Getting your lights on for Chrissy
Once Mani claimed to have had profound mystical experiences, including visions of heavenly realms and divine beings. Mani's personal mystical experiences became central to Manichaeans, and are the orthodoxy. His visions of the "King of Honor" and the "glorious throne room" were the base of the prayers and hymns, for which God a term, of divinity, is commonly substituted. Mani uses the stark contrast between light and darkness for the ritualistic practices emphasizing purification and the separation of light from darkness. Mani emphasizes light, truth, and ascension, which is typical of dualistic cosmology and the attainment of Gnosis. His "Elect" ensures Mani's teachings are hierarchical. This hierarchy would have been reflected in liturgical roles and responsibilities, with different levels of initiation and participation in rituals within the Church. This is a matter mostly contesting the Church (catholic) in the East with that in the West ...