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[German version] [1] Commander of the infantry of Herod the Gr. Pro-Roman commander of the infantry of Herod the Great (Jos. BI 2,3,4; 4,2,3; 5,2; Ant. Iud. 17,10,3; 17,10,6f.; 17,10,9). Rist, Josef (Würzburg) [German version] [2] Valerius G. Procurator of Judaea In AD 15-26 procurator of Judaea as successor of Annius Rufus (Jos. Ant. Iud. 18,2,2; 18,6,5) under emperor Tiberius. He was in turn succeeded by Pontius Pilate. Rist, Josef (Würzburg) Bibliography PIR2, 123, no. 146 (G. 1); 3, 357, no. 58.

[German version] Important bishop of  Caesarea in Cappadocia (died in AD 268). Shortly after 230 he became bishop and around 250 he instigated the deposition of bishop Fabius of  Antioch [1] who was inclined towards Novatianus. In the dispute on the baptism of heretics, the close friend of  Origenes sided with  Cyprianus [2] of Carthage and opposed the Roman bishop Stephanus I. Informed by Cyprianus, he replied in autumn 256 [1. 248] with a letter originally written in Greek (Cypr. epist. 75 [CCL …

[German version] Dogmatic florilegium, dating from the end of the 7th into the 8th cent. AD, that was put together from already existing but now partially lost Christological collections (i.a. ch. 24 and 33) and wrongly ascribed to the apocrisiary  Anastasius [3] († 666) or the abbot  Anastasius Sinaites [5] (died shortly after 700). Rist, Josef (Würzburg) Bibliography Edition: F. Diekamp, D., 1907. Bibliography: A. Grillmeier, Jesus der Christus im Glauben der Kirche 2/1, 21991, 94-100.

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Pompeius (Hebrew Mārēšā, Mārešā, ‘settlement on the heights’; Gr. Μάρισ(σ)α; Máris(s)a). City in the south-west of Judea ( Palaestina ). M. became Edomite (Edom) after the Exile and was probably an important administrative centre. It is known to us from frequent OT references (Jos 15:44; 2 Chr 14:8f.; 20:37 inter al.), non-biblical sources (e.g. Flavius Josephus) and numerous archaeological finds from Tell Sandaḫanna (‘Hill of St. Anna’; also known as Tell Mārēšā) located c. 2 km south of the modern Bet-Guvrin. Tra…

[German version] (Ἑνωτικόν; Henōtikón). Aimed at the churches of Egypt, Libya and the Pentapolis, on the occasion of patriarch Petrus Mongus' assumption of office, the H., promulgated in AD 482 by the East Roman emperor  Zeno, with the influential collaboration of patriarch Acacius of Constantinople (CPG III, 5999; originally Ἤδικτον Ζήνωνος, ‘edict of Zeno’, named H. since Zacharias Rhetor, Historia ecclesiastica 5,8; cf. Evagrius, Hist. eccl. 3,13f.), sought to restore the unity of belief and emp…

[German version] A special form of Christian asceticism common esp. in Syria, characterised by the ascetic's permanent abode on the top of a column (στυλίτης/ stylítēs, 'column-stander' of ὁ στῦλος/ ho stŷlos, 'column'). A connection to non-Christian forms (cf. the φαλλοβάται/ phallobátai in Lucian Syr. D. 28 f.) seems unlikely (differently [1]). The initiator and most important representative is Simeon the Elder (d. in AD 459) whose column became a destination for pilgrims. Other stylites of renown were the Simeon the Younger, Daniel, Alypius of Adrianopolis, Lazarus and Lucas. Ri…

[German version] (Εὐνόμιος; Eunómios). Bishop of Cyzicus († about AD 394). Of lowly origins, E., who was connected with the bishops Aetius of Alexandria and Eudoxius of Antioch, became Bishop of Cyzicus about AD 360. Following opposition he gave up his office. With the death of Aetius (367), E. became the sole leader of the church community of the Anhomoiousians ( Arianism) which had broken away from the imperial church. He was exiled repeatedly. Only a few of his writings are extant, among these being the Ἀπολογητικός ( Apologētikós) that was written about 360 and the work that w…

