The Hidden Psychedelic World of First-Century Corinth: What Paul Really Meant in 1 Corinthians

Contributed by Paule Patterson

In my upcoming book, The Coming of the Son of Man and the Mystic Awakening, I explore how the earliest Christian experiences may have included elements of mysticism, ego-death, and maybe psychedelic sacraments. Nowhere is this more intriguing than in first-century Corinth, where the infamous agape feasts – communal love meals culminating in the Lord’s Supper – may have involved more than just bread and wine.

Recent research and renewed attention to Greco-Roman practices suggest that the early Corinthian church may have used entheogens (psychoactive substances intended to induce spiritual experiences) in these sacred meals. Far from a fringe idea, this hypothesis is grounded in archaeological findings, textual clues, and the broader religious culture of the era. By revisiting Paul’s letters with this context, we gain fresh insight into how he navigated a community caught between spiritual power and psychological peril.

Entheogens and the Agape Feast: A Historical Context

To understand the potential for psychedelic sacraments in the early church, we need to consider the broader context of the ancient Mediterranean. Entheogens – from the Greek entheos (full of the divine) and genesthai (to become) – were not isolated phenomena but central to religious and spiritual rituals throughout the region.

Vessel depicting Circe and Odysseus that was utilized to administer kykeon during mystery ceremonies (ca. 490–480 BC). Photo by Marsyas, CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons

At Eleusis, only 42 miles from Corinth, initiates in the Demeter cult consumed a psychoactive brew called kykeon, likely laced with ergot, a fungus containing compounds similar to LSD (1600 BC – 392 AD). This brew induced visions described as “dying before death” – a ritual ego death in which one’s self dissolved into the divine. The rite wasn’t an anomaly; similar psychedelic practices existed in the Dionysian wine cults, Vedic soma ceremonies in India, and Egyptian mystery religions.

Corinth was a melting pot of spiritual practices. As a major port city, it was a crossroads where Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Near Eastern traditions converged. Archaeological evidence confirms that Demeter’s cult was active in Roman Corinth, meaning secret rites and sacred pharmaceutics would have been known there. In fact, botanical evidence across the Mediterranean reveals that ancient worshippers had access to potent plant concoctions. Chemical analyses have identified ergot alkaloids in Greek and Thracian vessels, and psychoactive aporphines from the Egyptian blue lotus in tomb mixtures.

Given the cultural syncretism of Corinth, it’s hardly far-fetched to imagine that some in the early church experimented with such substances. After all, converts to Christianity brought expectations of intense, tangible encounters with the divine, having previously participated in mystery cults. In such a context, the idea that some Christians may have introduced psychoactive substances into the agape feasts becomes plausible.

Ritual Provenance and Corinthian Syncretism

In the broader Mediterranean world, the use of psychoactive substances in religious rituals wasn’t just common – it was essential. The cults of Dionysus, Isis, and Cybele each featured ritual feasts involving wine mixed with psychoactive ingredients. For instance, Dionysian rites involved wine infused with potent herbs to induce ecstatic states, while the Egyptian cult of Isis employed lotus-derived compounds to facilitate trance states.

Satellite photograph of Corinth. The east and west shoreline made it an important center for trade in the ancient world. (credit NASA)

In Corinth, a city steeped in religious diversity, the Christian community didn’t exist in a vacuum. Corinth was home to Apollo, Aphrodite, and Poseidon. Philosophy had been debated in their backyard for centuries (i.e., Athens). Converts brought expectations shaped by their previous pagan practices and studies. If neighbors were using psychoactive potions to “see God,” it’s not far-fetched that some in the church would experiment with similar practices to intensify their own communal worship.

The agape meal provided the ideal setting for such experimentation. A communal feast that ended with the Eucharist, it would have been easy to use a “special ingredient” in the wine, perhaps even standard. Large communal bowls of wine could have been spiked with potent herbs or fungi. The uninitiated and selfish could easily consume a dangerous dose. Who knows what methods or cautions they could take?

Paul’s concern in 1 Corinthians 11:20–30 – that some believers are “weak and sickly” or even “sleeping” after the meal – aligns with symptoms of potential psychedelic intoxication or overdose. The Greek term koimao can mean literal death, not just “falling asleep.” It is also possible that people were simply becoming immobile during their experiences. While traditional readings interpret this as divine judgment, the possibility of misusing a potent sacrament offers a more immediate, practical explanation.

Paul’s Corrective: Ecstasy and Self-Examination

Paul’s letters suggest he was acutely aware of the spiritual zeal driving the Corinthians – and the dangers of unchecked ecstatic experiences. In chapters 12–14, he addresses the chaotic worship practices emerging in Corinth. Some were speaking in tongues, prophesying, or falling into trances without restraint. Paul doesn’t deny that these experiences are genuine; in fact, he admits to having had such experiences himself. But he insists that all spiritual gifts be governed by love, order, and the collective good.

