The Alogi (ἄλογοι), also called Alogoi or Alogians, were a group of heterodox Christians in

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

that flourished c. 200 CE, and taught that the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

and the Apocalypse of John (

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...

) were not the work of the Apostle, but his adversary

Cerinthus Cerinthus ( el, Κήρινθος; fl. c. 50-100 CE) was an early Gnostic, who was prominent as a heresiarch in the view of the early Church Fathers.See, in particular, Irenaeus, ''Adversus haereses'', Book I, III and relative External links Contr ...

. What we know of them is derived from their doctrinal opponents, whose literature is extant, particularly St. Epiphanius of Salamis. It was Epiphanius who coined the name "Alogi" as a

word play Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phonet ...

suggesting that they were both illogical (''anti''-''logikos'') and they were against the Christian doctrine of the

Logos ''Logos'' (, ; grc, wikt:λόγος, λόγος, lógos, lit=word, discourse, or reason) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric and refers to the appeal to reason that relies on logic or reason, inductive and deductive ...

. While Epiphanius does not specifically indicate the name of its founder, Dionysius Bar-Salibi, citing a lost work of Hippolytus (''Capita Adversus Caium''), writes in his commentary on the Apocalypse,

Hippolytus the Roman says: A man appeared, named Caius, saying that the Gospel is not by John, nor the Apocalypse but that it is by Cerinthus the heretic.

According to fourth century church historian

Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christia ...

, Caius was a churchman of Rome who wrote during the time of

Pope Zephyrinus Pope Zephyrinus was the bishop of Rome from 199 to his death on 20 December 217. He was born in Rome, and succeeded Victor I. Upon his death on 20 December 217, he was succeeded by his principal advisor, Callixtus I. He is known for combating h ...

, and had published a disputation with

Proclus Proclus Lycius (; 8 February 412 – 17 April 485), called Proclus the Successor ( grc-gre, Πρόκλος ὁ Διάδοχος, ''Próklos ho Diádokhos''), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major classical philosophers ...

, a

Montanist Montanism (), known by its adherents as the New Prophecy, was an early Christian movement of the late 2nd century, later referred to by the name of its founder, Montanus. Montanism held views about the basic tenets of Christian theology simil ...

leader in Rome.

Beliefs

“St. Epiphanius (''Haer''. LI) gives a long account of the party of heretics who arose after the

Cataphrygians Montanism (), known by its adherents as the New Prophecy, was an early Christian movement of the late 2nd century, later referred to by the name of its founder, Montanus. Montanism held views about the basic tenets of Christian theology simil ...

Quartodecimans Quartodecimanism (from the Vulgate Latin ''quarta decima'' in Leviticus 23:5, meaning fourteenth) is the practice of celebrating Easter on the 14th of Nisan being on whatever day of the week, practicing Easter around the same time as the Passove ...

, and others, and who received neither the

Gospel of St. John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

nor his

Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...

.�

they instead attributed the two

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

books to the

Gnostic Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...

, who was actually an enemy of

John the Apostle John the Apostle ( grc, Ἰωάννης; la, Ioannes ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ;) or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebedee a ...

. Regarding their beliefs, Epiphanius asserts that the Alogians denied the continuation of spiritual gifts in the church in opposition to the

Montanists Montanism (), known by its adherents as the New Prophecy, was an History of Christianity#Early Christianity (c. 31/33–324), early Christian movement of the Christianity in the 2nd century, late 2nd century, later referred to by the name of it ...

. They explicitly deny the Logos doctrine in John chapter 1 and they deny Johannine authorship by comparing his Gospel with the

synoptic Gospels The gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Mark, and Gospel of Luke, Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical ...

. Their methodology can be seen in the surviving fragments of Hippolytus of Rome's refutation, ''Capita Adversus Caium'', preserved in Bar-Salibi's ''Commentary on the Apocalypse''. Their comparative method was considered very foolish in Epiphanius’ opinion who derided them as "without reason".Alogi
@ Catholic Encyclopedia; see also Philip Schaff, “Alogi” in ''Biographical Dictionary'', 34. Syriacist John Gwynn, who published these fragments in English, likewise indicates that, "The objections of Caius are . . . those of a somewhat captious critic, and indicates little breadth of scriptural learning or of eschatological conceptions".Gwynn (July 1888), p. 405 Epiphanius argues that Cerinthus could not have written the Gospel of John because whereas Cerinthus denied the deity of Christ, the Gospel taught Christ's Godhead. Epiphanius contemplates that they may not reject Christ's deity outright, but instead just the “Logos form under which the doctrine was presented in the Gospel”. Epiphanius also asserts in regard to the Alogi, “they themselves seem to believe as we do.” He therefore is not so much concerned with their

Christology In Christianity, Christology (from the Ancient Greek, Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, wiktionary:-λογία, -λογία, wiktionary:-logia, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Chr ...

as much as he is concerned with their

biblical criticism Biblical criticism is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical criticism,'' it was based on two distinguishing characteristics: (1) the concern to ...

. Nevertheless, Epiphanius is harsh in his condemnation of them and asserts that the bottom line for the Alogi is that they deny the Gospel of John and consequently the Word-Flesh Logos doctrine. Epiphanius clearly distinguishes them from the Ebionites and from the Docetists.

References

Resources

* Gwynn, J. "Hippolytus and his “Heads against Caius”," ''Hermathena'', 6 (1888), 397-418. * Bludau, A. ''Die Ersten Gegner der Johannes-Schriften'' (Biblische Studien, 22, Hefte 1 and 2; 1925). * Fisher, G. P. "Some Remarks on the Alogi," ''Papers of the American Society of Church History'', 2,1 (1890), pp. 1–9. * Hall, S. G. "Aloger," in ''Theologische Realenzyklopadia'' 2. Edited by G. Krause, G. Muller, et al. Berlin: 1977 ff., 290–95. * ''The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis: Book II and III'', Translated by Frank Williams. Leiden: Brill, 1997. {{ISBN, 90-04-09898-4. * Rose, V. “Question Johannine. Les Aloges asiatiques et les aloges romains,” ''Revue Biblique'' 6 (1897): 516–34. * Smith, J. D. ''Gaius and the Controversy over the Johannine Literature'' (PhD diss.), Yale University, 1979. * Trevett, Chr. ''Montanism: Gender, Authority and the New Prophesy'' (Cambridge, 1996), pp. 29, 66, 138–41, 262–3.

External links

The article on the “Alogi” in Volume 1 of The Catholic Encyclopedia

* ttp://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10521a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Montanists Montanism in the West: "The old notion that the Alogi were an Asiatic sect (see ALOGI) is no longer tenable; they were the Roman Gaius and his followers, if he had any." 2nd-century Christianity 170s Gnosticism Christian anti-Gnosticism Heresy in ancient Christianity Schisms in Christianity Christian terminology