[German version] Bishop of Lycopolis in Middle Egypt. († c. AD 327), originator of a schism in the Egyptian church at the time of the Diocletian persecution ( Tolerance). Because of the frequent vacancies of episcopal sees, M. consecrated bishops in vacant bishoprics about 305/6 on his own initiative. Additional conflicts with bishop Petrus of Alexandria over the treatment of lapsi and the latent conflict between Alexandria and the rest of Egypt [2. 297] eventually resulted in his deposition. The numerically significant church of the M…

[German version] (Πνευματομάχοι/ Pneumatomáchoi, 'those who contend against the [Holy] Spirit'). Designation of a group of Christian theologians, active in Asia Minor primarily in the 2nd half of the 4th cent. AD, who denied the divinity ( homoousía) of the Holy Spirit. The first use of the expression pneumatomáchoi, in the form πνευματομαχοῦντες/ pneumatomachoûntes, is encountered in AD 358 in the letters of Athanasius of Alexandria to Bishop Serapion of Thmuis (Athan. Epist. ad Serapionem 1,32; 4,1). The local Egyptian group whom he calls 'tropi…

[German version] Theological controversy of the 7th cent. AD, closely linked to the politics of the Byzantine Empire. Monotheletism, as well as its predecessor, monenergism, is the doctrine of a single will (μόνος/ mónos, ‘single’; θέλημα/ thélēma, θέλησις/ thélēsis, ‘will’) or a single action or power of action (ἐνέργεια/ enérgeia) in Christ. Following military victories (Persian Wars), the East Roman Emperor Heraclius [7] (610-641) tried to reestablish ecclesiastical unity with the monophysites (Monophysitism). This was the starting point in…

[German version] Abbot general of the coenobitic association of monasteries founded by  Pachomius in Upper Egypt († after AD 386). Initially superior of the monastery in Šenesēt (Chenoboscium), H. was appointed by Abbot Petronius as his successor. After conflicts in the so-called poverty dispute, Theodorus took over the ‘deputy leadership’ [3. 527] for H. Later the latter again was head of the koinōnía (‘community’), initially jointly with Theodorus, and on his own after Theodorus' death. As a spiritual testament he wrote the Liber Orsiesii (Latin translation by  Hieronymus, …

[German version] (Coptic 'child of god'; Greek Σινούθιος/ Sinoúthios); abbot and important author of Coptic literature, died between AD 436 and 466 (466 is most often given as the year of his death). The stages in his life can be deduced from his writings and from a panegyric vita [6] written by his successor Besa. At an early stage, S., the son of a peasant family, entered the White Monastery at Sauhāǧ in Upper Egypt, which had been founded by a maternal uncle. He took over its leadership in about 385.…

[German version] (Greek Ἐβιωναῖοι; Ebiōnaîoi, from Hebr. םיִנֹויְבֶא < æbyōnı̄m, ‘[the] Poor’). Since  Irenaeus (Haer. 1,26,2); the usual collective term for selected, heterodox Jewish-Christian groups in antiquity. The name was wrongly interpreted as pejorative by Patristic authors (Euseb. Hist. eccl. 3,27; Orig. contra Celsum 2,1: ‘poor of mind’) or, since Tertullianus (De praescriptione haereticorum 10,8; also Hippolytus, refutatio omnium haeresium 7,35,1), ascribed to a homonymous namegiver Ebion, su…

[German version] (διδαχή; didachḗ, ‘teaching’ sc. ‘of the Twelve Apostles’). The earliest Church regulations, usually attributed to the  Apostolic Fathers. Highly prized in antiquity, frequently used in other works, the Didache has been known since 1873. The most important textual witness to this influential document of early Christian communality is the 11th-cent. Codex Hierosolymitanus 54. Greek and Coptic fragments, Ethiopic and Georgian translations, as well as considerable indirect transmission, including the Apostolic …

[German version] (Νοητός/ Noētós). Early Christian theologian (end of the 2nd cent. AD). According to the biased report of his adversary Hippolytus [2] (Refutatio omnium haeresium 9,7-10; 10,26f.) N. came from Smyrna. His heterodox teachings, which according to Hippolytus could be traced back to Heraclitus, were brought to Rome by Epigonus and further disseminated among the Roman bishops Zephyrinus ( c. 198-217) and Callistus (217-222) by Epigonus's pupil Cleomenes. N. is regarded as the founder of modalistic monarchianism. This school saw in the Father …

