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[German Version] In the 4th century, Christian art adopted the pagan custom of using the nimbus in illustrations to distinguish gods and other figures. (Contrary to O. Perler, Die Mosaiken der Juliergruft im Vatikan, 1953, there is no proof that the depiction of Sol [Sun: III] with its radiant nimbus in the mausoleum of Julius beneath St. Peter's in Rome is supposed to represent Christ. Compare Sol and the Seasons with nimbus, Rome, Peter and Marcellinus catacomb, chambers 45 and 67). The nimbus is meant to represent the supernatural glo…

[German Version] The rooster is a regular component of the foretelling of Peter’s denial and of the denial itself, and already appears in this connection in early Christian funerary art. The meaning of the scene is contested. It should most probably be thought of as a paradigm of confession. The rooster that appears from the 9th century on church towers in the West was interpreted in a variety of ways in the Middle Ages. Symbolic attributions such as watchfulness, caring, and fertility in other co…

[German Version] The life of Nicholas is shrouded in legend. In the first half of the 4th century he was apparently bishop in Myra in Asia Minor. His relics were translated in 1087 to Bari in Apulia (feast day Dec 6, translation May 9). Nicholas is one of the best-loved saints in the East, and since the 10th/11th centuries also in the West. He is considered a miracle-worker, not a martyr. Many legends have been handed down about him, in the East especially the saving of three generals from executi…

[German Version] The University of Greifswald opened on Oct 17, 1456. The mayor and jurist Heinrich Rubenow (murdered in 1462) must be considered its actual founder. The founding was associated with the establishment of a collegiate convent in 1457 at St. Nikolai, on whose 20 benefices the professors were appointed. In the beginning, the four faculties were scantily staffed, and the university was not large. Although initially it rejected the Reformation, the university reopened in 1539 on a Luthe…

[English Version] von Myra. Das Leben des N. verschwimmt im Legendenhaften; er war wohl in der 1. Hälfte des 4.Jh. Bf. in Myra, Kleinasien. Die Überführung seiner Reliquien nach Bari (Apulien) erfolgte 1087 (gefeiert am 6.12., Translation am 9.5.). N. ist einer der beliebtesten Heiligen im Osten und seit dem 10./11.Jh. auch im Westen; er gilt als Wundertäter, nicht als Märtyrer. Über N. sind vielfältige Legenden überliefert, im Osten v.a. die Errettung dreier Feldherrn vor der Hinrichtung. Im Weste…

[English Version] Nimbus, kunstgeschichtlich. Die christl. Kunst übernahm im 4.Jh. den heidnischen Brauch, Götter und andere Gestalten in Darstellungen durch einen N. auszuzeichnen. (Daß die mit Strahlennimbus versehene Sol-Darstellung [Sonne: III.] im Juliermausoleum unter St. Peter in Rom auch Christus meint, so O. Perler, Die Mosaiken der Juliergruft im Vatikan, 1953, ist durch nichts bewiesen, vgl. Sol und die Jahreszeiten, nimbiert, Rom, Marcellinus-Petrus-Katakombe, Kammer 45 und 67). Der N. …

[English Version] I. Religionsgeschichtlich Mythos und Symbolik des Ph. (griech. ϕοι˜n̆ιξ/phoi´nix, wohl »phön. [= purpurner] Vogel«) wird von der solaren Tradition (Sonne) bestimmt (dadurch Parallelen v.a. zum äg. Sonnenvogel benu): er kommt aus dem Osten (Indien, arab. Länder), stirbt durch Verbrennen, erscheint periodisch (Tacitus, Annales VI 28), ist Symbol der Auferstehung (: II.) Christi als wahrer Sonne (bzw. allg. 1Clem 25; Tert.res. 13), hat die Farben der Sonne (Strahlennimbus). Wohnsitz und Sp…

[German Version] I. Ancient Near East and Ancient Art – II. Christian Art I. Ancient Near East and Ancient Art Shepherds and their flocks were variously depicted in ancient cultures from the 3rd millennium bce, but there was no real “good shepherd” typos. Pre-imperial images of men with a sheep or ram around their shoulders or an animal on their arms are usually to be interpreted as carrying a sacrificial animal (exception, see below). In the Egyptian tombs of the Old Kingdom, besides depictions of other, purely realistic scen…

[German Version] I. Archaeology – II. Art History I. Archaeology That Jesus was buried in a rock-cut tomb (Mark 15:46; Matt 27:60; Luke 23:53) was only natural, for earth burial is not attested in Jerusalem (II) until the late Herodian period (Herod/Herodian dynasty) and was extremely rare. A stone rolled to seal the tomb (Mark 15:46; Matt 27:60) presupposes an elevated layout; only John 19:41f. situates it in a garden not far from Golgotha. That the area to the west of the later Constantinian church site (Constantine the Great) was used as a cemetery in the Hasmone…

