Marcion, a young man from a once-prosperous Black Sea port of Sinope, discovered a letter written by Paul. The Epistle of Paul to the Churches of Galatia declared the pure Gospel of the Lord Jesus. "No other religious personality in antiquity after Paul and before Augustine can rival him in significance," says john harnack.
Marcion, a young man from a once-prosperous Black Sea port of Sinope, discovered a letter written by Paul. The Epistle of Paul to the Churches of Galatia declared the pure Gospel of the Lord Jesus. "No other religious personality in antiquity after Paul and before Augustine can rival him in significance," says john harnack.
Marcion, a young man from a once-prosperous Black Sea port of Sinope, discovered a letter written by Paul. The Epistle of Paul to the Churches of Galatia declared the pure Gospel of the Lord Jesus. "No other religious personality in antiquity after Paul and before Augustine can rival him in significance," says john harnack.
Paul, the true Light and Apostle of the Resurrection, sent by our Lord immediately after His passion to preach the Gospel in the image and power of the Paraclete, 4
declared in an epistle, A man who receives circumcision, is a debtor to do the whole law. Ye are severed from Christ, ye who would be justified by the law; ye are fallen away from grace. ... For in Christ neither circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith working through love. 5
Marcion, a young man from a once-prosperous Black Sea port of Sinope, one day discovered a letter written by Paul which changed not only his own life, but the lives of countless believers for ages to come! The Epistle of Paul to the Churches of Galatia declared the pure Gospel of the Lord Jesus. Marcions love for the Gospel directed the path for his life. Publishing what may have in fact been the very first Gospel narrative, Marcion expressed his awe for The Gospel of the Lord, saying:
4 Theodotus, Excerpta ex Theodoto, from Stromata, Clement of Alexandria, 23.2-4. 5 Galatians 5:3-6. O Wonder Beyond Wonders, Rapture, Power, and Astonishment, The News of the Good That leaves one Speechless! Unable to fully comprehend, Incomparable with anything, That one can know.
Harnack was inspired to say: Marcion was a genuine believer, he saw himself as a student of Paul, simply following in the Apostles footsteps. 6 No other religious personality in antiquity after Paul and before Augustine can rival him in significance. 7
What few in our day know is that the first Biblical canon of Christian scripture was authoritatively established by Marcion as early as the first half of the second century. This first Christian Bible was called the Apostolicon. The original purpose for the Apostolicon Bible was to hold or support the Gospel of the Lord, like wine-skins which hold new wine. The Apostolicon was completely Old Testament free, because New wine is not put into old wine-skins. 8
6 A. Harnack, Marcion: the Gospel of the Alien God. 7 Harnack, op.cit, p.13-14. 8 Thomas 47, Luke 5:36-38. Marcion preached to many nations and there is little doubt that his church was at one time the largest and most influential of all Christian churches.
This Life of Saint Marcion is to some degree a speculative reconstruction, and somewhat fictionalized, but with support from ancient references drawn from Epiphanius, 9
Hermas, 10 Hippolytus, 11 Irenaeus, 12 Justin Martyr, 13 and Tertullian; 14 as well as theories by Adolf Van Harnack, 15
Stephan Huller 16 and others; adopting some of these theories over others and including a few of my own, from a viewpoint which seems to me to be the most plausible from a pro-Marcionite perspective. 17
9 Panarion. 10 The Shepherd of Hermas. 11 Refutation of all Heresies. 12 Against Heresies. 13 Apology. 14 Against Marcion. 15 History of Dogma I. 16 stephanhuller.blogspot.com. 17 The author maintains that as long as the known facts on the life of Marcion are not disregarded, the authors educated speculations are not to be considered less likely to be accurate than that of any others. Furthermore, coming from a pro-Marcionite perspective will make the speculative aspect of this reconstruction more accurate than any con-Marcionite perspective would; because the premise, that the genuine epistles of Paul are Marcionite writings, is factual.
Copyright Adrian Cozad 2014
The Life of Saint Marcion - Equal to the Apostle by Adrian Cozad is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Available Online at: http://Apostolicon.com/ .
Marcion (AD 69152) Native of Sinope
Some 40 years after the passion of Christ, Marcion, a young man from the Black Sea port of Sinope, discovered a previously unheard of letter of Paul, written to the churches of Galatia, and was captivated by the Apostles pure Gospel message! In the letter, Christ had warned adamantly against those who preached the law in with the Gospel because they sought to rob believers of their freedom and bring them back into bondage. 18 He called their message a different gospel and that there cannot at all exist some other gospel. For as many as are under the law, are under a curse. 19
Marcion was native to Pontus, in the city of Sinope, where his father, ordained under Ignatius of Antioch, 20
served there as a bishop. Marcion, at a very young age, came to know a young virgin girl. Not knowing his right hand from his left, he came to his father the bishop for confession. When his father heard about it he was unforgiving and refused to grant him mercy. 21 Because of
18 Galatians 2:4. 19 Galatians 3:10. 20 Epiphanius said that Marcions father was of our holy catholic church, but at that early time what is meant by saying this is that his episcopacy came from Peter; and in the area of Asia Minor the episcopacy of Peter would have been from Ignatius of Antioch. 21 Irenaeus implied that Marcion, like Cerdo, was excommunicated from the assembly of the brethren (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3.4,3). From this I infer that Marcions father only said that Marcion could not join the ranks of the disgrace this brought upon his father the bishop, Marcion felt sorry, and vowed to dedicate his life to the practice of celibacy. So his father the bishop gave him a blessing to go to Alexandria, where the monastic practice was well known, to seek Gods mercy away from his homeland; so that his father would not share in this disgrace or receive scorn from the people. So, still at a young age, Marcion journeyed to Alexandria, and there became a hermit for a number of years. 22
The young girl Marcellina believed that God called her in the same way that God called Marcion. She later traveled to Rome to preach the Gospel. In Rome, Marcellina led multitudes to faith in the pure Gospel message. 23 She persuaded many to stop polluting the Gospel by adding
the clergy within his fathers Petrine jurisdiction. He was not however debarred from joining the Pauline jurisdiction in Alexandria. 22 Panarion 42.1,3. Epiphanius said that in early life Marcion became a hermit; which in itself may imply going to Alexandria, since in Alexandria monasticism may have been established well enough to support Christian hermits. The name Marcion means, of Mark. Marcus plus the Greek adjectival suffix -eion (shortened to -ion) is where Marcion comes from. Just as those of Homer were called the Homereion, those of Orpheus the Orpheion, those of Pythagoras the Pythagoreion, those of Heraclitus the Heracliteion, those of Socrates the Socrateion, those of Plato, the Platoneion, those of Aristotle, the Aristotleion and so on. It may be that Marcion acquired his name because of his early years in Alexandria. Alexandria was dedicated to Mark the evangelist, who founded the church there. Alexandrians call their founder Mark the Apostle. Marcionite Christians believe their name means those of Mark; the Apostle Paul, it is speculated, was known as the Apostle Mark originally. At the time of Marcion it is very likely that no one had heard of the name of Paul. The epistles were originally written nameless, but it was understood that their author was Mark the Apostle. A redactor later added the name Paul to the nameless epistles in order to create an association with the person by that name in the story of the Acts of the Apostles. Yet the proto-Catholic redactor retained the original name in the Gospel written by him: The Gospel of John-Mark. 23 Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 1.25,6. to it the Law and the Prophets. You cannot mix the two, she taught. A little leaven corrupts the whole lump! 24
Marcellina realized, as if Paul himself came to her and guided her into the truth: As the God of the law was a jealous God, and the law has no place in with the Gospel, the true God could not be a jealous God! The God of the law said, You shall not make for yourself a likeness of anything, in the heavens above or on the earth below, for I your God am a jealous God. So, Marcellina, together with a man named Carpocrates and others, began to paint icons of Jesus, as well as images of Pythagoras, Plato and Aristotle. After setting them up they venerated them and celebrated the mysteries before them. 25 This was the true beginning of the tradition of using icons in church services.