[German version] Monophysitism, a term known since the 7th cent. AD, refers to the doctrine that Christ, after the union of the divine and human, has a single nature (μόνος/ mónos, single; φύσις/ phýsis, nature). In a narrower sense, monophysites are opponents (who may be of a variety of theological and organisational backgrounds) of the doctrine of the two natures of Christ as stated by the Council of Calchedon (AD 451). Contrary to the definition of the Council (one person or hypostasis in two natures), they upheld the formul…

(named after N., bishop of Constantinople, AD 428-431; d. in c. 451). [German version] A. Life According to Socr. 7,29,2, N. was probably born after AD 381 in East Syrian Germanicea. The centre of his early work was Antiochia [1], where N. joined the monastery of Euprepius located outside of the city. Formative for his thinking was the so-called Antiochene theology represented by Diodorus [20] of Tarsus and Theodorus of Mopsu(h)estia (whose student he may have been). At Emperor Theodosius II's instigation, N., …

[German version] The term heresiologists refers to several early Christian authors, who enumerate past as well as contemporary  heresies in one or more of their works in an effort to describe and repudiate them. In the first three cents., this so-called antiheretical corpus (on the problems inherent in the concept of heresy cf. [1. 290-295]) focused on the disputes with  Gnosticism,  Montanism, and Jewish-Christian groups.  Iustinus provided a first collection of various heresies, tracing them back successively to their origin in Simon Magus ( Sýntagma; lost, content reconstru…

[German version] Initially the term for the Arian factions ( Arianism) gathered in the mid 4th cent. around bishop Macedonius of Constantinople († before AD 364). Later the name is applied to the pneumatomáchoi , i.e. all those, also non-Arians, who deny the divinity of the Holy Spirit. The eponymous Macedonius - initially in constant competition with the Nicene bishop Paulus who had been exiled on several occasions - became bishop of Constantinople in 342. After Paulus' final expulsion (in 351), sole bishop; …

[German version] ( Ibâs) Bishop of  Edessa [2] († AD 28 October 457), where he, as teacher at the ‘Persian School’ and follower of Antiochene theology, translated the works of  Theodorus of Mopsuestia,  Diodorus [14] of Tarsus, and Aristotle into Syrian. He was repeatedly attacked (i.e. accused of heresy and simony) and, as successor of the city bishop  Rabulas (Rabbula) in 436, was removed from office and exiled by the ‘Robber Synod’ of Ephesus (449) as a follower of  Nestorius, only to be reinstat…

[German version] Alleged author, otherwise unknown, of a powerfully effective anti-Manichaean ( Mani, Manichaeism) polemical treatise, recorded in its entirety only in Latin translation and known as the Acta Archelai (CPG 3570). Despite an indication of a Syrian source (Jer. Vir. ill. 72), the basis of the Latin translation from the 1st half of the 5th cent. could well have been a Greek original created between 330 and 348 [1. 136-140]. Information beyond any doubt regarding the author - H. names himself as author (Acta 68: ego scripsi; in the sense of ‘scribe’, ‘editor’?) - and…

[German version] ('saints' lives'), an important genre of hagiographic literature. The VS enjoy a special position among the documents concerning early Christian saints (B.) and their veneration. From the point of view of the literary genre, they belong to the biography ('spiritual biography': [5.8]), but they can also assume features of other Greek and Roman literary genres (such as the novel), as well as of biblical stories. Modern scholars favour the term 'hagiographic discourse', which includes numerou…

[English version] (Νοητός). Früchristlicher Theologe (E. 2. Jh.n.Chr.). Nach dem parteiischen Bericht seines Gegners Hippolytos [2] (Refutatio omnium haeresium 9,7-10; 10,26f.) stammt N. aus Smyrna. Die von ihm ausgehende, nach Hippolytos auf Herakleitos zurückgeführte heterodoxe Lehre wurde durch Epigonos nach Rom gebracht und durch dessen Schüler Kleomenes unter den röm. Bischöfen Zephyrinus (etwa 198-217) und Callistus (217-222) weiter verbreitet. N. gilt als Begründer des modalistischen Monarc…

