The Ebionites Research Paper

CHRISTOLOGICAL HERESIES I. Ebionism.
This heresy is the view that Jesus was in nature just a man, denying his divinity altogether. The Ebionites were an offshoot of the specifically Jewish form of Christianity, which was a potent force in the apostolic age. The rapid spread of Christianity among the Gentiles diminish its influence and the dispersal of the Christian community from Jerusalem to the Transjordan on the outbreak of the Jewish War (A.D. 66) isolated it completely. The Ebionites rejected the virgin birth, regarding Jesus as a man normally born of Joseph and Mary; they held he was the predestined Messiah, and in this capacity he would return to reign on earth. Hippolytus and Tertullian connect their name with one Ebion, presumably
the apocryphal founder of the sect; but in fact the name is derived from the Hebrew for "poor," probably reflecting the title that the original Jewish-Christian community in Jerusalem liked to be known. II. Adoptionism.
This heresy is the view that Jesus was in nature a man who became the Son of God by Adoption; that is, that Jesus was virtuous man that God adopted and constituted him as His Son. The earliest extant writing that expresses this view is the Shepherd of Hermas, which is thought to be written by the brother of the bishop of Rome about A.D. 150. It taught that Jesus was an ordinary man, born of Mary and Joseph; at his baptism the Spirit or Christ descended upon Jesus and at his crucifixion the Christ departed, leaving the man Jesus to suffer alone. A similar view was held by Theodotus, a learned Byzantine leather-merchant, who came to Rome from Byzantium about A.D. 190. He taught that Jesus was a man who was born of a virgin through the operation of the Holy Spirit. Because of the purity of his life, at his baptism the Spirit, or Christ, descended on him and he received power for his special ministry. But he was still not fully God; some of his followers believed that at his resurrection Jesus did become God. Theodotus was excommunicated by the Roman Pope Victor (186-198 A.D.) but his ideas were taken up by an Artemas (or, Artemon) and by another Theodotus, who was a banker. They founded a separate church early in the third century. The Adoptionist Controversy arose in 8th century Spain and it was condemned in the Charlemagne-sponsored synods of 792, 794 and 799 A.D. III. Docetism.
This heresy is the view that Jesus was in nature divine, eliminating his humanity. The name Docetism (Greek, dokein = "to seem") indicated the distinctive thesis of it that Christ 's man hood, hence his sufferings, were unreal, phantasmal, appearing only to be human. It claimed that Christ only appeared or seemed to be a man. This view clearly shows the Graeco-Oriental assumption the divine impassability and the inherent evil nature of matter. The first to mention expressly "Docetists" is Serapion of Antioch (c. 200 A.D.). It was not a simple heresy on its own, but was an attitude which infected a number of heresies, particularly Marcionism and Gnosticism. This is seen in the remark of Justin Martyr, "There are some who declare that Jesus Christ did not come in flesh but only as a spirit, and exhibited an appearance (phantasian) of flesh." Some Docetists even claimed that someone else was crucified in the place of Christ. Polycarp anathematized those who refused to "confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh" (Compare I John 4:13). IV. Arianism.
This heresy is the view that Jesus was not fully divine although still related to God as a son to a father. The exact nature of this relation was widely discussed in the early church from A.D. 318 to 381 and it required 18 councils before it was fully settled, beginning with the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 and ending with the Council of Constantinople in A.D. 381. The dispute started with the teachings of Arius, then a presiding as presbyter over the church district of Baucalis in Alexandria, Egypt. The fundamental premise of his system is the affirmation of the absolute uniqueness and transcendence of God, the unoriginate source (agennetos arche) of all reality. Since God is unique, transcendent and indivisible, the being or essence (ousia) of the Godhead cannot be shared or communicated. For God to impart His substance to some other being, however exalted, would imply that He is divisible (diairetos) and subject to change (treptos), which is inconceivable. Moreover, if any other being were to participate in the divine nature in any valid sense, there would result a duality of divine beings, where the Godhead is by definition unique. Therefore whatever else exists must have come into existence, not by any communication of God 's being, but by an act of creation on His part, that is, must have been called into existence out of nothing. Of course God is God the Father. What then is the relation of the Son or the Word to God, to the Father? Arius, given his view of God, logically concluded the following four things about this relation: a. The Son or the Word of God must be a creature, ktisma or poiema. b. As a creature the Son or the Word must have had a beginning. c. The Son can have no communion with, and indeed no direct knowledge of, His Father. d. The Son must be liable to change and even sin (treptos; alloiotes).
The net result of this teaching was to reduce the Word to demigod; even if infinitely transcended all other creatures, He Himself was no more than a creature in relation to God, the Father. The controversy came to be expressed by two Greek words: homoousias, the Son is of the same essence as the Father, andhomoiousias, the Son is of similar essence as the Father. The Nicene creedal formula, saying that Son is homoousias with the Father, became the orthodox view, and Arianism was condemned. V. Apollinarianism.
