Here is a reconstructed teaching of Marcus, with Irenaeus’ negative commentary removed, so that the text preserves the doctrinal and ritual content attributed to Marcus. I’ve written it in about 1,000 words.
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# The Teachings of Marcus
Marcus, a teacher who sought to deepen and expand the mysteries of his predecessors, proclaimed that he had received from the invisible and ineffable regions above the highest power and the fullness of knowledge. Through this power, he transmitted the descent of Charis, the divine Grace, into the lives of those who followed him.
## The Mystery of the Cup
Marcus taught a sacred rite involving the consecration of wine. Taking a cup mixed with wine, he would pronounce a long invocation, during which the liquid would take on a purple and reddish hue. This signified that Charis herself, who is above all things, had poured her own substance into the cup.
Those who partook of this wine rejoiced, for in drinking they believed that the Charis set forth through Marcus entered into them, filling them with divine presence.
Marcus also encouraged women among his followers to consecrate a cup themselves. When they did so, he would present a larger vessel and pour the contents of the smaller into it. At this moment he would say:
*"May that Charis who is before all things, and who transcends all knowledge and speech, fill your inner being, and multiply in you her own knowledge, sowing within you the grain of mustard seed, that it may grow in the good soil of your heart."*
When the larger cup was seen to be filled to overflowing from the smaller one, the assembly rejoiced, beholding a sign of the inexhaustible fullness of the divine.
## The Gift of Prophecy
Marcus affirmed that through the descent of Charis, his disciples could receive the gift of prophecy. He declared that the Father of all beholds the angel of each disciple before His face, and that the place of these angels is among those who walk in the path of revelation.
To the women he instructed:
*"Adorn yourself as a bride who awaits her bridegroom, that you may be what I am, and I what you are. Establish the seed of light in your nuptial chamber. Receive from me a spouse, and become receptive of him, even as you are received by him. Behold, Charis has descended upon you; open your mouth and prophesy."*
At first, some would object, saying: *“I have never prophesied, nor do I know how to prophesy.”* Marcus would then lead them in invocations until their hearts were stirred. He urged them:
*"Open your mouth, and speak whatsoever occurs to you, and you shall prophesy."*
Thus many were moved to utterances, and from that moment reckoned themselves prophetesses, giving thanks to Marcus for imparting Charis to them.
## The Teaching on Redemption
Marcus’ disciples also taught concerning the power of Redemption. They declared that those who had received Redemption were free from the fear of judgment, for they had been hidden in the mysteries of the Mother.
If one who bore the gift of Redemption should stand before the judge, they were to invoke the heavenly powers in this way:
*"O you who sit beside the Father, and the mystical eternal Silence (Sige), you through whom the mighty angels, who continually behold the face of the Father, receive their form and being—behold, the judge summons me. Present my cause before him, for my cause and yours are one. Through the daring of the Mother, we are produced as her images, our minds intent upon the things above."*
At these words, the Mother would place upon them the helmet of invisibility, so that they could not be seen or apprehended by the judge. Immediately she would take them up, conduct them into the bridal chamber, and unite them with their consorts.
Thus Marcus and his disciples proclaimed freedom from all earthly powers and confidence in the mysteries of Redemption.
## The Knowledge Above All
The followers of Marcus declared that they had received a knowledge greater than that of all others, even beyond the apostles themselves. They taught that they had imbibed the greatness of the unspeakable Power, ascending above all authorities.
Because of this exalted knowledge, they confessed that they were free in every respect, bound by no earthly fear. They believed that Redemption had brought them into a state where nothing could apprehend them, for they were hidden with the Mother and destined for the bridal chamber.
## The Bridal Mystery
The imagery of the bridal chamber played a central role in Marcus’ teaching. The disciples were taught to prepare themselves as brides, awaiting the descent of the bridegroom from above. The union of Charis with the faithful was described as a nuptial mystery, in which the seed of light was established within.
This union, according to Marcus, was not only symbolic but transformative, making the disciple one with the divine, partaker of the fullness, and an heir to the mysteries of the Pleroma.
## The Work of Charis
Charis was proclaimed as the great power before all things, transcending all knowledge and speech. She descended into the faithful, filling their inner being with divine knowledge. By sowing the grain of mustard seed within, she caused it to grow into fullness, just as a small seed becomes a great tree.
Charis was not confined to one, but multiplied within many, flowing like wine from cup to cup, never diminished, always overflowing.
Marcus taught that through Charis, each disciple could become a vessel of divine utterance, prophesying not by their own will, but by the abundance of the gift bestowed upon them.
## The Gathering of the Perfect
Marcus’ community saw themselves as the perfect, the ones who had attained fullness of knowledge. They proclaimed that no comparison could be made between themselves and others, for they alone had partaken of the ineffable greatness.
Together they celebrated rites of wine, invocation, and prophecy, rejoicing in the descent of Charis. Their assemblies were marked by the flow of divine utterance, the overflowing cup, and the embrace of the bridal mystery.
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### Conclusion
The teaching of Marcus was centered on the manifestation of Charis, the descent of Grace into the faithful. Through rites of consecrated wine, the gift of prophecy, and the mystery of Redemption, he proclaimed a path of union with the divine. His disciples exalted themselves as the perfect, declaring that they had attained knowledge surpassing all others, freed from fear and judgment, destined for the bridal chamber, and united with their consorts in the fullness of the Pleroma.
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Would you like me to also **format this as a clean Word document (.docx) file** so you can download and keep it?
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