In the third century Common Era the Catholic Bishop Hippolytus composed what was to be a major text refuting heretical movements infecting the Church. This document came to be known as “The Refutation of All Heresies”.

Its chief target was a Gnostic sect known as the Naassenes. Unfortunately, the only source documents to survive about this sect come via Hippolytus and his refutation. Accordingly, scholarly studies of their teachings are scarce.

Mark H. Gaffney found that since Hippolytus did not really understand what he was recording, there is a solid base of source material within his refutation, enough to recreate some of the basic teachings of this mysterious group.

After many years of painstaking research Gaffney has come to believe these writings – which include a recounting of Jesus’ actual teachings at the Last Supper – rather than being dangerously heretical are actually an authentic form of Christ’s original teachings.

The wisdom recorded in the Naassene Sermon was not intended for the general public. These esoteric teachings were transmitted to an inner circle of disciples who had been carefully prepared for initiation into the Gnosis.

These teachings, as outlined in great detail in Gnostic Secrets of the Naassenes: The Initiatory Teachings of the Last Supper, include some radical differences from modern Christianity.

The Naassenes saw the teachings of Jesus as part of a continuum of mystical wisdom. Rather than isolating Christianity from other world religions, the Naassenes were tolerant and inclusive, seeing the Gnosis as the climax of many centuries of esoteric wisdom.

For example, they understood that the term Son of Man, used regularly as a title of respect for Jesus, could only be understood in reference to earlier Mesopotamian mystery teachings.

They saw the message of Jesus as part of a large wisdom lineage including Greek, Jewish, Middle Eastern and Buddhist teachings. This openness is in stark contrast to modern fundamentalist and literalist teachings.

The Naassenes also placed a strong emphasis on what could be best understood as Grail Mysticism. While the Grail clearly has a Christian focus, they also saw it in a larger context as a living representation of the indwelling of the divine in all beings.

This sense of the divine as part of all things is central to the most secret Naassene teachings, namely the non dual nature of reality as represented in the Last Supper.

Here the Naassenes offer a deeper understanding of an event that has come to be the central rite of all Christian traditions.

When Jesus states this is my body, this is my blood, he is not indulging in some sort of cannibalistic fantasy, but emphasising the ultimate union of all things.

In another way Jesus expressed it in the Gospel of Thomas when he said look under a stone and I am there. The message is that all things are part of the divine; all the material and spiritual worlds are united.

This vision is similar to the Nirvana is Samsara of the Buddhists, and Brahman = Atman of the Vedantists.

It is as though Jesus pointed to a wall and said I am in that and then pointed to the floor and said I am in that, too. In this powerful moment he destroyed the difference between object and subject, declaring all was one.

The ramifications of this teaching were huge. While the Naassenes understood the relative value of duality (such as the division between body and mind, etc), they also understood that ultimately it is resolved in an experience of oneness surpassing intellect and mind.

These teachings while including scriptural and intellectual studies, had a strong practical emphasis using various techniques (Christian Yoga) aimed at restoring the soul’s lost connection with God.

Gaffney offers a detailed overview of many of these practices with special reference to Yogic techniques found in the East that also seemed to be in use (albeit in slightly varied forms) within the Naassene community. These practices were focused on the individual and their personal spiritual quest.

Bypassing the hierarchy of the Church, the clerical class and other power structures, it is easy to see why the Church saw the Naassenes a threat.

The Gnostic Secrets of the Naassenes: The Initiatory Teachings of the Last Supper is an amazing work.

It offers a recreation of the original teachings of the Naassenes and shows a deep knowledge of the esoteric traditions at the heart of all the world’s religions.

It places the secret teachings of the early Christian traditions in the context of the greater continuum of the Mysteries, revealing that at its heart early Christianity had a living Yoga centred round the awakening of the divine within.

In reviewing this information I reflect on the hope that perhaps the resurgence of interest in these subjects heralds the day when once again the Mysteries of the Gnosis will be central to Western spirituality.

– Reviewed by Robert Burns in New Dawn No. 87