Words with Power in Christianity Orthodoxy and Gnosticism

By analyzing the conflict between Christian Orthodoxy and Gnosticism in late antiquity, this article considers the modalities of "Words with Power," that is, words which have the ability to change reality. When reality is changed by the mere utterance of a certain word, one considers it to be a kind of "religious effect" in some cases, or considers it to be a kind of "magical effect" in other cases. Religion and magic are, so to speak, two modalities of "Words with Power". To begin with, we take a general view of the theory of Frazer and Durkheim concerning religion and magic. According to them, the main function of religion is to form communities centered around a personal entity, and it of the magic is to operate the natural existence based on the knowledge of it. Next, a comparative analysis is undertaken on the doctrinal and ritual differences between Christian Orthodoxy and Gnosticism regarding God\u27s two personal which are mentioned in Christian theology, that is, "Christ" and the "Holy Spirit"