Simonian

English

Etymology 1

From Simon +‎ -ian. See simony.

Noun

Simonian (plural Simonians)

1. (historical) One of the followers of Simon Magus.
   • 2016, April D. DeConick, The Gnostic New Age:

     It is no coincidence that the Gospel of John portray's Jesus in terms analogous to the Simonians' depiction of Simon. Could the first converts among the Children of LIght have been Simonians who transferred their Gnostic mythology from Simon Magus to Jesus?

   • 2003, Hans-Josef Klauck, Magic and Paganism in Early Christianity, page 16:

     The church fathers who attacked heresies took this up and made Simon Magus not only the founder of the Simonians, but of gnosis as a whole

   • 2021, Alberto Ferreiro, Simon Magus in Patristic, Medieval and Early Modern Traditions:

     Simonians used sex to pollute women in imitation of their founder .

2. (historical) An adherent of an early Christian heretical sect that worshiped Simon of Samaria (Simon Magus) as divine.
   • 2016, Mark Latham, The Cthulhu Campaigns: Ancient Rome, page 25:

     The Simonians did not truly follow the Roman gods, but instead venerated their order's founders—Simon and his wife, Helena—in the guises of Zeus and Minerva.

   • 2022, M. David Litwa, Found Christianities:

     He considered the Simonian veneration of Simon to be blasphemy. He never seems to have examined why Simonians honored Simon's reputed icon.

   • 2022, Daniel B. Glover, Patterns of Deification in the Acts of the Apostles, page 113:

     Simonians associate Helena, Simon's consort, with Athena, who sprung from the head of Zeus, just as Thought, particularly associated with Helena, emanates from Mind..

Adjective

Simonian (comparative more Simonian, superlative most Simonian)

1. Pertaining to the legends surrounding and teachings of Simon Magus.
   • 1906, George Robert Stow Mead, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, page 167:

     The Justin account is the nucleus of the huge Simonian legend which was mainly developed by the cycle of Pseudo-Clemenine literature of the third century, based on the second century Circuits of Peter.

   • 2020, Frank Williams, Mental Perception, page 243:

     If we agree that HSim was not a forgery, it remains to ask whether it is actually Simonian. For this question the identity and teachings of the historical Simon Magus — in any case irrecoverable —are not important.

   • 2024, David K. Hebert, A Kingdom of the Truth or Deception?::

     The amalgam of paganism and Christianity, especially obvious in the Simonian system , is readily explicable in the teachings of Simon Magus.

2. Pertaining to the heretical sect that worshiped Simon of Samaria (Simon Magus).
   • 1706, Richard Brocklesby, An Explication of the Gospel-Theism and the Divinity of the Christian Religion, page 46:

     Yet it must be acknowledg'd, that although a Pagan-like Mundane Magistracy of the Holy Angels was entertain'd by several of the Learned Theologers of the three first Ages of the Church, yet no such thang as Church-Demonolatry appeareth in those early Days, save only amongst the Simonian Gnosticks and the ancient Angelici or Angelits condemn'd by S Paul (Col. 2.18), which I suppose to have been a distinct sort of Gnosticks from the Simonian, who had their origin from Simon Magus.

   • 2022, Daniel B. Glover, Patterns of Deification in the Acts of the Apostles, page 115:

     Luke's choice of words appear to be subtle but also sharp and effective critiques of Simonian claims to Simon's divity.

   • 2022, M. David Litwa, Found Christianities:

     He considered the Simonian veneration of Simon to be blasphemy. He never seems to have examined why Simonians honored Simon's reputed icon.

3. Pertaining to the theories of Herbert A. Simon.
   • 2011, Alvin Plantinga, Where the Conflict Really Lies, page 168:

     Suppose you are a serious Christian and you come to recognize that Simonian science endorses conclusions incompatible with certain Christian beliefs; and suppose you also hold science in high regard.

   • 2018, Shinji Teraji, The Cognitive Basis of Institutions, page 162:

     On the other hand, Simonian entrepreneurs are non-alert individuals who search for alternatives that are good enough for them.

   • 2024, Gerd Gigerenzer, ‎Shabnam Mousavi, ‎Riccardo Viale, Elgar Companion to Herbert Simon, page 3:

     The result is a prism providing a spectrum of Simon's work and offering the reader a glimpse into how their own ideas can be seen through a Simonian lens.

Etymology 2

From Armenian Սիմոնյան (Simonyan).

Proper noun

Simonian (plural Simonians)

1. A surname from Armenian.

Anagrams

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