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a heresy even now is found in Rome and in Italy, in Egypt and in Palestine, in Arabia and in Syria, in Cyprus and the Thebaid, but not only that but also in Persia and in other places. For the evil one greatly strengthened the deceit in him. This man was a Pontian by birth, I mean of Helenopontus, of the city of Sinope, as many a story is sung about him. In his early life he supposedly practiced virginity; for he was a monk and the son of a bishop of our holy catholic church. But as time went on, he corrupts a certain virgin, and having deceived the virgin from her hope, he brought down both her and himself, and having committed the corruption, he is cast out of the church by his own father. For his father, because of his extraordinary piety, was one of the distinguished men and one who cared greatly for the affairs of the church, excelling in the ministry of the episcopate. And Marcion, having supposedly supplicated much and asked for repentance, did not receive it from his own father. For grief possessed the worthy old man and bishop, because not only had that man fallen, but also because he brought shame upon him. Therefore, since he did not obtain from him through flattery what he requested, unable to bear the mockery from the many, he runs away from his own city and goes up to Rome itself, after the death of Hyginus the bishop of Rome—this one 2.95 was the ninth from Peter and Paul the apostles—and having met with the presbyters who were still surviving and who came from the disciples of the apostles, he asked to be admitted to the assembly, and no one granted it to him. Then, lifted up by jealousy, since he did not receive the presidency and entrance into the church, he devises for himself and flees to the heresy of Cerdon the deceiver. 2. And he begins, so to speak, from the very beginning and as from the doors of the questions to propose this question to the presbyters of that time, saying: “Tell me, what is this: ‘they do not put new 2.96 wine into old wineskins nor a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, it both takes away the fullness and will not agree with the old. For a greater tear will be made.’” And when the gentle and all-holy presbyters and teachers of the holy church of God heard this, rendering the account of its consequence and harmony and speaking to him with gentleness, they said: “Child, this is old wineskins: the hearts of the Pharisees and scribes, grown old in sins and not receiving the preaching of the gospel; and the old garment, as Judas, having grown old in avarice, did not receive the preaching of hope of the new and holy and heavenly mystery, although he was joined to the eleven apostles and called by the Lord himself, he made a greater tear through himself, with no one being the cause for him, since his mind did not agree with the hope from above and the heavenly calling of the good things to come instead of the money here and boasting and friendship of a passing hope and pleasure.” But he: “Not so,” says Marcion, contradicting, “but there are other things besides these.” And since they did not want to receive him, for this reason then he said to them openly: “Why did you not want to receive me?” And when they said, “We cannot do this without the permission of your honorable father; for the faith is one and the concord is one, and we cannot oppose the good fellow-minister, your father,” then, becoming jealous and being lifted up into great anger and pride, such a man works the schism, having set up the heresy for himself and having said, “I will tear your church and I will cast a tear in it forever,” as in truth he did cast no small tear, not tearing the church but himself and those who were persuaded by him. 3. And he took the pretext from the aforementioned Cerdon, an imposter and

