Gnostic Baptismal Sacrament- Petite Heures de Jean Berry- circa 1395
I thought I would offer, interpret and discuss another illumination from Petite Heures de Jean Berry to further my discussion of the discoveries I introduced in earlier post, ones I examine in depth in my book, Jesus Mary Joseph.
The illumination, Gnostic Baptismal Sacrament, is just
one of thirteen illuminations in Petite Heures de Jean Berry that depict the
tenets and mystical secrets of a Gnostic tradition during the Middle Ages. This one beautifully
encapsulates the baptismal sacrament and mystical marriage held sacred by
Valentinian Gnostics of the 2nd century and described in the Gospel of Philip.
Within a baptismal urn are two naked youths, male and female,
representing images of the internal unity (male and female polarities) within
the heart of our spirit. From above the Holy Spirit (dove)
descends, perhaps to represent the fire of the chrism in the anointing stage of the
sacrament as described in the Gospel of Philip.
The saints performing the baptism would most likely have been
the Apostles John and Philip, both of whom were the apostolic
leaders of the Gnostic faith.
The Gospel of Philip
reads, "Baptism is a great thing, because if people receive it they
will live.” The spiritual awakening (“great thing”) is accomplished through
the gnosis of the "resurrection from the dead" (Treatise on the
Resurrection). As a result of the internal resurrection through baptism and the
other stages of initiation, the initiate was seen as having undergone a
complete restoration to his or her original state of unity, male and female
intelligences united, and the reclamation of the original state of unity with
God and God’s fullness (pleroma). The person is no longer of the world. He is reborn to his spirit, initiated by the
anointing in the bridal chamber to become like Jesus, a Son of the Bridal Chamber and Son of God.
The
Gospel of Philip's explanation of bridal chamber mystery was derived from Jesus' authentic teachings. Philip
reads,
“The Lord did everything in a mystery, a baptism and a chrism
and a eucharist and a redemption and a bridal chamber. [...] he said, "I
came to make the things below like the things above, and the things outside
like those inside. I came to unite them in the place." [...] here through
types [...]and images.”
Philip
was referencing and expanding on Saying 22 in the Gospel of Thomas:
“...Jesus said to them, "When you make the two one, and
when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, and
the above like the below, and when you make the male and the female one and the
same, so that the male not be male nor the female female; and when you fashion
eyes in the place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place
of a foot, and a likeness in place of a likeness; then will you enter the
kingdom." - Saying 22, Gospel of Thomas
The gesturing and poses of the naked youth (male and female)
echo Irenaeus’ description of the teachings of Marcus, a Gnostic disciple of
Valentinus. One figure bows to the other (hands pressed together) and the
other crosses his hands at his heart. The placement of the crossed hands at the heart mentions gnosis kardias, the knowledge that the indwelling place of God is within the human heart at the dimension of spirit in a place I refer to as the stellar heart. The Gospel of Philip tells us Jesus taught that God is within us all:
He said, "My Father who is in secret". He
said, "Go into your chamber and shut the door behind you, and pray to your
Father who is in secret" (Mt 6:6), the one who is within them all.
This passage echoes the mystical tenet in Saying 3 of the Gospel of Thomas: "...the kingdom is inside of you."
What is truly remarkable is that this figure’s
crossed hands, arms, shoulders and elbows, perfectly create the signature ><
to form the X, which is the hidden code for our tri-unity with God
in the bridal chamber of the stellar heart. The X
was a symbol used by the Gnostic underground stream of Christianity of the Middle
Ages and was probably adopted from the tradition of the bridal chamber mystery passed down from Jesus and Mary Magdalene to their disciples. The X is also used as a symbolic element in another illumination, Baptism of Christ, one I described in my previous post. There are countless examples of the X being incorporated into Renaissance art. For instance, the X
was incorporated into the elaborate attire (robe) Jesus wears in
Leonardo Da Vinci’s most recently authenticated painting, Savaltor Mundi, a
painting yet to be recognized as a Gnostic portrayal of Jesus.
The Gospel of Philip makes mention of a cross and says its power was understood by the Apostles. The verse reads,
“But one receives the function of the [...] of the power of the
cross. This power the apostles called "the right and the left." For
this person is no longer a Christian but a Christ.”
The cross that has both a right and a left would naturally be
the “X” (oblique cross) and it appears the Valentinians understood it to
represent the mystical marriage, the unification of opposites—masculine and
feminine—taking place in the bridal chamber. Philip goes on to mention the
cross again, identifying the cross amongst a number of spiritual gifts given by
the Father to one who is about to be anointed in the bridal chamber.
“He who has been anointed possesses everything. He possesses
the resurrection, the light, the cross, the Holy Spirit. The Father gave him
this in the bridal chamber; he merely accepted (the gift). The Father was in
the Son and the Son in the Father. This is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
This illumination that I have titled Gnostic Baptismal Sacrament renders the
bridal chamber mystery into a beautiful visual representation to portray a
mystery that appears to have survived from the early beginnings of Christianity into
the Middle Ages. It, like the other illuminations I discuss in my previous
post on Petite Heures and expand to thirteen in my book, Jesus Mary Joseph, poses a great deal to consider. For one, what was the basis of this knowledge that Jean le Noir (the artist) and Jean de
Berry (his patron) possessed? Were they both initiates of Jesus’ bridal chamber
teachings, ones passed down generation after generation? Did the Gnostics of the Middle Ages have in their possession
translations of any Gnostic gospels such as the Gospel of Philip and The Gospel
of Thomas? Or were their knowledge and practices transmitted through oral
tradition? One can only guess.
Relevant post: Gnostic Mary Magdalene: Petite Heures
For more in depth study of the bridal chamber mystery, I present a great deal of explanation and
discussion in my latest book: Jesus Mary Joseph: The Secret Legacy of Jesus and Mary Magdalene.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GJW47I4
Relevant post: Gnostic Mary Magdalene: Petite Heures
For more in depth study of the bridal chamber mystery, I present a great deal of explanation and
discussion in my latest book: Jesus Mary Joseph: The Secret Legacy of Jesus and Mary Magdalene.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GJW47I4
