The Gospel of Hellas - Research Institute for Waldorf Education
The Gospel of Hellas - Research Institute for Waldorf Education
The Gospel of Hellas - Research Institute for Waldorf Education
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0 the gospel <strong>of</strong> hellas<br />
<strong>The</strong> “disciple took her to his own or unto himself ” means, indeed, that his<br />
soul was to be brought to the purifying and perfect state symbolized by the<br />
Virgin Sophia in order to receive the full truth <strong>of</strong> the Logos, the World-Word.<br />
Thus the writer <strong>of</strong> the Fourth <strong>Gospel</strong> fulfilled, in fact, the prophecy, contained<br />
in the Book <strong>of</strong> Wisdom, also called Wisdom <strong>of</strong> Solomon, which influenced the<br />
Logos and Sophia doctrine <strong>of</strong> Philo: “For God loveth none but him that<br />
dwelleth with Sophia.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> Logos, as taught by John in the Prologue to his gospel, is the creator<br />
<strong>of</strong> the visible world who was be<strong>for</strong>e all existence and lives within all evolution<br />
from the very beginning. He is the light <strong>of</strong> the world, the sun, and the life <strong>of</strong><br />
the world, its movement and rhythm. His light reveals itself in contrast and<br />
strife, <strong>for</strong> it “shineth into darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.”<br />
Those, however, who can receive it, can become conscious <strong>of</strong> the Logos. <strong>The</strong>y<br />
are called by John “children <strong>of</strong> God” or “sons <strong>of</strong> the Logos.”<br />
Thus the threefold vision <strong>of</strong> Heraclitus—the Logos as light and worldcreating<br />
fire, as word and world-pulsating rhythm, as love in purest wisdom—<br />
resounded anew in the Prologue <strong>of</strong> John with the soul-shattering message: <strong>The</strong><br />
Logos became flesh. <strong>The</strong> fiery words <strong>of</strong> Heraclitus found in the words <strong>of</strong> John<br />
not only were revived but revealed their pr<strong>of</strong>oundest revelation. <strong>The</strong>y signify,<br />
in the character <strong>of</strong> the Prologue, a meditation, a baptism with the fire <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Spirit. <strong>The</strong> spiritual fire <strong>of</strong> the Logos-mysteries which Herostratus tried to<br />
extinguish can be set afire again through the Logos-teaching <strong>of</strong> the Prologue<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Saint John <strong>Gospel</strong>.<br />
In the <strong>Gospel</strong> <strong>of</strong> John we see the message <strong>of</strong> the Hellenic spirit at its<br />
culmination. It was <strong>for</strong> that reason that Steiner in his lectures on the New Art<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Education</strong>, which he gave in England, 1923, called this gospel “the deepest<br />
and most beautiful document <strong>of</strong> Greek culture.” 219 He described the idea <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Logos in <strong>Hellas</strong> as a revelation <strong>of</strong> the whole nature <strong>of</strong> man. “<strong>The</strong> Greek felt the<br />
Logos quivering and moving through the whole Cosmos ... Greek gymnastic<br />
was a revelation <strong>of</strong> the Word, and in musical education there was a shadowy<br />
image <strong>of</strong> all that was felt in the Word. <strong>The</strong> Word worked in Greek wrestling ...<br />
in the Greek dances. <strong>The</strong> Spirit worked into the nature <strong>of</strong> man ... <strong>for</strong> it is the<br />
Spirit to which the gospel <strong>of</strong> John refers when it speaks <strong>of</strong> the Logos.”