This heresy was the view of the Person of Jesus that when the Logos (a perfect divine nature) assumed a human body in Jesus, it took the place of his human mind or soul. This was the view advanced by Apollinaris (c.310-c.390 A.D.), Bishop of Laodicea, in opposition to the doctrine of Arianism. Both views were held to be unorthodox and Apollinarianism was condemned by the Second Ecumenical Council, the First Council of Constantinople in A.D. 381. Apollinaris who was a man of piety and ability, and highly esteemed even by those who disagreed with him, propounded the theory of the Person of Chirst which bears his name. Apollinarianism, assuming the Platonic distinction between body (soma), animal soul (psuche), and rational soul or mind (nous), as three distinct element in man, viewed Christ as having a human body and an animal soul, but not a human rational soul, as the seat of rationality and intelligence. Instead of a human rational soul, the divine Word of God took its place and was the divine nature in Christ. Thus Christ was not completely human. Apollinaris was a strong opponent of Arius but arrived at a similar view of the Person of Chirst as Arius. Arius appears to have held that the human nature of Christ consist merely of His body, with which the Word entered into union, so that He had no human soul. And he was driven to this by the exigency of his position. For since the Logos of Arius was a created being, and the soul of Christ, if He had one, must also have been created, the absurity would arise if there were two created intelligences in one Person, a thing that is inconceivable. But if the manhood of Christ consists merely of a body, this difficulty is evaded. Apollinaris borrowed a part of his antagonist 's theory, but with the view of effectually guarding against his conclusions that the Son of God was a lesser God. Apollinaris assumed the Platonic tripartite view of man 's nature, according to which man is composed of body, animal soul, and rational soul. Allowing Christ the possession of an animal soul, Apollinaris made the Logos take the place of the rational soul. His motive was to obviate the Arian conception of Christ, in investing the rational soul with the attribute of unchangeableness, and consequent sinlessness. And no doubt his theory does this effectually. But his theory stands or falls with the validity of Platonic tripartite division. After many years of controversy, Apollinarianism was condemned at the Council of Constantinople, A.D. 381, and its author deposed from his bishopric. VI. Nestorianism.
This heresy was the view of the Nestorians, who were followers of Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople (A.D. 428). He objected to the use of the term "Theotokos", God-bearer, to refer to Mary as implying that the baby in Mary 's womb had only one nature, divine nature. He proposed the use of the term "Christokos", Christ-bearer, to better emphasize the unity of the two natures of Jesus. Nestorius published these views in his Easter letter of A.D. 429. Cyril of Alexandria objected arguing that it was essential to maintain that God Himself had entered the womb of Mary; therefore she was "Theotokos" without qualification. Both men appealed to Rome. In A.D. 430 at a council held in Rome, Nestorius was condemned and deposed. He appealed to the emperor Theodosius II, who had appointed him patriarch, and the Synod of Ephesus was held in A.D. 431, which ultimately condemned, deposed and banished him to upper Egypt. VII. Monophysitism
This heresy was the view of the Eutychians, who were the followers of Eutyches, an aged and muddle-headed archimandrite who, because of the favor and influence he enjoyed at court, found himself the rallying point of all who disliked the accord of A.D. 433, the Symbol of Union. On 8 Nov 448 A.D., at a meeting of the Standing Synod of Constantinople, he was denounced as heretical by Eusebius of Dorylaeum. Eutyches refused to appear at the session on 12 Nov, and when he did appear, on 22 Nov, it was to hear sentence passed on himself. The verdict of those present, all supporters of the Union Symbol, was that he was a follower of Valentinus and Apollinarius, and he was accordingly deposed. Historically he is considered to be the founder of an extreme and virtually Docetic form of monophysitism, teaching that the Lord 's humanity was totally absorbed by His divinity. He vigorously repudiated the suggestion of the two natures in the Incarnate as un-Scriptural and contrary to the teachings of the Fathers; he affirmed that the Incarnate had two natures before the incarnation, one after. Although Eutyches was excommunicated and deposed, he wrote to Pope Leo, but his letter was unsuccessful. On 13 June 449 A.D. Leo dispatched his famous Dogmatic Letter, or Tome, to Flavian, the local patriarch, who had tried Eutyches, and made clear his hostility to the One Nature doctrine.

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List of Christian heresies
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Heresy has been a concern in Christian communities at least since the writing of 2 Peter: "even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them"(2P. 2:1-AV). While in the first two or three centuries of the early Church heresy and schism were not clearly distinguished and a similar overlapping occurred in medieval scholastic thought, heresy is understood today to mean the denial of revealed truth as taught by the Church.[1] Schleiermacher, writing in 1821/2 defined it as "that which preserved the appearance of Christianity, and yet contradicted its essence".[2]
The Catholic Church makes a distinction between 'material ' and 'formal ' heresy. Material heresy means in effect "holding erroneous doctrines through no fault of one´s own" as occurs with people brought up in non-Catholic communities and "is neither a crime nor a sin" since the individual has never accepted the doctrine.[1] Formal heresy is "the wilful and persistent adherence to an error in matters of faith" on the part of a baptised member of the Catholic Church. As such it is a grave sin and involves ipso facto excommunication. Here "matters of faith" means dogmas which have been proposed by the infallible Magisterium of the Church[3] and, in addition to this intellectual error, "pertinacity in the will" in maintaining it in opposition to the teaching of the Church must be present.[4]
While individual Protestant churches have also used the concept in proceedings against individuals and groups deemed to be heretical by those churches, the lack of a central doctrinal authority has meant that beliefs can often not be unanimously considered heretical from the Protestant perspective. Likewise the Eastern Orthodox Church officially declares a heresy only at an ecumenical council, and currently only accepts the First seven Ecumenical Councils as ecumenical.
The following listing contains those opinions which were either explicitly condemned by Chalcedonian Christianity before 1054 or are of later origin but similar. Details of some modern opinions deemed to be heretical by the Catholic Church are listed in an appendix. All lists are in alphabetical order.
