The Elenchos and the 'mysteries': constructing heretical identity in ancient Christianity

For the anonymous, rigoristic, and learned Christian author of the Elenchos, written in the first decades of the third century, Christian heretics (and in particular the Gnostics) secretly guarded their rites and beliefs, much like the initiates of ‘mystery cults’ from ancient religion. By evoking ‘mysteries’ as an inspiration for their doctrine, the author is able to paint a negative picture of his Gnostic opponens