BARBELITI. - Also called Barbelioti by Ireneo and Teodoreto, they were one of the principal Gnostic sects of the 2nd and 3rd centuries. They derived their name from the female aeon Barbelo or Barbero, a word of Hebrew origin, which most probably means “son of God.” What the nature and prerogatives of this aeon were is difficult to determine. Perhaps it was intended to represent the female element which, according to these Gnostics, is at the origin of all things. For it was to Barbelo that the ineffable Father manifested himself, and thus she became the mother of the living, who derive from her through successive pairs (or syzygies) of intermediate aeons. She also generated the light which, perfected by the anointing of the creative spirit, is Christ. Barbelo also has
the mission of freeing the divine element imprisoned in matter and struggling against the lower aeons.
Whatever the doctrine of these heretics may have been, and it is transmitted to us somewhat differently by s. Ireneo and s. Epifanio, it is nevertheless certain that they were of unspeakable immorality: they abandoned themselves to the most unbridled excesses, admitting promiscuity of the sexes and sacrilegiously parodying the most august mysteries of Christianity. S. Epifanio derives them from the Nicolaitans, and Teodoreto from the Valentinians.