heresiarch

[ huh-ree-zee-ahrk, -see-, her-uh-see- ]

/ həˈri ziˌɑrk, -si-, ˈhɛr ə si- /

a leader in heresy; the leader of a heretical sect.

Origin of heresiarch

1615–25; < Late Latin haeresiarcha < Greek hairesiarchḗs the leader of a school, equivalent to haíresi(s) heresy + -archēs -arch

It was also the mob who, infuriated at seeing him destroy and burn crosses, burnt the heresiarch Peter of Bruis (c. 1140).

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 5 |Various
A heresiarch,' he had written even in his Anglican days, 'should meet with no mercy.

Outspoken Essays |William Ralph Inge
There was not a little art in the heresiarch's modes of speech; the less obtuse appreciated him and bade him live for ever.

Demos |George Gissing
Tetzel continued to bray and fume against him from pulpit and press, denouncing him as a heresiarch, heretic, and schismatic.

Luther and the Reformation: |Joseph A. Seiss

A heresiarch is the author of a heresy or the leader of a heretical party, and is thus at once a heretic and a schismatic.

English Synonyms and Antonyms |James Champlin Fernald

heresiarch

/ (hɪˈriːzɪˌɑːk) /

the leader or originator of a heretical movement or sect