المستخلص: |
Carpocrates of Alexandria was a Christian heretic. He was a leader of a Gnostic sect, which spread throughout the East in the first two centuries A.D. and presented a challenge to mainstream Christian and other religious traditions. Research into the emergence of this sect in Egypt was buoyed following the discovery of the Nag Hammadi manuscripts there in 1945. The manuscripts offer evidence of the development of these heretical idea from Judaism, also suggesting the expulsion of Egyptian monks by the Orthodox Church during the 4th century A.D. The presence of the specific sect of Carpocrates in Libya, however, remains obscure. This paper examines the possible presence of Carpocratians in East Libya. For the purposes of this paper, discussion will focus on the heretical ideas of Carpocrates and their possible spread among the Libyan community.
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