[English version] Bischof von Edessa [2] († 28.10.457 n.Chr.). Dort übertrug H., Lehrer an der “Schule der Perser” und Anhänger der antiochenischen Theologie, Schriften des Theodoros von Mopsuestia, Diodoros [14] von Tarsos und des Aristoteles ins Syr. Wiederholt angegriffen (u.a. mit dem Vorwurf der Häresie und Simonie), wurde er, 436 dem Ortsbischof Rabulas (Rabbula) nachfolgend, auf der “Räubersynode” (Ephesos 449) als Anhänger des Nestorios abgesetzt und verbannt, in Chalkedon (451) aber rehab…

[English version] Generalabt des von Pachomios in Oberäg. gegr. koinobitischen Klosterverbandes († nach 386 n.Chr.). Zunächst Vorsteher des Klosters in Šenesēt (Chenoboskion); dann wurde H. durch Abt Petronios zum Nachfolger bestimmt. Nach Konflikten im sog. Armutsstreit übernahm Theodoros die “stellvertretende Leitung” [3. 527] für H. Später führte dieser erneut die koinōnía (“Gemeinschaft”), zunächst gemeinsam mit Theodoros, nach dessen Tod allein. Als geistliches Testament verfaßte er den Liber Orsiesii (lat. Übers. durch Hieronymus, im J. 404; Text und dt.…

[English version] Zunächst Bezeichung für die um Bischof Makedonios von Konstantinopel († vor 364 n.Chr.) Mitte des 4. Jh. gesammelten arianischen Gruppierungen (Arianismus). Später geht der Name über auf die pneumatomáchoi , d.h. all jene, auch Nichtarianer, die die Gottheit des Hl. Geistes bestreiten. Der Namensgeber wurde - zunächst in ständiger Konkurrenz zum mehrfach exilierten nizänischen Bischof Paulos - 342 Bischof von Konstantinopel. Nach Paulos' endgültiger Vertreibung (351) alleiniger Bischof, u…

[English version] [1] Befehlshaber der Fußtruppen Herodes d.Gr. Proröm. gesinnter Befehlshaber der Fußtruppen Herodes d.Gr. (Ios. bell. Iud. 2,3,4; 4,2,3; 5,2; ant.Iud. 17,10,3; 17,10,6f.; 17,10,9). Rist, Josef (Würzburg) [English version] [2] Valerius G. procurator von Iudaea 15-26 n.Chr., unter Kaiser Tiberius als Nachfolger des Annius Rufus Landpfleger ( procurator) von Judaea (Ios. ant. Iud. 18,2,2; 18,6,5). Ihm folgte Pontius Pilatus ins Amt. Rist, Josef (Würzburg) Bibliography PIR2, 123, Nr. 146 (G. 1); 3, 357, Nr. 58.

[English version] Bischof des mittelägypt. Lykopolis († um 327 n.Chr.), Urheber eines Schismas in der ägypt. Kirche z.Z. der diocletianischen Verfolgung (Toleranz). Infolge häufiger Sedisvakanzen nahm M. um 305/6 eigenmächtig Weihen in vakanten Bistümern vor. Zusätzliche Konflikte mit Bischof Petros von Alexandreia über die Behandlung der lapsi , verbunden mit dem latenten Gegensatz zw. Alexandreia und dem Rest Ägyptens [2. 297], führten schließlich zu seiner Absetzung. Die zahlenmäßig bed. Kirche der Melitianer (Übersicht…

[English version] (Ἑνωτικόν). Anläßlich der Amtsübernahme des Patriarchen Petros Mongos an die Kirchen Ägyptens, Libyens und der Pentapolis gerichtet, versucht das 482 n.Chr. vom oström. Kaiser Zenon unter maßgeblicher Mitwirkung des Patriarchen Akakios von Konstantinopel promulgierte H. (CPG III, 5999; urspr. Ἤδικτον Ζήνωνος, “Edikt Zenons”, seit Zacharias Rhetor, historia ecclesiastica 5,8, H. genannt; vgl. Euagrios, hist. eccl. 3,13f.), die nach dem Konzil von Chalkedon (Kalchedon) im J. 451 ge…

[English version] (Εὐνόμιος). Bischof von Kyzikos († um 394 n.Chr.). Aus einfachen Verhältnissen stammend, wurde der mit den Bischöfen Aëtios von Alexandreia und Eudoxios von Antiocheia in Verbindung stehende E. um 360 n.Chr. Bischof von Kyzikos. Nach Widerständen kam es zu Amtsverzicht. Mit dem Tod des Aëtios (367) wurde E. alleiniger Führer der von der Reichskirche abgespaltenen Kirchengemeinschaft der Anhomöer (Arianismus). Mehrmalige Verbannung. Nur wenige Schriften sind erh., darunter der um 360 verfaßte Ἀπολογητικός ( Apologētikós) und die 378 als Antwort auf die…

