 |
Basilides (Greek: Βασιλείδης) was an early Christian Gnostic religious teacher in Alexandria, Egypt[1] who taught from 117 to 138 AD,[* 1] and claimed to have inherited his teachings from the apostle Saint Matthias.[2][3] He was a pupil of either the Simonian teacher Menander,[4] or a supposed disciple of Peter named Glaucias.[5] The Acts of the Disputation with Manes state that for a time he taught among the Persians.[6] According to Agapius of Hierapolis he appeared in the 15th year of Trajan reign (113 AD).[7] He is believed to have written over two dozen books of commentary on the Christian Gospel (now all lost) entitled Exegetica,[4] making him one of the earliest Gospel commentators.
The followers of Basilides, the Basilideans, formed a movement that persisted for at least two centuries after him[8] – Epiphanius of Salamis, at the end of the 4th century, recognized a persistent Basilidian presence over the Nile Delta in Egypt.[9] It is probable, however, that the school melded into the mainstream of Gnosticism by the latter half of the 2nd century.[10]
- ^ Hort 1911 cites Iren. p. 100 Mass.; followed by Eus. H. E. iv. 7; Epiph. Haer. xxiv. 1, p. 68 c; cf. xxiii. 1, p. 62 B; Theod. Haer. Fab. i. 2.
- ^ Gospel of Basilides
- ^ Basilides
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Eusebius4-7was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ St. Clement of Alexandria, Stromata Book vii. Chapter xvii. Gnostic scholar Bentley Layton accepts the Glaukias connection". Pearson 2008, 4.
- ^ Archelaus, Acts of the Disputation with Manes Chapter lv.[verification needed]
- ^ Agapius of Menbij, Universal History, Year 15 of Trajan [113].
- ^ Hort 1911 states that "It is a singular testimony to the impression created at the outset by Basilides and his system that he remained for centuries one of the eponymi of heresy".
- ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Basilides". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
- ^ Mead 1900, 253 f.
Cite error: There are <ref group=*> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=*}} template (see the help page).