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THE ARIAN HERESY, ETHNIC DESIGNATIONS AND RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCE Stamenka E. Antonova

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Stamenka E. Antonova                       
The article was received: on October 16, 2023
The article was published: on December 5, 2023
DOI: 
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Abstract:  This article examines the ideological, rhetorical, and theological construction of otherness in the context of the Arian crisis in the fourth and fifth centuries by focusing primarily on the analysis of the debates and conflicts stemming from it in Socrates Scholasticus’ treatise Ecclesiastical History.  In his historical narration and his assessment of important historical figures and events from the time period, Socrates Scholasticus not only emphasizes the inner divisions in the empire and the political, social, and religious ramifications of Arianism that he witnesses.  He emphasizes especially the period from the reign of Constantine to the rule Theodosius I and he also focuses on the danger from without to the safety and integrity of the state and the church.  In his accounts of the historical events affecting the empire and the church, Socrates Scholasticus highlights the image and self-definition of Roman identity vis a vis barbarian people groups, such as the Goths, and he draws a parallel between the enemies of Rome, who are both on the inside and on the outside of the territorial borders.  While he identifies certain individuals from within Roman society as possessing barbarian characteristics, such as cruelty and inhumanity, and who are also adherents of the teaching of Arius, he also stresses the natural tendencies of the Gothic tribes not only to embody barbaric qualities but also to be staunch followers of Arianism.  Socrates Scholasticus attempts to create a parallel between the proponents of the heretical teaching of Arius, which presents as a long-standing problem for the church in the fourth century and beyond, on the one hand, and the external threat of foreign groups and the physical danger of outside enemies of the Roman state, i.e., the Goths, who embrace and continue to propagate Arianism.  The image of the “other” to Roman civic identity and Christian self-definition in his writings, therefore, is informed by his understanding of the role of the Arian Goths in destabilizing and directly causing the decline of the Roman empire, in addition to dividing and weakening the church and the Roman state.  The image of the barbarian other, such as the Goths, and of the adherents of Arianism, whether on the inside or on the outside of the territories of the empire, coincide and merge in his treatise, as they come to represent the enemy to the peace of the Roman people, as well as the chief adversary of the orthodox formulation of Christianity and the unity of the Church.      

Key words: Arianism, ethnicity, barbarians, Roman identity

 

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