“Therefore I said to the Samaritan Woman . . . ”: Remarks on the Reception of the Gospel of John in the Pistis Sophia

This article provides some data and remarks on the reception of the Gospel of John in the Pistis Sophia (Codex Askew), with the twofold aim to shed new light on Pistis Sophia’s use of canonized Scriptures, and to contribute to the research on the Gnostic reception of the Gospel of John. Selected Johannine references in Pistis Sophia are listed and commented on, especially those in Pistis Sophia 4.141, a dense section which is key to understanding the distinctive soteriology and Christology of this text. The analysis shows that certain passages from John play an important role for Pistis Sophia. Pistis Sophia may have elaborated its soteriology in response to criticisms from “mainstream” Christianity and in parallel with certain developments that occurred in Sethianism and Valentinianism.