Further information: First seven Ecumenical Councils
Contents
[hide] * 1 Early Christianity * 1.1 Trinitarian/Christological * 1.2 Gnosticism * 1.3 Other Early Church Heresies * 2 Medieval * 3 Opinions classed as heretical by Roman Catholicism * 3.1 Counter-Reformation * 3.2 Restorationism * 3.3 Modern Movements * 4 See also * 5 References
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Early Christianity[edit source | editbeta]
Further information: Early Christianity
Traditionally, orthodoxy and heresy have been viewed in relation to the "orthodoxy" as an authentic lineage of tradition. Other forms of Christianity were viewed as deviant streams of thought and therefore "heterodox", or heretical. This view was dominant until the publication of Walter Bauer 's Rechtgläubigkeit und Ketzerei im ältesten Christentum ("Orthodoxy and heresy in ancient Christianity") in 1934. Bauer endeavored to rethink early Christianity historically, independent from the views of the church. He argued that originally unity was based on a common relationship with the same Lord rather than on formally defined doctrines and that a wide variety of views was tolerated. With time, some of these views were seen as inadequate. He went on to attribute the definition of "orthodoxy" to the increasing power and influence of the Church of Rome. In 1959, Henry Chadwick argued that all Christian communities were linked by the foundational events which occurred in Jerusalem and continued to be of defining importance in the forging of doctrinal orthodoxy.[5]MacGrath comments that historically Chadwick 's account appears to be much the more plausible.[5]
For convenience the heresies which arose in this period have been divided into three groups: Trinitarian/Christological; Gnostic; andother heresies.
Trinitarian/Christological[edit source | editbeta]
Main articles: Trinity and Christology
The term Christology has two meanings in theology. It can be used in the narrow sense of the question as to how the divine and human are related in the person of Jesus Christ, or alternatively of the overall study of his life and work.[6] Here it is used in the restricted, narrow sense.
The orthodox teaching concerning the Trinity, as finally developed and formally agreed at Constantinople in 381,[7] is that God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit were all strictly one being in three hypostases, misleadingly translated as "persons".[8] The christological question then arose as to how Jesus Christ could be both divine and human. This was formally resolved after much debate by the Ecumenical Councils of 431, 451 and 680 (Ephesus, Chalcedon & Constantinople III). Trinitarian/Christological Heresies | Heresy | Description | Origin | Official Condemnation | Other | Adoptionism | Belief that Jesus was born as a mere (non-divine) man, was supremely virtuous and that he was adopted later as "Son of God" by the descent of the Spirit on him. | Propounded byTheodotus of Byzantium, a leather merchant, in Rome c.190, later revived byPaul of Samosata | Theodotus was excommunicated by Pope Victor and Paul was condemned by the Synod of Antioch in 268 | Alternative names:Psilanthropism and Dynamic Monarchianism.[9] Later criticized as presupposing Nestorianism (see below) | Apollinarism | Belief that Jesus had ahuman body and lower soul (the seat of the emotions) but a divinemind. Apollinaris further taught that the souls of men were propagated by other souls, as well as their bodies. | proposed by Apollinaris of Laodicea (died 390) | Declared to be a heresy in 381 by the First Council of Constantinople | . | Arianism | Denial of the true divinity of Jesus Christ taking various specific forms, but all agreed that Jesus Christ was created by the Father, that he had a beginning in time, and that the title "Son of God" was a courtesy one.[10] | The doctrine is associated with Arius(ca. AD 250––336) who lived and taught inAlexandria, Egypt. | Arius was first pronounced aheretic at the First Council of Nicea, he was later exonerated as a result of imperial pressure and finally declared a heretic after his death. The heresy was finally resolved in 381 by the First Council of Constantinople. | All forms denied that Jesus Christ is "consubstantial with the Father" but proposed either "similar in substance", or "similar", or "dissimilar" as the correct alternative. | Docetism | Belief that Jesus ' physical body was an illusion, as was his crucifixion; that is, Jesus only seemed to have a physical body and to physically die, but in reality he was incorporeal, a pure spirit, and hence could not physically die | Tendencies existed in the 1st century, but it was most notably embraced by Gnosticsin subsequent centuries. | Docetism was rejected by theecumenical councils and mainstream Christianity, and largely died out during the first millennium AD. | Gnostic movements that survived past that time, such as Catharism, incorporated docetism into their beliefs, but such movements were destroyed by the Albigensian Crusade (1209–1229). | Luciferians | Strongly anti-Arian sect in Sardinia | Founded by Lucifer Calaritanus a bishop of Cagliari | Deemed heretical by Jeromein his Altercatio Luciferiani et orthodoxi | | Macedonians orPneumatomachians("Spirit fighters") | While accepting the divinity of Jesus Christ as affirmed at Nicea in 325, they denied that of the Holy Spirit which they saw as a creation of the Son, and a servant of the Father and the Son | Allegedly founded in 4th century by BishopMacedonius I of Constantinople, Eustathius of Sebaste was their principal theologian.