CERDONIANS, ancient heretics who maintained most of the errors of Simon Magus, Saturninus, and the Manicheans. Their leader Cerdo, a Syrian of the second century, went to Rome and there abjured his errors; but he was afterwards convicted of persisting in them, and cast out of the church. Cerdo maintained the existence of two first causes of all things, the one good and the other evil; and also an intermediate deity, who was the Creator of the world, and the God and the Lawgiver of the Jews. The first, whom he called unknown, was the Father of Jesus Christ, who, he taught, was incarnate only in appearance, and did not actually suffer death; with many other errors, in which he was succeeded by his disciple Marcion. (Reid's edition of Mosheim's Eccles. Hist.)