[English version] Unter der seit dem 7. Jh.n.Chr. belegten Bezeichnung M. wird jene Lehre verstanden, die von Christus nach der Einigung von Gottheit und Menschheit eine einzige Natur (μόνος/ mónos, “einzig”; φύσις/ phýsis, “Natur”) aussagt. Im engeren Sinne bezeichnet der Begriff “Monophysiten” (Mph.) unter Berücksichtigung einer großen theologischen und organisatorischen Vielfalt jene Gegner der Zwei-Naturen-Lehre des Konzils von Kalchedon (Chalkedon; 451), die entgegen dessen Glaubensentscheidung (eine Person oder Hypostas…

[English version] (Πνευματομάχοι, “Bekämpfer des [Hl.] Geistes”). Bezeichnung für eine vornehmlich in der 2. H. des 4. Jh. in Kleinasien wirkmächtige Gruppe von christl. Theologen, welche die Gottheit (Homousie) des Hl. Geistes leugnete. Erstmals begegnet der Ausdruck P. in der Form πνευματομαχοῦντες/ pneumatomachúntes 358 in den Briefen des Athanasios von Alexandreia an Bischof Serapion von Thmuis (Athan. epist. ad Serapionem 1,32; 4,1). Die dort als “Tropiker” bezeichnete lokale ägypt. Gruppe betrachtete den Geist als Geschöpf und b…

[English version] (διδαχή, “Lehre” sc. “der zwölf Apostel”). Früheste Kirchenordnung, gewöhnlich zu den Apostelvätern gezählt. Die in der Antike hochgeschätzte, mehrfach in anderen Schriften verarbeitete D. ist seit 1873 bekannt. Wichtigster Textzeuge dieses bed. Dokumentes einer frühchristl. Gemeindestruktur ist der Codex Hierosolymitanus 54 (11. Jh.). Griech. und kopt. Fragmente, eine äthiop. und georg. Übers. sowie eine breite indirekte Überlieferung (u.a. Apostolische Konstitutionen 7,1-32) ergänzen die Textgrundlag…

[English version] Bedeutender Bischof von Kaisareia/ Kappadokien (gest. 268 n.Chr.). Kurz nach 230 Bischof, betrieb er um 250 die Absetzung des dem Novatianus zuneigenden Bischofs Fabius von Antiocheia [1]. Im Ketzertaufstreit stellte sich der enge Freund des Origenes gegen den röm. Bischof Stephanus I. auf Seiten des Cyprianus [2] von Karthago. Von diesem informiert, antwortete er im Herbst 256 [1. 248] mit einem urspr. griech. verfaßten Brief (Cypr. epist. 75 [CCL 3C,582-604]), in welchem er die…

[English version] (griech. Ἐβιωναῖοι, von hebr. םיִנֹויְבֶא < æbyōnı̄m, “Arme”). Seit Irenaeus (haer. 1,26,2; Eirenaios) übliche zusammenfassende Bezeichnung für ausgewählte heterodoxe judenchristl. Gruppen der Antike. Der Name wurde von patristischen Autoren fälschlicherweise pejorativ gedeutet (Eus. HE 3,27; Orig. contra Celsum 2,1: “arm an Verstand”) bzw. seit Tertullianus (de praescriptione haereticorum 10,8; ebenso Hippolytos, refutatio omnium haeresium 7,35,1) einem als Schüler des Kerinthos bezei…

(benannt nach N., Bischof von Konstantinopolis, 428-431 n.Chr.; † um 451). [English version] A. Leben Nach Sokr. 7,29,2 stammte der wohl nach 381 n.Chr. geb. N. aus dem ostsyrischen Germanikeia. Zentrum des frühen Wirkens war Antiocheia [1], wo N. in das vor der Stadt gelegene Kloster des Euprepios eintrat. Prägend für sein Denken wurde die durch Diodoros [20] von Tarsos und Theodoros von Mopsu(h)estia (dessen Schüler N. vielleicht war) repräsentierte sog. antiochenische Theologie. Auf Betreiben des Kaisers Th…

