Bible Encyclopedias
Cassian, Julius

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

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Cassian, Saint

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(Κασσιανός ), a leader of the Docetae in the second century: Cave gives the date A.D. 174; Tillemont about A.D. 200. He is mentioned by Hippolytus and Irenaeus, but what is known of him is chiefly derived from Clemens Alexandrinus, who calls him the founder of the sect of the Doceta, and refers to one of his works, entitled Concerning Continence, from which it appears that he adopted the notions of Tatian respecting the impurity of marriage. He quoted passages from apocryphal Scriptures, and perverted passages from the genuine Scriptures in order to support his opinions. Clement says that "he had recourse to the fiction — that Christ was only a man in appearance — through unwillingness to believe that he had been born of the Virgin, or partaken in any way of generation." Clement accuses him of borrowing from Plato his notions respecting the evil nature of generation, as well as the notion that the soul was originally divine, but, being rendered effeminate by desire, came down from above to this world of generation and destruction. Eusebius (6:13) speaks of Cassian as author of "a history of the times in chronological order" (Clement, Stromat. 3:13, § 91). — Lardner, Works, 8:611-614; Neander, Church Hist. 1:458; Cave, Hist. Litt. Cent. 2; Matter, Hist. du Gnosticisme, ch. 1, § 3.