The Apostolic Fathers · AD 70–130 · External witness
Menander of Samaria
fl. c. 80–100 · Samaritan magus · Successor of Simon · Samaria → Antioch
External witness
Who Menander of Samaria was
Simon Magus’s successor in the Samaritan gnosis, teaching at Antioch — the mission’s own capital — that he himself was the sent Savior and that his baptism conferred immunity from death and age. Justin, his fellow-countryman, reports followers still living who believed they would not die: the first recorded promise of technological immortality, and its first recorded falsification. Irenaeus makes him the link between Simon and the great Gnostic systems of the next century — the archive’s reminder that the heresies, too, had successions.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses.
Common questions
When was Menander active?
Menander of Samaria is dated fl. c. 80–100 in the archive, which places Menander in the Apostolic Fathers (AD 70–130). 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 Menander?
Menander of Samaria is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyon and Eusebius of Caesarea. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Menander from?
The archive associates Menander of Samaria with Samaria, Antioch. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Menander’s contemporaries?
The archive links Menander of Samaria to 5 other figures, including Simon Magus, Ignatius of Antioch, Cerinthus and Saturninus of Antioch. 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.
First Apology 26
c. AD 155A certain Menander, also a Samaritan… persuaded those who adhered to him that they should never die, and even now there are some living who hold this opinion of his.Justin Martyr · 26 · source text
Against Heresies I.23.5
c. AD 180His disciples obtain the resurrection by being baptized into him, and can die no more, but remain in the possession of immortal youth.Irenaeus of Lyon · Against Heresies I.23.5 · source text
Ecclesiastical History III.26 (successor of Simon)
c. AD 325Menander, who succeeded Simon Magus, showed himself in his conduct another instrument of diabolical power, not inferior to the former.Eusebius of Caesarea · Ecclesiastical History III.26 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 30 · Crucifixion, Resurrection and Pentecost, AD 30–33
- AD 44 · Persecution under Herod Agrippa I, AD 44
- AD 49 · The Council of Jerusalem, AD 49
- AD 57 · Paul writes Romans, AD 57
- AD 62 · James the Just stoned, AD 62
- AD 64 · The Great Fire and Nero’s persecution, AD 64
- AD 70 · The fall of Jerusalem, AD 70
- AD 95 · Domitian’s reprisals, AD 95
- AD 96 · Rome writes to Corinth: 1 Clement, AD 96
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Menander, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.