in church-history, a sect of Christian heretics in the third century, the followers of Manes, who made his appearance in the reign of the emperor Probus; pretending to be the comforter whom our Saviour promised to send into the world. He taught that there are two principles, or gods, coeternal and independent on each other, the one the author of all evil, and the other of all good; a doctrine which he borrowed from the Persian magi. He held that our souls we made by the good principle, and our bodies by the evil one; and that the souls of his followers passed through the elements to the moon, and from thence to the sun; where being purified, they then went to God, and became united with his essence; but as for the souls of other men, they either went to hell, or were united to other bodies. He alleged, that Christ had his residence in the sun, the Holy Ghost in the air, wisdom in the moon, and the Father in the abyss of light. He is also charged with denying the resurrection and condemning marriage; with teaching that Christ was the serpent that tempted Eve; with forbidding the use of eggs, cheese, milk, and wine, as proceeding from the bad principle; with using a different kind of baptism from that of the church; with teaching that magistrates were not to be obeyed; and with condemning the most lawful wars.