he sects, of Nazarenes and Ebionites, but were
naturally never very powerful in the Church. In the second century, as
the Christians become more visible, their dissensions are also more
clearly marked; and it is important to observe that there is no period
in the history of Christianity wherein those who laid claim to the name
"Christian" were agreed amongst themselves as to what Christianity was.
Gnosticism we see now divided into two main branches, Asiatic and
Egyptian. The Asiatic believed that, in addition to the two principles
of good and evil, there was a third being, a mixture of both, the
Demiurgus, the creator, whose son Jesus was; they maintained that the
body of Jesus was only apparent; they enforced the severest discipline
against the body, which was evil, in that it was material; and marriage,
flesh, and wine were forbidden. The Elcesaites were a judaising branch
of this Asiatic Gnosticism; Saturninus of Antioch, Ardo of Syria, and
Marcion of Pontus headed the movement, and after them Lucan, Severus,
Blastes, Apelles, and Bardesanes formed new sects. Tatian (see ante, pp.
259, 260) had many followers called Tatianists, and in connection with
him and his doctrines we hear of the Eucratites, Hydroparastates (the
water-drinkers), and Apotactites. The Eucratites appear to have been in
existence before Tatian professed Gnosticism, but he so increased their
influence as to be sometimes regarded as their founder. The Egyptian
Gnostics were less ascetic, and mostly favoured the idea that Jesus had
a real body on which the AEon descended and joined himself thereunto.
They regarded him as born naturally of Joseph and Mary. Basilides, and
Valentinus headed the Egyptians, and then we have as sub-divisions the
Carpocratians, Ptolemaites, Secundians, Heracleonites, Marcosians,
Adamites, Cainites, Sethites, Florinians, Ophites, Artemonites, and
Hermogenists; in addition to these we have the Monarchians or
Patripassians, who maintained that there was but one God, and that the
Father suffered (whence this name) in the person of Christ. This long
list may be closed with the Montanists, a sect joined by Tertullian (see
his account of the orthodox after he became a Montanist, ante, p. 225);
they held that Montanes, their founder, was the Paraclete promised by
Christ, missioned to complete the Christian code; he forbade second
marriages, the reception into the Church of those who had been
excommunicated for grievous sin, and incu