[English version] Dieser Ort ist auf folgenden Karten verzeichnet: Pompeius (hebr. Mārēšā, Mārešā, “Siedlung auf der Höhe”; griech. Μάρισ(σ)α). Stadt im SW Iudaeas (Palaestina). Neben zahlreichen Erwähnungen im AT (Jos 15,44; 2 Chr 14,8f.; 20,37 u.a.) ist der wohl als Verwaltungszentrum wichtige Ort, der nach dem Exil edomitisch (Edom) wurde, durch außerbiblische Zeugnisse (u.a. Iosephos Flavios) und die reichen Grabungsfunde des ca. 2 km südlich des h. Bet-Guvrin gelegenen Tell Sandaḫanna (“Hügel der Hl. …

[English version] Sonst unbekannter, vorgeblicher Verf. einer wirkmächtigen, vollständig nur in lat. Übers. überlieferten und als Acta Archelai (CPG 3570) bekannten antimanichäischen (Mani, Manichäismus) Streitschrift. Trotz eines Hinweises auf eine syr. Quellenschrift (Hier. vir. ill. 72), dürfte die Grundlage der noch in der 1. H. des 5. Jh. gefertigten lat. Übers. ein zw. 330 und 348 entstandenes griech. Original gewesen sein [1. 136-140]. Zweifelsfreie Angaben zu Autor - H. nennt als Verf. sich selbst (Acta 68: ego scripsi; im Sinne von “Schreiber”, “Redaktor”?) - …

[English version] Eng mit der byz. Reichspolitik verknüpfte theologische Kontroverse des 7. Jh.n.Chr. Unter M. sowie dem als Vorläufer auftretenden Monenergismus wird die Lehre von einem einzigen Willen (μόνος/ mónos, “einzig”; θέλημα/ thélēma, θέλησις/ thélēsis, “Willen”) bzw. einer einzigen Tätigkeit oder Wirkkraft (ἐνέργεια/ enérgeia) in Christus verstanden. Kirchenpolit. Ausgangspunkt der vorrangig in Byzanz bzw. mit dem röm. Papsttum ausgetragenen Konflikte war der Versuch des oström. Kaisers Herakleios [7] (610-641), nach mil. Erf…

[English version] Als Häresiologen bezeichnet man verschiedene frühchristl. Autoren, die in einer oder mehreren ihrer Schriften vergangene und zeitgenössische Häresien aufzählen, inhaltlich beschreiben oder zu widerlegen versuchen. Schwerpunkte dieses sog. antihäretischen Schrifttums (zur Problematik des Häresie-Begriffs vgl. [1. 290-295]) liegen in den ersten drei Jh. auf der Auseinandersetzung mit Gnosis, Montanismus sowie judenchristl. Gruppierungen. Eine erste Zusammenstellung verschiedener Häresien und ihrer sukzessiv auf Simon Magus zurückge…

[English version] Dogmatisches, an der Wende vom 7. zum 8. Jh.n.Chr. enstandenes Florilegium, welches auf der Grundlage bereits existenter, h. z.T. verlorener christologischer Sammlungen (u.a. Kap. 24 und 33) erstellt und fälschlicherweise dem Apokrisiar Anastasios [3] († 666) bzw. dem Abt Anastasios Sinaites [5] († kurz nach 700) als Verf. zugeschrieben wurde. Rist, Josef (Würzburg) Bibliography Ed.: F. Diekamp, D., 1907. Lit.: A. Grillmeier, Jesus der Christus im Glauben der Kirche 2/1, 21991, 94-100.

(Θεοδώρητος; Theodṓrētos). [German version] [1] Bishop of Cyrrhus, 1st half of the 5th cent. Bishop of Cyrrhus (born in c. 393, bishop in 423, died in c. 466). T. received a solid classical education in the monastic milieu of Antioch [1]. A devoted pastor in his diocese, he fought against heretics (Heresy) and worked towards improving living conditions. In the Christological conflict between Cyrillus [2] of Alexandria and Nestorius he joined the latter without reservations. He was dismissed by the Synod of Ephesus in 449…

