First Century False Religious Denominations

SIMONIANS:  Followers of Simon Magus, a magician of Apostolic times who claimed to be a sort of emanation of the Eternal.  Since he was the first to oppose the teachings of the Apostles he is sometimes called “The Father of Heretics”.  According to St. Justin, Simon came from Gitta in the country of the Samaritans.  He was baptized a Christian, but his conversion was evidently not sincere as he attempted to purchase from the Apostles what he regarded as their magical power.  Hence the word “simony” signifying traffic in sacred things. According to St. Ambrose, St. Augustine and others, Simon died in Rome as the result of an attempted ascent to heaven.

The Simonians denied free-will; taught that the world was created by angels; believed in the transmigration of souls, and denied the humanity of Jesus Christ.

CERINTHIANS:  Disciples of Cerinthus, a contemporary of St. John against whose errors on the divinity of Christ the Apostle is said by some to have written the Fourth Gospel.  According to Theodoret, Cerinthus was an Egyptian.  In Asia he founded a school and gathered about him a number of disciples.  Of these we know almost nothing except that they flourished in Asia and Galatia.

The Cerinthians denied that God was the creator of the world; asserted that the Law of Moses was necessary for salvation; held that after the Resurrection Jesus Christ would establish a terrestrial kingdom where the just would spend a thousand years in the enjoyment of sensual pleasure; and denied the divinity of Jesus Christ.