Cerinthians
Merinthians (Epiphanius; probably the same)
c. 100 – 2nd century
attested. Cerinthus is attested in several independent hostile sources. His views as reported partly conflict (gnostic demiurge vs. chiliasm).
Hostile sources only. No writing from inside this group is known. Teachings and morals here are the opponents' account unless another source confirms them.
Leaders
- Cerinthus (fl. c. 100)
Beliefs
The world was made by a power far below the supreme God. Jesus was the natural son of Joseph and Mary, and the divine Christ descended on him at baptism and left before the crucifixion. Gaius of Rome and Dionysius of Alexandria also report that Cerinthus expected a carnal millennial kingdom.
Home bases
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Ephesus / Asia (Cerinthus)
Selçuk, Turkey · 1st–2nd
Irenaeus says Cerinthus, trained 'in Egypt', taught in Asia that the world was made by a lesser power and that Christ descended on the man Jesus at baptism. He also tells, via Polycarp, a story of the apostle John fleeing a bathhouse in Ephesus because Cerinthus was inside.
Spread
The province of Asia, with Egyptian training according to Hippolytus.
Books
None linked.
What happened to it
No trace after the 2nd century except in heresiologies.
Hostile sources
Irenaeus of Lyon. Against Heresies I.26.1; III.3.4; III.11.1 c. 180
Hostile; earliest systematic heresiology; ANF translation (public domain).
Hippolytus of Rome (attrib.). Refutation of All Heresies VII.33 c. 222–235
Hostile; ANF translation (public domain). Authorship disputed.
Eusebius of Caesarea. Church History III.28 (quoting Gaius and Dionysius) c. 313–325
Hostile toward heresies; quotes earlier documents verbatim. NPNF translation (public domain).
Epiphanius of Salamis. Panarion 28 c. 374–377
Hostile and often careless with groups he never met; no public-domain English translation located (F. Williams translation is in copyright). Link is an overview, not the text.
Their own words
No insider source is known.