[11] | Opposed by the Cappadocian Fathers and condemned at theFirst Council of Constantinople. | This is what prompted the addition of “And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son is equally worshipped and glorified, Who spake by the Prophets,” into the Nicene Creed at the second ecumenical council. | Melchisedechians | ConsideredMelchisedech an incarnation of theLogos (divine Word) and identified him with the Holy Ghost | | Refuted by Marcus Eremita in his book Eis ton Melchisedek("Against the Melchisedekites")[12] | It is uncertain whether the sect survived beyond the 9th century. They were probably scattered across Anatolia and the Balkans following the destruction of Tephrike. | Monarchianism | An overemphasis on the indivisibility of God (the Father) at the expense of the other "persons" of the Trinity leading to eitherSabellianism(Modalism) or toAdoptionism. | | | Stressing the "monarchy" of God was in Eastern theology a legitimate way of affirming his oneness, also the Father as the unique source of divinity. It became heretical when pushed to the extremes indicated. | Monophysitism orEutychianism | Belief that Christ 's divinity dominates and overwhelms his humanity, as opposed to the Chalcedonian position which holds that Christ has two natures, one divine and one human or the Miaphysite position which holds that the human nature and pre-incarnate divine nature of Christ were united as one divine human nature from the point of the Incarnation onwards. | After Nestorianism was rejected at the First Council of Ephesus,Eutyches emerged with diametrically opposite views. | Eutyches was excommunicated in 448. Monophysitism and Eutyches were rejected at the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Monophysitism is also rejected by the Oriental Orthodox Churches | | Monothelitism | Belief that Jesus Christ had two natures but only one will. This is contrary to the orthodox interpretation of Christology, which teaches that Jesus Christ has two wills (human and divine) corresponding to his two natures | Originated in Armenia and Syria in AD 633 | Monothelitism was officially condemned at the Third Council of Constantinople (the Sixth Ecumenical Council, 680–681). The churches condemned at Constantinople include the Oriental OrthodoxSyriac, Armenian, and Copticchurches as well as theMaronite church, although the later now denies that they ever held the Monothelite view and are presently in full-communion with the Bishop of Rome. Christians in England rejected the Monothelite position at the Council of Hatfield in 680. | | Patripassianism | Belief that the Father and Son are not two distinct persons, and thus God the Father suffered on the cross as Jesus.
| | | similar to Sabellianism | Psilanthropism | Belief that Jesus is "merely human": either that he never became divine, or that he never existed prior to his incarnation as a man. | | Rejected by the ecumenical councils, especially in theFirst Council of Nicaea, which was convened to deal directly with the nature of Christ 's divinity. | See Adoptionism | Sabellianism | Belief that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three characterizations of one God, rather than three distinct "persons" in one God. | First formally stated by Noetus of Smyrna c.190, refined by Sabellius c.210 who applied the names merely to different roles of God in the history and economy of salvation. | Noetus was condemned by the presbyters of Smyrna. Tertullian wrote Adversus Praxeam against this tendency and Sabellius was condemned by Pope Callistus. | Alternative names:Patripassianism, Modalism,Modalistic Monarchianism
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Gnosticism[edit source | editbeta]
Gnosticism refers to a diverse, syncretistic religious movement consisting of various belief systems generally united in the teaching that humans are divine souls trapped in a material world created by an imperfect god, the demiurge, who is frequently identified with theAbrahamic God. Gnosticism is a rejection (sometimes from an ascetic perspective) and vilification of the human body and of thematerial world or cosmos. Gnosticism teaches duality in Material (Matter) versus Spiritual or Body (evil) versus Soul (good). Gnosticism teaches that the natural or material world will and should be destroyed (total annihilation) by the true spiritual God in order to free mankind from the reign of the false God or Demiurge.
A common misperception is caused by the fact that, in the past, "Gnostic" had a similar meaning to current usage of the word mystic. There were some Orthodox Christians who as mystics (in the modern sense) taught gnosis (Knowledge of the God or the Good) who could be called gnostics in a positive sense (e.g. Diadochos of Photiki).
Whereas formerly Gnosticism was considered mostly a corruption of Christianity, it now seems clear that traces of Gnostic systems can be discerned some centuries before the Christian Era.[13] Gnosticism may have been earlier than the 1st century, thus predating Jesus Christ.[14] Then continuing in the Mediterranean and Middle East before and during the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Gnosticism became a dualistic heresy to Judaism (see Notzrim), Christianity and Hellenic philosophy in areas controlled by the Roman Empire andArian Goths (see Huneric), and the Persian Empire. Conversion to Islam and the Albigensian Crusade (1209–1229) greatly reduced the remaining number of Gnostics throughout the Middle Ages, though a few isolated communities continue to exist to the present. Gnostic ideas became influential in the philosophies of various esoteric mystical movements of the late 19th and 20th Centuries in Europe andNorth America, including some that explicitly identify themselves as revivals or even continuations of earlier gnostic groups. Gnostic Heresies | Heresy | Description | Origin | Official Condemnation | Other | Manichaeism | A major dualistic religion stating that good and evil are equally powerful, and that material things are evil. | Founded in 210–276 AD byMani | Condemned by Emperor Theodosius I decree in 382 | Thrived between the 3rd and 7th centuries and appears to have died out before the 16th century in southern China. | Paulicianism | A Gnostic and dualisticsect | The founder of the sect is said to have been an Armenian by the name of Constantine,[15]who hailed from Mananalis, a community near Samosata. | Repressed by order of Emperess Theodora II in 843 | | Priscillianism | A Gnostic andManichaean sect | Founded in the 4th century byPriscillian, derived from theGnostic-Manichaean doctrines taught by Marcus. Priscillian was put to death by the emperor Gratian for the crime of magic. | Condemned by synod of Zaragoza in 380. | Increased during the 5th century despite efforts to stop it. In the 6th century, Priscillianism declined and died out soon after the Synod of Braga in 563. | Naassenes | A Gnostic sect from around 100 A.D. | The Naassenes claimed to have been taught their doctrines byMariamne, a disciple of James the Just.[16] | Dealt as heresy byHippolytus of Rome | | Sethian | Belief that the snake in the Garden of Eden was an agent of the true God and brought knowledge of truth to man via the fall of man | Syrian sect drawing their origin from the Ophites | Dealt as heresy by Irenaeus, Hippolytus, and Philaster | Sect is founded around theApocalypse of Adam. | Ophites | Belief that the serpent who tempted Adam and Eve was a hero, and that the God who forbade Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge is the enemy | | Dealt as heresy byHippolytus of Rome | | Valentianism | A Gnostic and dualisticsect | Gnostic sect was founded by Ex-Catholic Bishop Valentinus | Considered heresy byIrenaeus and Epiphanius of Salamis | |
