Ticonius, also spelled Tyconius or Tychonius (active 370–390 AD), was a major theologian of 4th-century North African
Latin Christianity. He was a
Donatist
Donatism was a schism from the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Carthage from the fourth to the sixth centuries. Donatists argued that Christian clergy must be faultless for their ministry to be effective and their prayers and sacraments to ...
writer whose conception of the City of God influenced St.
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...
(who wrote a
book on the same topic).
Life and doctrine
Ticonius subscribed to a milder form of Donatism than
Parmenianus, admitting a church outside his own sect and rejecting the
rebaptism of Catholics. Parmenianus wrote a letter against him, quoted by Augustine.
He also defended the Nicene doctrine of the ''homoousios,'' stating:
The main source on Ticonius is
Gennadius:
This gives 379–423 AD as extreme dates of his life.
Works
Ticonius's best known work was his commentary on the
Revelation
Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...
, which, like
Origen
Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic, and Christian theology, theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Early cent ...
, he interpreted almost entirely in a spiritual sense. He asserted that the book depicts the spiritual controversy over the kingdom of God. This work is lost, but some essential parts survive as quotes in
Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...
,
Primasius,
Bede
Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...
, and
Beatus of Liébana's ''
Commentary on the Apocalypse''.
To outline his general conceptions, he laid down his ''Seven Rules'', quoted and explained by Augustine in ''
De doctrina christiana.''
[III, 30–37; P.L., XXIV, 81–90.] Augustine's authority gave them great importance for nearly a thousand years in the West.
References
*
* EarlyChurch.org.uk
"Tyconius (fl. 370 - 390)" Retrieved March 12, 2006.
* Erickson, Millard J. (1998). ''Christian Theology'' (2nd ed.) p. 1213.
*
* Tyconius. ''Le Livre des Regles''. Introduced and translated by Jean-Marc Vercruyse. Paris: Cerf, 2004, Pp. 410 (Sources Chretiennes, 488).
* Tyconius. ''The Book of Rules.'' Trans. William S. Babcock. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1989.
* Tyconius. "The Book of Rules, I–III." In ''Biblical Interpretation in the Early Church.'' Trans. K. Froehlich, 104–32. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985.
Notes
External links
The Book of Rules of Tyconius, English introduction to the Latin text, 1894Donatism. Online Dynamic Bibliography
{{Authority control
4th-century Christian theologians
4th-century Romans
4th-century Christians
5th-century Christians
Christian terminology
Donatists
Christian denominations established in the 4th century
4th-century writers in Latin