Holy" Diet: While the Elect were strictly vegetarian and avoided meat, their diet was not simply for sustenance; it was a ritual function intended to facilitate the liberation of Light from its material prison.

Vegetables in the Manichaean Diet
Preferred Produce: The Elect often ate vegetables that were believed to contain high amounts of light, such as melons, cucumbers, and other gourd fruits.
The Role of Auditors: The Elect were not allowed to harvest or prepare the vegetables themselves, as this would cause harm to the light particles during the farming process. Instead, lay members, or "Auditors" (auditores), harvested, cultivated, and prepared these foods for them.
Transferred Merit: By providing food for the Elect, the Auditors believed they could be forgiven for the "sins" of harvesting and, in future lives, be reincarnated as Elect.

The earliest canonical texts were written in Syriac and Middle Persian. Later Manichaean texts include fourth and fifth century c.e. Coptic manuscripts such as the Kephalaia (The Kephalaia of the Teacher, 1995). A large corpus of Manichaean manuscripts have been found at Turfan in Turkestan (northwest China), dating to the eighth and ninth centuries. These are in Middle Persian, Sogdian, Chinese, and Uighur.
In Mani’s lifetime, his teachings reached Palestine and Egypt. Despite the harsh edict against Mani and his followers in 297 c.e. by the emperor Diocletian, who labeled them subversive, the movement continued to flourish. Saint Augustine was for nine years (373-382 c.e.) a Manichaean auditor. After his dramatic conversion to Christianity, Saint Augustine wrote influential anti-Manichaean refutations.


Later dualistic movements such as the Paulicians in Armenia (seventh to twelfth centuries), the Bogomils in Serbia (eleventh to twelfth centuries), and the Albigenses (or Cathari) in northern Italy and southern France (twelfth to thirteenth centuries) were labeled “Manichaean” for their similar views.
Bibliography
Klimkeit, Hans J. Gnosis on the Silk Road. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993.
Lieu, S. N. C. Manichaeism in the Later Roman Empire and Medieval China. Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1992.
Rudolph, Kurt. Gnosis. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1987.
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The fates of our first parents differed according to their awareness or lack of it. Despite his one sexual lapse with Eve, Adam had ‘awoken’ and acknowledged his true self, the particles of divine Light within him. When he died, therefore, his soul ascended back to the Kingdom of Light. Eve, by contrast, remained unaware and unrepentant. When she died, she ended in hell, together with her incestuous children. She is not a role model for female members of Mani’s Elect. Unlike her, they are aware, awakened and sexually turned off. Instead, she is the prototype of unenlightened women, sexy, wicked and dangerous to men.

For the rest of ‘middle time’, Light is being scattered far and wide by sexual reproduction. Animals copulate and so do humans. However, as humans descend from such Light-rich ancestors, humans are the agents who can best set Light free. To do so, they must follow a strict rule of chastity and diet which we will confront in the next section, but they follow it in a world of exceptional poignancy. In every plant and tree, fragments of the divine Light, the very Light from God’s kingdom, are still entrapped and suffering. Our true selves, our Light-elements, are suffering likewise inside us from the pulls of lust and pleasure. This Light is the true ‘suffering Jesus’, a phrase used by Augustine but attested now in east Iranian texts: it is not a north African peculiarity. This truly ‘suffering Jesus’ never suffered as flesh on the Cross: Manichaeans would never make the sign of the Cross in daily life. They denied that His suffering ever took place briefly on what they regarded as a footling little hillside called Golgotha. It is universal in time and space and is still going on within and around each one of us. Jesus suffers in every plant we touch or tree we cut or fruit we eat. He is the Cross of Light, made up of all the particles of divine Light which are scattered through the world.

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