U ovom radu autori analiziraju pitanje terminologije i definicije gnosticizma kao religijskog pokreta nastalog i popularnog u vrijeme kasne antike. Gnosticizam se kao stvarnost i kao termin propituje iz više vidova. Premda pojam gnosticizam nije postojao u starini, mišljenja su da je ovaj pojam u današnjem znanstvenom diskursu opravdan, te ističu činjenicu da bi promjena donijela više pomutnje negoli koristi, bez obzira što u antičkim izvorima nije bio zastupljen, već se isključivo koristio termin “gnoza”. No baš zbog toga ističe se potreba razlikovanja između gnoze kao tajne spoznaje i gnosticizma kao religiozno-filozofskog fenomena kojem je pripadao veći broj škola i pokreta koji su se ipak mogli pronaći pod određenim zajedničkim obilježjima. U propitivanju obilježja gnosticizma autori se fokusiraju na gnostički mit u čijem ruhu su gnostički predstavnici promicali antikozmički dualizam obilježen negativnim pogledom na materijalni svijet i kršćansku kozmologiju stvaranja. Jedno od bitnih obilježja gnostičkog dualizma je jasno razlikovanje između Najvišeg Bića i Boga koji stvara ovaj svijet, a koji je zao, nesposoban i neznalica. Iz takvog se mitološkog pogleda na svijet razvija cijeli teološki sustav utemeljen na dualizmu. Dualizam je to ponajprije između dva Boga, to jest dva počela svemira iz kojih proizlazi, ali onda i dualizam između duhovne i materijalne sastavnice svijeta. Naposljetku dio antikozmičkog dualizma je i onaj antropološki, koji u ljudima razlikuje materijalnu i duhovnu stvarnost koje su suprotstavljene jedna drugoj, pri čemu je ona duhovna (pneumatska) ona istinska, te je obdarena mogućnošću da se uz pomoć znanja (gnoza) oslobodi tijela kao tamnice u kojoj boravi i združi sa svojim prapočelom.In this paper the authors analyse the issue of terminology and definition of Gnosticism as a religious movement that emerged and became popular in the late classical period. Gnosticism as a reality and as a term is being examined from several aspects. Although the term Gnosticism did not exist in ancient times, it is believed that this term is justified in today’s scientific discourse; also, it is pointed out that the change of the term would bring more confusion than benefit, regardless the fact that it was not in use in ancient sources, but only the term “gnosis”. But just because of that it is necessary to make distinction between gnosis as a mystical knowledge and Gnosticism as a religious and philosophical phenomenon which included a number of schools and movements with certain common characteristics. Exploring the characteristics of Gnosticism the authors focus on the Gnostic myth in the guise of which the Gnostic representatives promoted the anti-cosmic dualism marked with a negative view of the material world and Christian cosmology of creation. One of the essential characteristics of Gnostic dualism is a clear distinction between the Supreme Being and God who creates this world, but who is evil, incompetent and ignorant. From such a mythological view on the world, a whole theological system, based on dualism, has developed. This is primarily the dualism between two Gods, that is, between the two beginnings of the universe from which it originates, but it is also the dualism between the spiritual and material components of the world. Finally, a part of the anti-cosmic dualism is the anthropological dualism that in humans differentiates material and spiritual reality, which are opposed to each other, but at it the spiritual (pneumatic) reality is true and is endowed with the ability to free itself from the body as its prison in which it resides and to join up with its Origin
