Relief of Simon Magus at the gate of the Basilica of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse.
Title
Magus
Personal
Religion
Gnosticism
Nationality
Samaritan
Known for
Founder of Gnosticism
Organization
Founder of
Simonianism
Simon Magus (Greek Σίμων ὁ μάγος, Latin: Simon Magus), also known as Simon the Sorcerer or Simon the Magician, was a religious figure whose confrontation with Peter is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.[1] The act of simony, or paying for position, is named after Simon, who tried to buy his way into the power of the Apostles.
According to Acts, Simon was a Samaritan magus or religious figure of the 1st century AD and a convert to Christianity, baptised by Philip the Evangelist. Simon later clashed with Peter. Accounts of Simon by writers of the second century exist, but are not considered verifiable.[2][3] Surviving traditions about Simon appear in orthodox texts, such as those of Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Hippolytus, and Epiphanius, where he is often described as the founder of Gnosticism,[4][5][6][7] which has been accepted by some modern scholars, [8][9] while others reject claims that he was a Gnostic, maintaining that he was merely considered to be one by the Church Fathers.[10][11]
Justin, who was himself a 2nd-century native of Samaria, wrote that nearly all the Samaritans in his time were adherents of a certain Simon of Gitta, a village not far from Flavia Neapolis. Irenaeus believed him to have been the founder of the sect of the Simonians.[12][13][14][15] Hippolytus quotes from a work he attributes to Simon or his followers the Simonians, Apophasis Megale, or Great Declaration. According to the early church heresiologists, Simon is also supposed to have written several lost treatises, two of which bear the titles The Four Quarters of the World and The Sermons of the Refuter.
In apocryphal works including the Acts of Peter, Pseudo-Clementines, and the Epistle of the Apostles, Simon also appears as a formidable sorcerer with the ability to levitate and fly at will. He is sometimes referred to as "the Bad Samaritan" due to his malevolent character.[16] The Apostolic Constitutions also accuses him of "lawlessness" (antinomianism).[17]
^8:9–24
^Knight, Kevin (2012). "Simon Magus". newadvent.org. Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20 August 2016. it is difficult or rather impossible to extract from them any historical fact the details of which are established with certainty
^"CHURCH FATHERS: Against Heresies, I.23 (St. Irenaeus)". www.newadvent.org.
^Caesarea), Eusebius (of Caesarea, Bishop of (5 May 1894). "The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus, Bishop of Caesarea, in Palestine". George Bell & Sons – via Google Books.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Hippolytus: Refutation of All Heresies can be found in Rev. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., The Ante-Nicene Fathers (1919; reprint ed., Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1971), 5:74–81, for the part we need about Simon.
^Ferreiro, Alberto (5 May 2018). Simon Magus in Patristic, Medieval And Early Modern Traditions. Brill. ISBN 978-9004144958 – via Google Books.
^Rudolph 1977, pp. 312 ff.
^Haar 2003, p. 306.
^Antonia Tripolitis Religions of the Hellenistic-Roman Age Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2002 ISBN 9780802849137 p. 125
^Alberto Ferreiro Simon Magus in Patristic, Medieval And Early Modern Traditions BRILL, 2005 p. 53
^"Catholic Encyclopedia: Simon Magus". www.newadvent.org.
^"Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Justin Martyr". www.newadvent.org.
^Dictionary of Christian Biography, Vol. 4, p. 682.
^Hastings' Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, Vol. 2, p. 496.
^Mark J. Edwards "Portraits: Biographical Representation in the Greek and Latin Literature of the Roman Empire" Clarendon Press, Oxford (1997) page 69
SimonMagus (Greek Σίμων ὁ μάγος, Latin: SimonMagus), also known as Simon the Sorcerer or Simon the Magician, was a religious figure whose confrontation...
(260/265–339/340) relates that when Peter confronts SimonMagus at Judea (mentioned in Acts 8), SimonMagus flees to Rome, where the Romans began to regard...
from the merlons) one may see, on the right, the disputation between SimonMagus and St Peter in front of Nero, with a pagan idol lying at the latter's...
an identification of "Simon Zelotes" with Thomas is also possible. Barbara Thiering identified Simon Zelotes with SimonMagus; however, this view has...
The stories of the rogue sorcerer SimonMagus and his consort Helen, which showcased the early battles between religion and magic, have often captured...
Roman emperor Antoninus Pius, which criticised SimonMagus, Menander and Marcion. Since then, both Simon and Menander have been considered as 'proto-Gnostic'...
The Simonians were a Gnostic sect of the 2nd century which regarded SimonMagus as its founder and traced its doctrines, known as Simonianism, back to...
and returns to Him who sent him, after a Passion which is apparent only, Simon of Cyrene being substituted for him on the cross. It is probable, however...
offshoot of John the Baptist. One offshoot was in turn headed by Dositheus, SimonMagus, and Menander. It was in this milieu that the idea emerged that the world...
SimonMagus never existed; it is a nickname for St. Paul. The Acts of the Apostles, compiled in the 2nd century, have borrowed their mention of Simon...
Simon of Cyrene (Hebrew: שמעון, Standard Hebrew Šimʿon, Tiberian Hebrew Šimʿôn; Greek: Σίμων Κυρηναῖος, Simōn Kyrēnaios) was the man compelled by the...
the shrine on the Quirinal were destroyed. Justin Martyr records that SimonMagus, a gnostic mentioned in the Christian Bible, performed such miracles...
Simone ("Act of Peter with Simon"). It is notable for a description of a miracle contest between Saint Peter and SimonMagus, the first record of the tradition...
Magi (PLUR), or magus (SING), is the term for priests in Zoroastrianism and earlier Iranian religions. The earliest known use of the word magi is in the...
selling church offices and roles or sacred things. It is named after SimonMagus, who is described in the Acts of the Apostles as having offered two disciples...
and the biblically-attested magician, and founder of a gnostic sect, SimonMagus. The spring equinox was approaching, as Mr. Abney frequently reminded...
Apostle Paul (Acts 8:1). Philip evangelized in Samaria, where he converted SimonMagus and an Ethiopian eunuch, traditionally beginning the Ethiopian Orthodox...
ignorant of the faith." He traces heresy from the biblical figure of SimonMagus (Acts 8:9-29) through Menander to both Saturnius of Antioch and Basilides...
painted Stories of Saint Peter, in the following frescoes: Quarrel with SimonMagus in face of Nero, Resurrection of the Son of Teophilus, Saint Peter Jailed...
Pauline epistles, in line with radical criticism. He identified Paul with SimonMagus, the Samaritan sorcerer who opposed Peter. Many scholars, since Ferdinand...
Trithemius (1462–1516) supposedly had a Book of Simon the Magician, based upon the New Testament figure of SimonMagus. Similarly, it was commonly believed by...
cross (Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26) SimonMagus, Simon the Sorcerer, Simon the Magician, or Simon the Samaritan, disciple of John the Baptist...
intended for chronological order, a list of heresies, beginning with SimonMagus and ending with Tatian, and adds in a kind of appendix a description...
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