Marcellina believed that only the first two of the Ten Commandments were spoken by the jealous God, the rest were the Laws of Moses, which became Gods laws only by adoption. Every Christian, probably without realizing it, breaks the first commandment of the jealous God! If you believe in Chrestos Yesu, 26 you believe in a
24 Galatians 5:9. 25 Panarion 27.6,9-10. This reference speaks of worship rather than veneration; and this of pagan mysteries. But to the early orthodox writers, any unauthorized and unapproved Christian service is often said to be pagan worship or magic. Rendering it as venerated them and celebrated the mysteries takes this bias into account. 26 Chrestos means the Good Yesu is the original name for Jesus. Although the meaning is not known for sure, the name Yesu is understood to mean the Foreign God, or the unknowable, or invisible God (Colossians 1:15); a God foreign to this world. Yesu was in the image of the invisible God, and only in Him may God who is not a jealous God. 27 Yesu said, You believe in God; believe also in me. 28 There is a jealous God, and there is a foreign God in Yesu. You cannot serve both a jealous God and a foreign God. If you call Chrestos Yesu Lord, you cannot serve the old God of the law. This is how Marcellina taught this great mystery. She deliberately would not obey the two laws of the jealous God, so that she could serve the true God in Chrestos Yesu! Marcion said, When Jesus descended into hell, the sinners listened to His words and were all saved. But the [Old Testament] saints, believing as usual that they were being put to the test, rejected His words and were all damned. 29 Paul said, one who does not work [does not obey the law of God] but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. 30
But now Marcion, in obedience to his fathers blessing, packed his belongings and assembled a small entourage for a journey to Alexandria. He regretted leaving his friends and family, as well as the lifestyle his familys shipping business afforded him, but these worldly
this God become known and no longer foreign. For those who are in Christ the true God dwells in ones heart by faith!. 27 1 Corinthians 13:4. 28 John 14:1. 29 Marcions Antitheses, quoted in The Gnostics by Jacques Lacarrire, 1989. 30 Romans 4:5. concerns were of little consequence compared to the Gospel. The irony is that once one renounces the world (and by extension the God of the world) one discovers a hidden peace, a peace that passes all understanding, 31
and even finds peace, in ones heart, with ones enemies!
Marcion in Alexandria
At Alexandria, there was a strong Pauline Christian witness. Alexandria didnt receive the things said by apostles of an earthly priesthood. Some from the Petrine sect, because of Alexandrias strong association with the Apostle John-Mark, as well as the fact that many Samaritans resided there, treated even the name of Alexandria as if it were an unclean word, and would not even mentioned it. 32 In Alexandria Marcion studied under Cerdo, the Pope of Alexandria; and under him, Marcion practiced a strict ascetic life. And, in the entire world, there may have been no greater authority on the Apostle Paul than Marcions teacher Cerdo.
31 Philippians 4:7. 32 The Muratorian Fragment (170 CE) is the oldest known list of New Testament books and it is here that we know of an epistle of Paul to the Alexandrians. Speculatively, what remains of the epistle to the Alexandrians is now contained in the renamed epistle to the Corinthians. The conspicuous absents of making reference to Alexandria is demonstrated by Irenaeus, as he related the line of apostolic succession in each of the Churches, he left out any mention of Alexandria, which is quite odd considering that at that time Alexandria was the largest and most influential Christian city in all the world! (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3.3). Marcion read one of the sayings of Jesus: An old patch is not sewn onto a new garment; else it will tear, and the piece from the old will not match the new. And new wine is not put into old wine-skins; else the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, nor is old wine put into a new wine-skin; lest it spoil it. But new wine must be put into fresh wine-skins. 33 Suddenly, as if Paul himself came to him and guided him into the truth, Marcion understood: the new wine is the Gospel; the old wine-skins are the Hebrew Scriptures. Christianity was not a continuation of the earthly religion of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; it was an entirely new spiritual faith!
Marcion asked Cerdo if he understood the wine-skins passage in John-Marks Gospel correctly. Do the old wine-skins represent the Hebrew Scriptures? Marcion asked. That is correct, Cerdo affirmed. Why then, Marcion asked, do you even make use of the Hebrew Scriptures in any way whatsoever? Cerdo explained, Tradition from the Apostle provides a key that is essential for a complete understanding of Jesus message. But a natural person is not ready to receive this, it is like nonsense to him, nor can he understand it, because it is spiritually examined. 34 Paul reveals these
33 Thomas 47, Luke 5:36-38. 34 1 Corinthians 2:14. teachings only to those who are spiritually mature; 35 as he did with you. For when Christ, the spirit of truth, comes unto you, he guides you into all truth. 36 A spiritual teacher is able to use Hebrew Scriptures, with an interpretation which, as a mystagogue, is able to lead the hearer into an innermost sanctuary of hidden truth. The Hebrew Scriptures, in the hands of a good teacher, can in effect become an escort unto Christ. But after coming to that faith, we can no longer remain with the escort. 37 An old patch is not sewn onto a new garment, else it will cause within her division, which will last forever. No man drinks old wine and immediately desires to drink new wine. 38 Men become intoxicated with the Hebrew Scriptures. When they shake off this wine then they may receive the Gospel. 39 The God proclaimed by the Law and the Prophets is not the Father of our Lord Jesus. The God of the law is known, but the Father of Jesus is unknowable. 40
Marcion recognized that it would be a great benefit to the church if it had its own official set of writings; ones that
35 1 Corinthians 2:6. 36 John 16:13. 37 Galatians 3:24-25. 38 Thomas 47, Luke 5:36. 39 Thomas 48. 40 Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 1.27,1. would authoritatively provide a clear distinction between Christian beliefs and non-Christian beliefs. Of course, they would have to be truly Christian writings, and only Paul had the apostolic authority to write Christian Scripture! The only way to eradicate the Petrine misuse of the Hebrew Scriptures within the church was not through open teaching of tradition, but through the teaching of the written word of Christian Scripture.
Christians were divided between Paul and Peter
There was in those days a growing conflict between the authority and the teaching of Paul and of Peter, and between the disciples of Paul and the disciples of Peter. The Alexandrian epistle spoke of such divisions saying, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas. Is Christ divided? 41 Christians who were of Paul believed that the faith is for all people, not just for Jews. Christians who were of Peter thought that you must first be circumcised and instructed to obey the law, because they considered the Christian faith to be a sect of Judaism. To Petrine believers, any uncircumcised bishop would be considered a false bishop; in fact, he would even be considered a false Christian! To these Ebionites, as they were called,
41 1 Corinthians 1:12-13. you had to be circumcised to be a Christian and a member of the Jewish priesthood to be a bishop.
