A Scholar is a candle which the love and desire of all men will light.

The Gnosis Institute was founded in 2006 by Troy  Pierce of the Ecclesia Gnostica.

The mission of the Gnosis Institute is to act as the academic center for Gnosticism, one that holds to the highest standards of scholarship. It is a non-profit research and educational corporation. The Institute was created by Gnostics for Gnostics that see themselves as part of the Classical Gnostic tradition. With the motto of “the truth shall set you free” the Institute fosters and values academic freedom, we seek the truth not to propagate a set of beliefs.

The Institute is committed to building the future of Gnosticism and Spirituality from a foundation in the historical manifestations of Gnosis and modern research. The Gnosis Institute is a non-profit educational and research institution formed for the purpose of performing needed scholarly work to explore and elucidate our understanding of ourselves and others through understanding Gnosis, Gnosticism, and spiritual/psychological development.

The Institute is open to all regardless of denomination, affiliation, or creed. It exists to serve the Gnostic community in particular, and the world community in general. The work of Institute Fellows will meet academic standards, being: well-referenced, intellectually honest, peer reviewed, and reality-oriented. Educational programs will meet full academic accreditation, and will consist of serious academic work, not based on beliefs but based upon experience with a strong element of practice. The Institute is positioned to be a leader in scholarship and academics.

We do not seek to propagate any set of beliefs or doctrines, nor to spread one set of teachings or one perspective. We seek to follow the injunction from the Gospel of Thomas: “If you see what is before your face, there is nothing that will not be revealed to you.” We seek to know what is real, and to follow that beyond our current notions, ideas, and understandings. We stand apart in that we do not prejudge the real to exclude what is called the spiritual. We do not exclude what has always been a part of human experience, what has always been a part of human culture.

Symbol of the Institute

The Gnosis Institute is a way to be able to support serious and scholarly work, and a way to work together on important projects. And it is so much more. We seem to be entering a dim age in many ways. We must preserve and expand the light. The Renaissance really began centuries earlier, with a reawakening to the interiority of the human being. This occurred at the time Gnostic thought moved into Western Europe and gained adherents in the form of the Cathars. The religious reforms of the period can be traced to a large degree to Cathar influence, as can the troubadour tradition and its vast cultural influence. And, perhaps, the roots of the Renaissance can be traced directly to them as well. Gnosis can have larger effects than we can imagine.

Like any other non-profit, we rely on donations to be able to perform our mission. If you support our mission, please support the Institute.

The Gnosis Institute is not affiliated with any other institute. A number of groups use the terms "Gnosis" and "Gnostic" in an individual or idiosemantic way. See the Idiosemantics of Gnosis section for a list of some of these groups.