Religion Past and Present
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Subject: Religious Studies
Edited by: Hans Dieter Betz, Don S. Browning†, Bernd Janowski and Eberhard Jüngel
Religion Past and Present (RPP) Online is the online version of the updated English translation of the 4th edition of the definitive encyclopedia of religion worldwide: the peerless Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart (RGG). This great resource, now at last available in English and Online, Religion Past and Present Online continues the tradition of deep knowledge and authority relied upon by generations of scholars in religious, theological, and biblical studies. Including the latest developments in research, Religion Past and Present Online encompasses a vast range of subjects connected with religion.
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Religion Past and Present (RPP) Online is the online version of the updated English translation of the 4th edition of the definitive encyclopedia of religion worldwide: the peerless Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart (RGG). This great resource, now at last available in English and Online, Religion Past and Present Online continues the tradition of deep knowledge and authority relied upon by generations of scholars in religious, theological, and biblical studies. Including the latest developments in research, Religion Past and Present Online encompasses a vast range of subjects connected with religion.
Subscriptions: see brill.com
Barabbas
(344 words)
[German Version] (Aram. בַּר אַבָּאַ, “son of the father”, Gk Βαραββᾶς) is an unspecified patronymic, commonly used according to the Talmud (
b. Ber. 18b) and also attested in Greek inscriptions (
SEG I 7,489,1). In the story of the Passion, Barabbas appears 11 times in the context of the Passover amnesty. As this Barabbas is not attested anywhere else outside the NT, details regarding his person can only be deduced on the basis of the few …
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Religion Past and Present
Barbara, Saint
(202 words)
[German Version] (day: Dec 4; since 1969 no longer in the festival calendar of the Catholic Church). According to the legend that probably originated as early as the 7th century in Byzantium, the time and place of her martyrdom is usually given as Nicomedia during the time of Emperor Maximianus (306). The legend was adapted by, among others, John of Damascus (
PTS 29, 247–278) and Symeon Metaphrastes (10th cent.;
PG 116, 301–316). Barbara, the historically undocumented single child of a pagan dignitary by the name …
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Religion Past and Present
Barbelo/Barbeliots
(153 words)
[German Version] "Barbelo" is the name or epithet of a female entity who appears in Gnostic texts as the first emanation of the (androgynous) supreme being and as the cause for the appearance of the pleroma (including the heavenly Christ). The meaning of the Semitic/Aramaic name is uncertain ("God is in the four," "daughter of the lord," "mighty through God"). Barbelo comes from a semi-Jewish wisdom tradition. Irenaeus calls one Gnostic group "Barbelo Gnostics" (
Haer. I, 29; possibly from a gloss); the same group appears again in Epiphanius…
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Religion Past and Present
Barclay, John
(148 words)
[German Version] (Jan 28, 1582, Pont à Mousson, Lorraine, where his father, a lawyer from Scotland, taught at the university – Aug 15, 1621, Rome) lived from 1606 until 1616 in London during the reign of James I. A
roman à clef criticized celebrities of the time, but also the Puritans, the papacy, and the Jesuits (
Euphormio, 1605–1607, with indexes;
Apologia, 1611).
Icon Animorum (1614) reproduced national stereotypes. As a Catholic, Barclay was unable to obtain an influential position and went to Rome in 1617, where he established himself by a
Paraenesis ad Sectarios (1617). In 1621, h…
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Religion Past and Present
Barclay, Robert
(86 words)
[German Version] (1648, Gordonstown, Morayshire – 1690, near Aberdeen), Quaker apologist. His father, David Barclay (1610–1686) became a Quaker in 1665, the son in 1667. Barclay had previously studied at the Roman Catholic Scots College (Paris). He was one of the six most important personalities that shaped Quakerism. A ten year series of publications culminated in a
Apology (Latin 1676, translated into English by himself in 1678), still the standard reference book of Quakerish faith. Dean Freiday Bibliography E. Trueblood,
Barclay, 1967 (bibl.).
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Religion Past and Present
Bardesanes
(314 words)
[German Version] (Syriac Bardaiṣan; 154, Edessa – 222, probably Edessa) was the court philosopher of King Abgar VIII (177–212) of Edessa. Nothing remains of his many Syriac works except for a few fragments of his hymns preserved by Ephraem Syrus. Also extant in Syriac is the
Book of the Laws of Diverse Countries, a dialogue on fate and freedom written by one of his disciples. Greek, Latin, Syriac, and Arabic authors also preserve, in various different versions, ac…
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Religion Past and Present
Barefoot Friars
(94 words)
[German Version] (Discalceates). The term for religious people who, as an expression of penitence and in reference to Jesus' missionary instructions, wear no shoes or only sandals: in the Middle Ages, these were at first the Camaldolese and especially the Franciscans, who came to be known as Barefoot Friars in Germany; in the modern period, especially the Passionists. Going barefoot is also characteristic for reform movements in some of the older orders since the 16th century (Carmelites Augustinian Hermits, Trinitarians, Mercedarians). Ulrich Köpf Bibliography E. Pacho, “Scalz…
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Religion Past and Present
Bar Hebraeus, Gregor
(149 words)
[German Version] (Arab. Abūʾl-Farağ 1225/1226, Melitene [Malatya] – 1286, Marāgheh) was ordained Syrian Orthodox bishop in 1246; in 1264, he became chief prelate (maphrian) of the East, with his primary residence in Azerbaijan. He was a famous physician. Educated in Aristotelian philosophy, he became a notable encyclopedist with a compendium of ecclesiastical …
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Religion Past and Present
Bar Hiyya, Abraham
