Difference between revisions of "Simon Magus" - New World Encyclopedia

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[[Image:Death of simon magus.jpg|thumb|right|The death of Simon Magus, from the Nuremberg Chronicle]]
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[[Image:Death of simon magus.jpg|thumb|right|250 px|The death of Simon Magus, from the Nuremberg Chronicle]]
 
'''Simon Magus''', also known as '''Simon the Sorcerer''' and '''Simon of Gitta''', was a [[Samaritan]] [[Gnosticism|proto-Gnostic]] who allegedly asserted that he an incarnation of God, at least according to the ancient [[Christian]] Orthodoxy. In the various accounts of his life, he was credited with all manner of arcane powers, including (most typically) the gift of flight. Though various early Christian accounts mention him (including the [[Acts of the Apostles]], and the writings of [[Irenaeus]] and [[Justin Martyr]]), there are no surviving writings from Simon Magus himself or from the members of his school. As such, it is difficult to judge the veracity of the charges laid against him.
 
'''Simon Magus''', also known as '''Simon the Sorcerer''' and '''Simon of Gitta''', was a [[Samaritan]] [[Gnosticism|proto-Gnostic]] who allegedly asserted that he an incarnation of God, at least according to the ancient [[Christian]] Orthodoxy. In the various accounts of his life, he was credited with all manner of arcane powers, including (most typically) the gift of flight. Though various early Christian accounts mention him (including the [[Acts of the Apostles]], and the writings of [[Irenaeus]] and [[Justin Martyr]]), there are no surviving writings from Simon Magus himself or from the members of his school. As such, it is difficult to judge the veracity of the charges laid against him.
  
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==Christian Accounts==
 
==Christian Accounts==
{{Gnosticism}}
 
 
The figure of Simon appears prominently in the accounts of several early Christian authors, who regarded him as the first [[Christian heresy|heretic]]. Indeed, these texts savagely denounced him, stating that he had the hubris to assert that his own divinity and to found a religious sect ([[Simonianism]]) based on that premise. As mentioned above, this means that virtually all of the surviving sources for the life and thought of Simon Magus are contained in the polemical treatises of the ancient [[Christianity|Christian]] Orthodoxy, including the [[Acts of the Apostles]], patristic works (such as the anti-heretical treatises written by [[Irenaeus]], [[Justin Martyr]], and [[Hippolytus of Rome|Hippolytus]]), and the [[Apocrypha|apocryphal]] ''[[Acts of Peter]]'' and [[Clementine literature]].<ref>Hultgren and Haggmark, 15-27. Salisbury, 56-58. Mead, ''passim''.</ref> This being said, small fragments of a work written by him (or by one of his later followers using his name), the ''Apophasis Megalé'' ("Great Pronouncement") are still extant, and seem to reveal a fairly well-developed Gnostic metaphysics.<ref>Mead, 49-91. Also online as [http://www.gnosis.org/library/grs-mead/grsm_simon_magus.htm#PART_III Part III: The Theosophy of Simon].</ref> The patristic sources describe other Simonian treatises, including the ''The Four Quarters of the World'' and ''The Sermons of the Refuter'', but these (and all other textual traces) are lost to us.<ref>Mead, 46-47.</ref> In spite of these tantalizingly unattestable fragments, it must be emphasized that the Simon who has been transmitted through history is primarily a legendary caricature of a heretic, rather than an actual individual.
 
The figure of Simon appears prominently in the accounts of several early Christian authors, who regarded him as the first [[Christian heresy|heretic]]. Indeed, these texts savagely denounced him, stating that he had the hubris to assert that his own divinity and to found a religious sect ([[Simonianism]]) based on that premise. As mentioned above, this means that virtually all of the surviving sources for the life and thought of Simon Magus are contained in the polemical treatises of the ancient [[Christianity|Christian]] Orthodoxy, including the [[Acts of the Apostles]], patristic works (such as the anti-heretical treatises written by [[Irenaeus]], [[Justin Martyr]], and [[Hippolytus of Rome|Hippolytus]]), and the [[Apocrypha|apocryphal]] ''[[Acts of Peter]]'' and [[Clementine literature]].<ref>Hultgren and Haggmark, 15-27. Salisbury, 56-58. Mead, ''passim''.</ref> This being said, small fragments of a work written by him (or by one of his later followers using his name), the ''Apophasis Megalé'' ("Great Pronouncement") are still extant, and seem to reveal a fairly well-developed Gnostic metaphysics.<ref>Mead, 49-91. Also online as [http://www.gnosis.org/library/grs-mead/grsm_simon_magus.htm#PART_III Part III: The Theosophy of Simon].</ref> The patristic sources describe other Simonian treatises, including the ''The Four Quarters of the World'' and ''The Sermons of the Refuter'', but these (and all other textual traces) are lost to us.<ref>Mead, 46-47.</ref> In spite of these tantalizingly unattestable fragments, it must be emphasized that the Simon who has been transmitted through history is primarily a legendary caricature of a heretic, rather than an actual individual.
  
