Refutation of All Heresies

The Refutation of All Heresies (Ancient Greek: Φιλοσοφούμενα ή κατὰ πασῶν αἱρέσεων ἔλεγχος, romanized: Philosophoumena hē kata pasōn haireseōn elenchos; Latin: Refutatio Omnium Haeresium), also called the Elenchus or Philosophumena, is a compendious Christian polemical work of the early third century, whose attribution to Hippolytus of Rome or an unknown "Pseudo-Hippolytus" is disputed.

[7] In Chapter 2 of this book, the author accuses the Naassenes of (a) believing that the pagan god Attis "has been emasculated, that is, he has passed over from the earthly parts of the nether world to the everlasting substance above, where...there is neither female nor male, but a new creature, a new man, which is hermaphrodite" [trans.

Book VII challenges the teachings of such heretics as Basilides and his disciple Saturnilus, Marcion of Sinope, and Carpocrates of Alexandria, among others.

Who exactly the Docetae were is unclear, though the author seems to make a distinction between this group and others who considered Jesus to exist merely in appearance, the latter being the doctrine to which the term "Docetism" is now affixed.

[11] This heresy is associated with a misinterpretation of the Parable of the Sower of Matthew's Gospel and a belief that Christ's soul was separated from his body at his Crucifixion.

[15] This theme of conflict with the papacy is expanded upon in the second chapter of Book IX, which deals in particular with the errors of Pope Callixtus, whom is identified as a "sorcerer".

[20] The compendious breadth of the Refutation illuminates for the reader not only various Gnostic beliefs, but is also a source of "valuable information on the thinking of the Presocratics.