Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity Online

All we know with certainty about Gildas the Wise (mid-6th cent. CE) is derived from his writings, especially the De excidio Britanniae (Mommsen, 1896; Williams, 1899–1901), which is the first major work of theology written in the region of the British Isles. A date of around 550 CE for the De excidio would cohere with the names mentioned by Gildas in the book (in so far as such individuals can be dated) and what we know of the political situation that gives rise the book (Dumville, 1984). It is the work of a mature theologian, but we cannot g…

More commonly termed “speaking in tongues,” glossolalia is a designation that appears in early Christian texts describing speech uttered by followers of Jesus, inspired by the Holy Spirit. Glossolalia occurs in a variety of religious environments, provoking reactions of awe and confusion by witnesses of these extraordinary speech events. Two key passages in the Christian writings attest to the phenomenon of glossolalia:1.  the Pentecost scene in Acts 2, and 2.  the ongoing events in Corinth, described in 1 Cor 12–14.Etymology and UsageGlossolalia is derived from two Greek wo…

Gnomologia (Gk γνωμολογία; Lat. gnomologium) denotes a collection primarily of pithy sayings or maxims (Gk γνώμη; Lat. sententia) related to one or more authors (Horna & Fritz, 1935, 74–76). The use of the Latin term gnomologium as denoting a collection of sayings seems to be medieval and is not attested in this sense with classical authors. The term gnomologium may be kept for collections of short sayings (including chreiai and apophthegmata) of predominantly pagan origin, whereas florilegia contain beside short-form texts (e.g. sayings, fables, verses) excerpt…

Gnosis is related to γιγνώσκω, which refers to acquiring knowledge through observation, perception, discernment, and judgment. In ancient Christian contexts, gnosis (γνῶσις) refers to knowledge of God. Gnosticism is a neologism coined and used by modern people to identify collectively a spectrum of gnostic thinkers, texts, and movements that emerged in the Roman world. There is no absolute definition of either word.Gnosis in Early Christian LiteratureIn its broadest sense, gnosis refers to knowledge gained through direct observation, philosophical study, and…

The notion of  gnosis (γνῶσις) is that of knowledge, often regarded as secret or reserved to some “perfect” people, from γιγνώσκω, “I know.” This concept of “gnosis” was central not only to the thought of the “gnostics,” belonging to the various trends of the so-called Gnosticism in imperial and late antiquity (on which see e.g. Marjanen, 2008), but also to that of Christian philosophers-theologians such as Clement of Alexandria, Origen of Alexandria, and Evagrius of Pontus, as will be …