The Life of Saint Marcion - Equal to the Apostle

Each one of you is saying,

I am of Paul,
I of Apollos,
I of Cephas.
Is Christ divided?
1

In Christ,
Through the News of the Good,
I have begotten you.
Therefore,
2

Be imitators of me.
3


1
1 Corinthians 1:12-13.
2
1 Corinthians 4:15-16.
3
1 Corinthians 11:1.

Introduction

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


68
Cf. Galatians 3:19-20.
69
Marcion, quoted by Epiphanius, Panarion 42.8,1.

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]




Marcion learned from Cerdo in Alexandria.