Other Early Church Heresies[edit source | editbeta] Other Christian heresies | Heresy | Description | Origin | Official Condemnation | Other | Antinomianism | Any view which holds that Christians are freed by grace from obligations of any moral law. St Paul had to refute a charge of this type made by opponents because of his attitude to the Mosaic Law (Romans 3:8)[17] | Some gnostics (e.g. Ophites and Nicolaitans) taught that since matter was opposed to the spirit, the body was unimportant. Similar views were found among some anabaptists in the sixteenth century as a consequence of justification by faith and later among some sects in seventeenth century England. | Decree on Justification, chapter XV Council of Trent | Few groups[who?]have declared themselves Antinomian, and the term has often been used by one group to criticize another 's views. | Audianism | Belief that God has human form (anthropomorphism) and that one ought to celebrate Jesus ' death during the Jewish Passover (quartodecimanism). | Named after the leader of the sect, Audius (or Audaeus), a Syrian who lived in the 4th century. | The First Council of Nicaea condemnedquartodecimanism in 325. Cyril of Alexandriacondemnedanthropomorphism at his Adversus Anthropomorphites | | Circumcellions | A militant subset of Donatism* | See Donatism. | Outlawed by EmperorHonorius in 408 | Relied on violence. | Donatism* | Donatists were rigorists, holding that the church must be a church of saints, not sinners, and that sacraments administered bytraditores were invalid. They also regarded martyrdom as the supreme Christian virtue and regarded those that actively sought martyrdom as saints. | Named for their second leaderDonatus Magnus | Condemned by PopeMelchiades | Donatists were a force at the time of Saint Augustine of Hippo and disappeared only after the Arab conquest.[18] | Ebionites | A Jewish sect that insisted on the necessity of following Jewish law and rites,[19] which they interpreted in light of Jesus ' expounding of the Law.[20] They regarded Jesus as the Messiah but not as divine. | The term Ebionites derives from the Hebrew אביונים Evionim, meaning "the Poor Ones",[21][22] | Justin Martyrconsidered them heretical at Dialogue with Trypho the Jewchapter xlvii | In 375, Epiphanius records the settlement of Ebionites on Cyprus, laterTheodoret of Cyrrhus reported that they were no longer present there.[23] | Euchites /Messalians | Belief that: 1. The essence (ousia) of the Trinity could be perceived by the carnal senses. 2. The Threefold God transformed himself into a single hypostasis(substance) in order to unite with the souls of the perfect. 3. God has taken different forms in order to reveal himself to the senses. 4. Only such sensible revelations of God confer perfection upon the Christian. 5. The state of perfection, freedom from the world and passion, is attained solely by prayer, not through the church or sacraments. ("Euchites" means "Those who pray") | Originating in Mesopotamia, they spread to Asia Minor and Thrace. | Bishop Flavian of Antioch condemned them about 376 | The group might have continued for several centuries, influencing the Bogomils of Bulgaria, the Bosnian church, the Paterenes andCatharism.[24] | Iconoclasm | The belief that icons are idols and should be destroyed.[25] | From late in the seventh century onwards some parts of the Greek Church reacted against the veneration of icons. In 726 the Emperor Leo III ordered the destruction of all icons and persecuted those who refused. The policy continued under his successors till about 780. Later Leo V launched a second attempt which continued till the death of the emperor Theophilus in 842 | Condemned by Nicea IIin 787 which regulated the veneration | Leo III may have been motivated by the belief that the veneration of icons, particularly in the excessive form it often took, was the chief obstacle to the conversion of Jews and Moslems | Marcionism | An Early Christian dualist belief system. Marcion affirmed Jesus Christ as the savior sent by God and Paul as his chief apostle, but he rejected the Hebrew Bible and theHebrew God. Marcionists believed that the wrathful Hebrew God was a separate and lower entity than the all-forgiving God of the New Testament. This belief was in some ways similar to Gnostic Christian theology, but in other ways different. | Originates in the teachings ofMarcion of Sinope at Romearound the year 144.[26] | Many early apologists, such as Tertullian on his Adversus Marcionem (year 207) condemned Marcionism | Marcionism continued in theWest for 300 years, although Marcionistic ideas persisted much longer.[27]Marcionism continued in theEast for some centuries later. | Montanism | The beliefs of Montanism contrasted with orthodox Christianity in the following ways: * The belief that the prophecies of the Montanists superseded and fulfilled the doctrines proclaimed by the Apostles. * The encouragement of ecstatic prophesying. * The view that Christians who fell from grace could not be redeemed. * A stronger emphasis on the avoidance of sin and church discipline, emphasizing chastity, including forbidding remarriage. * Some of the Montanists were also "Quartodeciman".[28] | Named for its founder Montanus, Montanism originated at Hierapolis. It spread rapidly to other regions in the Roman Empire during the period before Christianity was generally tolerated or legal. | The churches of Asia Minor excommunicatedMontanism[29] Around 177, Apollinarius, Bishop of Hierapolis, presided over a synodwhich condemned the New Prophecy.