(Συνέσιος; Synésios) [German version] [1] S. of Cyrene Neoplatonist philosopher and bishop, c. AD 400 Neoplatonist philosopher and bishop ( c. AD 370 - c. 413). S., of a leading family at Cyrene (Libya superior), first studied at Alexandria [1] with the Neoplatonist philosopher Hypatia. From 399 to 402 (or 397-400; S.' chronology is disputed) he went to the court at Constantinople at the bidding of his home city to obtain tax relief. He then travelled to Alexandria (where he married a Christian) and subsequently retire…

(Πρόκλος/ Próklos). [German version] [1] Bishop of Constantinople 434-446 Bishop of Constantinople (434-446). Probably born before 390 in Constantinople, after a thorough schooling, P. occupied a position of trust under bishop Atticus (406-425). In 426, Atticus' successor Sisinnius consecrated him bishop of Cyzicus, but, in face of local opposition, P. was unable to occupy his bishop's chair. Passed over on many occasions, he eventually became bishop of Constantinople in 434. He stood in high esteem as a preacher; besides letters - among them the epistle of 435 Tomus ad Armenios (CP…

(Ζαχαρίας/ Zacharías, Graecised form of the Hebrew Zacharyah, 'Yahweh remembers'). [German version] [1] Stoned to death at the command of the king Joash, 9th cent. BC According to 2 Chr 24:17-22, Zechariah bar Jehoiada was stoned to death in the Temple at the command of the king Joash (840-801 BC), for having reproached the people for practicing idolatry and hence abandoning their god. The Jewish Haggada developed this story: the blood of the murdered one boils on the floor of the Temple and does not come to rest (ultima…

[German version] A. Definition Christianity (Χριστιανισμός, Christianismós) was a monotheistic religious system ( Monotheism) which emerged from Judaism in the procuratorial province of Judaea during the 1st cent. AD. At Christianity's centre were the life and mission of Jesus of Nazareth, whose adherents regarded him as the ‘Messiah’, or God's ‘anointed’ (Χριστός, Christós), and as his son, wholly participating in the nature of God. Trombley, Frank R. (Cardiff) [German version] B.1 Cultural adaptation The word ‘Christian’ (χριστιανός, christianós) arose after c. 36 in An…

(εξήγησις; exḗgēsis) [German version] A. Judaism The Jewish exegesis, which started within the biblical texts themselves in the form of explanatory glossaries and extrapolations in antiquity served to bring up to date the traditions of the sacred scriptures ( Bible). In early Judaism, biblical stories were retold (known as the ‘Rewritten Bible’), e.g. the ‘Book of Jubilees’ ( c. mid 2nd cent. BC) or the Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum ( c. end of the 1st cent. AD). These retellings fill in narrative gaps in the biblical text, reconcile contradictions, and also add…

(Ἰγνάτιος; Ignátios). [German version] [1] Bishop of Antioch Bishop of Antioch, martyr, ranks as an Apostolic Father ( Apostolic Fathers). Rist, Josef (Würzburg) [German version] A. Biography The person and work of I. cannot be separated from each other because the only certain biographical information is extant in the corpus of letters ascribed to him. Therefore, the position taken in the ‘Ignatian debate’, i.e. in the discussion over the unity and genuineness of the preserved letters (see [4], with response [5; 6]), al…

(Λεύκιος; Leúkios). [German version] [1] Roman in the Ptolemaic army L. (= Lucius), son of Gaius, Roman, Ptolemaic phroúrarchos on Itanus (between 221-209 BC), thus the first Roman known to have had a higher rank in the Ptolemaic army. PP VI 15117. Ameling, Walter (Jena) [German version] [2] L. Charinus Ostensible author of apocryphal Acts of the Apostles Ostensible author of apocryphal Acts of the Apostles. As such L. appears once with a double name in the middle of the 9th cent. in Photius (Bibl. cod. 114), who ascribes to him the authorship of the …

(Βασιλείδης; Basileídēs). [German version] [1] Leader of the  Epicurean School (since 201/0) Epicurean (c . 245-175 BC.), fourth leader of the  Epicurean School (since 201/0) who taught Philonides of Laodicea on the Pontus. He studied mathematics and is known for his discussions in Alexandria with the father of the mathematician Hypsicles about a writing by Apollonius [13] of Perge. He is also known for a debate together with Thespis, another Epicurean, about anger, held against Nicasicrates and Timasagoras. Dorandi, Tiziano (Paris) Bibliography Testimonia: W. Crönert, Kolotes…