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Marcion of Sinope
Early Christian theologian (c.85–c.160) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marcion of Sinope (/ˈmɑːrkiən, -siən/; Ancient Greek: Μαρκίων[2][note 1] Σινώπης; c. 85 – c. 160) was a theologian[3] in early Christianity.[3][4] Marcion preached that God had sent Jesus Christ, who was distinct from the "vengeful" God (Demiurge) who had created the world.[3][4][5] He considered himself a follower of Paul the Apostle, whom he believed to have been the only true apostle of Jesus Christ; his doctrine is called Marcionism.[3][4][6] Marcion published the earliest record of a canon of New Testament books.[3][7]
Marcion of Sinope | |
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![]() Apostle John (left) and (according to Eisler) Marcion of Sinope (right), from Morgan Library MS 748, 11th century.[1] | |
Born | AD 85 |
Died | AD 160 Roman Anatolia, Roman Empire |
Notable work | Gospel of Marcion |
Theological work | |
Era | Patristic age |
Tradition or movement | Marcionism |
Main interests | Dualism, Nontrinitarianism |
Early Church Fathers such as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Tertullian denounced Marcion as a heretic or antichrist,[8] and he was excommunicated by the church of Rome around 144.[9] He published his own canon of Christian sacred scriptures,[3][10][11] which contained ten Pauline epistles (the Pastoral epistles were not included) and the Gospel of Marcion which historically is claimed to be an edited version of the Gospel of Luke.[3][12] Some modern scholars[who?] have theorized that Marcion's Gospel was the oldest, although this has been contested.
This made Marcionism a catalyst in the process of the development of the New Testament canon by forcing the proto-orthodox Church to respond to his canon.[3][13]