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Pleroma

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<b>Pleroma</b>&nbsp;(Greek&nbsp;πλήρωμα) generally refers to the totality of divine powers. The word means&nbsp;<i>fullness</i>&nbsp;from&nbsp;πληρόω&nbsp;("I fill") comparable to&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CF%80%CE%BB%CE%AE%CF%81%CE%B7%CF%82" class="extiw" title="wikt:πλήρης" >πλήρης</a>&nbsp;which means "full",<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleroma#cite_note-1" >[1]</a></sup>&nbsp;and is used in Christian theological contexts: both in&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnosticism" title="Gnosticism" >Gnosticism</a>&nbsp;generally, and by&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Paul_the_Apostle" title="St. Paul the Apostle" class="mw-redirect" >St. Paul the Apostle</a>in&nbsp;<a class="external text" href="http://tools.wmflabs.org/bibleversefinder/?book=Colossians&verse=2:9&src=KJV" >Colossians 2:9</a>&nbsp;(the word is used 17 times in the NT).<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleroma#cite_note-2" >[2]</a></sup>

Pleroma is also used in the general Greek language and is used by the&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Orthodox" title="Greek Orthodox" class="mw-redirect" >Greek Orthodox</a>&nbsp;church in this general form since the word appears in the book of&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossians" title="Colossians" class="mw-redirect" >Colossians</a>. Proponents of the view that&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnosticism_and_the_New_Testament" title="Gnosticism and the New Testament" >Paul was actually a Gnostic</a>, such as&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_Pagels" title="Elaine Pagels" >Elaine Pagels</a>&nbsp;of&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princeton_University" title="Princeton University" >Princeton University</a>, view the reference in Colossians as something that was to be interpreted in the Gnostic sense.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleroma#cite_note-3" >[3]</a></sup></p>

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