In memory of Boris Anatolyevich Litvinsky, without whom neither this nor many other works of mine would have been written. Manichaeism is a religious teaching, but the subject matter of Manichaean texts is not limited to purely religious issues. In the sources of this teaching, we find many interesting philosophical and natural science ideas, information on cosmology, anthropology, etc. In particular, in the Manichaean doctrine, there is a doctrine about the elements that make up the primary basis of the material world. Of course, it did not arise from scratch, but was, like many elements of this doctrine, the result of a syncretic fusion of heterogeneous sources. But the system of elements, having adapted to Manichaeism with its extreme dualism, acquired a peculiar form. Key words: elements, religion, Bible, Manichaeism, Gnosticism. In accordance with the dualistic concept, five pairs of antinomies are distinguished here: five dark elements correspond to five light ones. These five pairs of elements can be represented on the basis of numerous written sources as follows: Bright: air fire wind water light Dark: smoke fire wind water darkness The Manichaean history of the world is directly connected with the doctrine of the elements. The material world, according to Mani's teaching, was created out of" confusion " - chaos formed when the light principle connected the dark one. Each of the natural, material elements is a mixture of the light element with its dark antipode. The cosmogony began with a mixture of light and corresponding dark elements, resulting in what can be called chaos. The subsequent cosmogony and history represent a series of stages in the separation of the mixed elements. At the same time, the light "halves" ascend, and the dark ones descend to the underworld. Mir-kosmos is primarily an apparatus for separating the elements. Five light elements - emanations of the First Man, the first warrior deity, his weapon in the fight against darkness. The fiv ... Read more