The History Of Exalted Figures

APPENDIX:

In this survey, religious leaders are counted not merely because they were significant.  To qualify, they need to have founded a cult.  Nor do I count founders of new denominations just because they founded new denominations.  Such figures may have garnered followings, but they were not prophetic in nature.  That is to say:  While they were seen as uniquely special by acolytes, they did not claim to be MANTIC.  In other words: Not all founders of new sects have been con-men. 

Take Christianity.  Most notable was George Fox, founder of the Society of Friends (a.k.a. the “Quakers”).  Fox was–arguably–the antithesis of a demagogue.  Since the earliest days of Christianity, various reformers have garnered support without being the impresarios of cult activity.  For example, Jesus’ brother, James of Jerusalem (alt. “James the Just”) was the touchstone for the Ebionite and Elkasaite sects; say nothing of the neo-Judaic Essenes and so-called “Nazarenes”.  Yet he was hardly the founder of a distinct new cult (being, as he was, in the shadow of his deified brother).

Basilides of Alexandria promoted Gnostic Christianity, thereby inaugurating his own “Basilidian” sect of Gnosticism in the 2nd century; yet he did not fashion himself a prophet.  The same goes for other figures in Alexandria–including Cerinthus, Carpocrates, Valentinus, and–most famously–Origen Adamantius.

This had also been the case with Syriac theologians like Theodore of Antioch [Mopsuestia], Theodoret of Cyrrhus, and Ibas of Edessa.  In fact, there have been many theologians who inaugurated their own denominations, yet were not themselves demagogic.  Forty others of note:

1. Anatolian monk, Serapion of Antioch: promulgator of the Docetist sect
2. Samaritan mage, Simon “Magus”: founder of the Simonian sect
3. Galatian theologian, Marcion of Sinope / Pontus: founder of the Marcionite sect
4. Phrygian theologian, Montanus: founder the Montanist sect
5. Anatolian monk, Julian of Halicarnassus: founder of the (anti-Chalcedonian) Aphthartodocetae sect
6. Syriac monk, Nestorius of Germanikeia: founder of the Nestorian sect
7. Syriac monk, Saul of Samosata: founder of the Paulician [alt. “Paulian(-ist)] sect
8. Syriac monk, Moroun of Taurus / Cyrrhus [a.k.a. “Maron”]: founder of the Maronite sect
9. Syriac monk, Jacob bar Addai of Constantina (a.k.a. “Jacob Baradaeus”): founder of the Jacobin sect
10. Syriac (gnostic) scholar, Bar Daisan of Edessa (Latinized as “Bardesanes”): founder of the Bardaisanite sect (and who’s preaching later inspired the prophet, Mani of Ctesiphon).
11. Syriac monk, Alcibiades of Apameia: founder of the Elkesaite sect
12. Syriac theologian, Nikolas of Antioch: founder of the Nicolaite sect
13. Syriac theologian, Apollinaris of Laodicea: founder of the Apollinarian sect
14. Syriac theologian, Aëtius of Antioch: founder of the Anomoean sect (so named, as it was associated with Eunomius of Cyzicus)
15. Roman theologian, Cerinthus of Asiana: icon of neo-Platonic Gnosticism
16. Roman presbyter, Hippolytus of Rome: founder of the Ophite sect
17. Roman theologian, Pelagius of Britannia: founder of the Pelagian sect
18. Egyptian sage, Marcus of Memphis (followed by Roman bishop, Priscillian of Avila / Hispania): founder of the (Manichaean-Gnostic) Priscillian sect
19. Berber / Coptic theologian, Arius of Cyrenaica [Libya]: founder of the Arian sect
20. Berber / Numidian theologian, Donatus of Carthage [“Casae Nigrae”]: founder of the Donatist sect
21. Bulgarian / Thracian theologian, Bogomil of Macedonia: founder of a dualist neo-Gnostic sect
22. Lombard monk, Arnold of Brescia: leader of the Commune of Rome
23. Italian monk, Fra Dolcino of Novara: founder of the Dulcinian sect (inspired by Francis of Assisi and Joachim of Fiore)
24. French theologian, Peter Waldo of Lyons: founder of the (Vaudois) Waldensian sect
25. French (Beguine) mystic, Marguerite Porete of Hainaut: touchstone for the (anti-clerical) Free Spirit movement
26. Spanish theologian, Miguel Serveto of Aragon: protestant reformer
27. Bohemian preacher, Petr Chelcicky: founder of Unitas Fratrum; bellwether for Anabaptism
28. Bohemian reformer, Jan of Husinec (a.k.a. “Jan Hus”): founder of the Hussite sect (and bellwether for the Christian Reformation)
29. Saxon (German) preacher, Nikolaus Ludwig, count of Zinzendorf: founder of “Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine” (a.k.a. the Moravian church)
30. Silesian (German) theologian, Kaspar Schwenkfeld of Ossig: inspiration for Christian Protestantism (i.e. the Reformation)
31. German minister, Alexander Mack of Westphalia / the Rhineland: the Schwarzenau Brethren
32. German theologian, Martin Luther of Saxony: catalyst for Christian Protestantism (i.e. the Reformation); founder of the Lutheran denomination
33. Dutch theologian, Jakob[us] Hermanszoon (a.k.a. “Arminius”): founder of the Arminian sect (a.k.a. the “Remonstrants”)
34. Italian theologian, Fausto Paolo Sozzini of Siena: founder of the Socinian sect of the Polish Reform Church.
35. Indian bishop, “Valiya” Mar Thoma[s] of Kerala: founder of the Malankara denomination
36. Scottish minister, John Knox: founder of the Presbyterian denomination
37. English theologian, John Wycliffe: reformer who inspired the Lollard movement
38. English minister, John Smyth of Nottinghamshire: founder of the Baptist denomination
39. English minister, John Wesley of Lincolnshire: founder of the Methodist denomination
40. English activist, Gerrard Winstanley: founder of the Diggers (an offshoot of which were the so-called “Levellers”)