(197 words)
[German Version] (c. 1065–1136) was the first Jewish rationalistic philosopher and scholar to write in Hebrew. His many trips to Northern Spain and the Provence, where Jews were no longer familiar with Arabic, prompted him to write his treatises in Hebrew. His main philosophical works are
Hegyon ha-Nefesh (“The Meditation of the Soul”) dealing with creation of the world, the nature of the soul, and repentance, and
Megillat ha-Megalle (“The Scroll of the Discoverer”) dealing with creation and cosmology with a strong …
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Religion Past and Present
Barion, Hans
(228 words)
[German Version] (Dec 16, 1899, Düsseldorf – May 15, 1973, Bonn), consecrated to the priesthood on Aug 14, 1924 in Cologne, was active for many years as pastor; he was Dr. theol. (Bonn) and Dr. jur. can. (Rome), gained his
Habilitation in church law under A.M. Koeniger and taught in Braunsberg from 1931 to 1938. A report on the question of the sterilization of persons with hereditary illnesses resulted in a one-year suspensi…
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Religion Past and Present
Bar Kokhba Revolt
(529 words)
[German Version] The Bar Kokhba Revolt was the second Jewish war against Rome (132–135 CE), named after its leader Simon bar Kosiba whose name has been interpreted both positively (bar Kokhba – “Son of the star”: Num 24:17) and – after the failure of the rebellion – negatively (bar Koziba – “Son of the liar”). The official designation of Bar Kokhba was the title “Nasi” (prince) that goes back to Ezek 37:24ff. and the Qumran tradition and is known from coins depicting the uprising and from documents from the Judean desert. It is uncertain whether Bar Kokhba regarded himself as a Messiah (
y. Taan. …
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Religion Past and Present
Barlaam and Joasaph
(147 words)
[German Version] are the heroes of an edifying Greek novel from the mid-Byzantine period that narrates the conversion of prince Joasaph, son of the Indian king Abenner, by the hermit Barlaam. Joasaph also becomes a hermit, converts his father, and distinguishes himself by performing various miracles. The path by which this originally Indian fable came to be attributed to …
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Religion Past and Present
Barlaam of Calabria
(162 words)
[German Version] (c. 1290, Seminara, Calabria – 1348, Avignon) came to Constantinople as a monk in 1325, where he conducted a debate over philosophy and astronomy in 1330. He discussed theological issues with legates from Pope John XXI in 1334/1335 and wrote a series of treatises directed against the
Filioque and papal primacy. He used a political mission to Avignon (1339) as an opportunity for unification discussions (Unions with …
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Religion Past and Present
Barlach, Ernst
(453 words)
[German Version] (Jan 2, 1870, Wedel, Holstein – Oct 24, 1938, Rostock), sculptor, graphic artist, and poet. He spent his childhood in Schönberg in Mecklenburg, studied in Hamburg and Dresden, made trips to Paris, and was a ceramics instructor. A journey to southern Russia in 1906 marked a decisive turning point: works in porcelain, terracotta, and bronze were inspired by the sketches of his “Russian Diary,” likewise his first artworks in wood. He was impressed by the vastness of the Russian landscape and the natural simplicity of its inhabitants. Following his emancipation from
Art Nou…
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Religion Past and Present
Barletta, Gabriel
(87 words)
[German Version] (born in Barletta, southern Italy, died after 1481) was a Dominican, for a time teacher of theology in Parma, prior in Siena, and preacher of repentance in several northern Italian cities. He relaxed the customary manner of scholastic preaching somewhat through the use of many examples and, occasionally, by means of an earthy humorous tone. His sermons were widely distributed. According to the proverb,
Nescit praedicare, qui nescit barlettare. Joachim Weinhardt Bibliography A. Alecci,
DBI VI, 1964, 399f
SOPMA II, 1975, 4f.
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Religion Past and Present
Barlow, Thomas
(184 words)
[German Version] (1607, Westmoreland – Oct 8, 1691, Buckden), bishop of Lincoln. He was educated at Queen's College, Oxford. Barlow's career at Oxford and in the church was marked by an ability to adapt to the most varied situations. Having retained his position as librarian of the Bodleian Library during the Civil War and Protectorate (1642–1660), he became p…
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Religion Past and Present
Barlow, William
(156 words)
[German Version] (c. 1565, London or Barlow – Sep 7, 1613, Lincoln), bishop of Lincoln. He was educated at St. John's College in Cambridge (M.A. 1587). Having gained a certain reputation for his learning, he was elected fellow at Trinity Hall from which he received a Doctor of Divinity in 1599. Archbishop J. Whitgift made him his ch…
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Religion Past and Present
Barmen Declaration, The
(2,457 words)
[German Version] I. The First Confessing Synod of the German Protestant Church (DEK) – II. The Barmen Declaration
I. The First Confessing Synod of the German Protestant Church (DEK)
1. The first Confessing Synods of the German Protestant Church (Deutsche Evangelische Kirche = DEK) took place from May 29–31, 1934 in the Reformed
Gemarker Kirche in Wuppertal (Barmen). It had been prepared by the organizational panel of the Confessing Community and was chaired by K. Koch, the …
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Religion Past and Present
Bar Mitzvah
(129 words)
[German Version] (lit. “son of the commandment”), someone who commits himself to the observance of Jewish religious and legal obligations. This initiation rite (Rites of passage) is performed for boys at the age of 13 and one day, and for girls at the age of 12 and one day. The term appears in the Talmud, though it was not used in this sense until the 15th century. The ceremony includes being called to the Torah, reading the weekly portion of the Torah or at least part of it, reading the Haftara, putting on the Tefillin, and giving a speech. Kimmy Caplan Bibliography I. Rivkind,
Bar Mitzvah: A Stu…
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Religion Past and Present