Manichaeism
Manichaeism (/ˌmænɪˈkiːɪzəm/; in New Persian آیینِ مانی Āyīn-e Mānī; Chinese: 摩尼教; pinyin: Móníjiào) is a former major world religion, founded in the 3rd century CE by the Parthian prophet Mani (216–274 CE), in the Sasanian Empire.
| Manichaeism | |
|---|---|
| آیینِ مانی 摩尼教 | |
Sealstone of Mani, rock crystal, possibly 3rd century CE, Iraq. Cabinet des Médailles, Paris. The seal reads "Mani, messenger of the messiah", and may have been used by Mani himself to sign his epistles. | |
| Type | Universal religion |
| Classification | Iranian religion |
| Scripture | Manichaean scripture |
| Theology | Dualistic |
| Region | Historical: Europe, East Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, North Africa, Siberia Current: Fujian, Zhejiang |
| Language | Middle Persian, Classical Syriac, Parthian, Classical Latin, Classical Chinese, Old Uyghur language, Tocharian B, Sogdian language, Greek |
| Founder | Mani |
| Origin | 3rd century AD Parthian, Sasanian Empire |
| Separated from | Jewish Christian Elcesaite sect, and the teachings of Jesus, Buddha, and Zoroaster |
| Separations | |
Manichaeism teaches an elaborate dualistic cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness. Through an ongoing process that takes place in human history, light is gradually removed from the world of matter and returned to the world of light, whence it came. Mani's teaching was intended to "combine", succeed, and surpass the teachings of Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Marcionism, Hellenistic and Rabbinic Judaism, Gnostic movements, Ancient Greek religion, Babylonian and other Mesopotamian religions, and mystery cults. It reveres Mani as the final prophet after Zoroaster, the Gautama Buddha and Jesus Christ.
Manichaeism was quickly successful and spread far through Aramaic-speaking regions. It thrived between the third and seventh centuries, and at its height was one of the most widespread religions in the world. Manichaean churches and scriptures existed as far east as the Han Dynasty and as far west as the Roman Empire. It was briefly the main rival to early Christianity in the competition to replace classical polytheism before the spread of Islam. Under the Roman Dominate, Manichaeism was persecuted by the Roman state and was eventually stamped out in the Roman Empire.
Manichaeism has survived longer in the east than it did in the west. Although it was thought to have finally faded away after the 14th century in South China, contemporary to the decline of the Church of the East in Ming China, there is a growing corpus of evidence that shows Manichaeism persists in some areas of China, especially in Fujian, where numerous Manichaean relics have been discovered over time. The currently known sects are notably secretive and protective of their belief system, in an effort to remain undetected. This stems from fears relating to persecution and suppression during various periods of Chinese history.
While most of Manichaeism's original writings have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived.
An adherent of Manichaeism is called a Manichaean, Manichean, or Manichee, the last especially in older sources.