Divided jurisdictions of Peter and of Paul existed in every place that Christianity was established. 42 Cerdo, Pope of Alexandria, was a strong witness for the Pauline Christian tradition. Ignatius was the leader of the Antiochian Petrine Christians. In Rome, the Petrine tradition, which began with Clement, continued with Hyginus and the Pauline tradition by Valentinus; and somehow the two traditions managed to find a way to tolerate each other in that city. But Marcion knew that only Paul correctly understood the News of the Good: the Gospel; having received it by direct revelation from the Lord Jesus. 43
42 There is a record that indicates that there originally were two first bishops in that Antioch at the same time. One was bishop Euodius who was ordained by Paul, and the other was Bishop Ignatius who was ordained by Peter! See: Apostolic Constitutions, Book 7, chapter 46. A French Roman Catholic historian, Alexander Natalis, commented: From this indeed it is understood that St. Ignatius was ordained bishop of Antioch by St. Peter, that he might discharge the Episcopal office in that city for a time, but not up to his death. That I may assert this, I infer from a conjecture which I drew from Book VII of the Apostolical Constitutions. We read there, chapter 46, Euodius was created bishop of Antioch by St. Peter and Ignatius, so by St. Paul, not indeed one after another, but at the same time. Which, indeed, I conjecture, was then done when the dissension was excited among the believers who were of the circumcision and those who had come to the faith from the Gentiles. Then Euodius remained in that sacred office, to whom Ignatius willingly yielded as Clemens did to Linus in the church at Rome. (Bibliotheca Sacra, Volume 15, Page 589). 43 2 Corinthians 12:1-4. As Marcion essentially means of Paul, 44 Ebion essentially means of Peter. 45 To contrast Ebion with Marcion; Ebion was the leader of those false brothers secretly introduced to spy out Christian liberty in the record contained in Galatians. 46 Only the Marcionites fully accepted the epistles of Paul. With the one possible exception of those Ebionites who followed the tradition of Clement in Rome; Ebionites didnt care much for the Apostle, or his epistles; and they made use of the Gospel
44 Marcion means of Mark, but the Apostle Paul, it is speculated, was known as the Apostle Mark originally. 45 Ebion means of The Poor. Galatians 2:9-10 indicates that Peter (Cephas), Jacob and John, gave to Paul the right hand of fellowship, that Paul should go to the Gentiles, but they to the circumcision; only that Paul should continue to remember the Poor. Epiphanius explains that the Ebionites claim that they are poor because they sold their possessions in the apostles time and laid them at the apostles feet, and went over to a life of poverty and renunciation; (Cf. Acts 4:34-35) and thus, they say, they are called poor by everyone. (Panarion 30.17,2). This life of poverty relates to the Old Testament Law which prescribed that the Priests and Levites may not possess land for their inheritance in Israel, You shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession, (Ezekiel 44:28) The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of Jehovah is their heritage. (Joshua 18:7). The first Ebionites were the Poor, the Priests and Levites who officiated in the Jewish temple. Even Paul continued to remember the Poor by contributing to the Priests and Levites to maintain fellowship with them. Marcion, following the example Paul set, as recorded in Galatians, prepared a donation of two hundred thousand sesterces, likewise for the Poor, meaning the Ebionites in Rome, whom he wished to win over with the help of this token of peace. The men Paul referred to when he said that his Apostleship was not from men, neither through human agency (Galatians 1:1), are those who are of the Levetical Priesthood. Peter, who was called Cephas (likely a corruption of the nickname/title Caiaphas), belonged to the Poor, that is the Levitical Priesthood. Peter at one point served as High Priest in the Temple. After he was deprived of this office he became a free apostle. This is what Paul meant when he said that Peter seemed to be something, (Galatians 2:6,9) having become an ex-High Priest. The Keys of the Kingdom, which it is said Peter had, were the keys of the Jewish Temple, with which the temple gate was opened and closed every morning and evening. The apostleship of Peter, an apostleship from men, and through human agency derived from the Levitical Priesthood, is an Ebionite apostleship. Epiphanius explains that the Ebionites have an office of Patriarch [Jacob in Galatians] and others who are called apostles, There are such persons, [who] rank next after the patriarch and are called apostles. They attend on the patriarch, and often stay with him day and night without intermission, to give him counsel and refer points of law to him. (Panarion 30.4,2). 46 Galatians 2:4. This association is attested to by Tertullian in Prescription Against Heretics, chapter 33. Epiphanius explicitly makes this association (Panarion 28.4,5), except he states that it was Cerinthus. However, it can be shown by a careful comparison with Irenaeus that Cerinthus and Ebion are one and the same. of the Hebrews, because it taught that you must be circumcised and be under the law. Paul said to the Galatians that this other gospel was a corruption of his Gospel, which if followed we would be found to be like sinners, 47 and if accepted it would make Christ serve the interests of error.
Marcion returns to visit the Pontus
In AD 142 Marcion was elected the new Pope of Alexandria. 48 The first Bible, which came to be known as The Apostolicon, consisting only of the epistles of Paul, was officially recognized in Alexandria under Pope Marcion. 49 Desiring universal official recognition of the Apostolicon Marcion thought he should visit the brethren of Rome about this important matter. But first he went home to see his family and friends back in Sinope, where the message from Pauls epistle to the Galatians, which Marcion discovered, was first heard.
47 Galatians 2:17. 48 According to the record at Alexandria. 49 The only way Marcion could have been so universally recognized as having the authority to canonize scripture testifies to the fact that: 1) Marcion had to have authority even greater than that of a simple bishop. 2) Both the church of Alexandria and the authority of Marcion were oddly unmentioned in the writings of the early proto- Catholic Church Fathers. If Marcion had simply assumed his episcopal authority his enemies would have surely mentioned it. 3) Both Cerdo and Marcion are listed in the official record as Popes of Alexandria. The conclusion one must come to is that Marcions episcopal authority was that of Pope and Patriarch of the largest and most influential Christian city: Alexandria.
Many in Marcions homeland came to an understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures because of the Greek translation made there by Aquila of Pontus in AD 121. Because Paul spoke so strongly against supporting the Gospel with the Hebrew Scriptures in his letter, people began to take sides over this issue. The Hebrew prophets foresaw the coming of Christ, and the prophesies prove the reliability of the Gospel, some said. Others, who were knowledgeable on the Law and the Prophets, realized that the Hebrew Scriptures bore little resemblance to the Chrestos 50 in the Gospel. Furthermore, even the character of the God in the Hebrew Scriptures seemed quite different from that of the loving Jesus.
We must all love one another and forgive one another with the perfect forgiveness that Jesus gave us, 51
Marcion said. And when He nailed the one who was against us to the Cross, the law, which was also against us, was nailed to the Cross. 52 Let us also nail to the cross any offenses we have had between us and unite in the pure love of Jesus! No longer may we use the Hebrew Scriptures to support the Gospel, as much of the church
50 Jesus is the Chrestos, which means the Good. It could also mean the perfect or the benevolent one. 51 Ephesians 4:32. 52 Colossians 2:14. has done, though this is well intentioned it can only serve to corrupt the Gospel, and make it into a different gospel. To be truly free, the church must sever any connection to Judaism.
Marcion in Rome
Divided jurisdictions of Peter and of Paul prevailed even in the city of Rome. The first bishop of Rome was Linus who was ordained of Paul, not of Peter. 53 And then Clement, who was of Peter, was also made the first bishop of Rome. 54 But Clement afterword regretted this division his appointment had caused and stepped down from his position 55 and for the sake of unity even acknowledged the Epistles of Paul as scripture. 56 The
53 Apostolic Constitutions 7.46; Ante-Nicene Fathers 7.4,46. 54 Jerome said, most of the Latins think that Clement was second only after the apostle Peter (Nicene and Post- Nicene Fathers 2.3,15). Tertullian likewise said, Clement was the first bishop in Rome, ordained by Peter (Ante- Nicene Fathers, Vol. 3). 55 In the Memoirs of Hegesippus (according to Epiphanius), Clement, in one of his epistles he says, I withdraw, I depart, let the people of God be tranquil, (Panarion 27.6,4). 56 Only Clement (whose writings may have been authored by Sabellius), and also Polycarp (who may have been a mythical Catholic version of Marcion), made use of the epistles of Paul among proto-Catholic authors. Listing those books and authors who made no mention of Paul or his epistles are: Mark, Matthew, James 1 Peter, John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Hebrews, Revelation, The Didache, Epistle of Barnabas, Shepherd of Hermas, Papias, Epistle to Diognetus, Hegesippus, and Justin Martyr. The Acts of the Apostles make to mention of Pauls epistles, and only once, in passing, even refer to him as an apostle. epistles, and Pauls Gospel, 57 were therefore accepted by most, and at least tolerated by all, in Rome.
Marcion thought that it would be a good idea to send a feminine witness to Rome, so, with the consent of the bishop in Sinope, he commissioned Marcellina to go before him to prepare the minds and hearts of the people for his proposals. 58 Because of Marcellina, Marcion heard of a woman named Grapte who he hoped to see while in Rome. This Grapte was responsible for teaching widows and orphans across all of the various churches. He thought perhaps this would be a good way to make contact with all the variety of Christian sects in Rome. Marcion was also impressed that a Roman church had given a woman such a role! Christ taught, There can be no male and female; for ye all are one in Christ. 59 There should be no distinctions made on the basis of sex within the church, and male dominance has no place within the Christian faith. Marcion taught and permitted women to perform baptism; and did not treat with much respect those who refused women this privilege! 60 Despite his
57 The Gospel of John-Mark. 58 Jerome, adv. Ctesiph. t. 4, p. 477. 59 Galatians 3:28. 60 Panarion 42.4,5. Considering how immense the redemption rite of baptism was in the Marcionite faith, the significance of allowing women to perform the rite cannot be underestimated!. inquiries however, he was never able to get together with Grapte.
