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Gratus

(83 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
[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) …

Moses

(1,439 words)

Author(s): Knauf, Ernst Axel (Berne) | Ego, Beate (Osnabrück) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
(Hebrew Mošæh, Greek Μω(υ)σῆς; Mō(y)sȇs). [1] Israelite religious founder [German version] I. Biblical tradition According to tradition, M. was a Levite who grew up as an Egyptian prince, was forced to flee to Midian, was called there by the god Yahweh to lead the enslaved Hebrew people out of Egypt; Biblical cultic and moral law were revealed to him on Mt. Sinai, and he led the Hebrew people through the desert to the edge of the Promised Land, where he died on Mount Nebo, across from Jericho (Ex 2 - Dt 34). …

Firmillianus

(166 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
[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 3C,582-604]) in which he rejected Stephanus's demands to give up the baptism of heretics and his …

Doctrina patrum de incarnatione verbi

(79 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
[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. …

Titus

(1,331 words)

Author(s): Wick, Peter (Basle) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg) | Steinbauer, Dieter (Regensburg) | Eck, Werner (Cologne)
[German version] I Greek (Τίτος/ Títos). [German version] [I 1] Companion of Paul Important 'assistant' and 'partner' of Paul (Paulus [II 2]; 2 Cor 8,23), of unknown origin. Taken by Paul to the Apostles' Convent in Jerusalem as a 'Gentile Christian', he was not compelled to be circumcised there, in spite of the demands of the Judaists (Gal 2:1-3). Paul sent T. to Corinth on several occasions as his negotiator (2 Cor 7:6 f.; 7:13 f.; he also appeared as an independent co-organizer of the collects: 8:6; 8:16 …

Dositheus

(947 words)

Author(s): Schwemer, Anna Maria (Tübingen) | Folkerts, Menso (Munich) | Ego, Beate (Osnabrück) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg) | Gatti, Paolo (Trento)
(Δωσίθεος; Dōsítheos). [German version] [1] Jewish apostate …

Marissa

(172 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
[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 …

Uranius

(384 words)

Author(s): Schottky, Martin (Pretzfeld) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg) | Gärtner, Hans Armin (Heidelberg)
(Οὐράνιος/ Ouránios). [German version] [0] Usurper, mid 3rd cent. L. Iulius Aurelius Sulpicius Severus U. Antoninus, usurper, who had coins minted in Emesa in 253/4; very likely identical with the priest of Aphrodite Sampsigeramus (Ioh. Mal. 12 p. 296 f.) who warded off an attack on Emesa by the Persian army in 253, in the course of which their leader (in the text Sapor [1] I himself) was killed. It may be that Or. Sib. 13,158-171 and IGLS 1799-1801 also refer to these events. When with Valerianus' [2] d…

Henotikon

(140 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
[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 inf…

Demetrius

(7,578 words)

Author(s): Badian, Ernst (Cambridge, MA) | Schütrumpf, Eckart E. (Boulder, CO) | Günther, Linda-Marie (Munich) | Meier, Mischa (Bielefeld) | Strothmann, Meret (Bochum) | Et al.
(Δημήτριος; Dēmḗtrios). Well-known personalities: the Macedonian King D. [2] Poliorketes; the politician and writer D. [4] of Phalerum; the Jewish-Hellenistic chronographer D. [29]. I. Politically active personalities [German version] [1] Officer under Alexander the Great Officer under Alexander [4], fought at Gaugamela as commander of a troop ( ile) of  Hetairoi and in India he commanded a hipparchy. Badian, Ernst (Cambridge, MA) Bibliography Berve 2, no. 256. …

Stylites

(109 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg)

Petrus

(2,718 words)

Author(s): Frank, Karl Suso (Freiburg) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg) | Plontke-Lüning, Annegret (Jena) | Tinnefeld, Franz (Munich) | Savvidis, Kyriakos (Bochum)
[German version] [1] Apostle (Πέτρος/ Pétros, literally 'the rock'). Apostle, leading figure in the group of disciples called by Jesus of Nazareth and in the original Christian community. Frank, Karl Suso (Freiburg) [German version] A. General comments Sources documenting his life include: (1) the NT writings: the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, Paul's letters (1 Corinthians, Galatians), the 1st and 2nd letter of P. (biographical analysis needs to take into account the special character of these writings); (2) early Church writings that preserve the memory of P., document his growing reputation and provide evidence of the continuing importance of the figure of P. in the Church. Frank, Karl Suso (Freiburg) [German version] …

