• Nicholas of Antioch, one of the
Seven Deacons, founder of
Nicolaism, condemned in the
Book of Revelation. 1st century •
Simon Magus, the purported founder of
Gnosticism. 1st century •
Montanus, founder of
Montanism, mid to late 2nd century •
Theodotus of Byzantium, propounder of
Adoptionism, late 2nd century •
Valentinus, founder of
Valentinianism, 2nd century •
Sabellius, founder of
Sabellianism, 3rd century •
Marcion, founder of
Marcionism, 2nd century •
Basilides, founder of
Basilideanism, 2nd century •
Novatian, founder of
Novatianism, condemned by
Pope Cornelius. 3rd century •
Arius, founder of
Arianism, condemned by the
1st council of Nicaea. 3rd and 4th centuries •
Donatus Magnus, founder of
Donatism, condemned by
Augustine of Hippo. 4th century •
Apollinaris of Laodicea, founder of
Apollinarianism, condemned at the
1st Council of Constantinople. 4th century, •
John Philoponus (6th century), founder of
tritheism, condemned at the
3rd Council of Constantinople •
Macedonius I of Constantinople, founder of
Macedonianism, condemned at the 1st Council of Constantinople. 4th century •
Aëtius &
Eunomius, leaders of
Anomoeanism, condemned at the 1st Council of Constantinople. 4th century •
Bonosus of Serdica, propounder of
Antidicomerianism, condemned by Augustine of Hippo. 4th century •
Priscillian, founder of
Priscillianism, condemned by the
1st Council of Braga. 4th century •
Pelagius, founder of
Pelagianism, condemned by Augustine of Hippo. 4th century •
Sergius I of Constantinople, founder of
monoenergism, condemned by the
3rd Council of Constantinople 7th century •
Pope Honorius I,
Pyrrhus of Constantinople,
Paul II of Constantinople,
Peter of Constantinople - all condemned posthumously with the still living
Macarius of Antioch by the 3rd Council of Constantinople for promoting
monothelitism. 7th century • Augustine of Hippo posthumously refers to
Mani, the founder of
Manichaeism, as a heresiarch. •
Nestorius,
Theodore of Mopsuestia &
Ibas of Edessa condemned as heresiarchs - the former by the
Council of Ephesus, the latter 2 posthumously at the
2nd Council of Constantinople over the
Controversy of Three Chapters, for promoting
Nestorianism, but venerated in
Church of the East denominations. 5th century •
Dioscorus of Alexandria &
Severus of Antioch, condemned as heresiarchs by the
Council of Chalcedon, for allegedly promoting
monophysitism espoused by Eutyches, thereby causing the
Chalcedonian schism, but the
Oriental Orthodox Church disagrees with this interpretation, stating that they believed not in monophysitism, but in
miaphysitism as stated by
Cyril of Alexandria in contrast to the
dyophisitism espoused by
Pope Leo I. 5th and 6th century •
Photius of Constantinople, condemned as a heresiarch, due to the
Photian schism at the
Fourth Council of Constantinople. The
Eastern Orthodox Church counters this by labelling
Pope Nicholas I as a heresiarch due to the
filioque in
their own council. 9th century •
Menocchio, an Italian miller who was burned at the stake in 1599 • Catholics, especially
traditionalist Catholics such as
Hilaire Belloc, consider
Martin Luther,
John Calvin, and other leaders of the
Protestant Reformation to be arch-heretics, in accordance to the decrees of the
Council of Trent. • Conversely, some fundamentalist Protestants (including
Alexander Hislop and
Charles Chiniquy) have used the term to refer to the
papacy and the members of the
Roman Curia. •
Martin of Armenia, the fictional founder of the Old Russian Rite used by the
Old Believers ==Dante's Inferno==