A short time after the death of Hyginus, one of the bishops in the Roman Church, Marcion came to Rome, it was in the third year of Emperor Antoninus. Some believed the rumors that Marcion came at this time in hopes of replacing him as a bishop in the Roman church.
Fearing that this could be the case, a certain man, of the Ebionite tradition, who had come to Rome in hopes that he could persuade the Roman church to follow the Jewish holy days and observe the law, 61 knew that if either Asclepius or Marcion were to be made a bishop in Rome his hopes to subject the Christian faith in Rome to Judaism would never be realized. Now, it is said that this mans name was Polycarp, but the name of this elder may have actually been Sabellius. 62 This elder, having encountered Marcion in Rome, shouted out at him, No one will recognize you or any of your kind in Rome! Do
61 Irenaeus relates that Polycarp traveled to Rome specifically in order to defend Quartodecimanism before bishop Anicetus (Irenaeus, Letter to Victor, quoted in Eusebius, H.E. V.24.16). 62 Irenaeus teacher was the elder, who he once said was Polycarp. But there are suggestions that the elder was also called sab or saba; which was probably short for Sabellius, you know who I am? Marcion asked. Enraged he responded: I do know you, the first-born of Satan! 63
The Ebionites in Rome claimed to have Peter, and his successor Clement, in their camp. 64 They mostly rejected Paul, considering him to be a false apostle because he wrote against circumcision and against the Sabbath and the legislation. 65
Though optimistic and confident, he nevertheless knew there would be opposition in Rome from those who were of Peter and Clement, the anti-Pauline element in the church; who barely tolerated the Pauline influence. To demonstrate his commitment to the the Poor, the Ebionite element among the Roman clergy, upon arrival, Marcion donated to the church a rather large sum of money for the Poor, a token of his wish for peace and reconciliation: two hundred thousand sesterces, an amount equal to the daily wage of fifty thousand unskilled laborers.
63 Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3.3,4. The obvious implication is that this so-named Polycarp considered the Apostle Paul to be Satan; because Marcion is of Paul or the first-born of Paul. 64 Panarion 30.15,1-3. 65 Panarion 30.16,6-9. During Marcions stay in Rome, he observed how it was lacking much of any form of an ecclesiastical structure. Unlike Alexandria, where the bishop was like a pope, it was impossible to identify a head leader of the church. It wasnt only the Pauline and Petrine division, but there were Christians of all varieties meeting in homes and buildings across the rather large city. He decided to meet several times with Asclepius, a bishop of perhaps one of the largest followings. Asclepius supported the idea of a pure Gospel message; and assisted Marcion as much as he was able.
He also became friends with a man named Hermas. Hermas shared Marcions concern about how Rome lacked much of any unified church structure but had a differing view of the cause. Immorality is the reason, and Hermas called for repentance.
The church must be like a white tower composed of stones of such purity that the tower itself becomes as a single stone, Hermas told Marcion once. But regardless of the stones, Marcion replied, the tower will fall if the foundation is faulty. The foundation of the church is Christ Himself, Hermas said. How can there be any fault with Him? It is not Christos - the Jewish Messiah - who is the foundation, but the Chrestos the Benevolent One!
Chrestos Yesu appeared for the salvation of all people, he is not the same one the creator ordained for the purpose of restoring only the state of Israel.
Isaiahs description of Christ does not find any fulfillment in Chrestos Yesu. Isaiahs Christ is to be called Emmanuel; 66 then, he takes the riches of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria against the king of Assyria. 67 But the Chrestos who is come was never known by such a name, nor ever engaged in such war-like endeavors.
Chrestos Yesu who had appeared had never been announced by any Jewish prophet. But, from the standpoint of the creators messianic prophecies, the Christ predicted in the Hebrew Scriptures had not yet come. The Jews not only rejected Yesu, but slew Him. If He had been one of their own they would have acknowledged Him, and followed Him. The Jewish Christ was ordained by the creator for the restoration of the Jewish people alone, while our Chrestos was by the supreme Good God to bring freedom to the whole human race.
66 Isaiah 7:14. 67 Isaiah 8:4.
You cant mix old with new! This is the real problem, Hermas. The Chrestos is like new wine which cannot be held in the old wineskin of the Hebrew Scriptures. Hermas frowned and replied, I dont know what youre talking about, Marcion. I think perhaps you are a broken stone lying on the ground. He rose and walked off, stumbling as he went, as if intoxicated!
In the summer of AD 144, Marcion addressed a group of Roman elders at the house of Asclepius, who were invited to discuss the Gospel:
Chrestos cannot be both the giver of the law as well as the one who makes an end to the law by His redemption; for this would be redemption from the law of those under His own law! There cannot be only one party to a redemption; both a buyer and a seller of one and the same transaction! The redemption is a transaction between two parties. 68 If we were His, He would not buy what was His own. He entered someone elses world as a buyer to redeem us, since we were not His. For we were someone elses creation and He therefore bought us at the price of his own life. 69
Furthermore, true righteousness is not of the law! The righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law. 70 True righteousness comes through Yesu, but the law did not proceed from our Lord Chrestos Yesu. Not having a righteousness of mine own, which is of the law, the Apostle said, but that which is through Him. 71
According to this distinction, between the righteousness of the law and the righteousness of the God of Yesu, the law could not proceed from the good God of our Lord Yesu. 72 The God of the law cannot be the supreme God. Seeing that Yesu is greater than the God of the law He asked us to also believe in Him. You believe in God; believe also in Me. 73 Yet only one may be our Lord. Seeing that the righteousness of Yesu is apart from the law, it must be also apart from the God of the law. When we believe in the One who is apart from the law and the God of the law, Christ is made to be sin to the God of the law, so that we may become righteousness, apart from law, in Him. 74
70 Romans 3:21. 71 Philippians 3:9. 72 An argument Marcionites made, presented by Tertullian, Against Marcion, 5.20. 73 John 14:1. 74 2 Corinthians 5:21. It is impossible for a man to mount two horses or to stretch two bows. And it is impossible for a servant to serve two masters; otherwise he will honor the one and treat the other contemptuously. An old patch is not sewn onto a new garment; else it will tear, and the piece from the old will not match the new. And new wine is not put into old wine-skins; else the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, nor is old wine put into a new wine-skin; lest it spoil it. But new wine must be put into fresh wine-skins. 75 The church must officially sever any connection to Judaism and with the Hebrew Scriptures, because this is the old wine-skins. The Gospel is the new wine. Christ has already prepared the fresh wine- skins to hold this Gospel; it is his epistles; which Jesus commissioned Paul to write just for this purpose. What the church must now do, in order to ensure that only the pure message of the Gospel is preached, is to establish our own official Canon of Christian Scripture, consisting of only the writings of the Apostle Paul. For this is the will of the Lord, as the Apostle in spirit said, For His bodys sake, which is the church; whereof I was made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which was given me toward you, to complete the word of God. 76
75 Thomas 47, Luke 5:36-38. 76 Colossians 1:24-25. The God and the Christ of the Law and the Prophets are not the God and the Christ of the Gospel! It is the Christ of the supreme God who was driven to the Cross by the hostile powers of the creator. The suffering of the Cross was not predicted of the creators Christ; moreover, it should not be believed that the creator would expose his Son to that kind of death on which he himself had pronounced a curse. Cursed says he is everyone who hangs on a tree. 77 The creator said of himself I create evil; 78 but because a good tree cannot bring forth corrupt fruit, 79 it follows that he who created evil cannot himself be good! The creator had to ask Adam where he was, 80 whereas Jesus could perceive even the thoughts. 81
The creator mandated an eye for an eye, 82 but Jesus called his followers to turn the other cheek. 83 The creator demanded isolation from menstruating women, 84
while Jesus healed just such a woman. 85 The creator allowed divorce, 86 but Jesus condemned it. 87 The creator
77 Deuteronomy 21:23, Galatians 3:13. 78 Isaiah 45:7. 79 Luke 6:43. 80 Genesis 3:9. 81 Luke 5:22. 82 Exodus 21:24. 83 Luke 6:29. 84 Leviticus 15:19,25. 85 Luke 8:43-44. 86 Deuteronomy 24:1. created both good and evil, 88 but the God of Jesus has no darkness at all. 89 The creator was jealous, 90 but the Good God, representing love, knows no jealousy. 91 The creator is unforgiving, 92 but Jesus calls others to forgive seventy times seven times. 93
