The Refutation of All Heresies

And so far for these points. Respecting, however, the generation of the twenty-four elements, he expresses himself thus: that Henotes coexists with Monotes, and that from these issue two projections, viz., Monas and Hen, and that these being added together become four, for twice two are four. And again, the two and four (projections) being added together, manifested the number six; and these six made fourfold, produce the twenty-four forms. And these are the names of the first tetrad, and they are under stood as Holy of Holies, and cannot be expressed and they are recognised by the Son alone.

These the Father knows which they are. Those names which with Him are pronounced in silence and with faith, are Arrhetus and Sige, Pater and Aletheia. And of this tetrad the entire number is (that) of twenty-four letters. For Arrhetus has seven elements, Sige five, and Pater five, and Aletheia seven. And in like manner also (is it with) the second tetrad; (for) Logos and Zoe. Anthropos and Ecclesia, exhibited the same number of elements. And (he says) that the expressed name— (that is, Jesus) — of the Saviour consists of six letters, but that His ineffable name, according to the number of the letters, one by one, consists of twenty-four elements, but Christ a Son of twelve.

And (he says) that the ineffable (name) in Christ consists of thirty letters, and this exists, according to the letters l which are in Him, the elements being counted one by one. For the (name) Christ consists of eight elements; for Chi consists of three, and R [ho] of two, and EI of two, and I [ota], of four, S [igma] of five, and T [au] of three, and OU of two, and San of three. Thus the ineffable name in Christ consists, they allege, of thirty letters. And they assert that for this reason He utters the words, “I am Alpha and Omega,” displaying the dove, which (symbolically) has this number, which is eight hundred and one.