Porphyrians

Porphyrians was the name given to the Arians in an edict of the emperor Constantine issued in the year 325, the reason stated being that, as they had emulated the impiety of Porphyry in their errors so they ought to be named after him (Socrat. Hist. Eccles. 1, 6). This decree was afterwards quoted as a precedent by Theodosius the Younger, who ordered that the Nestorians should, in a similar manner, be called Simonians. It may be doubted whether either name extended much beyond the four corners of the edicts in which they were given. See Baronius, Annales, ad ann. 325, vol. 84, 85.