The Apologists · AD 130–180 · External witness
Marcellina the Carpocratian
fl. c. AD 155–165 (death unrecorded) · Carpocratian teacher at Rome · Alexandria → Rome
External witness
Who Marcellina the Carpocratian was
The teacher who carried the Carpocratian gnosis to Rome in the days of Anicetus and, Irenaeus says, 'led multitudes astray' — her circle venerating painted and crowned images of Christ alongside Pythagoras, Plato, and Aristotle. One of the very few women heresiarchs the second century names, remembered because the bishop of Lyon thought her dangerous enough to record.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses and women.
Common questions
When was Marcellina active?
Marcellina the Carpocratian is dated fl. c. AD 155–165 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Marcellina in the Apologists (AD 130–180). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Marcellina?
Marcellina the Carpocratian is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Irenaeus of Lyon, Origen of Alexandria and Epiphanius of Salamis. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Marcellina from?
The archive associates Marcellina the Carpocratian with Alexandria, Rome. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Marcellina’s contemporaries?
The archive links Marcellina the Carpocratian to 2 other figures, including Carpocrates of Alexandria and Epiphanes, son of Carpocrates. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Against Heresies I.25.6
c. AD 180Marcellina, who came to Rome under Anicetus, and holding these doctrines, led multitudes astray… They possess images, some painted, and style Christ's image with the philosophers of the world.Irenaeus of Lyon · I.25 · source text
Against Celsus V.62 (the 'Marcellians' named from her)
c. AD 248He knows, moreover, of Marcellians, so called from Marcellina.Origen of Alexandria · Against Celsus V.62 · source text
Panarion 27.6 (her mission at Rome)
c. AD 375Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 95 · Domitian’s reprisals, AD 95
- AD 96 · Rome writes to Corinth: 1 Clement, AD 96
- AD 112 · Pliny writes Trajan, AD 112
- AD 117 · Symeon and Ignatius martyred, AD 117
- AD 135 · Bar Kokhba crushed; Aelia Capitolina, AD 135
- AD 144 · Marcion expelled at Rome, AD 144
- AD 156 · The New Prophecy erupts, AD 156
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Marcellina, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.