Evagrius

(598 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg) | Markschies, Christoph (Berlin) | Portmann, Werner (Berlin)
(Εὐάγριος; Euágrios) [German version] [1] Ponticus Christian writer and monastic leader Religious writer and monastic spiritual leader (AD 345-399). Born in the Pontic Ibora, he was a pupil of  Gregorius of Nazianzus; after periods spent in Constantinople (ordination to deacon) and Jerusalem, he stayed in the Egyptian anchorite community of Kellia (Nitrian desert) from 383 as a much sought-after spiritual advisor. Posthumously condemned as an Origenist (553 Council of Constantinople), his few extant works …

Georgius

(817 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg) | Tinnefeld, Franz (Munich) | Berger, Albrecht (Berlin) | Vassis, Ioannis (Athens)
[German version] [1] Bishop of Laodicea Bishop of  Laodicea (died c. AD 360). The Alexandrine presbyter G., dismissed by his local bishop Alexander in c. 320 because of his radical  Arianism, became bishop of Syrian Laodicea

Socrates

(6,685 words)

Author(s): Neudecker, Richard (Rome) | Döring, Klaus (Bamberg) | Hoesch, Nicola (Munich) | Stanzel, Karl-Heinz (Tübingen) | Harmon, Roger (Basle) | Et al.
(Σωκράτης; Sōkrátēs). [German version] [1] Sculptor from Thebes, c. 470 BC Sculptor from Thebes. He created a cult statue of Meter Dindymene for Pindar [2] in Thebes (Paus. 9,25,3) and therefore must have worked in the 'Severe Style' around 470 BC. Paus. 1,22,8 attributed a relief of the Charites and a Hermes Propylaios on the Acropolis in Athens to the philosopher S. [2] as the alleged sculptor. The relief of the Charites is identified as the model of a much-copied type. Because it is dated to around 470, it has to be attributed to the Theban S. Its popularity came from its alleged creation by the philosopher S. Plin. HN 36,32 mentions a controversial identity wit…

Eunomius

(180 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
[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…

Diodorus

(3,891 words)

Author(s): Kinzl, Konrad (Peterborough) | Riedweg, Christoph (Zürich) | Döring, Klaus (Bamberg) | Badian, Ernst (Cambridge, MA) | Bartels, Jens (Bonn) | Et al.
(Διόδωρος, Διόδορος; Diódōros, Diódoros). Well-known representatives of the name: the philosopher D. [4] Kronos, the mathematician D. [8] of Alexandria, the universal historian D. [18] Siculus, the early Christian theologian D. [20] of Tarsus. [German version] [1] Athenian fleet commander in the Peloponnesian War Athenian, fleet commander with Mantitheus at the end of 408-407 BC at the Hellespont with a sufficient number of ships, so that Alcibiades [3] was able to sail to Samos and Thrasyllus and Theramenes to Athens (Diod. Sic. 13,68,2). (Traill, PAA 329550; Develin 171). Kinzl, Konrad (Peterborough) [German version] [2] Athenian, fell at Mantinea in 362 BC Athenian from Erchia, son of Xenophon, after 399…

Sextus

(2,046 words)

Author(s): Holzhausen, Jens (Bamberg) | Frede, Michael (Oxford) | Steinbauer, Dieter (Regensburg) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
I Greek [German version] [I 1] Author of a collection of 'gnomes' The name 'Sextus' is associated with a Greek collection of 610 maxims (Gnome) in all, known from two Greek MSS (Patm. 263, Vat. Gr. 742; Pap. Palau Rib. 225v, c. AD 400 offers 21 'gnomes'); they probably originated c. AD 200. Origenes [2] is the first to mention the title Σέξτου γνῶμαι ( Séxtou gnômai), remarking among other things that 'most Christians read them' (Orig. Contra Celsum 8,30). In about 399, Rufinus [II 6] Tyrannius translated a collection of 451 maxims i…