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αἵρεσις ἔτι καὶ νῦν ἔν τε Ῥώμῃ καὶ ἐν τῇ Ἰταλίᾳ, ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ τε καὶ ἐν Παλαιστίνῃ, ἐν Ἀραβίᾳτε καὶ ἐν τῇ Συρίᾳ, ἐν Κύπρῳ τε καὶ Θηβαΐδι, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῇ Περσίδι καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις τόποις εὑρίσκεται. μεγάλως γὰρ ὁ πονηρὸς ἐν αὐτῷ κατίσχυσε τὴν ἀπάτην. Οὗτος τὸ γένος Ποντικὸς ὑπῆρχεν, Ἑλενοπόντου δέ φημι, Σινώπης δὲ πόλεως, ὡς πολὺς περὶ αὐτοῦ ᾄδεται λόγος. τὸν δὲ πρῶτον αὐτοῦ βίον παρθενίαν δῆθεν ἤσκει· μονάζων γὰρ ὑπῆρχεν καὶ υἱὸς ἐπισκόπου τῆς ἡμετέρας ἁγίας καθολικῆς ἐκκλησίας. χρόνου δὲ προϊόντος προσφθείρεται παρθένῳ τινὶ καὶ ἐξαπατήσας τὴν παρθένον ἀπὸ τῆς ἐλπίδος αὐτήν τε καὶ ἑαυτὸν κατέσπασε καὶ τὴν φθορὰν ἀπεργασάμενος ἐξεοῦται τῆς ἐκκλησίας ὑπὸ τοῦ ἰδίου πατρός. ἦν γὰρ αὐτοῦ ὁ πατὴρ δι' ὑπερβολὴν εὐλαβείας τῶν διαφανῶν καὶ σφόδρα τὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐπιμελομένων, διαπρέπων ἐν τῇ τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς λειτουργίᾳ. πολλὰ δὲ δῆθεν ὁ Μαρκίων καθικετεύσας καὶ αἰτήσας μετάνοιαν οὐκ εἴληφε παρὰ τοῦ ἰδίου πατρός. πόνος γὰρ εἶχε τὸν ἀξιόλογον γέροντα καὶ ἐπίσκοπον, ὅτι οὐ μόνον ἐξέπεσεν ἐκεῖνος, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ αὐτῷ τὸ αἶσχος ἔφερεν. ὡς τοίνυν οὐκ ἔτυχε παρ' αὐτοῦ διὰ τῆς κολακείας ὧν ἐδέετο, μὴ φέρων τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν πολλῶν χλεύην ἀποδιδράσκει τῆς πόλεως τῆς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἄνεισιν εἰς τὴν Ῥώμην αὐτήν, μετὰ τὸ τελευτῆσαι Ὑγῖνον τὸν ἐπίσκοπον Ῥώμης οὗτος 2.95 δὲ ἔνατος ἦν ἀπὸ Πέτρου καὶ Παύλου τῶν ἀποστόλων, καὶ τοῖς ἔτι πρεσβύταις περιοῦσι καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν μαθητῶν τῶν ἀποστόλων ὁρμωμένοις συμβαλὼν ᾔτει συναχθῆναι καὶ οὐδεὶς αὐτῷ συγκεχώρηκε. ζήλῳ λοιπὸν ἐπαρθείς, ὡς οὐκ ἀπείληφε τὴν προεδρίαν τε καὶ τὴν εἴσδυσιν τῆς ἐκκλησίας, ἐπινοεῖ ἑαυτῷ καὶ προσφεύγει τῇ τοῦ ἀπατεῶνος Κέρδωνος αἱρέσει. 2. Καὶ ἄρχεται ὡς εἰπεῖν ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ ὡς ἀπὸ θυρῶν τῶν ζητημάτων προτείνειν τοῖς κατ' ἐκεῖνο καιροῦ πρεσβυτέροις τοῦτο τὸ ζήτημα λέγων «εἴπατέ μοι, τί ἐστι τό· οὐ βάλλουσιν οἶνον 2.96 νέον εἰς ἀσκοὺς παλαιοὺς οὐδὲ ἐπίβλημα ῥάκους ἀγνάφου ἐπὶ ἱματίῳ παλαιῷ· εἰ δὲ μή γε, καὶ τὸ πλήρωμα αἴρει καὶ τῷ παλαιῷ οὐ συμφωνήσει. μεῖζον γὰρ σχίσμα γενήσεται». καὶ ὡς τοῦτο ἤκουσαν οἱ ἐπιεικεῖς καὶ πανάγιοι τῆς ἁγίας τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκκλησίας πρεσβύτεροι καὶ διδάσκαλοι, τὸν τῆς ἀκολουθίας τε καὶ ἁρμονίας ἀποδιδόντες λόγον καὶ φράζοντες αὐτῷ μετὰ ἐπιεικείας ἔλεγον· τέκνον, τοῦτό ἐστιν ἀσκοὶ παλαιοί, αἱ τῶν Φαρισαίων καρδίαι καὶ γραμματέων, παλαιωθεῖσαι ἐν ἁμαρτήμασι καὶ μὴ δεξάμεναι τὸ κήρυγμα τοῦ εὐαγγελίου· καὶ τὸ ἱμάτιον τὸ παλαιόν, ὡς ὁ Ἰούδας παλαιωθεὶς ἐν φιλαργυρίᾳ οὐκ ἐδέξατο τοῦ καινοῦ καὶ ἁγίου καὶ ἐπουρανίου μυστηρίου τὸ τῆς ἐλπίδος κήρυγμα, καίτοι συναφθεὶς τοῖς ἕνδεκα ἀποστόλοις καὶ κληθεὶς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ κυρίου, περισσότερον σχίσμα ἔσχε δι' ἑαυτοῦ, μηδενὸς αἰτίου αὐτῷ γενομένου, ἐπειδὴ ἡ διάνοια αὐτοῦ οὐ συμπεφώνηκε τῇ ἄνω ἐλπίδι καὶ ἐπουρανίῳ κλήσει τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν ἀντὶ τῶν ἐνταῦθα χρημάτων τε καὶ κόμπου καὶ φιλίας παρερχομένης ἐλπίδος τε καὶ ἡδονῆς. Ὁ δέ· οὐχ οὕτως, φησίν, ἀλλὰ ἄλλα ἐστὶ παρὰ ταῦτα, ἀντιλέγων ὁ Μαρκίων. ἐπειδὴ δὲ μὴ ἠθέλησαν αὐτὸν δέξασθαι, διὰ τοῦτο οὖν φανερῶς αὐτοῖς ἔλεγε· τί μὴ ἠθελήσατέ με ὑποδέξασθαι; τῶν δὲ λεγόντων ὅτι οὐ δυνάμεθα ἄνευ τῆς ἐπιτροπῆς τοῦ τιμίου πατρός σου τοῦτο ποιῆσαι· μία γάρ ἐστιν ἡ πίστις καὶ μία ἡ ὁμόνοια καὶ οὐ δυνάμεθα ἐναντιωθῆναι τῷ καλῷ συλλειτουργῷ πατρὶ δὲ σῷ, ζηλώσας λοιπὸν καὶ εἰς μέγαν ἀρθεὶς θυμὸν καὶ ὑπερηφανίαν τὸ σχίσμα ἐργάζεται ὁ τοιοῦτος, ἑαυτῷ τὴν αἵρεσιν προστησάμενος καὶ εἰπὼν ὅτι «ἐγὼ σχίσω τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ὑμῶν καὶ βαλῶ σχίσμα ἐν αὐτῇ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα», ὡς τὰ ἀληθῆ μὲν σχίσμα ἔβαλεν οὐ μικρόν, οὐ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν σχίσας ἀλλ' ἑαυτὸν καὶ τοὺς αὐτῷ πεισθέντας. 3. Ἔλαβε δὲ τὴν πρόφασιν παρὰ τοῦ προειρημένου Κέρδωνος, γόητος καὶ