ERMOGENE. - A Christian heretic (c. 180–205) who, after living in Syria, where he was opposed by Teofilo d'Antiocchia (Eusebius, Hist. eccl., IV, 24), moved to Carthage, practising the profession of painter. Against his ideas Tertullian wrote his
book Adversus Hermogenem, undoubtedly making use of the earlier work of Teofile (cf. R. M. Grant, in Journal of biblical literature, 68 [1949], p. xv ff.).
E. spoke of eternal matter (ὅλη), the origin of evil, but fashioned by God. The soul belongs to it and is without free will unless it is enlightened by the Holy Spirit. This doctrine is not Greek, but corresponds to the speculations of the Gnostics in Syria and bears a strong affinity to that of Taziano; indeed, l'ppolito treats the two heretics one after the other (Refutatio VIII, chs. 16 and 17). In his ascension Jesus would, according to Ps. 18,6, have left his body in the sun (Refutatio VIII, ch. 17,3 ff.); this doctrine was also known to Clemente Alessandrino (Eclog. proph., 56,2) and presupposes the luminous character of the Christ of E., analogous to the doctrine of Taziano.