or Marcionists, Marcionista, an ancient and popular sect of heretics, who were thus denominated from their author Marcion, and who, in the time of Epiphanius, had spread themselves over Italy, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Arabia, Persia, and other countries. Marcion was a native of Pontus, the son of a bishop, and at first made profession of the monastic life; but he was excommunicated by his own father, who would never again admit him into the communion of the church, not even on his repentance. On this he abandoned his own country, and retired to Rome, where he began to broach new and heretical doctrines. Marcion denied the real birth, incarnation, and passion of Jesus Christ, and held them all to be apparent only. He denied the resurrection of the body, and allowed none to be baptized except those who had preserved their continence; but these, he granted, might be baptized three times. He pretended that the gospel had been corrupted by false prophets, and admitted none of the evangelists but St Luke, whom he altered in many places, as well as the epistles of St Paul, a great many things in which he expunged. In his own copy of St Luke's gospel, he struck out the first two chapters.