[30] The leaders of the churches of Lyon and Vienne in Gaul responded to the New Prophecy in 177 | Although the orthodoxmainstream Christian churchprevailed against Montanism within a few generations, labeling it aheresy, the sect persisted in some isolated places into the 8th century. | Pelagianism | Belief that original sin did not tainthuman nature and that mortal will is still capable of choosing good or evilwithout Divine aid. | Named after Pelagius (ad. 354 – ad. 420/440). The theology was later developed by C(a)elestiusand Julian of Eclanum into a complete system.[31] and refuted by Augustine of Hippo (who had for a time (385-395) held similar opinions[32]) but his final position never gained general acceptance in the East. | Pelagianism was attacked in the Council of Diospolis[33] and condemned in 418 at the Council of Carthage.,[34] and the decision confirmed at the Council of Ephesusin 431. | | Semipelagianism | A rejection of Pelagianism which held that Augustine had gone too far to the other extreme and taught that grace aided free-will rather than replacing it. | Such views were advanced by Prosper and Hilary of Aquitaine, John Cassian and Vincent of Lérins in the west. | Condemned by the Council of Orange in 529 which slightly weakened some of Augustine 's more extreme statements.[35] | The label "Semipelagianism" dates from the seventeenth century. | * Donatism is often spoken of as a "schism" rather than a "heresy"[36]
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Medieval[edit source | editbeta] Medieval heresies | Heresy | Description | Origin | Official Condemnation | Other | Bogomils | A Gnostic dualistic sect that was both Adoptionistand Manichaean. Their beliefs were a synthesis of Armenian Paulicianism and the Bulgarian Slavonic Church reform movement, | Emerged in Bulgaria between 927 and 970 and spread into Byzantine Empire, Serbia, Bosnia, Italy and France. | | | Catharism | Catharism had its roots in the Paulician movement in Armenia and the Bogomilsof Bulgaria, with a strong dualist influence against the physical world, regarded as evil, thus denied that Jesus could become incarnate and still be the son of God. | First appeared in theLanguedoc region ofFrance in the 11th century and flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries. Catharism had its roots in the Paulician and theBogomils with whom the Paulicians merged. | Condemned by papal bullAd abolendam | After several decades of harassment and re-proselytizing, and the systematic destruction of their scripture, the sect was exhausted and could find no more adepts. The last known Cathar prefect in the Languedoc, Guillaume Bélibaste, was executed in 1321. | Free Spirit | Mixed mystical beliefs with Christianity. Its practitioners believed that it was possible to reach perfection on earth through a life of austerity andspiritualism. They believed that they could communicate directly withGod and did not need theChristian church for intercession. | | condemned at the Council of Basel in 1431 | Small groups living mostly inBohemia, now the Czech Republic, during the 14th and 15th centuries. | Fraticelli(Spiritual Franciscans) | Extreme proponents of the rule of Saint Francis of Assisi, especially with regard to poverty, and regarded the wealth of the Church as scandalous, and that of individual churchmen as invalidating their status. | Appeared in the 14th and 15th centuries, principally in Italy | Declared heretical by the Church in 1296 by Boniface VIII. | | Henricians | According to Peter of Cluny, Henry 's teaching is summed up as follows: * Rejection of the doctrinal and disciplinary authority of the church; * Recognition of theGospel freely interpreted as the sole rule of faith; * Refusal to recognize any form of worship or liturgy; and * Condemnation of * the baptism of infants, * the Eucharist, * the sacrifice of the mass, * the communion of saints, and * prayers for the dead; | Henry of Lausanne lived in France in the first half of the 12th century. His preaching began around 1116 and he died imprisoned around 1148. | In a letter written at the end of 1146, St Bernard calls upon the people of Toulouse to extirpate the last remnants of the heresy. | In 1151 some Henricians still remained in Languedoc, forMatthew Paris relates that a young girl, who gave herself out to be miraculously inspired by the Virgin Mary, was reputed to have converted a great number of the disciples of Henry of Lausanne. | Triclavianism | Belief that three, rather than four nails were used to crucify Christ and that a Roman soldier pierced him with a spear on the left, rather than right side. | Attributed to Albigenses and Waldenses | Supposedly condemned byPope Innocent III, but most likely never actually considered a heresy by said Pope.[37] | | Waldensians(Waldenses or Vaudois) | A spiritual movement of the later Middle Ages | Begun by Peter Waldo, a wealthy merchant who decided to give up all his worldly possessions and began to preach on the streets of Lyon in 1177.[38] | Condemned by papal bullAd abolendam | Waldensians endured near annihilation in the 17th century. Descendants of this movement still exist. Over time, the denomination joined the Genevan or Reformedbranch of Protestantism.--> |
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Opinions classed as heretical by Roman Catholicism[edit source | editbeta]
Counter-Reformation[edit source | editbeta] Heresy | Description | Origin | Official Condemnation | Other | Febronianism | An 18th-century German movement directed towards the nationalizing of Catholicism, the restriction of the power of the papacy in favor of that of the episcopate, and the reunion of the dissident churches with Catholic Christendom | | Practice and ideology condemned by pope Pius IX 'sSyllabus of Errors, pope Leo XIII 's Encyclical Immortale Dei, and first Vatican Council | compare withErastianism | Gallicanism | The belief that civil authority — often the State 's authority— over the Catholic Church is comparable to that of the Pope 's | | Practice and ideology condemned by pope Pius IX 'sSyllabus of Errors, pope Leo XIII 's Encyclical Immortale Dei, and first Vatican Council | compare withErastianism | Jansenism | A branch of Catholic thought which arose in the frame of the Counter-Reformation and the aftermath of theCouncil of Trent (1545–1563). It emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, andpredestination. | Originating in the writings of the Dutchtheologian Cornelius Otto Jansen, Jansenism formed a distinct movement within the Roman Catholic Church from the 16th to 18th centuries. | Condemned by Innocent X 's bullsCum occasione on May 31, 1653. | | Josephinism | The domestic policies of Joseph II of Austria, attempting to impose a liberal ideology on the Church. | | Practice and ideology condemned by pope Pius IX 'sSyllabus of Errors, pope Leo XIII 's Encyclical Immortale Dei, and first Vatican Council | compare withErastianism |