When Elisha went up to Bethel; some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, Go away, baldhead! Go away, baldhead! When he turned around and saw them, he cursed them in the name of Jehovah, and then two she-bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. 94 Yet because of Jesus loving words toward children people were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they sternly ordered them not to do it. But Jesus called for them and said, Let the little children
87 Mark 10:2-12, Matthew 19:8. 88 Isaiah 45:7 89 1 John 1:5. 90 Exodus 20:5. 91 1 Corinthians 13:4. 92 Exodus 20:5. 93 Matthew 18:21-22. 94 2 Kings 2:23-24. come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. 95
What you say is nothing new. Thats what Cerdo taught, one stood up and said, but isnt it also true that Cerdo, as well as your own father, made use of the Hebrew Scriptures! Valentinus likewise teaches here in Rome, and he makes use of the Hebrew Scriptures. They use them, but they dont mix them, Marcion countered, having just used them myself likewise, to show that the Law and the Prophets are antithetical to the Gospel! Blasphemy! another shouted. Peter, Clement, and, seeing that your own fathers bishopric is tied to the blessed Ignatius, I think even your own father would agree that Jesus is the Son of the creator! I say, even if Christ taught otherwise, no matter whom it is, such should be ex-communicated! yet another insisted. I think the old wine-skins mean the hearts of the Pharisees and scribes, which had grown old in sins; and the old garment received a rent when Judas rent himself from the other apostles, he added. The old patch being sewn onto the new garment is any church that continues to hold to the Hebrew scriptures to support the Gospel, Marcion replied, the church in Alexandria is the strongest church in the entire world, and its influence is universal! And from this position of
95 Luke 18:15-16. authority, as its duly appointed servant, I am going to tear your church, and make a rent in it, which will last forever! 96 And this will be done simply by the preaching of the pure Gospel of Yesu! Marcion promised.
But dont you see that what you preach is dangerous? a practical one observed. I agree with your interpretation of the saying, Marcion, but the Romans begrudgingly respect the Jews because of the antiquity of their religion, and we enjoy a degree of protection by claiming descent from them. If you remove the association, well become something Romans abhor, a novel. Persecutions will increase! Marcion admitted to himself that the last one had a point, but it didnt matter. Truth was truth, regardless of the consequences. There can be no room for compromise when it comes to the truth of the Gospel!
Marcion was disappointed that the Roman church failed to fulfill his expectations. He had hoped to gain the support of the Roman episcopate which could then send missionaries across the Mediterranean world to spread the true Gospel.
96 Epiphanius had to admit that Marcion did indeed make a rent of no small proportions, in the Roman church! (Panarion 42.2,8). The reference to Alexandria is not present in the source, but it can be inferred where Epiphanius said, Marcion reflected and took refuge in the sect of that fraud, Cerdo. (Panarion 42.1,8). Marcion went to Asclepius and announced his intentions to leave. That may be for the best, Asclepius said. The truth it seems can sometimes cause division! The elders of the Poor, to whom you had given your gift, a token of your wish for peace and reconciliation, had asked me to return your donation! I fear that some of the bishops will consider it necessary, in order for us to maintain unity within our own church, to break off the inter-communion with you and with your church in Alexandria! 97 If youll send your representative tomorrow, I will have your donation ready for you.
Marcion left Rome two days later, boarding a ship in the port of Ostia.
Within only a few short years after Marcion left Rome, word got out on how he stood up for the Gospel before the Ebionite element in Rome, and how Rome responded by attempting to cut off that great city of Alexandria and Marcion from the inter-communion of the faith. Marcion was asked to preach in many nations 98 and churches throughout the entire world heard the message of the
97 Because Tertullian stated that Marcions excommunication did not take place until the time of Eleutherus, AD 175-189, (Tertullian, de Praesc. 30), which corresponds to the time of Irenaeus, I conjecture from this that Alexandria was not excommunicated by Rome until the time of Irenaeus; which would also help explain why Irenaeus did not mention the Alexandrian line of apostolic succession in Against Heresies 3.3. 98 Ephrem Syrus speaks of Marcion wandering like Cain (Hymn 56, Assemani, Bibl. Or. i. 119). Perhaps a reference to Marcions travels to preach the Gospel. pure Gospel of Yesu, acknowledging the Apostolicon as the true Christian canon of Scripture. Rome became divided. Roman Petrine Christianity would no longer meet with the apostates who were of Paul, some going against their very own traditions passed down to them from Clement, who desired unity in the bond of brotherly love. Indeed it appeared that Marcions promise, that Rome would be torn apart and be the cause of division, was prophetic. As Epiphanius had said, the tear in the Roman Church did indeed happen in no small proportions! 99
Justin Martyr, a Samaritan who once was a leader in the Pauline church, but had defected into Petrine Christianity, commented on Marcions universal influence: There is Marcion, a man of Pontus, who is even at this day alive, and teaching his disciples to believe in some other God greater than the creator. And he, by the aid of the devils, has caused many of every nation to speak blasphemies ... 100 Tertullian echoed these sentiments: Marcionism has filled the whole world... 101 Epiphanius likewise said, The sect is still to be found even now in Rome and Italy,
99 Panarion 42.2,8. 100 Apology 26. 101 Tertullian, Against Marcion, 5.19. Egypt and Palestine, Arabia and Syria, Cyprus and the Thebaid in Persia too, moreover and other places. 102
The Martyrdom of Marcion
There is no record of the death of Marcion. But there is a record of a certain Marcionite proselyte by the name of Metrodorus, who died by fire in the city of Smyrna. Likely, I think, it was here that Marcion also died, along with Metrodorus and other Marcionites, in the year of our Lord 152. It is recorded that the martyrdom of Polycarp put an end to the persecution, having, as it were, sealed it by his martyrdom. 103 But even if there were a few proto-Catholics at that time, only the martyrdom of a person as prominent as Marcion, the leader of the largest Christian following, could have sealed an end to the persecution! And it didnt put an end to the persecution anyway. It only briefly postponed it.
A Marcionite bishop Asclepius, in the Diocletian persecution was burned alive at Caesarea. 104 An anonymous Marcionite woman suffered under Valerian at
102 Panarion 42.1,2. 103 Church History by Eusebius, chapter 15. 104 Eusebius, Martyrs of Palestine 10,3. Caesarea in Palestine. 105 A second century bishop, Apollinaris of Hierapolis acknowledged that there were immense numbers of Marcionite martyrs. 106
Marcions Pauline tradition continued to grow and thrive well into the fourth century. Beginning in about the year AD 172, 20 years after Marcion left to be with the Lord, a new hybrid version of Petrine Christianity, which eventually became known as the Catholic church, was instituted by Irenaeus who repeatedly attacked Marcion in his writings. Tertullian in AD 207 continued the literary attack against Marcion who wrote a five-volume tome against him. Marcion was prominently attacked in Hippolytus Refutation of All Heresies in about AD 220 and Epiphanius Panarion of the fourth century included an extensive treatment of Marcion and the Apostolicon. These attackers at first managed to get the support of the Roman government to aid them in overcoming the Marcionite church so that their new Catholic Roman- friendly church could eventually become the dominant church of Christianity. But their preferential treatment didnt last for long, after countless Marcionite martyrs and the end of the reign of Emperor Commodus; Christians of all kinds were tortured and persecuted up until the fourth century when Emperor Constantine came
105 Eusebius, H.E., VII.12. 106 Eusebius, H.E., V.16.21. into power. It is a testament to the appeal of Marcions message that his tradition persisted through all this intense persecution to as late as the eighth century! 107
The Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, but wishing to consolidate Christianity into a single church he reestablished the Roman connection to Catholic Christianity made by Emperor Commodus, and after calling the council of Nicaea to force Christians to agree to Petrine dogma, Constantine decided to move the headquarters of the Roman government to Byzantium. Rome was positioning itself closer to the Pontus because Constantine knew he had to get the support, either willingly or by force, from the Marcionite Christian Church which dominated Asia Minor in spite of the previous efforts of certain proto- Catholics who tried to decimate it. Constantine absolutely forbade Marcionites from meeting for worship in public or private buildings.
It took several centuries but eventually all vestiges of pure Marcionite Christianity became extinct. Books were burned and churches had to convert to the Catholic faith or their property would be confiscated. Nevertheless the Marcionite faith left its mark a widespread influence
107 As late as AD 692 the Catholic council in Trullo made a provision for the reconciliation of Marcionites. which was deeply ingrained! The great monastic movement within the Catholic Church in the third and fourth centuries came about mainly because of those Marcionite Christians who chose to compromise and convert to Catholicism, 108 after the Alexandrian hierarchy defected under Athanasius, but they brought with them into the Catholic church many of their customs.
Although the original copies of the Apostolicon were destroyed, It may be that but for Marcion the Catholic Church might have left Pauls writings out of its canon, and have left the Apostle with no greater authority [within the Catholic Church] than the Apostolic Fathers. 109
It is worth noting that in Christian archaeology, the earliest known Christian church building is a Marcionite synagogue in Syria, with the inscription: The Lord and Savior Yesu Chrestos (Jesus, the Good); bearing a Syrian date corresponding to the year commencing Oct. 1, AD 318.
108 Theodoret, writing to pope Leo (Ep. 113, p. 1190), boasts that he had himself converted more than a thousand Marcionites. In Ep. 145 the number of converts rises to ten thousand; in Ep. 81 they are said to be the inhabitants of eight villages. 109 B. Ehrman, Lost Christianities: the Battle for Scriptures and the Faiths We Never Knew (New York, 2003). And I shall request from My Father and He will give you another Paraclete, and he will be with you for eternity. 110 And it is in this way that we shall be forever with the Lord. 111
Marcionite Christians honored the memory of Marcion by saying that Paul sat on the right hand of God and Marcion on the left. 112
110 John 14:16. 111 1 Thessalonians 4:17. 112 Origen, Commentary on Luke, 25. Appendix
What did the first Christian Bible (Marcions Bible) look like? (a report by Adrian Cozad)
The first Bible was called the Apostolicon because it contained only the writings of the Apostle.
There are three primary lists of what the canon of the Apostolicon may have contained:
The earliest list is based on the Muratorian Fragment (AD 170): Corinthians (Alexandrians) Ephesians (Laodiceans) Philippians Colossians Galatians Thessalonians Romans
Tertullians list (AD 207): Galatians First Corinthians Second Corinthians Romans First Thessalonians Second Thessalonians Laodiceans Colossians Philippians Philemon
Epiphanius list (AD 310): Galatians First Corinthians Second Corinthians Romans First Thessalonians Second Thessalonians Laodiceans Colossians Philemon Philippians Laodiceans
This report favors the earliest list, based on the Muratorian Fragment (AD 170). The following confirmed variations are said to be confirmed based on an examination of Tertullian in Against Marcion and Epiphanius in the Panarion. The most significant confirmed differences between modern versions and the original Marcionite epistles are, as follows:
ALEXANDRIANS (CORINTHIANS)
Scholarship suggests multiple authors to modern Corinthians. Only the parts written by Paul (and perhaps Sosthenes) are to be considered scripture. Epistles containing significantly lower percentages of confirmed interpolations indicate a higher likelihood of forgery; as only genuine epistles have need of Catholic revision. With this in mind it appears that Second Corinthians, for the most part, contains the bulk of the original Marcionite epistle to the Alexandrians. 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, according to the scriptures (twice), are interpolations. 1 Corinthians 15:38, instead of God gives it a body, the original has, God gives it a spirit. 2 Corinthians 1:3, simply reads, Blessed be the God of our Lord Jesus. Most of 2 Corinthians 1:4 to 2 Corinthians 2:13 are not in the original. At 2 Corinthians 3:14 the original reads, The thoughts of the world, for their thoughts. At 2 Corinthians 3:18 the original has, The Lord of spirits. At 2 Corinthians 4:10 the Apostolicon reads, Always bearing about the dying of the Lord, that the life also of Christ may be manifested. 2 Corinthians 5:17 the Apostolicon has, If there be any new creation in Christ, the old has passed away; behold, the new has come. At 2 Corinthians 7:1, instead of defilement of body and spirit, it is defilement of flesh and blood; and then it is connected to verse 11:2, thus reading, Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and blood, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
LAODICEANS (EPHESIANS)
Verse 1:21 is not in Marcionite Laodiceans, but it appears instead in Marcionite Galatians 4:26!
PHILIPPIANS
At verse 1:15, instead of reading, of goodwill, it reads, by the good reputation of the word. At verse 1:21 it reads, For to me to live in Christ and to die is joy.
COLOSSIANS
The only place in the Catholic versions of Pauls epistles that Jesus is referred to as a creator is in Colossians 1:15-16 [the first-begotten of all creation, for in him . . . etc.]. This Catholic interpolation is not to be found in the original Marcionite Apostolicon. At verse 1:17, the Latin Apostolicon had, ante omnes, which the Catholic redactor changed to, ante omnia. This is very significant, because in the original context (before the interpolation of verses 1:15-16) ante omnes refers to persons rather than to things. The persons would have to have been the thrones, dominions, archons, and spiritual-sovereigns. This forces the reconstruction of the original verse to indicate that it was these thrones, dominions, archons, and spiritual- sovereigns who were the creators of this world!
GALATIANS
Marcion found an epistle to the Galatians. This epistle appears to be contained in Galatians 1:1 to 3:14. Whereas the remainder, verses 3:15 to the end, constitute the original Marcionite epistle. This may be why the epistle is addressed to the churches (plural) of Galatia, and why the first two chapters contain biographical material about the Apostle Paul. Perhaps Marcion thought it was important to include both in a combined epistle. Verse 1:1 says that Jesus raised himself out from the dead. Verse 1:7 is more forceful about the Gospel saying, not that another gospel can at all exist. Verses 1:17-24 [the visit to Jerusalem and the meeting with Cephas and Jacob, followed by a journey to Syria and Cilicia] are not in Marcions Galatians. No mention of a revelation being the reason for the journey to Jerusalem in verses 2:1-2. Nor is Barnabas mentioned at all in Galatians. No mention of the consultation with Jacob, Cephas and John in verses 2:6-9. Verses 3:1-5 are not in Marcions Galatians. Only parts of verses 3:7-12 are in the original, which form one verse: Learn therefore that, the just man shall live out of his faith: (cf. 3:7) For as many as are under the law, are under a curse: (cf. 3:10) For, the one who does them shall live by them. (cf. 3:12) Only parts of verses 3:13-14 are in the original, which form one verse: But Christ became a curse for us (For, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree), that we might receive the promise of the spirit through faith. Verse 4:4 does not have, born of a woman, born under the law, in the Apostolicon. For verses 4:21 to 5:1, it is easier to simply show the reconstruction: (4:21) Tell me, ye who desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? (4:22) For Abraham had two sons, the one by a bond maid, the other by a free woman; (4:23) but he who was born after the flesh was of the bond maid, but he who is of promise is by the free woman: (4:24) which things are thus allegorized: These are the two Ostensions [vocational presentations], the one Ostension relates to the synagogue of the Jews, which according to the law (from Mount Sinai), engenders to bondage, (4:26) the other Ostension engenders to liberty, being raised far above all archonic-deity and spiritual- sovereignty and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this aeon, but in the one to come; which Ostension is the very Mother of us all; in which we also have the promise of the holy church. (4:31) So then, brothers, we are not children of the bond woman, but of the free. (5:1) Stand therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again in the yoke of bondage.
