the 1st century

Simon Magus and the origins of Gnostic teaching

According to Justin, Irenaeus, Hegesippus, Eusebius and Cyril of Jerusalem, all heresies trace back to Simon the Samaritan, who is identified with the Simon of Acts 8. His followers revered Simon as the "first god" and his companion Helena as his "first thought."

Simonian gnosis grew out of Jewish-Samaritan sectarianism and influenced Christian Gnosticism – a syncretic movement teaching salvation through secret knowledge.

Cerinthus in Ephesus, active at the end of the first century, was apparently the first to reinterpret the Gospel in a Gnostic way. The further development of the movement belongs to the second century: the Carpocratians and Basilides in Alexandria, and the most influential, Valentinus.