Dionysius

(11,175 words)

Author(s): Meister, Klaus (Berlin) | Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) | Ameling, Walter (Jena) | Badian, Ernst (Cambridge, MA) | Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) | Et al.
(Διονύσιος; Dionýsios). Famous personalities: D. [1], the tyrant of Syracuse; the historian D. [18] of Halicarnassus. Dionysios (month),  Months, names of the. The chronicle of Ps.-D. by Tell Maḥre see D. [23]. I. Politically active personalities [German version] [1] D. I. Notorious tyrant in Syracuse c. 400 BC of Syracuse, son of Hermocritus, born in c. 430 BC, died in 367 BC. Founder of the ‘greatest and longest tyrannical rule in history’ (Diod. Sic. 13,96,4; appearance: Timaeus FGrH 566 F 29). Possessing a sophist education (Cic. Tusc. 5,63), D. had enormous ambitions a…

Theodoretus

(442 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg) | Baumbach, Manuel (Zürich)
(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…

Pneumatomachoi

(353 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
[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 (

Marcellus

(1,746 words)

Author(s): Weißenberger, Michael (Greifswald) | Fornaro, Sotera (Sassari) | Schmidt, Peter L. (Constance) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg) | Markschies, Christoph (Berlin) | Et al.
[German version] I. Greek (Μαρκέλλος; Markéllos). [German version] [I 1] From Pergamum, orator, 2nd cent. AD, [1] Rhetor from Pergamum known solely from a brief reference in the Suda; he is said to have written a book (or several books) entitled Ἀδριανὸς ἢ περὶ βασιλείας/ Adrianòs ḕ perì basileías (‘Hadrian, or On Monarchy’). He would thus have lived in the first half of the 2nd cent.; whether Dio's [I 3] speeches perì basileías, addressed to Trajan, served as a model is uncertain. Weißenberger, Michael (Greifswald) [German version] [I 2] From Side, physician and poet, 2nd cent. AD M. from Side. Famous physician and poet of the 2nd cent. AD, author of 42 bks. of Iatriká in hexameters concerning remedies; three fragments about fishes are extant, which partly correspond to the so-called Koiranídes of the Corpus Hermeticum ; one section deals with…

Theophilus

(1,625 words)

Author(s): Bäbler, Balbina (Göttingen) | Ameling, Walter (Jena) | Karttunen, Klaus (Helsinki) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg) | Giaro, Tomasz (Frankfurt/Main) | Et al.
(Θεόφιλος; Theóphilos). [German version] [1] Comic poet, 4th cent. BC Comic poet of the 4th cent. BC; victor at the Dionysia of 329 [1. test.2], fourth there in 311 with his Pankratiastḗs [2.190, 200]. T. was of the declining Middle and the incipient New Comedy [I G]. Of the nine known titles, two - Νεοπτόλεμος ( Neoptólemos, 'Neoptolemus'), Προιτίδες ( Proitídes, 'The daughters of Proitus') - are mythological plays, the others deal with everyday material. In the Ἐπίδημοι ( Epídēmoi, 'The Pilgrims'), a slave considers whether to run away from his kind master (fr. 1); in the Φίλαυλος ( Phílaul…

Monotheletism

(305 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
[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 ecclesiastical politics for the conflicts waged primarily in Byzantium and against the Roman papacy. With the way paved theologically by what was referred to as neo-Chalcedonism (interpreting the Council of Chalcedon in accordance with Cyril [2] of Alexandria) [4], in 633 a union was established with the Egyptian monophysites on a monenergetic basis (a God-man power of action in Christ). Massive resistance led to the withdrawal of the formula, but the commitment to Mo…

Horsiesi

(178 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
[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, …

Serapion

(769 words)

Author(s): Hübner, Wolfgang (Münster) | Ameling, Walter (Jena) | Zimmermann, Bernhard (Freiburg) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg) | Albiani, Maria Grazia (Bologna)
(Σεραπίων; Serapíōn). [German version] [1] S. of Antioch Mathematical geographer, 1st cent. BC Mathematical geographer to whom Plin. HN 1,2 referred to as gnomonicus ('measurer of shadows'). In 59 BC, Cicero (who was his contemporary) received S.'s geographical treatise from Atticus as the newest source for his planned Geographica but was hardly able to understand the content (Cic. Att. 2,4,1). In the treatise, Cicero encountered S.'s fierce criticism of Eratosthenes [2] (ibid. 2,6,1). S. estimated the circumference of the sun to be 18 times t…

