Hayyi Rabbi

Hayyi Rabbi, meaning “Great Life,” is the supreme God in Mandaeism and the source of spiritual life and creation.

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Mandaeism: Mandaeism is a monotheistic Gnostic religion whose living communities originated in the Middle East. Hayyi Rabbi is the supreme divine being in Mandaeism’s religious worldview.
Great Life: Great Life is the English rendering of Hayyi Rabbi, the supreme divine being in Mandaeism. The name presents divine existence as the source and fullness of life.
Ptahil: Ptahil is a Mandaean demiurge associated with creating the material world. Unlike Hayyi Rabbi, Ptahil shapes the lower material realm rather than embodying supreme divinity.
Mandaean Book of John: The Mandaean Book of John is a collection of religious discourses and teachings attributed to John the Baptist. Its hymns and teachings invoke the Great Life within Mandaean scripture.
Mandaean cosmology: Mandaean cosmology describes a spiritual World of Light and a material world of darkness. It explains how the Great Life relates to creation and the worlds below it.
Mandaean prayer: Mandaean prayer is devotional speech directed toward divine beings and the World of Light. Prayer invokes the Great Life within Mandaean worship and religious language.
Abatur: Abatur is a Mandaean uthra associated with judgment and the boundary between spiritual realms. His subordinate role contrasts with Hayyi Rabbi’s supreme status.
Mandaean language: Mandaic is an Eastern Aramaic language used in Mandaean religious texts and liturgy. The title Hayyi Rabbi comes from Mandaic words for life and greatness.
World of Light: The World of Light is the transcendent spiritual realm in Mandaean cosmology. It is the realm associated with Hayyi Rabbi and divine life.
Mandaean baptism: Mandaean baptism, or masbuta, is a repeated immersion rite performed in flowing water. The rite invokes divine life and purification through water understood as living.