Marcus (Marcosian)

Founder of the Marcosian Gnostic sect

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Gnosticism

Gnostic concepts

* Adam kasia
* Adam pagria
* Aeon
* Anima mundi
* Archon
* Barbelo
* Demiurge
* Five Seals
* Gnosis
* Kenoma
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* Yaldabaoth

Gnostic sects and founders

* List of Gnostic sects

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Proto-Gnosticism

* Maghāriya
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Judean / Israelite

* Adam
* Mandaeism
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* Dositheos
* Simon Magus (Simonians)
* Menander
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Christian Gnosticism

* Apelles
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* Justin
* Marcion
* Marcionism
* Nicolaism
* Perates
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* Ophites
* Sethianism
* Basilides
* Basilideans
* Valentinus
* Valentinianism
* Marcus
* Marcosians
* Florinus
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* Thomasine
* Barbelo
* Borborites
* Carpocratians (Gnostic sect)
* Cerdo (Gnostic)

Persian Gnosticism

* Mani
* Manichaeism

Chinese Gnosticism

* Chinese Manichaeism

Islamic Gnosticism

* Druze
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Modern

* Modern schools

Scriptures

* List of Gnostic texts

* * *

Texts

* Nag Hammadi library
* Pseudo-Abdias
* Clementine literature
* Gnosticism and the New Testament
* Mandaean scriptures

Codices

* Codex Tchacos
* Cologne Mani-Codex
* Askew Codex
* Bruce Codex
* Berlin Codex
* Codex Nasaraeus

Influenced by

* Apocalyptic literature
* Early Christianity
* Christology
* Docetism
* Paul and Gnosticism
* Merkabah mysticism
* Middle Platonism
* Philo
* Wisdom (personification)

Influence on

* Carl Jung
* Esoteric Christianity
* Christian theosophy
* Gnosticism in modern times
* Neoplatonism and Gnosticism
* Perennial philosophy
* Thelema
* Theosophy (Blavatskian)
* Western esotericism
* René Guénon
* Rudolf Steiner

* v
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Marcus was the founder of the Marcosian Gnostic sect in the 2nd century AD. He was a disciple of Valentinus, with whom his system mainly agreed. His doctrines are almost exclusively known through a long polemic (i. 13–21) in Adversus Haereses, in which Irenaeus gives an account of his teaching and his school. Clement of Alexandria clearly knew of Marcus and actually used his system of mystical numbers (four, six, eight, ten, twelve, thirty), though without acknowledgement.[a]

## Life

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Marcus appears to have been an elder contemporary of Irenaeus, who speaks of him as though still living and teaching. Irenaeus writes that the Rhone district was a home to the followers of Marcus, but appears to know Marcus himself only by his writings.

The location where Marcus lived is uncertain. Given accounts of Marcus having seduced the wife of one of the deacons in Asia, and the use of Hebrew or Syriac names in the Marcosian school, the Catholic Encyclopedia speculates that Marcus must have lived in Asia Minor. On the other hand, Jerome identifies Marcus with the Marcus of Memphis who appears in the writings of Sulpicius Severus on Priscillianism.

## Teachings

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Main article: Marcosians

His system tells of 30 Aeons, divided into an Ogdoad, a Decad, and a Dodecad; of the fall and recovery of Sophia; of the future union of the spirits of the chosen seed with angels as their heavenly bridegrooms. What Marcus added to the teaching of his predecessors was a system of Isopsephy similar to that of the later Pythagoreans, about mysteries in numbers and names. Marcus found in Scripture and in Nature repeated examples of the occurrence of his mystical numbers, four, six, eight, ten, twelve, thirty.

## Accusations

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Irenaeus alleges that Marcus abused his influence over "silly women" in order to gain both money and sexual favors. He is accused of having used philtres (erotic control potions) and love charms, and at least one, if not more, of his female disciples on returning to Catholicism claimed to have had sexual relations with him. However, it seems that most of his followers claimed to have been elevated by their knowledge and the redemption they had experienced.

## See also

[edit]

* Colarbasians
* Valentinianism

## Notes

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1. ^ In Stromata, VI, xvi.

## References

[edit]

*  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Marcosians". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
* This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Salmon, George (1882). "Marcus (17)". In Smith, William; Wace, Henry (eds.). A Dictionary of Christian Biography, Literature, Sects and Doctrines. Vol. III. London: John Murray. pp. 827–829.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, i. 13.
* Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Marcosians" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
*  Wace, Henry; Piercy, William C., eds. (1911). "Marcus" . Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century (3rd ed.). London: John Murray.

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Gnosticism topics

Concepts|

* Abraxas/Abrasax
* Aeon
* Anima mundi
* Archon
* Demiurge
* Divine spark
* Gnosis
* Monad
* Pleroma
* Sophia
* Hayyi Rabbi
* World of Light
* World of Darkness
* Uthra
* Ruha
* Abatur
* Ptahil
* Adam kasia
* Adam pagria

Proto-Gnostics|

* Basilides
* Cerinthus
* Justin
* Marcion
* Marcus
* Philo
* Saturninus
* Simon Magus
* Valentinus

Gnostic sects|

| Early sects|

* Borborites
* Cainites
* Carpocrates
* Marcosians
* Nicolaism
* Simonians
* Mandaeism

|

Syrian-Egyptian|

* Archontics
* Bardaisan
* Basilideans
* Hermeticism
* Ophites
* Sethianism
* Valentinianism

Persian|

* Manichaeism

Medieval|

* Bogomilism
* Catharism
* Paulicianism

Gnostic texts|

| Gnostic Gospels|

* Gospel of Judas
* Gospel of Marcion/Gospel of the Lord
* Gospel of Mary
* Gospel of Philip
* Gospel of Thomas
* Gospel of Truth
* more

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Other|

* Askew Codex
* Bruce Codex
* Codex Tchacos
* Nag Hammadi library
* Pistis Sophia/Faith-Wisdom
* Ginza Rabba
* Mandaean Book of John
* Qulasta
* more

In modern times|

|  Organisations|

* Ecclesia Gnostica
* Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica
* Gnostic Society
* Johannite Church

|

People|

* Carl Jung
* Charles William King
* Elaine Pagels
* Gilles Quispel
* G. R. S. Mead
* Hans Jonas
* Helena Blavatsky
* Jules Doinel
* Marvin Meyer
* Stephan A. Hoeller
* John Bereslavsky

Related articles|

* Bosnian Church
* Christian theosophy
* Dualism in cosmology
* Druze
* Buddhism and Gnosticism
* Christianity and Gnosticism
* Emanationism
* Esoteric Christianity
* Neoplatonism and Gnosticism
* Pythagoreanism
* Thelema
* Theosophy (Blavatskian)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* 2
* 3

National|

* Germany
* Poland

People|

* Deutsche Biographie

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