Basilides (Greek: Βασιλείδης) was an early Christian Gnostic religious teacher in Alexandria, Egypt who taught from 117 to 138 AD, and claimed to have inherited his teachings from the apostle Saint Matthias. He was a pupil of either the Simonian teacher Menander, or a supposed disciple of Peter named Glaucias. The Acts of the Disputation with Manes state that for a time he taught among the Persians. According to Agapius of Hierapolis he appeared in the 15th year of Trajan reign (113 AD). He is believed to have written over two dozen books of commentary on the Christian Gospel (now all lost) entitled Exegetica, making him one of the earliest Gospel commentators.
The followers of Basilides, the Basilideans, formed a movement that persisted for at least two centuries after him – Epiphanius of Salamis, at the end of the 4th century, recognized a persistent Basilidian presence over the Nile Delta in Egypt. It is probable, however, that the school melded into the mainstream of Gnosticism by the latter half of the 2nd century.
Doctrine
The diverse and sometimes contradictory descriptions of Basilides' system by primary sources pose challenges. St. Irenæus portrayed Basilides as a dualist and emanationist in his Adversus Haereses, while Hippolytus painted him in his Philosophumena as a pantheistic evolutionist.
From Irenaeus' perspective, Basilides proposed a hierarchy of emanations from an Unborn Father (Abraxas), resulting in multiple heavenly realms and angelic powers, with the Jewish God identified as one of these angels. He introduced Christ as a savior from the angelic rule, implying a replacement of Christ with Simon of Cyrene during the crucifixion.
Epiphanius and Pseudo-Tertullian contribute to this portrayal by associating Basilides with the mystical name Abraxas and contempt for material reality. They indicate that Basilides considered suffering and martyrdom as meaningless and attached to the physical world.
On the other hand, Hippolytus presented Basilides' teachings as proposing a state of nonexistence prior to creation, brought into existence by a desireless and passionless Not-Being God, who generated the seed of the world. Basilides negated both emanation and the eternity of matter, associating creation with a divine command rather than material processes.
In this view, Basilides described three Filiations within the world seed, representing different elements of existence, each striving towards the Not-Being God through different means. He envisaged a divine hierarchy with Archons ruling different heavenly spheres, with the highest being Abraxas.
In the context of Christian history, Basilides constructed an elaborate metaphysical system which, among other features, attributed distinct eras to varying Archons, or rulers of the cosmos. These Archons, according to Basilides, each had dominion over specific epochs. This chronology culminated in what Basilides referred to as the reign of the Gospel, a period where spiritual enlightenment through the teachings of Jesus Christ becomes paramount, marking a significant shift from the previously held dominion of the Archons.
Redemption, as conceived by Basilides, constitutes a return to the primordial state of being, a reversion to the original state of existence before the creation of the world. In this process, each constituent part of existence reverts to its original condition. Material elements, which Basilides associated with the physical world and its inherent imperfections, return to a state of primal chaos. The psychic element, linked with the soul and consciousness, returns to the Hebdomad, a term that in Basilides' system may refer to the realm governed by the second Archon.
The spiritual element, seen as the highest form of existence, is believed to return to what Basilides cryptically referred to as the Not-Being God, a divine entity that, paradoxically, exists beyond existence itself. This spiritual return signifies a transcendence beyond the physical and psychic realms, a reunification with absolute divinity.
The final state in Basilides' metaphysical system is known as the Restoration of all things. In this state, Basilides envisions a divine blissful Ignorance being poured over all existence. This doesn't denote ignorance in the common understanding as a lack of knowledge or understanding, but rather, a state of divine tranquility and peace, an absence of desire or striving. This state signifies an end to the dualistic conflicts and the cessation of all suffering, a state of perfect unity and harmony. Basilides' idea of a divine blissful Ignorance, thus, suggests a kind of heavenly serenity, marking the final stage of the cosmic journey towards ultimate redemption.