Editing Basilides (section)

{{Short description|2nd century Christian Gnostic religious teacher}}
{{other uses}}
{{Gnosticism}}
'''Basilides''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: Βασιλείδης) was an [[Gnosticism#Origins|early Christian Gnostic]] religious teacher in [[Alexandria, Egypt]]<ref>{{harvnb|Hort|1911}} cites Iren. p. 100 Mass.; followed by Eus. ''H. E.'' iv. 7; Epiph. ''Haer.'' xxiv. 1, p. 68 c; cf. xxiii. 1, p. 62 {{small-caps|B}}; Theod. ''Haer. Fab.'' i. 2.</ref> who taught from 117 to 138 AD,<ref group="*">{{harvnb|Hort|1911}} notes that to prove that the heretical sects were "later than the catholic Church," Clement of Alexandria ([http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/02107.htm ''Stromata'', vii. 17]) assigns Christ's own teaching to the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius; that of the apostles <!--, of at least, -->ends, he says, in the time of Nero; whereas "the authors of the sects arose later, about the times of the emperor Hadrian, and continued quite as late as the age of the elder Antoninus." He gives as examples Basilides, [[Valentinus (Gnostic)|Valentinus]], and (if the text is sound) [[Marcion]]. Yet his language about [[Carpocrates]] a few lines further on suggests a doubt whether he had any better evidence than a fallacious inference from their order in Irenaeus.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} He was acquainted with the refutation of Basilides by Agrippa Castor; but it is not clear, as is sometimes assumed, that he meant to assign both writers to the same reign. His chronicle (Armenian) at the year 17 of Hadrian ({{small-caps|a.d.}}133) has the note "The heresiarch Basilides appeared at these times". Earliest of all, but vaguest, is the testimony of Justin Martyr. The probable inference that the other great heresiarchs, including Basilides, were by this time dead receives some confirmation from a passage in his ''Dialogue against Trypho'' (135 AD).</ref> and claimed to have inherited his teachings from the apostle [[Saint Matthias]].<ref>[https://www.biblicaltraining.org/library/gospel-basilides Gospel of Basilides]</ref><ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02326a.htm Basilides]</ref> He was a pupil of either the [[Simonians|Simonian]] teacher [[Menander (gnostic)|Menander]],<ref name=Eusebius4-7/> or a disciple of [[St. Peter|Peter]] called Glaucias.<ref>[[s:Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume II/CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA/The Stromata, or Miscellanies/Book VII/Chapter XVII.|St. Clement of Alexandria, ''Stromata'' Book vii. Chapter xvii.]] Gnostic scholar [[Bentley Layton]] accepts the Glaukias connection". Pearson 2008, 4.</ref> The ''Acts of the Disputation with Manes'' state that for a time he taught among the [[Ancient Persia|Persians]].<ref>Archelaus, ''Acts of the Disputation with Manes'' Chapter lv.{{Verify source|date=April 2011}}</ref> According to [[Agapius of Hierapolis]] he appeared in the 15th year of the reign of [[Trajan]] (113 AD).<ref>Agapius of Menbij, Universal History, Year 15 of Trajan [113].</ref> He is believed to have written over two dozen books of commentary on the Christian [[Gospel]] (now all lost) entitled ''Exegetica'',<ref name=Eusebius4-7/> making him one of the earliest Gospel commentators.

The followers of Basilides, the [[Basilideans]], formed a movement that persisted for at least two centuries after him<ref>{{harvnb|Hort|1911}} states that "It is a singular testimony to the impression created at the outset by Basilides and his system that he remained for centuries one of the eponymi of heresy".</ref> – [[Epiphanius of Salamis]], at the end of the 4th century, recognized a persistent Basilidian presence over the [[Nile Delta]] in  [[Egypt]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Basilides |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02326a.htm |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref> It is probable, however, that the school melded into the mainstream of [[Gnosticism]] by the latter half of the 2nd century.<ref>Mead 1900, 253 f.</ref>