Carpocrates of Alexandria was the founder of an early Gnostic sect from the first half of the 2nd century. As with many Gnostic sects, we know of the Carpocratians only through the writings of the Church Fathers, principally Irenaeus of Lyons and Clement of Alexandria. As these writers strongly opposed Gnostic doctrine, there is a question of negative bias when using this source. While the various references to the Carpocratians differ in some details, they agree as to the libertinism of the sect. However, such charges were common. Pagans accused Christians of immorality, and Christians made the same charges against fellow Christians who they considered heretical.
The earliest and most vivid account of Carpocrates and his followers comes from Irenaeus in his Against Heresies including an account of the theology and practice of the sect. They believe, he writes, that Jesus was not divine; but because his soul was "steadfast and pure", he "remembered those things which he had witnessed within the sphere of the unbegotten God". Because of this, Jesus was able to free himself from the material powers. Carpocratians believed they themselves could transcend the material realm, and therefore were no longer bound by Mosaic law, which was based on the material powers, or by any other morality, which, they held, was mere human opinion. Irenaeus offers this belief as an explanation of their licentious behaviour. Irenaeus then goes on to provide his further, slightly different, explanation. The followers of Carpocrates, he says, believed that in order to leave this world, one's imprisoned eternal soul must pass through every possible condition of earthly life. Moreover, it is possible to do this within one lifetime. As a result, the Carpocratians did "all those things which we dare not either speak or hear of" so that when they died, they would not be compelled to incarnate again but would return to God. Irenaeus says that they practised various magical arts as well as leading a licentious life. He also says that they possessed a portrait of Christ, a painting they claimed had been made by Pontius Pilate during his lifetime, which they honoured along with images of Plato, Pythagoras and Aristotle "in the manner of the Gentiles". Some early Christian authors opposed representational art, and statues and portraits and sculptures are crude and stylised. According to Robin Lane Fox: "Only one group of early Christians, the heretical Carpocratians, are known to have owned portraits of Christ". However, early Christian art from the early third century depicting Jesus is widespread and cannot be limited only to the Carpocratians. Furthermore, the fact that depictions of Jesus are mentioned by multiple early Christian authors, whether in a positive or negative manner, is an indication that these depictions were popular enough to be noticed and must have received the acceptance of some Christian authorities. Moreover, early Christianity was heavily influenced by Judaism, which generally forbids religious depictions, and the reluctance of some authors to accept depictions of Jesus could be ascribed to Jewish influences rather than to Christian doctrine.
Clement
Carpocrates is also mentioned by Clement of Alexandria in his Stromateis. Clement quotes extensively from On Righteousness which he says was written by Epiphanes, Carpocrates' son. No copy outside of Clement's citation exists, but the writing is of a strongly antinomian bent. It claims that differences in class and the ownership of property are unnatural, and argues for property and women to be held in common. Clement confirms the licentiousness of the Carpocratians, claiming that at their Agape they "have intercourse where they will and with whom they will". According to Clement, Carpocrates was from Alexandria although his sect was primarily located in Cephallenia. Carpocrates is again mentioned in the controversial Mar Saba letter, purportedly also by Clement of Alexandria, which Morton Smith claimed to have discovered in 1958. The letter mentions and quotes from a previously unsuspected Secret Gospel of Mark, saying that Carpocrates had wheedled an opportunity to copy it in Alexandria. The letter states that a corrupted copy was circulating among Carpocrates' followers.
Miscellaneous references
Other references to Carpocrates exist but are likely to be based on the two already cited. Epiphanius of Salamis writes that Carpocrates is also mentioned by Tertullian and Hippolytus, both of whom seem to rely on Irenaeus; and also perhaps by Origen and Hegesippus. Søren Kierkegaard mentioned them in his 1844 book, The Concept of Anxiety:
