The Apologists · AD 130–180 · External witness
Saturninus of Antioch
fl. c. AD 120 (death unrecorded) · Syrian Gnostic teacher · Disciple of Menander · Antioch
External witness
Who Saturninus of Antioch was
The first Gnostic teacher of Antioch, schooled by Simon's successor Menander: one Father unknown to all, a world botched together by seven angels, marriage and generation from Satan, and a Christ without birth or body. Irenaeus placed him at the head of the Syrian line of the heresies, and the Encratites looked back to his austerities.
Also listed in non-christian witnesses and heretics & schismatics.
Common questions
When was Saturninus active?
Saturninus of Antioch is dated fl. c. AD 120 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Saturninus 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 Saturninus?
Saturninus of Antioch is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Irenaeus of Lyon, Hippolytus of Rome and Eusebius of Caesarea. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Saturninus from?
The archive associates Saturninus of Antioch with Antioch.
Who were Saturninus’ contemporaries?
The archive links Saturninus of Antioch to 3 other figures, including Menander of Samaria, Basilides of Alexandria and Irenaeus of Lyon. 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.24.1
c. AD 180Saturninus, who was of that Antioch which is near Daphne… taught that there is one Father unknown to all, who made angels, archangels, powers; and that the world, and all things in it, were made by a certain company of seven angels.Irenaeus of Lyon · I.24 · source text
Refutation of All Heresies VII.28
c. AD 225Saturnilus, who flourished about the same period with Basilides, but spent his time in Antioch of Syria.Hippolytus of Rome · Refutation VII.28 · source text
Ecclesiastical History IV.7
c. AD 325Saturninus, a native of Antioch, and Basilides of Alexandria established godless heretical schools, the one in Syria, the other in Egypt.Eusebius of Caesarea · Ecclesiastical History IV.7 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- 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
- AD 112 · Pliny writes Trajan, AD 112
- AD 117 · Symeon and Ignatius martyred, AD 117
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Saturninus.