During Classical Antiquity, there also existed the Alogian, Eustathian, Naassene, Chaldaean, and Mandaean (alt. Nazarene; Sabian) sects.  During the Renaissance, there emerged the (Albigensian) Cathars.  None had a singular figure that could be characterized as a cult leader.

Founders of monastic orders are another story, as such men started their own institutions.  For example, the Coptic monk, Anthony of Thebes inaugurated monasticism as the first (Egyptian) “Desert Father”.  Then Coptic monk, Pakhomius of Thebes founded the Cenobitic monastic Order.  Meanwhile, Italian monk, Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone of Assisi (a.k.a. “Francesco” / “Francis”) founded the Franciscan Order; Italian monk, Benedetto of Norcia (a.k.a. “Benedict of Nursia”) founded the Benedictine Order; Castilian monk, Dominic of Caleruega / Osma (a.k.a. “Domingo Felix de Guzman”) founded the Dominican Order; and German monk, Bruno of Cologne founded the Carthusian Order.  And the Cistercian (a.k.a. “Bernadine”) Order, which began in Citeaux, was named after its patriarch: Bernard of Clairvaux.

There have been countless sages who started their own Hindu and Buddhist sects over the centuries.  Not all of them were looking to start a cult with themselves as figureheads.  Invariably, there have also been borderline cases–as with, say:

• Bengali yogi, Gadadhar Chattopadhyay of Kamarpukur (a.k.a. “Rama-krishna Para-mahamsa”)
• Bengali yogi, Aurobindo Ghose (a.k.a. “Sri Aurobindo”); and his cohort, Mirra Alfassa (a.k.a. “The Mother”)
• Tamil cynosure, “Jagad-guru” Sri Chandra-sekharendra Sara-swati Swami-gal (“Maha-periyava”; the “great sage of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham”): Avatar of the aforementioned (Advaita Vedanta) patriarch, Adi Shankara
• Indian mystic, Syed Muhammad Azeem Barkhiyya (a.k.a. “Qalandar Baba Auliya”)
• Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (a.k.a. “Baba Saheb”; founder of the Navayana Buddhist movement to empower the Dalit caste)
• Dravidian actress / politician, Jayaram Jayalalitha of Tamil Nadu (a.k.a. “Amma”) 

Sects in ALL the world’s major religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism) have proliferated over the centuries…to the point where it is sometimes difficult to discern whether or not the “founder” of a new sect qualifies as the panjandrum of a cultic movement.  This is especially the case when it comes to the ramification of Sufism.  There have been a panoply of mystics–many of whom founded their own Sufi orders.  Thirty of the most notable figures in Dar al-Islam who don’t qualify as demagogic:

• Persian mystic, Abu Said abi al-Hasan Yasar of Basra (late 7th / early 8th century)
• Persian mystic, Abu Abd Allah Muhammed ibn Karram of Khorasan (9th century)
• Persian mystic, Abu al-Qasim ibn Muhammed al-Junayd of Baghdad (late 9th / early 10th century)
• Persian mystic, “Hazrat Sheikh” Abu Ismail [alt. “Khajah”] Abdullah al-Herawi al-Ansari of Herat [Khorasan] (11th century)
• Persian mystic, “Muhyi ad-Din” Abu Muhammad ibn Abu Saleh of Rasht / Gilan [a.k.a. “Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani”] (late 11th / early 12th century)
• Persian mystic, Yahya ibn Habash ibn Amirak of Sohrevard [a.k.a. “Shahab ad-Din Yahya ibn Habash Surawardi”] (12th century)
• Arab mystic, Ahmed al-Rifa’i of Wasit (12th century)
• Maghrebi mystic, Abu Madyan Shu’ayb ibn al-Hussein “al-Ansari” [alt. “al-Ghawth”] (12th century)
• Persian (Chishti) mystic, Mu’in ud-Din Hasan Sijzi of Sistan; and his disciple, the Punjabi mystic, Farid ud-Din Masud Ganj-i Shakar of Multan (12th / 13th century)
• Andalusian mystic, Ibn Arabi al-Hatimi of Taifa / Murcia [a.k.a. “Shaykh al-Akbar”; Greatest Master] (late 12th / early 13th century)
• Berber mystic, Abd as-Salam ibn Mashish of Jabal al-Alam (a.k.a. “Al-Alami”) and his disciple, Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili of the Banu Yafrah [Rif].  Also note the rival prophet, Muhammed ibn Abi Tawajin el-Kutami (late 12th / early 13th century)
• Persian mystic, Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim of Nishapur [a.k.a. “Attar”; “Farid ud-Din”] (late 12th / early 13th century)
• Yemeni mystic, Muhammad al-Faqih al-Muqaddam (late 12th / early 13th century)
• Persian (Ishik Alevi) mystic, “Haji” Bektash Wali” [a.k.a. “Dervish of Dervishes”; “Sultan of Hearts”] (13th century)
• Bengali mystic, Alaul Haq of Pandava (13th century)
• Anatolian mystic, Baba Ishaq (13th century)
• Syrian mystic, Ahmad al-Badawi (13th century)
• Berber mystic, Abul Hasan ash-Shadhili (13th century)
• Andalusian mystic, Shahab al-Din Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Umar ibn Mohammad al-Ansari of Murcia (13th century)
• Persian mystic (and founder of Sufism), Taj ad-Din Ibrahim ibn Rushan Amir al-Kurdi Sanjani of Lahijan / Gilan [a.k.a. “Zahid Gilani”] (13th century)
• Kurdish mystic, Safi ad-Din Ishaq of Ardabil (late 13th / early 14th century)
• Persian mystic, Baha ud-Din Naqshband of Bukhara (14th century)
• Azeri mystic, Seyid Yahya Bakuvi of Shirvan (15th century)
• Berber mystic, Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Sulayman ibn Abu Bakr al-Jazuli al-Simlali of Marrakesh (15th century)
• Sanhaja (Berber) mystic, Mohamed ben Issa of Meknes (late 15th / early 16th century)
• Turkish mystic, Aziz Mahmud Hudayi of Ankara (late 16th / early 17th century)
• Punjabi mystic, Sultan Bahu (17th century)

This continued up to the 19th century–as with the Bengali mystic, Ahmed Ullah of Maizbhander.  There have been innumerable Sufi mystics who amassed followings since the inception of Islam–each offering his own angle on the ultimate “tariq” [path].  There was invariably a degree of cult activity around each one of these figures; yet they do not qualify as cult leaders.

Such figures are often concomitant with syncretic activity–as with the self-proclaimed Messiah, Abu Isa of Isfahan (a.k.a. “Ovadiah”), whose movement was effectively Judeo-Shiite.  (His followers were known as the “Isawiyya”.)

Extensive syncretism occurred in the Far East.  In the 15th century, “Satpanth” integrated elements of Ismaili Islam with Hinduism.  In the 16th century, Akbar the Great incorporated elements of Islam and Hinduism into the syncretic “Din-i Ilahi” (Persian for “religion of god”), centered at the “Ibadat Khana” at Fatehpur Sikri in Agra.  He even created a new holy book: the “Allah Upanishad”.  He also opted to include elements from Zoroastrianism, Jainism, and Sikhism.

The hybridization of Zen Buddhism and Taoism (a syncretic Faith referred to as “Chan”) began with Tang sage, Mazu Daoyi (a.k.a. “Bao Doi-tsu”) in the 8th century.  It passed to Bai-zhang Hua-i-hai, then to Huang-bo Xi-yun and Gui-yang Ling-you, then to Lin-ji Yi-xuan…any one of which could be considered a charismatic leader.  There was also Yun-yan Tan-sheng, who’s disciple was Dongshan Liangjie (of Cao-dong fame).  There was also De-shan Xuan-jian, who’s disciple was Xue-feng Yicun (who’s teachings led to Yunmen and Fayan).

Today, there are some figures who are shams, yet fall short of being demagogues–such as self-help “guru” Swami Parthasarathy (a.k.a. “Swami-ji”) and uber-charlatan, Deepak Chopra.  There have been other figures who are spiritual leaders yet not necessarily con-men.  In the Eastern spiritual traditions, there were such cynosures as Padma-sambhava (a.k.a. “Guru Rinpoche”), Adi Shankara, (founder of “Puru-savada”; alt. “Advaita Vedanta”), Balakrishna Menon (a.k.a. “Swami Chin-maya-nanda Saraswati”), Natarajan (a.k.a. “Swami Daya-nanda Saraswati”), and the Tibetan Dalai Lamas.

In the Ashkenazi Judaic spiritual tradition, there have been significant figures like Eleazar ben Judah ben Kalonymus of Worms (a.k.a. the “Rokeach”)…as well as Eliezer ben Joel ha-Levi of Bonn (a.k.a. “Ra’avyah”) and his student, Isaac ben Moses of Vienna (a.k.a. the “Riaz”, who penned the “Or Zarua”).  Such men commanded significant followings, yet rarely resorted to demagogy.