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The reviled sin of ''simony'' (paying for position and influence in the church, or, more broadly, "the buying or selling of sacred things") derives its name from that of the detested heretic.<ref>"Simony" in the [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=simony Online Etymology Dictionary]. Retrieved August 24, 2007.</ref>
 
The reviled sin of ''simony'' (paying for position and influence in the church, or, more broadly, "the buying or selling of sacred things") derives its name from that of the detested heretic.<ref>"Simony" in the [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=simony Online Etymology Dictionary]. Retrieved August 24, 2007.</ref>
 
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The Apostolic Constitutions, verse 6.19, accuse him of antinomianism.<??> links to [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf07.toc.html#P6492_2246960 here]. Relevance?
 
—>
 
  
 
===Acts of Peter===
 
===Acts of Peter===
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====Hippolytus's ''Philosophumena''====
 
====Hippolytus's ''Philosophumena''====
 
[[Hippolytus]] (in his ''Philosophumena'') gives a much more doctrinally detailed account of Simonianism, including a system of divine emanations and interpretations of [[Old Testament|the Old Testament]]. Some believe that Hippolytus' account is of a later, more developed form of Simonianism, and that the original doctrines of the group were simpler, close to the account given by Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (this account however is also included in Hippolytus' work.)  Hippolytus also quotes extensively from the ''Apophasis Megale''.  
 
[[Hippolytus]] (in his ''Philosophumena'') gives a much more doctrinally detailed account of Simonianism, including a system of divine emanations and interpretations of [[Old Testament|the Old Testament]]. Some believe that Hippolytus' account is of a later, more developed form of Simonianism, and that the original doctrines of the group were simpler, close to the account given by Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (this account however is also included in Hippolytus' work.)  Hippolytus also quotes extensively from the ''Apophasis Megale''.  
 
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====Other patristic writers====
 
 
* Vincent of Lérins
 
* Canto XIX of [[The Divine Comedy]] by Alighieri, Dante.. Simon is in the third ditch of the eighth circle of the Inferno (Hell).
 
—>
 
  
 
==Conflicting points of view==
 
==Conflicting points of view==

Revision as of 14:10, 25 August 2007


The death of Simon Magus, from the Nuremberg Chronicle

Simon Magus, also known as Simon the Sorcerer and Simon of Gitta, was a Samaritan proto-Gnostic who allegedly asserted that he an incarnation of God, at least according to the ancient Christian Orthodoxy. In the various accounts of his life, he was credited with all manner of arcane powers, including (most typically) the gift of flight. Though various early Christian accounts mention him (including the Acts of the Apostles, and the writings of Irenaeus and Justin Martyr), there are no surviving writings from Simon Magus himself or from the members of his school. As such, it is difficult to judge the veracity of the charges laid against him.

Given its primarily derogatory meaning, "Simon Magus" and "Simonianism" also became generic terms used by ancient Christians as derogatory epithets for schismatics.

Christian Accounts

The figure of Simon appears prominently in the accounts of several early Christian authors, who regarded him as the first heretic. Indeed, these texts savagely denounced him, stating that he had the hubris to assert that his own divinity and to found a religious sect (Simonianism) based on that premise. As mentioned above, this means that virtually all of the surviving sources for the life and thought of Simon Magus are contained in the polemical treatises of the ancient Christian Orthodoxy, including the Acts of the Apostles, patristic works (such as the anti-heretical treatises written by Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, and Hippolytus), and the apocryphal Acts of Peter and Clementine literature.[1] This being said, small fragments of a work written by him (or by one of his later followers using his name), the Apophasis Megalé ("Great Pronouncement") are still extant, and seem to reveal a fairly well-developed Gnostic metaphysics.[2] The patristic sources describe other Simonian treatises, including the The Four Quarters of the World and The Sermons of the Refuter, but these (and all other textual traces) are lost to us.[3] In spite of these tantalizingly unattestable fragments, it must be emphasized that the Simon who has been transmitted through history is primarily a legendary caricature of a heretic, rather than an actual individual.

