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the heretic that changed christianity forever
In the early beginnings of the Church there was no Bible – at least, not in the sense that Christians understand it to be today. The Gospel propagated mainly through word of mouth. Letters alone were the primary written records of Christian teaching, shared among fellow believers and congregations according to their availability. These congregations faithfully preserved words of encouragement and admonition alike, yet these epistles were examined thoroughly in order to learn whether their content was truly the product of divine inspiration, a process that often led to rather unpleasant disputes. Many were the heresies that plagued the first few centuries of the church and, for the most part, they became little more than a footnote 72 COMPENDIUM 2018
in the history of Christianity, their impact eventually curbed by some of the greatest apologists of that time. Marcion, however, has had a much more lasting and subtle legacy. A wealthy bishop from Turkey, Marcion of Sinope was at one point involved with the congregation of Rome in the second century AD. This involvement was short-lived, as Marcion’s ideas soon put him at odds with the Church, not only in Rome but a bit all over the Roman Empire as well; he was eventually excommunicated, and his ideas were heavily condemned before and after his death. Nevertheless, Marcion left on Christianity an indelible mark, which for better or worse has lasted to this very day – the compilation of a canonical book. Yes, it may sound
