Simon Magus

Simon Magus is believed to have been born in Samaria during the 1st century AD.

Simon Magus converts to Christianity and is baptized by Philip the Evangelist.

Simon Magus clashes with Peter in the Acts of the Apostles after attempting to buy the power of the Apostles.

The act of simony, or paying for position, is named after Simon, who tried to buy his way into the power of the Apostles.

In apocryphal works including the Acts of Peter, Pseudo-Clementines, and the Epistle of the Apostles, Simon also appears as a formidable sorcerer with the ability to levitate and fly at will.

Simon is sometimes referred to as "the Bad Samaritan" due to his malevolent character.

The Apostolic Constitutions accuses him of "lawlessness" (antinomianism).

Justin Martyr, a 2nd-century native of Samaria, writes that nearly all the Samaritans in his time were adherents of Simon of Gitta.

Irenaeus believes Simon Magus to have been the founder of the sect of the Simonians.

Hippolytus quotes from a work he attributes to Simon or his followers the Simonians, Apophasis Megale, or Great Declaration.