The story of Simon Magus is perhaps most instructive to modern readers for the light that it sheds on the early Christian world view. More specifically, it must be noted that all depictions of the conjurer, from the Acts onward, accept the existence of his magical powers without question. As such, their issue is a moral one, addressing Simon's alleged claims of divinity and his use of magic to lead Christians from the "righteous path," rather than a factual objection to the assertions that he could levitate, animate the dead, and transform his physical body.[4] In this, it fits a common patristic paradigm, whereby the difference between magic (which is demonic) and miracles (which are angelic) is determined by the intentions of their respective practitioners: "Simon Magus used his magical powers to enhance his own status. He wanted to be revered as a God himself... The apostles, on the other hand, used their powers only in recognition that they were simply vessels through which God's power flowed. It is in this latter form that magic acceptably enters Christian thought."[5] As a result, Simon must be comprehended as part of a historical context where all religious figures (including the apostles, martyrs, and saints) were understood to possess superhuman abilities, and that his sin was not the practicing of such arts but his hubris in practicing them for his own gain.

Acts of the Apostles

The earliest depiction of Simon Magus can be found in the canonical Book of Acts, where he is described as a convert of St. Philip. In contravention his supposed conversion, he then proceeds to offend the Apostles by attempting to exchange material wealth for the miraculous ability of transmitting the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands:

Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power." They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."
Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."
Then Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me" (Acts 8:9-24) (NIV).

The reviled sin of simony (paying for position and influence in the church, or, more broadly, "the buying or selling of sacred things") derives its name from that of the detested heretic.[6]

Acts of Peter

The apocryphal Acts of Peter gives a legendary tale of Simon Magus' death. Simon is performing magic in the forum, and in order to prove himself to be a god, he flies up into the air. The apostle Peter prays to God to stop his flying, and he stops mid-air and falls, breaking his legs, whereupon the crowd, previously non-hostile, stones him to death. The church of Santa Francesca Romana claims to have been built on the spot in question (thus claiming that Simon Magus could indeed fly), claims that Saint Paul was also present, and that a dented slab of marble that it contains bears the imprints of the knees of Peter and Paul during their prayer.

Patristic Writings

Justin Martyr's Apology and Irenaeus's Adversus Haereses

Justin Martyr (in his Apologies, and in a lost work against heresies, which Irenaeus used as his main source) and Irenaeus (Adversus Haereses ("On the Detection and Overthrow of the So-Called Gnosis")) recount the myth of Simon and Helene. According to this myth, which was the center of Simonian religion, in the beginning God had his first thought, his Ennoia (see Sophia), which was female, and that thought was to create the angels. The First Thought then descended into the lower regions and created the angels. But the angels rebelled against her out of jealousy and created the world as her prison, imprisoning her in a female body. Thereafter, she was reincarnated many times, each time being shamed. Her many reincarnations included Helen of Troy; among others, and she finally was reincarnated as Helene, a slave and prostitute in the Phoenician city of Tyre. God then descended in the form of Simon Magus, to rescue his Ennoia. Having redeemed her from slavery, he traveled about with her, proclaiming himself to be God and her to be the Ennoia, promising that he would dissolve this world the angels had made, but that those who trusted in him and Helene could return with them to the higher regions.

Justin and Irenaeus record several other pieces of information, including: that Simon came from the Samaritan village of Gitta and that the Simonians worshipped Simon in the form of Zeus and Helene in the form of Athena. They also say that a statue to Simon was erected by Claudius Caesar on the island in the Tiber which the two bridges cross, with the inscription Simoni Deo Sancto, "To Simon the Holy God". However, in the 1500s, a statue was unearthed on the island in question, inscribed to Semo Sancus, a Sabine deity, leading most scholars to believe that Justin Martyr confused Semoni Sancus with Simon.

Origen's Contra Celsum

Origen's account, emerging several decade after that of Irenaeus, has certain one key difference with its predecessors: namely, it does not view Simon or Simonianism as threats. As such, it is comfortable discussing the limited number of adherents to these beliefs.

