He stated that the 2nd-century church was very diverse and included many "heretical" groups that had an equal claim to apostolic tradition.
In 409, Marcellinus granted the right to public worship to the Donatists, an heretical group.
Williams suggests a better and more adequate term for these heretical groups would be "biblical demiurgical traditions".
Each time a heresy arose in the Church, it was typically accompanied by a shift in worship for the heretical group.
Each time a heresy appeared in the Church, it normally came by a shift in worship for the heretical group.
Information concerning the number of various sects and heretical religious groups existing within the state.
It has also been suggested that both the graffito and the roughly contemporary gems with Crucifixion images are related to heretical groups outside the main church.
Joining a heretical group, for many of them, is often only another way of shouting their own despair.
Bishop Irenaeus notes with dismay that women especially are attracted to heretical groups.
However, many have doubted the 'orthodoxy' of the Odes, suggesting that they perhaps originated from a heretical or gnostic group.