Paula Tutty: A reconsideration of the fate of the Psychics in the Tripartite Tractate

The Tripartite Tractate is a long and often obscure text in the Nag Hammadi Codices that has been the subject of only a handful of scholarly works, despite its significance as a fourth or fifth century eschatological treatise. The theme of the creation of Mankind is detailed in the third and final section of the text as the concluding act of a creation myth that culminates in the coming of the Saviour. This text has commonly been explored for its connection to third century Valentinianism, but how was it utilised by fourth century readers? The final section of the work is particularly interesting in this respect, for both its commentary on the fate of the Psychic people and the ethical instructions embedded into the text. It begins with a recapitulation of the creation and characteristics of the Psychics following which, most importantly, it appears to acknowledge that the Psychics possess a form of inward grace that could eventually allow them to receive the same measure of salvation as their Pneumatic counterparts. In my paper, I suggest that this change is prompted by the fact that, whilst the Tripartite Tractate may, in its original form, have been written for use by a small an exclusive sect, it was later utilised within a wider Christian milieu. This has resulted in a reinterpretation and a reworking of the original content in order to fit the new context and developments in soteriological doctrine.