Nikitari, Cyprus: Asinou Church frescoes Byzantine frescoes in Asinou Church, Nikitari, Cyprus. The image depicts Christ's Apostles receiving communion. Maler A.D. 1106

The challenge Paul faces is balancing the Corinthians’ desire for mystical spiritual experiences with the need for self-honesty and communal unity. If spiritual power leads to division, arrogance, or harm, it ceases to be a manifestation of Christ and becomes a “work of the flesh.”

This is why Paul centers his corrective not on shutting down mystical experiences but on reframing them. He insists that true spiritual power is found in self-giving love, not in mind-altering substances. In 1 Corinthians 13, the famous “love chapter,” Paul situates love as the more excellent way – a higher path that transcends tongues, prophecy, gifts, and all mystical experiences. Love is even greater than faith, according to the apostle. This is not a dismissal of ecstatic states but a warning that without love (and truth), these experiences are empty and potentially destructive.

Ego Death and Spiritual Transformation

Underlying Paul’s pastoral approach is a consistent emphasis on ego death and spiritual rebirth. He writes, “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). This is the language of ego death – a dissolution of the self into the divine.

Paul urges believers to “die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31) so that they can walk in newness of life.

This mirrors the goal of many ancient mystery rites – to experience a symbolic death and rebirth that dissolves the self and unites it with the divine. Modern psychedelic research suggests that high-dose mystical experiences can induce similar states of ego dissolution and unity.

Paul isn’t ignorant of these states – he speaks of being “caught up to the third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:2) and hearing “inexpressible things.” But he tempers these mystical experiences with the reality that unchecked spiritual zeal can lead to chaos, division, and even harm.

The Real Awakening

Revisiting the hidden psychedelic world of Corinth is more than historical speculation – it’s a reminder of what lies at the core of Christian spirituality. Whether or not the wine in Corinth was spiked, Paul’s response points to the real work of the Spirit: leading a community intoxicated by spiritual power into a deeper awakening anchored in sacrificial love.

Paul’s message to the Corinthians isn’t about denying spiritual experiences but grounding them in love, humility, and communal unity. The true transformation – the real ego death – wasn’t in a potion but in the breaking of bread and the daily practice of laying down the self for others.

In a city steeped in mystery cults and ecstatic rituals, Paul’s call to examine oneself before participating in the Eucharist (1 Corinthians 11:28) is a call to humility – a call to engage with the sacrament not just as a personal mystical experience but also as a communal act of unity. God is all in all.

The coming of the Son of Man in Luke 21, as I argue in my upcoming book, may well be this very awakening – a gradual but unstoppable flowering of humanity’s capacity for divine communion, where our individual egos yield to a greater wholeness. Paul’s message to the Corinthians reminds us that the true mystery lies not in hidden ingredients but in the shared meal itself – a meal that proclaims the Lord’s death until he comes, not through intoxication but through truth and love.

Psilocybin mushrooms contain some of the same psychoactive ingredients that were utilized by the mystery cults and, likely, by the Corinthian church during agape feasts and prophecy. Image by Andreas from Pixabay.

Paul’s message to the Corinthians reminds us that the true mystery lies not in hidden ingredients but in the shared meal itself – a meal that proclaims the Lord’s death until he comes, not through intoxication but through love. It requires wisdom, discipline, study, reverence, honesty, and forgiveness. Just as alcoholism can be abused and wreak havoc on communities, these “drugs” are powerful and not to be trifled with lightly, especially without healthy context and discipline.

The Son of Man’s coming that Jesus spoke of may well be this very awakening – a gradual but unstoppable flowering of humanity’s capacity for divine communion, where our individual egos yield to a greater wholeness. The first-century Corinthians had a brush with this truth in their tumultuous experiments, and under Paul’s hand, they began to see that the real magic was never in a potion alone, but in the Person at the center of their faith.

Conclusion

As the Corinthians had a lot to learn about them, we Westerners have more. In the end, the hidden psychedelic world of Corinth isn’t really about psychedelics at all – it’s about the Holy Spirit moving in unpredictable ways to bring about personal and collective transformation. It’s about a God who meets people in bread and wine (however infused or not) and leads them through death to self into newness of life. That is the mystic awakening the early church experienced, and what we are invited into today. By understanding this history, we don’t merely satisfy our curiosity about what Paul really meant in 1 Corinthians – we catch a glimpse of a forward-looking faith unafraid of mystery, rooted in truth and love, and ever open to the transcendent journey toward wholeness.

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Paule Patterson is a former Evangelical pastor and spiritual seeker who writes and speaks candidly about faith, identity, and addiction. After a devastating collapse of career and self, he found healing through sobriety, mysticism, and an honest reimagining of Christianity. Now over three years sober, Paule blends recovery insights with musings on theology, philosophy, science, and the human experience. His project, Drunk Pastor, offers a space for honest questions, spiritual depth, and life after rock bottom—delivered with wit, warmth, and a dose of dog hair from his sidekick, Senko.