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
Papal States
(356 words)
[German Version] The Papal States are the territory in Italy formerly ruled by the papacy. Their core was the Patrimonium Petri that had been developing since the 4th century (under the sovereignty of the Byz. emperor until well into the 8th cent.). In the 8th century, the expansionist designs of the Lombards led to an alliance between the papacy and the Franks. In return for papal legitimation of the Carolingians, Pope Stephen II received from King Pippin the Short an oral promise of protection w…
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Religion Past and Present
Paphnutius the Anchorite (Saint)
(96 words)
[German Version] (4th cent., Egypt), ascetic living in solitude from the region of Heracleopolis in the Fayyum. He died in his cell in the year 394/395, shortly before the visit of a group of pilgrims, who collected and recorded stories about him (
Historia monachorum 16). The stories compare favorably the virtuous lives of three urban dwellers (a flautist, the head of a village, and a pearl merchant) with the ascetic life of Paphnutius. James E. Goehring Bibliography ¶ A.-J. Festugière,
Les moines d’orient, vol. IV/1:
Enquête sur les moines d’Égypte, 1964, 90–97.
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Religion Past and Present
Paphnutius the Antilope
(78 words)
[German Version] (4th cent., Egypt), ascetic priest, who was visited by Cassian in Scetis. Paphnutius appears as speaker in Cassian’s “On Renunciation” in:
Collationes patrum. His preference for solitude earned him the nickname “Antilope” (bubal) (Cass.,
Collationes III; XVIII 15). He is probably the same figure as Paphnutius Kephalas (Palladius of Helenopolis,
Historia Lausiaca 47;
Apophth. Patr., Antonius 29). James E. Goehring Bibliography A. Guillaumont, “Paphnutius of Scetis, Saint,”
The Coptic Encyclopedia VI, 1991, 1884.
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Religion Past and Present
Paphnutius the Confessor (Saint)
(98 words)
[German Version] (late 3rd – 4th cent., Egypt), bishop and ascetic. Paphnutius was mutilated in the early persecutions of the 4th century. Later he participated in the Council of Nicea, where he defended married clerics and gained the favor of Constantine the Great (Tyrannius Rufinus,
Hist. eccl. X 4.18; Sozomen,
Hist. eccl. I 10.23). He is reputed to have had links with St. Anthony (Athan.,
Vita Antonii, 58), and is credited with miracles. James E. Goehring Bibliography F. Winkelmann, “Paphnutius. Der Bekenner und Bischof,” in: P. Nagel, ed.,
Probleme der koptischen Literatur, 1968, …
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Religion Past and Present
Paphnutius the Hermit (Saint)
(77 words)
[German Version] (4th cent., Egypt), anchorite and author of the legendary
Vita Timothei et Onuphri (BHO 818). The text recounts Paphnutius’s miraculous journey deep into the Egyptian desert, to the cell of the aged Onuphrius. Paphnutius recorded Onuphrius’s story, and buried him. James E. Goehring Bibliography R.G. Coquin, “Paphnutius the Hermit, Saint,”
The Coptic Encyclopedia VI, 1991, 1882f. T. Vivian,
Histories of the Monks of Upper Egypt and the”Life of Onnophrius”by Paphnutius, 1993.
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Religion Past and Present
Papias
(381 words)
[German Version]
Papias, bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia, contemporary of Ignatius of Antioch (Ignatian Epistles; Eus.
Hist. eccl. III 36.1) and the presbyter John of Ephesus (Eus.
