The Manichaean community embodied its dualistic vision in a carefully ordered social structure. At its heart stood a sharp distinction between two classes: the Elect and the Hearers. The Elect formed a small spiritual elite who embraced a rigorously ascetic life, marked by celibacy, renunciation of property, strict dietary discipline, and avoidance of manual labor that might harm living beings or “light particles.” Their days were devoted to prayer, fasting, the preservation and recitation of sacred texts, and the performance of rituals, including hearing confessions. The Hearers, by contrast, were lay adherents who lived in the world, married, owned property, and engaged in commerce, while observing a milder ethical code and periodic religious disciplines. By supporting the Elect with food, clothing, and shelter, the Hearers were understood to share in the spiritual merit generated by the Elect and to advance gradually toward the higher path.

Within this basic twofold division, the Manichaean community developed a detailed hierarchy, especially among the Elect. At the summit stood a supreme leader, regarded as the successor of Mani and the central spiritual authority for the entire movement. Under this figure were senior teachers or masters, followed by bishops who oversaw regions and clusters of communities, then presbyters and deacons responsible for local organization and daily religious life. This graded structure ensured that doctrine, ritual practice, and community discipline flowed from a single center through clearly defined ranks. The Elect, occupying these offices, made the major religious and administrative decisions, while the Hearers’ role in governance remained limited, though their material support was indispensable.

Community life was shaped by this hierarchy in both outward practice and inner discipline. The Elect often lived in a quasi-monastic fashion, bound by detailed rules governing speech, diet, sexuality, and the handling of sacred texts and objects. Hearers participated in regular worship, communal meals, and confession rituals, bringing their sins before the Elect for prayer and purification. Such practices reinforced the authority of the Elect and the sense that they were directly engaged in the work of liberating light from the world, while the Hearers contributed by sustaining them. Through this interplay of spiritual specialization and lay support, the Manichaean community sought to mirror its cosmological drama in the very fabric of its social and institutional life.