Marcionite

or Mar·cion·ist

[mahr-shuh-nahyt]

noun

a member of a Gnostic ascetic sect that flourished from the 2nd to 7th century a.d. and that rejected the Old Testament and denied the incarnation of God in Christ.

adjective

of or relating to the Marcionites or their doctrines.

Origin of Marcionite

From the Late Latin word Marciōnīta, dating back to 1530–40. See Marcion, -ite¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for marcionite

Historical Examples of marcionite

Metrodorus, a Marcionite priest, underwent the same punishment with him.
The Lives of the Saints, Volume II (of 16): February
Sabine Baring-Gould
The golden age of the Marcionite churches falls between the years 150 and 250.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 6
Various
The Marcionite Antitheses were probably spread among other Gnostic sects.
History of Dogma, Volume 1 (of 7)
Adolph Harnack
Tertullian has frequently pointed to the contradictions in the Marcionite conception of the god of creation.
History of Dogma, Volume 1 (of 7)
Adolph Harnack
Still more logical indeed was the dilemma: either Jewish, or Marcionite Christian.
History of Dogma, Volume 1 (of 7)
Adolph Harnack

Word Origin and History for marcionite

Marcionite

1540, early Christian sect, named for Gnostic Marcion of Sinope (c.140), who denied any connection between the Old Testament and the New. They contrasted the barbaric and incompetent creator in the Old Testament, who favored bandits and killers, with the "higher god" of Christ. They also emphasized virginity and rejection of marriage. They flourished, especially in the East, until late 4c.