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Cosmocritor

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(κοσμοκράτωρ , governor of the world), in the system of Valentinus, is an appellation given to the devil, who was represented as having his dwelling in this world, while the Demiurgus, whose creature he was, dwelt in the lowest of the regions above the world (Irenaeus, 1:5, page 26). The name Cosmocrator we may believe to have been derived from Ephesians 6:12, reference also being had to John 12:31, whose phrase, "prince of this world," occurs instead of Cosmocrator in the parallel passage of Hippolytus (page 192). Harvey (ad Iren.) gives proof that in the rabbinical daemonology this Greek word was written in Hebrew characters, and thence infers that the Gnostic application of this word was derived from a Jewish use of it. On the other hand, Massuet (page 43) refers to an employment of the word by the later Platonists, to denote the rulers of the seven planetary orbs. But its occurrence in the Epistle to the Ephesians renders any other explanation unnecessary.

In the system of Marcion (Irenaeus, 1:27, pge 106), into "which the name Cosmocrator probably passed from the Valentinian, it was applied to the God who made the world.