8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 20 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 28 pagesAbout this book
What does hope sound like when a community believes its soul is light trapped in darkness?
The Manichaean Psalm-Book gathers hymns, prayers and psalms from followers of Mani, the founder of Manichaeism. Preserved in Coptic, these communal songs praise Jesus, Mani and the Light. They give voice to believers whose own writings are largely lost, letting you encounter their faith through devotion rather than the accounts of its opponents.
At their heart lies a struggle between Light and Darkness. According to Manichaean teaching, living light is trapped in the physical world, and the soul longs for release. Songs for worship, festivals and mourning turn this vast religious vision into intimate poetry: praise, anguish and the hope of returning to a divine home.
What you’ll discover
- Light against darkness Explore hymns shaped by the Manichaean belief in two eternal, opposing natures.
- The soul's longing Encounter poetry that gives the desire for spiritual freedom an urgent, personal voice.
- Praise for Jesus and Mani Discover how these songs honor Jesus and Mani as guides toward the soul's release.
- Songs for shared devotion Read prayers and psalms used in daily worship, festivals and rituals of mourning.
- A community speaks Hear believers express their own hopes through repeated praise and deeply felt appeals.
Who will love it
For readers who love ancient religion, early Christianity and devotional poetry, and anyone curious about a faith that spanned continents and then vanished.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A hymnbook found in the Egyptian sands
- Two natures, light and darkness, stand apart
- Living light is trapped in the world
- Jesus and Mani lead the soul home
- The Elect, the Hearers and the daily rule
- A lost faith and how to read its songs
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Manichaean Psalm-Book
by Attributed to the prophet Mani
Coptic hymns voice a soul’s longing for rescue in a world where divine light lies trapped in matter.
ChallengingUnder 2 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Manichaean Psalm-Book is a collection of hymns sung by followers of Mani, the prophet who founded Manichaeism in Babylonia in the third century. The songs survive in Coptic, the language of late ancient Egypt, in a papyrus codex of about the fourth century.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A hymnbook found in the Egyptian sands
The Psalm-Book comes from a find made in Egypt around 1930. Manichaean manuscripts were discovered near Medinet Madi, a site in the Fayum region southwest of Cairo. They were written on papyrus and bound as codices, which are early books with pages. Some had lain in the ground for about sixteen centuries, and damp and insects had damaged them badly.
The collection was divided among buyers. A large share went to Berlin, and another share went to the collector Alfred Chester Beatty, whose library in Dublin still holds its part. The Psalm-Book was edited by the scholar Charles Allberry, who published the second part in 1938. The work of reading and restoring the pages took many years, and some leaves remain lost or broken.
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What is the Manichaean Psalm-Book?
It is a collection of hymns sung by followers of Mani, preserved in a Coptic papyrus codex found in Egypt. The songs praise the Light, Jesus and Mani, and express the soul's longing to be freed from the world.
Who was Mani and what did he teach?
Mani was a third-century prophet from Babylonia who founded Manichaeism. He taught that two eternal natures, Light and Darkness, became mixed, and that knowledge and a disciplined life could free the light trapped in the world.
Where and when was the Psalm-Book found?
It was found near Medinet Madi in the Fayum region of Egypt around 1930. The codex is thought to date from about the fourth century, and parts of it are now held in Dublin and Berlin.
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