Restorationism[edit source | editbeta]
Christian primitivism, sometimes called Restorationism, refers to the belief held by various religious movements that pristine or original Christianity should be restored from a Great Apostasy. In the early 19th century, the Restoration Movement arose and grew rapidly in the eastern United States and Canada during theSecond Great Awakening. The term restoration is also employed by the Latter Day Saint movement. In general, the Roman Catholic magisterium has not assessed and made pronouncement on the various restorationist groups. Restorationist heresies | Heresy | Description | Origin | Official condemnation | Other | Jehovah 's Witnesses | Religious movement which expects the imininent return of Jesus. Jehovah 's witnesses believe in a one-person God. No Trinity. Jesus is the first thing God created (as Michael the Archangel).[39] | It follows the teachings of Charles Taze Russell | The Gruppo di Ricerca e Informazione Socio Religiosa of the Milan Roman Catholic Dioceses declared in a convention in May 2011 that Jehovah 's Witnesses doctrine are incompatible with Roman Catholic dogma | | Latter Day Saint movement/Mormonism | A group of religious denominations and adherents who follow at least some of the teachings and revelationsof Joseph Smith, Jr.. God the Father was once a man, but progressed to godhood. He and His wife (Heavenly Mother) have physical bodies. No Trinity. Instead, Father, Son, and Spirit are three separate gods. Humans may become gods as well. Jesus was the spirit child between God and Mary.[39] | Founded by Joseph Smith, Jr.who, in 1827, began to gather a religious following after announcing that an angel had shown him a set of golden platesdescribing a visit of Jesus to theindigenous peoples of the Americas. | The Response to a dubium on the vality of baptism confered by the"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", called "Mormons" issued by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith considered Mormon baptism invalid; and the Letter from Congregation for Clergy called Mormon praxis erroneous practices | After Smith 's death in 1844, themovement divided into several groups, . |
Modern Movements[edit source | editbeta] Heresy | Description | Origin | Official condemnation | Other | Americanism | A group of related heresies which were defined as the endorsement of freedom of the press, liberalism, individualism, and separation of church and state, as an insistence upon individual initiative, what could be incompatible with the principle of Catholicism of obedience to authority. | | Condemned by Pope Leo XIII on his letter Testem Benevolentiae Nostrae in 1899 | | Anglo-Israelism | Holds that English and to a lesser extent white peoples are the descendants of the ancient Israelites. | | | Forms the Basis of the Christian Identity Movement. | | Christian Zionism | Belief that the ingathering of the exiles (Jews) in Israel is a prerequisite for the Second Coming of Jesus. This belief is primarily, though not exclusively, associated with Christian Dispensationalism. | | The Jerusalem Declaration on Christian Zionism (August 22, 2006)[40] rejects Christian Zionism, concluding that it is a "false teaching that corrupts the biblical message of love, justice and reconciliation." | | Community of the Lady of All Nations | The movement believes that its 90-year-old founder Marie Paule Giguère reincarnates Virgin Mary | Founded by Marie Paule Giguère in Quebec in 1971. | Her followers were excommunicated as heretics by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on July 11, 2007[41] | also known as Army of Mary | Feeneyism | A theology that favors a strict interpretation of the doctrineextra Ecclesiam nulla salus("outside the church there is no salvation"). | Associated with Leonard Feeney (1897–1978), a Jesuitpriest and founder of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. | | | Modernism | Evolution of dogma in time and space | Alfred Loisy, George Tyrell,Ernesto Buonaiuti | Condemned by popes Leo XIII and Pius X in a series of encyclical between 1893 and 1910[42] | | Positive Christianity | A term adopted by Nazi leaders to refer to a model of Christianity consistent with Nazism. | | | With the fall of the Nazi regime in 1945, Positive Christianity as a movement fell into obscurity. It continues to be espoused by someChristian Identity groups,[43] but has been rejected by mainstream Christian churches. | Reincarnationism | Belief that certain people are or can be reincarnations of biblical figures, such as Jesus Christand the Virgin Mary. | | Doctrinal Note of the Catholic Bishops of Canada concerning the Army of Mary[44] and Tribus Circiter on the Mariavites. | |
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See also[edit source | editbeta] * Christian heresy * Heresy * Heresy in the 20th century
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References[edit source | editbeta] 1. ^ a b Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Heresy". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2. ^ MacGrath, Alister E. Christian Theology Blackwell: 2001, p.153 3. ^ Ott, Ludwig. Manual de Teología Dogmática Herder, Barcelona:1968, p.31 4. ^ Prümmer, Dominic M. Handbook of Moral Theology Mercier Press: 1963, Sect. 201 5. ^ a b MacGrath, Alister E. Christian Theology Blackwell:2001, p.152 6. ^ MacGrath, Alister E. Christian Theology Blackwell:2001, p.345 7. ^ Hanson, R.P.C. The Doctrine of the Trinity as achieved in 381 in Studies in Christian Antiquity T & T Clark, Edinburgh 1985, pp. 234f 8. ^ Hanson, R.P.C. The Doctrine of the Trinity as achieved in 381 in Studies in Christian Antiquity T & T Clark, Edinburgh 1985, p. 244 9. ^ Kelly, J.N.D. Early Christian Doctrines A & C Black:1965, p.115f 10. ^ Kelly, J.N.D. Early Christian Doctrines A & C Black:1965, p.227f 11. ^ Kelly, J.N.D. Early Christian Creeds Longmans:1960, pp.339f 12. ^ P.G., lxv, 1117. 13. ^ http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06592a.htm 14. ^ Bart D. Ehrman Lost Christianities. Oxford University press, 2003, p.188-202 15.
