Basilides

Who is Basilides?

Basilides was an early Gnostic religious teacher in Alexandria, Egypt who taught from 117–138 AD, and claimed to have inherited his teachings from Matthew. He was a pupil of either Menander, or an interpreter of Peter named Glaucias. The Acts of the Disputation with Manes state that for a time he taught among the Persians. He is believed to have written over two dozen books of commentary on the Christian Gospel entitled Exegetica, making him one of the earliest Gospel commentators. Only fragments of his works are preserved that supplement the knowledge furnished by his opponents.

The followers of Basilides, the Basilidians, formed a movement that persisted for at least two centuries after him – Epiphanius of Salamis, at the end of the 4th century, recognized a persistent Basilidian Gnosis in Egypt. It is probable, however, that the school melded into the main stream of Gnosticism by the latter half of the 2nd century.