Gelasius

(565 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg) | Markschies, Christoph (Berlin) | Brändle, Rudolf (Basle)
[German version] [1] Bishop of Caesarea [2] Maritima/Palaestina Bishop of  Caesarea [2] Maritima/Palaestina (died before AD 400). The nephew of  Cyrillus of Jerusalem, installed as bishop around 365/367, took part in the Council of Constantinople in 381 and in the synod there in 394. At the wish of his uncle, G. wrote a continuation of the Church history by  Eusebius [7] of Caesarea, going as far as 395, which had a long-lasting effect (Gelasius of Cyzicus, hagiographic lives, etc.). Parts of the lost s…

Leontius

(1,073 words)

Author(s): Ameling, Walter (Jena) | Günther, Linda-Marie (Munich) | Tinnefeld, Franz (Munich) | Giaro, Tomasz (Frankfurt/Main) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg) | Et al.
(Λεόντιος; Leóntios). [German version] [1] Ptolemaic commander of Seleucid Pieria, late 3rd cent. BC Ptolemaic commander of Seleucea Pieria; in 219 BC, he surrendered the city to Antiochus [5] III after initial resistance in a hopeless position. Ameling, Walter (Jena) [German version] [2] General of peltasts, 3rd cent. BC Macedonian, named general of peltasts by Antigonus [3] Doson in his will. Together with Megaleas, L. opposed the pro-Achaean politics of Philippus V and his mentor Aratus [2]; after inciting the elite troops against the k…

Eutyches

(362 words)

Author(s): Michel, Simone (Hamburg) | Gatti, Paolo (Trento) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
(Εὐτύχης; Eutýchēs). [German version] [1] Gem-cutter of the 1st cent. AD Gem-cutter of the 1st cent. AD, signed as ‘son of  Dioscorides of Aegeae’ the rock crystal with a bust of Athena (Berlin, SM), in the style of the Athena of Velletri. Athena of  Velitrae;  Intaglio;  Gem and cameo cutters Michel, Simone (Hamburg) Bibliography Zazoff, AG, 31770, 331 pl. 92,3 AGD II, Berlin 169 pl. 80 and 81 no. 456. [German version] [2] Lat. grammarian of the 4th cent. AD (Eutyc(h)ius, MSS), Latin grammarian of the 4th cent. AD, a pupil of  Priscianus and author of an Ars de verbo, probably identical with…

Synesius

(476 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg) | Albiani, Maria Grazia (Bologna)
(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…

Shenoute of Atripe

(446 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
[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.…

Eustathius

(1,031 words)

Author(s): Weißenberger, Michael (Greifswald) | Brisson, Luc (Paris) | Vassis, Ioannis (Athens) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg) | Markschies, Christoph (Berlin)
(Εὐστάθιος; Eustáthios). [German version] [1] from Caria Rhetor of the 4th cent. AD, imperial administrator, consularis Syriae Rhetor of the 4th cent. AD; studied in Athens and later settled in Tyre. He held many offices in the imperial administration, and used them to enrich himself (i.a.: rationalis summarum per orientem), in 388 he was consularis Syriae. He was at first a friend of  Libanius (panegyric: Lib. Or. 44), later his enemy (diatribe: Or. 54, cf. also Or. 1,271-275). There is no other witness apart from Libanius. Weißenberger, Michael (Greifswald) [German version] [2] Neop…

Ebionaei

(379 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
[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…

Iohannes

(7,268 words)

Author(s): Frey, Jörg (Stuttgart) | Domhardt, Yvonne (Zürich) | Markschies, Christoph (Berlin) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg) | Redies, Michael (Berlin) | Et al.
(Ἰωάννης; Iōánnēs). Well-known persons i.a.: I. [1] the Evangelist, I. [4] Chrysostomos, bishop of Constantinople and Homilet, I. [18] Malalas, author of the world chronicle, I. [25] of Gaza, rhetor and poet, I. [33] of Damascus, the theologian, I. [39] Baptistes. [1] I. the Evangelist [German version] A. Tradition and criticism According to the inscriptions, the author of a  Gospel (Jo), of three letters and the Apocalypse in the NT is called I. (= J.; the name appears only in Apc. 1:1; 1:4; 1:9; 22:8). Since the end of the 2nd cent. (Iren. adv…

