Dositheans
Charles Buck Theological Dictionary [1]
An ancient sect among the Samaritans, in the first century of the Christian aera; so called from Dositheus, who endeavoured to persuade the Samaritans that he was the Messiah foretold by Moses. He had many followers, and his sect was still subsisting at Alexandria in the time of the patriarch Eulogius, as appears from a decree of that patriarch published by Photius. In that decree, Eulogius accuses Dositheus of injuriously treating the ancient patriarchs and prophets, and attributing to himself the spirit of prophecy. He makes him contemporary with Simon Magus; and accuses him of corrupting the Pentateuch, and of composing several books directly contrary to the law of God.
Heresies of the Church Thru the Ages [2]
Followers of Dositheus, a Samaritan who is said to have formed a Gnostic-Judaistic sect previous to Simon Magus; Dositheus is often classed as the first heretic. Nothing certain is known of his life or activities. He is considered more as the founder of a Jewish sect than an anti-Christian heretic.