THESSALONIANS
1 Thessalonians 2:15 reads, Who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets. (The Textus Receptus affirms this reading as well.) 2 Thessalonians is believed to likely be a forgery; non- canonical to the Apostolicon.
ROMANS
Was made of the seed of David is not present in verse 1:3. Verses 1:19 to 2:1 [on God the Creator] is not present in the Apostolicon. Verses 3:31 to 4:25 [concerning the law: Abraham our father: the promise: circumcision] are not present in the Apostolicon. Chapter 9 [speak the truth in Christ etc.: Jacob and Esau: Pharaoh: the remnant] is not in the Apostolicon. Verses 10:5 to 11:32 [with its many Old Testament quotations] are not a part of the Apostolicon. It is probable that the Septuagint was only a translation of the five books of Moses; a Greek translation of the complete Old Testament may have not become available until the translation made by Aquila of Pontus in 121 CE. Excessive Old Testament quotations are therefore likely to be interpolations. Verse 12:1 [present your bodies] is not in the original. After verse 14:23 the Apostolicon also has, Grace be with you. Chapters 15 and 16 are not in the Apostolicon.
THE GOSPEL
The most significant confirmed differences between the Gospel of Luke and the original Marcionite Gospel are as follows:
All synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) show dependencies on Marcions Gospel, which was called, The Gospel of the Lord. You will find that those sections included in the Marcionite Gospel show a higher degree of agreement within Matthew, Mark and Luke than the sections that are not present in the Marcionite Gospel. The majority the first four chapters of Luke [the nativity, the baptism and temptation, the genealogy, and all references to Bethlehem and Nazareth] are not in the Gospel of the Lord. The Gospel of the Lord begins, In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, (cf. Luke 3:1) God descended into Capernaum, a city of Galilee. (cf. Luke 4:31) Verse 8:19 [the statement that Christs mother and brethren were present], is not present in the Marcionite Gospel. Chapter 9 contains no references to Jairus. Verses 11:29-32 [the reference to Jonah] is not in the original. Verses 11:49-51 [the reference to the wisdom of God] is not in the Marcionite Gospel. In verse 12:8 instead of, before the angels of God, it reads, before God. Verses 13:1-5 [of the Galileans murdered by Pilate, and those killed by the tower of Siloam] are not in the Marcionite Gospel. Verses 13:29-35 [they shall come from east and west: go and tell that fox: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem] are interpolations. Verses 15:11-32 [the prodigal son] is not in the Marcionite Gospel. Verses 19:28-46 [the journey to Jerusalem, the triumphal entry, and If you had known . . . etc.] are not in the Marcionite Gospel. Verses 20:9-18 [the parable of the wicked husbandmen] is not in the Marcionite Gospel. Verses 20:37-38 [referencing Abraham, Isaac and Jacob] is not in the Marcionite Gospel. Verses 21:1-17 [with the reference to the temple treasury, the widows two mites, and the question, When shall these things be?] are not in the Marcionite Gospel. Verses 22:35-38 [When I sent you out, and Here are two swords, . . . etc.] are not in the Marcionite Gospel. Verses 22:39-51 [Gethsemane: the arrest: the high priests servant] are not in the Marcionite Gospel. Rather than, We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ a king, verse 23:2 reads, We found this man perverting our nation, and destroying the law and the prophets and perverting women and children. Verse 23:43 [Today shall thou be with me . . . etc.] is not in the Marcionite Gospel. Verses 24:26-27 [Beginning at Moses . . . etc.] is not in the Marcionite Gospel. Verses 24:48-53 [And behold I send the promise . . . returned to Jerusalem . . . blessing God] is not in the original.
One would be mistaken to think that the Bible of Marcion was a shortened version of the modern Bible. There is no record of any pre-Marcionite Pauline epistle, or any pre- Marcionite Gospel of Luke. Furthermore, the earliest Petrine Church Fathers, such as Justin Martyr, didnt even mention Pauls epistles evidently because Petrine Christianity was at odds with Pauline Christianity and would not quote the scriptures of the Pauline heretics!
Baptism! And Baptism for the Dead!
The Angelic Redemption Rite was the baptism of the Marcionite faith. There were other forms of baptism, but the Redemption Rite was the important one because it was secretly instituted by Jesus just before he appeared to be crucified as a way to instruct the disciples about the true meaning of the redemption. The original Gospel clearly identified redemption with a secret baptism but the passage later underwent some alterations in order that it might imply a new Catholic plan of redemption and change the very definition of salvation!
Jacob and John, [the two sons of Zebedee,] came up to Jesus, saying, Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You. And He said to them, What do you want Me to do for you? They said to Him, Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory. But Jesus said to them, You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? They said to Him, We are able. And Jesus said to them, The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. 113 The phrase, the two sons of Zebedee are an interpolation, seeing that they were not part of the quote of this verse by Clement of Alexandria; thus indicating that the brotherhood of Jacob and John was not physical, but spiritual in nature.
Irenaeus said, In no unmistakable terms then Mark 10:35-45 was identified by these heretics with a secret baptismal rite. And, such are words of the initiators; but he who is initiated, replies, I am established, and I am redeemed; I redeem my soul from this age, and from all things connected with it in the name of IAO, who redeemed his own soul into redemption in Christ who liveth. Then the bystanders add these words, Peace be to all on whom this name rests. Also, The baptism of John was proclaimed with a view to repentance, but the redemption by Christ was brought in for the sake of perfection. 114
The Angelic Redemption Rite was a ceremony intended only to teach the gnosis of redemption. It was not sacramental in the modern Catholic sense. As Irenaeus also said, Others, however, reject all these practices, and maintain that the mystery of the unspeakable and
113 Mark 10:35-39. 114 Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 1.21. invisible power ought not to be performed by visible and corruptible creatures, nor should that of those [beings] who are inconceivable, and incorporeal, and beyond the reach of sense, [be performed] by such as are the objects of sense, and possessed of a body. These hold that the knowledge of the unspeakable Greatness is itself perfect redemption. ...The redemption must therefore be of a spiritual nature; for they affirm that the inner and spiritual man is redeemed by means of knowledge, and that they, having acquired the knowledge of all things, stand thenceforth in need of nothing else. This, then, is the true redemption. 115
The substitution (redemption) didnt take place in the physical bodies of the participants but in their hearts and minds. Jesus spirit (the Chrestos) was somehow secretly passed unto Peter who fled the passion narrative not as a coward when the cock crowed three times but as someone carrying a precious treasure; doing in fact exactly as Jesus had beforehand instructed him to do.
Early Christians understood the Chrestos to be a spirit being who came down to earth and entered into a man who appeared to be Jesus and departed from him just before the Passion. And that is why the man who
115 Ibid. appeared to be Jesus declared from the Cross My God, My God why have You forsaken Me!
Another baptism was the rite of brother-making, and was also called Baptism for the Dead. 116 The Marcionite Christian principal of Dualism was explicitly demonstrated by the manner in which this baptism was performed. There were always two that were baptized at the same time. The one performing the baptism placed his right hand over the one who would assume the role of the pneumatic vocation and his left hand over the one who would assume the psychic vocation and then the two would be baptized simultaneously. In remote areas some Greeks still to this very day perform this type of dual- baptism. In a way similar to how a godfather enters into a unique relationship to the one baptized, the two who were baptized together become god-brothers, or, if you will, baptismal-brothers. The symbolism of the pneumatic vocation being on the right and the psychic vocation on the left is a common metaphor for dualism. In the Gospel of Thomas, verse 63, we read:
Jesus said, It is to those who are worthy of my mysteries that I tell my mysteries. Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
116 1 Corinthians 15:29.
The left-hand is the Psychic Vocation, and the right hand [those who are worthy of the mysteries] is the Pneumatic Vocation.
The reason this other baptism was called Baptism for the Dead was because it was done for the instruction of those of the psychic vocation. The psychic vocation is basically the catechumens, who were considered to be dead because although they were believers they were not yet ready to give up a worldly lifestyle and receive the baptism of redemption and be considered spiritual. The one who was baptized for the dead, that is, the other person in the dual-baptism, the catechumens baptismal-brother, the one who assumes the spiritual vocation, is baptized with the catechumen, and for him, so as to become a special teacher to him; much like a godfather. This baptism was not the true baptism unto perfection, but a baptism unto repentance designed to teach the folly or deadness of being under the law. But when the catechumen falls, because of his unique relationship to his baptismal-brother he is restored. This form of spiritually caring for the ones in the psychic vocation is exactly what is being referred to by Paul in Galatians 6:1, Brothers, if anyone is ever overtaken in some offense, ye who are pneumatic, restore such a one in a spirit of meekness.
The Redemption Rite in many respects was more like an ordination, for baptized persons were not to marry; anyone who desires to marry was to abstain from baptism, for baptism is a spiritual marriage with the Chrestos. 117 When the pneumatic and the psychic come together in the brother-making rite it is like a marriage. As those of the former are spiritually alive, but the latter are dead, the former is considered like the husband and the latter like the wife; an image of Christ and the church as Paul explains in Laodiceans (Ephesians). Once the enlightened reader understands that all of Pauls teaching on marriage has to do not with any earthly relationship, but with a spiritual relationship that existed between the pneumatic and the psychic Christians, one then can realize that when Paul speaks of the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband 118 it actually refers to the restoration process that takes place when the pneumatic husband restores his psychic wife!
Paul speaks of principalities and powers. There are two kinds of salvation. The lessor salvation is deliverance from the powers. The greater salvation is deliverance from the principalities. The lessor deliverance corresponds to the baptism that is for the dead, and the
117 Burkitt (p. 126) speaks of a deliberate reservation of baptism for the spiritual aristocracy of Christendom. 118 1 Corinthians 7:14. greater deliverance corresponds to the baptism that is for the living. These two kinds of salvation were taught by Heracleon in Fragment 13 in his Commentary on the Gospel of John.
Early Christians often put off the ultimate baptism, the redemption rite, until they were near to the point of death. Because of this the initiate was given instructions at his baptism on how to escape first the powers, and then the principalities:
By saying these things, one escapes from the powers:
I am a son from the Father the Father who had a pre- existence, and a son in Him who is pre-existent. I have come to behold all things, both those which belong to myself and others, although, strictly speaking, they do not belong to others, but to Achamoth, who is female in nature, and made these things for herself. For I derive being from Him who is pre-existent, and I come again to my own place whence I went forth. 119
119 Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 1.21. He then advances to those of the Demiurge [Jehovah, the prince of the archons], and says:
I am a vessel more precious than the female who formed you. If your mother is ignorant of her own descent, I know myself, and am aware whence I am, and I call upon the incorruptible Sophia, who is in the Father, and is the mother of your mother, who has no father, nor any male consort; but a female springing from a female formed you, while ignorant of her own mother, and imagining that she alone existed; but I call upon her mother
When the companions of the Demiurge hear these words, they are greatly agitated, and upbraid their origin and the race of their mother. But the one goes into his own place, having thrown off his chain, that is, his animal nature. 120
As for Baptism for the dead, just as many misunderstood Paul to be referring to earthly marriage when in fact he was talking about the spiritual marriage of Christ and the church as it is represented in baptism, so also many
120 Ibid. misunderstood Paul in reference to Baptism for the dead; understanding it in a more earthly way.
Epiphanius reports:
For their school reached its height in this country, I mean Asia, and in Galatia as well. And in these countries I also heard of a tradition which said that when some of their people died too soon, without baptism, others would be baptized for them in their names, so that they would not be punished for rising unbaptized at the resurrection and become the subjects of the authority that made the world. And the tradition I heard of says that this is why the same holy apostle said, If the dead rise not at all, why are they baptized for them? But others explain the text satisfactorily by saying that, as long as they are catechumens, the dying are allowed baptism before they die because of this hope, showing that the person who has died will also rise, and therefore needs the forgiveness of his sins through baptism. 121
121 Panarion 28.6,4-5. The Creation, a Marcionite Perspective
[This is the teaching of Paul, which Marcion likely learned from Cerdo, as described by Eznig]
There were three heavens: in the highest dwelt the Good God, in the second the god of the law, in the lowest his angels; beneath matter, having an independent existence of its own. 122 By the help of Hyle, which played the part of a female principle, the god of the law made this world, 123 after which he retired to his heaven; and each ruled in his own domain, he in heaven and Hyle on earth. Afterwards the god of the law, beholding how goodly this earth was, desired to make man to inhabit it, and for this purpose requested the co-operation of Hyle. She supplied the dust from which mans body was made, and he breathed in his spirit, and made him live. He named him Adam, gave him a wife, and placed him in Paradise. There they lived, honoring and obeying their maker, in joy and childlike innocence, for as yet they had no children. Then the lord of creation, seeing that Adam was worthy to serve him, devised how he might withdraw him
122 Marcion counted two ruling powers, but it does not appear that he regarded matter as the creation either of the good or the just God, and therefore it should be reckoned as the third independent self-originated principle. 123 The god of the law is Jehovah, a male principle, who, together with Hyle, a female principle, created the physical world. Hyle is a spiritual being representing the first matter of the cosmos, from which the four elements arose. from Hyle and unite him to himself. He took him aside, and said, Adam, I am God, and beside me there is no other; if you worship any other God you shalt die the death. When Adam heard of death he was afraid, and gradually withdrew himself from Hyle. When Hyle came after her wont to serve him, Adam did not listen to her, but withdrew himself. Then Hyle, recognizing that the lord of creation had supplanted her, said, Seeing that he hates me and keeps not his compact with me, I will make a number of gods and fill the world with them, so that they who seek the true god shall not be able to find him. Thus she filled the world with idolatry; men ceased to adore the lord of creation, for Hyle had drawn them all to herself. Then was the creator full of wrath; and as men died he cast them into hell, both Adam, on account of the tree, and the rest. There they remained 29 centuries. At length the Good God looked down from the highest Heaven and beheld what misery men suffered from Hyle and the creator. He took compassion on those plagued and tortured in the fire of hell, and he sent His Son to deliver them. Go down, He said, take on thee the form of a servant, and make thyself like the sons of the law. Heal their wounds, give sight to their blind, bring their dead to life, perform without reward the greatest miracles of healing; then will the god of the law be jealous, and will instigate his servants to crucify thee. Then go down to hell, which will open her mouth to receive thee, supposing thee to be one of the dead. Then liberate the captives whom you shall find there, and bring them up to Me. This was done. Hell was deceived and admitted Jesus, who emptied it of all the spirits therein and carried them up to his Father. When the god of the law saw this he was enraged, rent his clothes, tore the curtain of his palace, darkened his sun, and veiled his world in darkness. After that, Jesus came down a second time, but now in the glory of his divinity, to plead with the god of the law. When the creator saw Jesus thus appear, he was obliged to own that he had been wrong in thinking that there was no other God but himself. Then Jesus said, I have a controversy with you, but I will take no other judge between us than your own law. Is it not written in your law that whoso kills another shall himself be killed; that whoso sheds innocent blood shall have his own blood shed? Let me, then, kill you and shed your blood, for I was innocent and you have shed my blood. Then He recounted what benefits He had bestowed on the creators children, and in return had been crucified; and the creator could make no defense, seeing himself condemned by his own law, and he said: I was ignorant; I thought you to be but a man, and did not know you to be a God; take the revenge which is your due. Then Jesus left him and betook himself to Paul, and revealed to him the way in which we should go. All who believe in Christ will give themselves to this good and righteous man. Men must withdraw themselves from the dominion of Hyle; but all do not know how this is to be done. 124
124 There is nothing in this teaching inconsistent with Marcions known doctrines. It is likely a sample of what [From The Destruction of False Doctrines, a treatise by Eznig, an Armenian bishop, about 450 CE, - the fourth and the last book were written about the Marcionites]