Hist. eccl. III 39.7), wrote an
Interpretation of the Sayings of the Lord in five books. Except for a few quotations and excerpts accompanying (partially contradictory) statements about the author, the work has been lost; the most important fragments are preserved by Irenaeus of Lyon and Eusebius of Caesarea. Attempts to identify additional sources (Loofs,…
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Religion Past and Present
Papineau, Louis-Joseph
(167 words)
[German Version] (Oct 7, 1786, Montreal – Sep 25, 1871, Montebello, Quebec), lawyer, seigneur of Montebello, member of the legislative assembly of Lower Canada (1809–1838), United Canadas (1848–1854; Canada). Papineau led the majority liberal-nationalist party for more than 20 years, advocating self-determination for the Lower Canadian colony. The ensuing constitutional crisis set off popular uprisings in 1837/1838, which were crushed by the British army. As a deist (Deism), Papineau favored the f…
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Religion Past and Present
Pappus, Johannes
(168 words)
[German Version] (Jan 16, 1549, Lindau – Jul 13, 1610, Straßburg [Strasbourg]) studied in Straßburg, Tübingen (Dr.theol. 1573) and Basel. Beginning in 1570, ¶ he taught at Straßburg, first as professor of Hebrew, then as professor of history; in 1578 he was appointed professor of theology and pastor of Straßburg Minster. After the death of J. Marbach in 1581, as head of the church in Straßburg he suppressed the remnants of Reformed practice and enforced Lutheranism. This brought him into conflict with Johannes Sturm, who published an
Antipappus in 1578. The church order of 1598 ac…
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Religion Past and Present
Papua New Guinea
(1,008 words)
[German Version] I. General – II. Non-Christian Religions – III. Christianity – IV. Religion, Society, and Culture Today
I. General Papua New Guinea, a parliamentary democracy and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, is the product of a 1975 merger of the former German colony of Kaiser-Wilhelm’s-Land (1884–1914, after 1920 a mandate of the League of Nations then of the UN) and the former British colony of Papua (1884–1907, after 1902 administered by Australia). The first Portuguese looking for spices named the island Papua (Malay
orang papuwah, “wooly-haired people”) in 1526; t…
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Religion Past and Present
Papyri, New Testament
(8 words)
[German Version] Bible Manuscripts
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Religion Past and Present
Papyrology
(855 words)
[German Version] When great numbers of papyri were discovered in the sands of Egypt at the end of the 19th century, the specialized discipline of papyrology developed within classical studies. Situated like Greek epig-¶ raphy between Greek philology and ancient history, it identifies its job as being primarily to decipher and evaluate the Greek texts preserved on Egyptian papyri (and other writing materials from the same culture, such as ostraca, parchment, wooden tablets, etc.), which constitute the vast majority of the papyri,…
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Religion Past and Present
Parabalani
(153 words)
[German Version] (from Gk παραβαλανεῖς/
parabalaneís, lit. “bath attendants”), Alexandrian church personnel, assigned to care for the sick (
Cod. Theod. XVI 2.43). While their origin, clerical status, and the precise nature of their work remain obscure, by the 5th century they were a select force, recruited from the poorer sections of society, who proved fiercely loyal to the ecclesiastical ¶ authorities. Bishops made use of them on occasion for ruthless accomplishment of their goals. Parabalani seem to have been involved in the murder of Hypatia of Alexa…
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Religion Past and Present
Parable
(4,033 words)
[German Version] I. Old Testament – II. New Testament – III. Fundamental Theology – IV. Philosophy of Religion – V. Religious Education and Preaching – VI. Judaism
I. Old Testament A similitude (from Lat.
similis, “like”; Ger.
Gleichnis, “simile”) differs from a concise simile in its textological extent. A situation or event is visualized by comparison to an analogous situation or event in a different, more concrete area of everyday life. Unlike a fable, a similitude presents only one essential point (
tertium comparationis) common to the objects of comparison. The concrete an…
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Religion Past and Present
Paracelsus
(508 words)
[German Version] (Theophrastus Bombastus v. Hohenheim; 1493/1494 Einsiedeln – Sep 24, 1541, Salzburg), physician, natural philosopher, mystic, and lay theologian. Besides his significant contributions to natural science and medicine, he influenced early Pietism ( J.V. Andreae, J. Arndt, V. Weigel), Hermeticism (Rosicrucians, Schwenckfelders, anthroposophy), and mysticism ( J. Böhme). The son of a Swabian physician, Paracelsus remained a nominal “Catholic” to the end of his life. More than a third …
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Religion Past and Present
Para-Church Organizations
(8 words)
[German Version] Non Governmental Organizations
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Religion Past and Present
Paraclete, The Occurrences and Religious Background
(424 words)
[German Version] In the New Testament, the term παράκλητος/
paráklētos appears only in the Johannine literature (John, Gospel of, John, Epistles of). It is a nominalized verbal adjective, originally meaning “one who is called in, advocate.” In 1 John 2:1, the Paraclete is identified with the exalted Christ, who intercedes with God on behalf of the members of the Johannine community. The term has its roots in the Old Testament and early Judaism in the notion of heavenly advocates interceding with God. All…
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Religion Past and Present
Paradigm
(1,766 words)
[German Version] I. Natural Sciences – II. Philosophy – III. Fundamental Theology – IV. Ethics
I. Natural Sciences In the natural sciences, the term
paradigm (from Gk παράδειγμα/
parádeigma, “pattern, model”) is commonly used to refer to exemplary models for scientific work. A particular way of setting up an experiment or a simulation, or a strategy for giving evidence for a conclusion, can be described as a paradigm. On a more general level, influential basic theories or scientific works introducing such theories (e.g. Jo…
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Religion Past and Present
Paradise
(5,515 words)
[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Bible – III. History of Doctrine and Dogmatics – IV. Judaism – V. Islam – VI. Buddhism – VII. History of Art and Literature
I. Religious Studies The history of the term “paradise” is informative for determining its meaning. The word “paradise” is derived from the ancient Iranian *
paridaēza, literally “surrounding wall.” It appears as a loanword in many other languages, for example as the Akkadian
pardēsu, the Hebrew פַּרְדֵּס/
pardes or the Greek παράδεισος/
parádeisos. These terms denote an enclosed park or garden (cf. Xeno-¶ phon,
Anabasis V…
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Religion Past and Present