[German Version] I. Terminology Pictorial representation of saints using all available artistic techniques has played a role in the evolution of the cult of the saints (Saints/Veneration of the saints) as well as of images in Christianity (Veneration of images). The image of Mary (Mary, Representations of) has always had a special place among images of the saints. Images of the saints combine commemoration, instruction, and cult: they keep alive the memory of the saints and tell how they lived and d…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies The myth and symbolism of the phoenix (Gk ϕοῖνιξ/ phoínix, probably “Phoen. [= purple] bird”) are determined by the solar tradition (Sun; hence, parallels inter alia to the Egyp. sun-bird, benu): it comes from the East (India, Arab countries), dies through immolation, appears periodically (Tacitus, Annales VI 28), is a symbol of the resurrection (II) of Christ as the true sun (or, more generally: 1 Clem. 25; Tert. Res. 13), and has the colors of the sun (nimbus of rays). Its dwelling and food are classically conceived as Elysium,…

[German Version] I. Person – II. Art History I. Person (c. 347, Stridon – 419/420, Bethlehem). Jerome was from a landowning Christian family. After an excellent education in grammar and rhetoric in Rome, Jerome went to Trier in the mid-360s. There he became acquainted withmonasticism (II) and rejected a secular career. He spent the following years in upper Italy. Probably at the beginning of the 370s, he undertook a pilgrimage to the holy sites in the East. However, an illness forced him to stop in Antioch. After recovering, he set out into the “wilderness of Chalcis.” Jerome stylized ¶ th…

[German Version] I. New Testament 1. The historical figure. Peter, originally called Simon, was born around the turn of the era in a Jewish household in Bethsaida, on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee (John 1:44; Gal 2:14f.); his father’s name was John (John 1:42) or Jonah (Matt 26:17: Simon bar Jonah; the plural bar Yone [“brigands in the wilderness”] as a term for Zealots is not supported by Giṭ. 56ab and does not suggest that Peter had Zealot sympathies). Peter lived in Capernaum with his wife, his mother-in-law, and his brother Andrew all under one roof (Mark 1:16…

[English Version] I. Neues Testament 1.  Historische GestaltP., urspr. Simon benannt, wurde um die Zeitenwende in einem jüd. Haus in Bethsaida am Nordufer des Sees Genezareth geboren (Joh 1,44; Gal 2,14f.) als Sohn eines Johannes (Joh 1,42) bzw. eines Jona (Mt 16,17: Barjona; die pluralische Bez. »Barjone« [»Strolche draußen in der Wildnis«] für Zeloten ist nicht vor Git 56ab belegt und kann nicht für zelotische Gesinnung des P. sprechen).In Kapernaum wohnte P. mit Frau, Schwiegermutter und Bruder Andreas unter einem Dach (Mk 1,16–18.29f.); die Familie lebt…

[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…

[English Version] I. ReligionswissenschaftlichDie Gesch. des Begriffs P. ist für die Bestimmung seiner Bedeutung aufschlußreich. Die Bez. P., die von altir. *paridaēza, wörtl. »Umwallung«, abgeleitet ist, erscheint als Lehnwort in vielen anderen Sprachen: z.B. als akkad. pardēsu, hebr. פַּרְדֵּס/pardes oder griech. παρα´δεισος/para´deisos. Diese Begriffe bezeichnen einen eingefriedeten Park, eine Gartenanlage (vgl. Xenophon, Anabasis VI 29,4) und in der Achämenidenzeit speziell die königliche Domäne). Erst in der LXX, durch die Verwen…

[German Version] I. Archaeology – II. Early Church – III. After 600 – IV. Councils – V. Patriarchate – VI. Literature – VII. Art – VIII. Church Music – IX. Judaism I. Archaeology Settlers from Megara settled Byzantium in the early 7th century on a previously inhabited hill on the Bosphorus, the most important water route from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea; a deep bay, the “Golden Horn” offered additional protection. In 324 ce, after the victory over Licinius, Constantine chose Byzantium as a new capital and dedicated it on May 11, 330 as Nea Roma, “New Rome”; soon the name …

[German Version] I. Church History – II. Law – III. Practical Theology – IV. Systematic Theology I. Church History 1. Early Church The Roman state (Roman Empire) tolerated philosophical atheism and a multitude of cults that flooded in from its conquered territories, but it refused to tolerate rejection of the cult of the official gods ( di publici populi Romani), on which the security of the state was believed to depend. Since Christians refused to participate in this cult, they inevitably came into conflict with the Roman state. Bot…

[German Version] I. History of Religion – II. Old Testament – III. Judaism – IV. New Testament – V. History of Theology – VI. Creation and Preservation – VII. Religious Education – VIII. Islam – IX. Science – X. Art History I. History of Religion 1. Fundamentals Life, nature, the environment, the passage of time – these are everyday experiences for any society. But reality also includes the danger that this world may be imperiled or perilous. Chaos and death are part …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies and History of Religions – II. Death and the Realm of the Dead in the Old Testament – III. Judaism – IV. New Testament – V. Philosophy – VI. Philosophy of Religion – VII. History of Dogma and Dogmatics – VIII. Ethics – IX. Practical Theology – X. Art – XI. Islam – XII. Buddhism – XIII. Hinduism I. Religious Studies and History of Religions 1. General Modern religious criticism regards religion as compensation for human anxiety in the face of death. …