Carpocratians
A sect of Gnostics founded by Carpocrates of Alexandria.
The sect claimed Christ derived the mysteries of his religion
from the Temple of Isis in Egypt, where he was said to have
studied for six years, and that he taught them to his apostles,
who transmitted them to Carpocrates. Members used theurgic
incantations and had their own peculiar greetings, signs and
words, and symbols and degrees of rank. The Carpocratians
believed in metampsychosis and the preexistence of the soul,
but rejected the resurrection of the body. They had some beliefs
in common with the Basilideans. The sect endured until
the sixth century.
Sources
Legge, Francis. Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity from 330
B.C. to 330 A.D. 2 vols. 1915. Reprint, New Hyde Park, N.Y. University
Books, 1964