Diognetus

(335 words)

Author(s): Kinzl, Konrad (Peterborough) | Mehl, Andreas (Halle/Saale) | Pressler, Frank (Heidelberg) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
(Διόγνητος; Diógnētos). [German version] [1] Athenian, victor at the Dionysia in 415 BC Athenian, son of Niceratus, from Cyantidae; brother of Nicias and Eucrates [2], father of Diomnestus. Winner at the Dionysia in 415 BC (Pl. Grg. 472a), afterwards exiled; in Athens in 404-03. Intervened in 403 with Pausanias on behalf of Nicias' sons. Died c. 396 (Lys. 18,4; 9f.; 21; And. 1,47). Perhaps identical with the person named by Traill (PAA 327535, 327540). Traill, PAA 327820; Davies 10808. Kinzl, Konrad (Peterborough) [German version] [2] Nauarch of Antiochus III c. 220 BC As nauarch of An…

Didache

(448 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
[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 …

Proclus

(2,700 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg) | Saffrey, Henri D. (Paris)
(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…

Noetus of Smyrna

(201 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
[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 …

Zacharias

(658 words)

Author(s): Ego, Beate (Osnabrück) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
(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…

Christianity

(4,343 words)

Author(s): Trombley, Frank R. (Cardiff) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
[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…

Monophysitism

(448 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
[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…

Nestorius, Nestorianism

(1,062 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
(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., …

Exegesis

(725 words)

Author(s): Ego, Beate (Osnabrück) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
(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…

Ignatius

(872 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg) | Albiani, Maria Grazia (Bologna)
(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…

Iustinus

(1,495 words)

Author(s): Tinnefeld, Franz (Munich) | Schmidt, Peter L. (Constance) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg) | Holzhausen, Jens (Bamberg)
[German version] [1] I. I Eastern Roman general AD 518-527 (AD 518-527), emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, born a farmer's son around 450 in Bederiana (like  Iustinianus [1] I.), he came to Constantinople with  Leo I and was soon a member of the palace guard; under  Anastasius I he was comes rei militaris and from 515 comes excubitorum. In the dispute over the succession to Anastasius, who died without an heir, a majority in the Senate supported his candidacy and eventually he was also acclaimed by the army and the people, and was crowned on 10 Jul…

Heresiology

(307 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
[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…

Historiography

(6,587 words)

Author(s): Frahm, Eckart (Heidelberg) | Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) | Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) | Meister, Klaus (Berlin) | Hose, Martin (Munich) | Et al.
I. Ancient Orient [German version] A. Introduction Judged by the principles of modern historiography, this discipline did not exist in the Ancient Orient. Nevertheless, the past has bee…

Hermias

(778 words)

Author(s): Engels, Johannes (Cologne) | Ameling, Walter (Jena) | Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
(Ἑρμίας; Hermías). [German version] [1] Around 350 BC tyrant over Atarneus and Assos (or Hermeias) Around 350 BC successor of Eubulus as tyrant over  Atarneus and  Assos (Diog. Laert. 5,3), possibly pupil of Plato (Str. 13,1,57; Theopomp. FGrH 115 F 250; by contrast Pl. Ep. 6,322e). Along with other philosophers he brought Aristotle to the court and married him to his niece  Pythias. After the Persians had reconquered Egypt in 343/342, H. considered his region to be under threat and contacted  Philippus II (Dem. Or 10,31f. with schol.). For this reason, Darius [3] III probably had him arrested and executed in 341 (Diod.Sic. 16,52,1ff.). Callisthenes and Aristoteles praise his philosophical education and exemplary conduct as ruler and during his execution (cf. Callisthenes FGrH 124 F 2; Aristot. fr. 674f. Rose), while Theopompus criticized the life of H. in t…

Macedoniani

(296 words)

Author(s): Rist, Josef (Würzburg)
[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
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