Sophian Tradition

 

The Sophian Tradition’s legends claim that the tradition comes directly from Saint Mary Magdalene who is considered to be the Apostle of the Apostles, as she was the first to see the risen Christ. Many of the Gnostic texts depict her as a teacher and apostle that was far more advanced than most of her contemporaries. There is obviously no way to prove the descent of the tradition directly from Mary Magdalene, as no such records could be maintained. Whether this is historical fact or part of the Tradition’s myth cycle is unclear, but the teachings of the Tradition closely match what fragments of teachings have been found and attributed to the Magdalene.

The Tradition can trace its movement from generation to generation from the US back into England, France, and Germany. Each generation has a “presiding lineage holder” (spiritual teacher that guards the tradition and keeps the tradition alive). This presiding lineage holder can be male or female and is designated by the previous presiding lineage holder to take over upon their death. The current presiding lineage holder in the United States is Tau Malachi.

Sophian Tradition has been called Mystical Christian, Experiential Christian, Gnostic, and many other terms. All of these are accurate, but no one term describes the Tradition completely. The Sophian Lineage could be described as a Hassidic Christian movement as there is much Jewish Mysticism included in our path. Gnostic is very often a confusing term because it is so associated with 1st & 2nd Century dualistic traditions and modern day Gnostics who do not believe in Yeshua as a historical figure. The Sophian Tradition is not like either of these two extremes. The term Gnostic really means experiential knowledge of spirituality. In that respect, we are definitely Gnostic.

Some descriptions that are particularly good at describing the Tradition are:

Experiential Christian

Mystical Christian

Protestant Charismatic Gnostic

Hassidic Christian

Christian Kabbalists