Simonianism

Simonianism is assumed to have been a religious tradition that was established by Simon Magus. Simon Magus came from Gitta of Samaria. He existed during the days of Yahoshea Meshiyach and his early disciples. When Yahoshea exited, his apostles were faced by heavy persecution. Some of the apostles left the shores of Yahuda. Philip (one of the Deacons) left to Samaria where he fervently preached and made lots of converts. In those days, Simon Magus was a well known person on arts of magic and sorcery at the city of Samaria. He developed his gnostic thought in which he termed himself as the “Great power of Yahweh”. By his magical arts he had lot of converts or followers in the city.

When he encountered Philip of Yahoshea's ministry, he was enticed by his form of preaching and miracles. Simon Magus joined other numerous people of the community to accept baptism from Philip.

Later the good-news of Philip's successful ministerial works at Samaria reached to Yerusalem who sent Apostles  Peter and John to visit the Samaritan brethren and anoint them as their doctrine required.

At Samaria, Apostle Peter laid hand upon the baptized brethren and they received edifying spirit and such exercise terrified Simon Magus who offered them money desiring them to grant him the ability to possess such power for his magical works. The unholy request aggravated Apostle Peter to anger who rebuked Simon Magus with curses and warning which made Simon the sorcerer to beg for forgiveness from Peter.

This was the scriptural records about the sorcerer who was called Simon Magus. The term “Magus” is an Italian term for “magician”.

Declared Heretic By Church Fathers

Numerous church historians presented Simon Magus in a bad light. He was generally presented as a heretic, Apostate and a Niclotian. For example, in the works of Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, Simon Magus was recorded as a magician that encountered with the apostles at various times. By those records, he was expelled from the Assemblies of Yahoshea Meshiyach and such prompted him to move to Rome where he continued with his magical craft.

Gnosis And Practices

At Rome, he joined with a profligate woman called Helen and began to make heretic utterance of himself. He claimed that he was a manifestation of Yahweh on earth who created everything from origin through his first thought “Ennoia” which was female and who created all angels.

The gnostic legend taught his adherents that the angels rebelled against her and created the world as her prison, imprisoning her in a female body. Therefore, she had reincarnated in many life times and been humiliated in each life time. The myth held that the Ennoia had her last reincarnation as her partner Helen and the creator descending in the form of Simon Magus to rescue her and to confer salvation upon men through knowledge of him.

Simon Magus was the founder of Samonianism – a sect that deitified and made his image and that of his wife Helen as in the form of Zeus and Athena of Greek.

As Simon entered into Rome, he made lot of followers through his magical powers and such prompted them to erect a statue for him on the Island of Tiber as a divinity with the inscription –“Simon the Holy God”. Legend held that Simon claimed that he is a great power of God that manifested  to redeem his wife Helen from bondage. Legends held that Simon was a great antagonist to Apostle Peter as well as other followers of Yahoshea at Rome. At any point of his encounter with Peter, he suffers defeat and such equally led to his death.

The Growth And Spread Of The Sect

The legend held that when Simon Magus met Emperor Nero and was entertaining him with his magical arts with intention to convert him unto himself, he was confronted with Apostles Peter and Paul. As a proof of the power in his magical arts, he boasted to ascend to heaven in the presence of Nero and Roman Populace. The story held that by the aid of his magical powers, he began to rise in the air but was thwarted by prayers from Peter and Paul that forced him down which caused him severe injury that led to his death.

Some accounts equally held that after series of confrontations from Peter and Paul in Rome, he left for his home town Gitta where he boasted that he will be in grave for three days and three nights and equally raise like Yahoshea Meshiyach.

When he made such attempt, he was unable to resurrect but died in the grave. Whatever the record of Simon Magus is, he was a father of heresies during early age of Yahoshea Meshiyach's assembly and his activities equally influenced the church. His gnostic sect spread across Rome and nations loyal to it. His heresies were sustained by many gnostic groups and equally influenced Roman Empire during formation of the Roman Church. He was one of the early apostates to Yahoshea's ministry and his work influenced corruption and adulteration of early Yahoshea's ministry. For instance, one of the widely known claims of Simon Magus is that “he has appeared at Samaria as the Father, in Yudea as the Son and among the heathens as the Holy Ghost- a manifestation of the Eternal”. This concept was borrowed along other gnostic thoughts of other heathen to formulate the Necean creed that gave rise to Trinity of the Catholic Church.

Observation and Summary

Simonianism was a heretic movement that opposed true Yahosheanism. Therefore, those Christian groups or movements that hold to some elements of the Simonian heresy cannot claim to apostolic continuity. This is the wise summary for our religious men and women that seek for Yahosheanism.