^ Constantine-Silvanus." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Accessed 2 September 2008. 16. ^ Hippolytus Philosophumena 5, 2 17. ^ Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Antinomianism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. 18. ^ "Donatism." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005 19. ^ Kaufmann Kohler, "Ebionites", in: Isidore Singer & Cyrus Alder (ed.), Jewish Encyclopedia, 1901-1906. 20. ^ Francois P. Viljoen (2006). Jesus ' Teaching on the Torah in the Sermon on the Mount. Neotestamenica 40.1, pp. 135-155.Jesus ' Teaching on the Torah in the Sermon on the Mount (PDF). Archived from the original on 2007-06-16. Retrieved 2007-03-13. 21. ^ G. Uhlhorn, "Ebionites", in: A Religious Encyclopaedia or Dictionary of Biblical, Historical, Doctrinal, and Practical Theology, 3rd ed. (edited by Philip Schaff), p. 684–685 (vol. 2). 22. ^ The word is still in use in that sense in contemporary Israeli Hebrew 23. ^ Henry Wace & William Piercy (1911). A Dictionary of Early Christian Biography. Retrieved
2007-08-01. 24. ^ S. Runciman, The Medieval Manichee: A Study of the Christian Dualist Heresy (Cambridge, 1947) 25. ^ Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church art. Iconoclasm 26. ^ (115 years and 6 months from the Crucifixion, according toTertullian 's reckoning in Adversus Marcionem, xv) 27. ^ Berdyaev Online Library 28. ^ Trevett 1996:202 29. ^ Tabbernee, Prophets and Gravestones, 25. 30. ^ Tabbernee, Prophets and Gravestones, 21-23. 31. ^ Kelly, J.N.D. Early Christian Doctrines, p.360f. 32. ^ Frend, W.H.C. Saints and Sinners in the Early Church, p.126) 33. ^ *Transcript From The Council of Diospolis (Lydda) Against Pelagius, 415AD 34. ^ Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion by William L Reese, Humanities Press 1980 p.421 35. ^ Kelly, J.N.D.Early Christian Doctrines, p.370f 36. ^ Chadwick, Henry. The Early Church Pelican:1967, p.123
Frend, W.H.C. Saints and Sinners in the Early Church Darton, Longman & Todd:1985, p.102 Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church:1974, art "Donatism" 37. ^ Bompiani, Sofia (1899). A Short History of the Italian Waldenses: Who Have Inhabited the Valleys of the Cottian Alps from Ancient Times to the Present. Barnes. p. 38. 38. ^ Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp. 874-876 39. ^ a b Rose book of Bible charts, maps, and timelines 40. ^ "The Jerusalem Declaration on Christian Zionism". 41. ^ CNN, Six Arkansas nuns excommunicated for heresy 42. ^http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernism_(Roman_Catholicism)#Official_Church_response 43. ^ Kinsman Redeemer Church: Positive Christianity 44. ^ Doctrinal Note of the Catholic Bishops of Canada concerning the Army of Mary The Army of Mary, through their misguided interpretation of Catholic teaching, would in effect not only rob Mary of her unique, irreplaceable role in salvation history, but their so-called "reincarnation" of Mary all but renders superfluous Mary 's on-going intercession in heavenly glory. The Mary of the Gospel and Catholic tradition is in heaven, not on earth. It is the teaching of the Catholic Church that Mary 's life is both unique and historical, and as such cannot be repeated, reproduced, or otherwise "reincarnated "...The presumed private revelation upon which the Army of Mary bases its claim to legitimacy does in fact introduce new and erroneous doctrines about the Virgin Mary and her role in the economy of salvation history. It significantly adds to Christ 's definitive Revelation. It would have its followers believe, for example, that their "Immaculate" is co-eternal with the Triune God, and that although she was once the historical mother of Jesus, she is now "reincarnated" and "dwells" in the very person of the recipient of these presumed private revelations.
Categories:
* Catholic theology and doctrine * Christian theology * Heresy in Christianity * Former Christian denominations
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