And Simon also, the Samaritan magician, endeavoured to steal away certain by his magic. And at that time he succeeded in deceiving them, but in our own day I do not think it possible to find thirty Simonians altogether in the inhabited world. And probably I have said more than they really are. There are a very few of them round Palestine; but in the rest of the world his name is nowhere to be found in the sense of the doctrine he wished to spread broadcast concerning himself. And alongside of the reports about him, we have the account from the Acts. And they who say these things about him are Christians and their clear witness is that Simon was nothing divine.[7]

Hippolytus's Philosophumena

Hippolytus (in his Philosophumena) gives a much more doctrinally detailed account of Simonianism, including a system of divine emanations and interpretations of the Old Testament. Some believe that Hippolytus' account is of a later, more developed form of Simonianism, and that the original doctrines of the group were simpler, close to the account given by Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (this account however is also included in Hippolytus' work.) Hippolytus also quotes extensively from the Apophasis Megale.

Conflicting points of view

The different sources for information on Simon contain quite different pictures of him, so much so that it has been questioned whether they all refer to the same person. This issue is exemplified by the fact that the various accounts characterize and evaluate Simon quite differently, a fact that is cogently summarized by Mead:

The student will at once perceive that though the Simon of the Acts and the Simon of the fathers both retain the two features of the possession of magical power and of collision with Peter, the tone of the narratives is entirely different. Though the apostles are naturally shown as rejecting with indignation the pecuniary offer of the thaumaturge, they display no hate for his personality, whereas the fathers depict him as the vilest of impostors and charlatans and hold him up to universal execration.[8]

Modern interpretation

According to some academics (Detering being the most significant to have recently argued this), Simon Magus may be a cypher for Paul of Tarsus, Paul having originally been detested by the church, and his name changed when Paul was rehabilitated by virtue of forged Epistles correcting the genuine ones. Though at first glance this suggestion appears radical, Simon Magus is sometimes described in apocryphal legends in terms that could fit Paul. Furthermore while the Christian Orthodoxy frequently portrayed the major leader Marcion as having been a follower of Simon Magus, Marcion nowhere mentions even the existence of Simon, and instead identifies himself as a follower of Paul. In addition, the apocryphal Apocalypse of Stephen presents Paul in extremely negative tones, portraying him as arch villain and enemy of Christianity, only portraying him as having converted right at the end. However, the current canon bible text records Stephen's martyrdom as having occurred before Paul's conversion and work as an Apostle, as in the referenced article, so is not by itself in conflict with the orthodox view.

Notes

  1. Hultgren and Haggmark, 15-27. Salisbury, 56-58. Mead, passim.
  2. Mead, 49-91. Also online as Part III: The Theosophy of Simon.
  3. Mead, 46-47.
  4. Salisbury, 57.
  5. Salisbury, 57-58.
  6. "Simony" in the Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved August 24, 2007.
  7. Origen, Contra Celsum (i.57), quoted in Mead, 22.
  8. Mead, 38.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Cartlidge, David R. "The Fall and Rise of Simon Magus." Bible Review Vol 21, No. 4, Fall 2005. 24-36.
  • Detering, Hermann. "The Falsified Paul: Early Christianity in the Twilight." Journal of Higher Criticism, 2003.
  • Ferreiro, Alberto. "Simon Magus and Priscillian in the Commonitorium of Vincent of Lérins." Vigiliae Christianae Vol. 49, No. 2. May 1995. 180-188.
  • Hultgren, Arland J. and Haggmark, Steven A. (eds). The Earliest Christian Heretics: Readings from their Opponents. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1996. ISBN 0800629639.
  • Laursen, John Christian (ed). Histories of Heresy in Early Modern Europe: For, Against, and Beyond Persecution and Toleration. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. ISBN 0312294042.
  • Legge, Francis. Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity, From 330 B.C.E. to 330 C.E. (1914), reprinted in two volumes bound as one, University Books New York, 1964. LC Catalog 64-24125.
  • Mead, G. R. S. Simon Magus: An Essay on the Founder of Simonianism Based on the Ancient Sources with a Re-evaluation of his Philosophy and Teachings. Chicago: Ares, 1985. ISBN 0890052581. Also accessible online at The Gnosis Society Library.
  • Porter, J. R. The Lost Bible: Forgotten Scriptures Revealed. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press, 2001. ISBN 0226675793.
  • Salisbury, Joyce E. The Blood of Martyrs: Unintended Consequences of Ancient Violence. New York: Routledge, 2004. ISBN 0415941296.

External links

All links retrieved August 24, 2007

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