Plotinian Procession Background in Basilides’ Theology

Abstract

Gnostics reflections on God’s sublime and transcendent nature can be traced back to the Simon of Samaria disciples, who - according to the news of Justin and the Pseudo Clementine-Homilies- use terms such as "first God" (tò próton theón) and "first Thought" (énnoian próten) to refer to Simon and Helen, respectively. This conception of the Simonian emission of Thought from a "Boundless Power" (anótate dýnamis) anticipates the complex gnostic system of processing higher realities. But it will be Basilides, the Egyptian master imbued with the Platonic-Pithagorizing philosophy and the intertestamental Jewish esotericism, who transforms that eminent condition into a negative one. Basilides, thus, comes ahead of the Christian intellectual field to the way of speculation. This way of speculation starts with Plotinus and refers to the cosmos emergence from a first principle that unfolds in successive hypostases.