1. The Simonians, or followers of Simon Magus; who maintained that the world was created by angels; that there is no resurrection of the body; that women ought to be in common, &c.
2. Cerinthians and Ebionites, followers of Cerinthus and Ebion; who denied the Divinity of our Saviour, and blended the Mosaical ceremonies with Christianity, &c.
3. The Nicolaites, followers of Nicolas, deacon of Antioch; who allowed the promiscuous use of women, &c., alluded to by St. John in Rev. ii. 6, 15.
CENTURY II.
4. The Basilidians, followers of Basilides of Alexandria; who espoused the heresies of Simon Magus, and denied the reality of our Saviour’s crucifixion, &c.
5. The Carpocratians, followers of Carpocrates; who, besides adhering to the heresies of Simon Magus, rejected the Old Testament, and held that our Saviour was but a mere man, &c.
6. The Valentinians, followers of Valentinus; who corrupted the Christian doctrine with the Pythagorean and Platonic notions, &c.
7. The Gnostics; so called from their pretences to superior knowledge. The term Gnostics seems to have been a general name for many of the earliest heretics. (See Gnostics.)
8. The Nazarenes; who ingrafted the law of Moses on Christianity, &c.
9. The Millenarians or Chiliasts; so called, because they expected to reign with Christ, a thousand years, upon the earth.