4th-century Christianity The 4th century was the time period from 301 CE (represented by the Roman numerals CCCI) to 400 CE (CD) in accordance with the Julian calendar. In the West, the early part of the century was shaped by Constantine the Great, who became the Consta ...

, the Anomoeans , also known as Heterousians , Aetians , or Eunomians , were a

sect A sect is a subgroup of a religion, religious, politics, political, or philosophy, philosophical belief system, typically emerging as an offshoot of a larger organization. Originally, the term referred specifically to religious groups that had s ...

that held to a form of

Arianism Arianism (, ) is a Christology, Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is co ...

: that

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

was neither of the same nature (

homoousian Homoousion ( ; , from , , "same" and , , "being" or "essence") is a Christian theological term, most notably used in the Nicene Creed for describing Jesus (God the Son) as "same in being" or "same in essence" with God the Father (). The same te ...

) as

God the Father God the Father is a title given to God in Christianity. In mainstream trinitarian Christianity, God the Father is regarded as the first Person of the Trinity, followed by the second person, Jesus Christ the Son, and the third person, God th ...

nor a similar nature to God the Father (

homoiousian Homoiousios ( from , ''hómoios'', "similar" and , '' ousía'', "essence, being") is a Christian theological term, coined in the 4th century to identify a distinct group of Christian theologians who held the belief that God the Son was of a ' ...

)—the latter being maintained by the

semi-Arians Semi-Arianism was a position regarding the relationship between God the Father and the Son of God, adopted by some 4th-century Christians. Though the doctrine modified the teachings of Arianism, it still rejected the doctrine that Father, Son, ...

Overview

The word ''anomoean'' comes from

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

(''an-'') 'not' and (''homoios'') 'similar', thus 'different; dissimilar'. In the 4th century, during the reign of

Constantius II Constantius II (; ; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic peoples, while internally the Roman Empire went through repeated civ ...

, this was the name by which the followers of Aëtius and

Eunomius Eunomius () (died c. 393 AD), one of the leaders of the extreme or "anomoean" Arians, who are sometimes accordingly called Eunomians, was born at Dacora in Cappadocia or at Corniaspa in Pontus. early in the 4th century. He studied theol ...

were described. The term ''heterousian'' derives from

, ''heterooúsios'' 'differing in substance' from , ''héteros'' 'another' and , ''ousía'' 'substance, being'. The semi-Arians condemned the Anomoeans in the

Council of Seleucia The Council of Seleucia was an early Christian church synod at Seleucia Isauria (now Silifke, Turkey). History In 358, the Roman Emperor Constantius II requested two councils, one of the western bishops at Ariminum and one of the eastern bishop ...

, and the Anomoeans condemned the semi-Arians in their turn in the Councils of

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

and

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

; erasing the word (''homoios'') from the formula of

Rimini Rimini ( , ; or ; ) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. Sprawling along the Adriatic Sea, Rimini is situated at a strategically-important north-south passage along the coast at the southern tip of the Po Valley. It is ...

and that of Constantinople and protesting that the Word had not only a different substance but also a will different from that of the Father. From that, they were to be called (''anomoioi''). In the 5th century, the Anomoean presbyter

Philostorgius Philostorgius (; 368 – c. 439 AD) was an Anomoean Church historian of the 4th and 5th centuries. Very little information about his life is available. He was born in Borissus, Cappadocia to Eulampia and Carterius, and lived in Constantinopl ...

wrote an Anomoean church history.

Notable Anomoeans

* Aëtius, who founded the Anomoean tradition, later bishop (361–?).Socrates Scholasticus, ''Church History'', book 2, chapter 35. *

Theodulus Theodoulos () or Theodulus (amongst other variations) is a Greek masculine given name. The name is a theophoric name, meaning 'servant of God' (in a similar construction to Christodoulos).Robert Parker ''et al.''Lexicon of Greek Personal Namesproj ...

, bishop of Chaeretapa (?–c. 363) and

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

(c. 363–c. 379). *

, bishop of

Cyzicus Cyzicus ( ; ; ) was an ancient Greek town in Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peninsula (the classical Arctonnesus), a tombolo which is said to have or ...

(360–361) and exiled bishop (361–c. 393).Philostorgius, in Photius, ''Epitome of the Ecclesiastical History of Philostorgius'', book 5, chapter 3 and book 6, chapters 1–3. * Paemenius, bishop of

, (c. 363, at the same time as

Eudoxius of Antioch Eudoxius of Antioch (; died 370) was the fifth archibishop of Constantinople from 27 January 360 to early 370, previously bishop of Germanicia and of Antioch. Eudoxius was one of the most influential Arians. Biography Eudoxius was from A ...

).Philostorgius, in Photius, ''Epitome of the Ecclesiastical History of Philostorgius'', book 8, chapter 2. *

Candidus (Bishop of Lydia) Candidus may refer to: People * Tiberius Claudius Candidus, Roman general who fought against Emperor Pescennius Niger in 193 * Candidus (theologian) (fl. 196), Christian writer * Saint Candidus (died c.287), Egyptian commander of the Theban Leg ...

, (c. 363–?). * Arrianus, bishop of

Ionia Ionia ( ) was an ancient region encompassing the central part of the western coast of Anatolia. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionians who ...

, (c. 363–?). * Florentius, bishop of

, (c. 363–?, at the same time as

). *

Thallus Thallus (: thalli), from Latinized Greek (), meaning "a green shoot" or "twig", is the vegetative tissue of some organisms in diverse groups such as algae, fungi, some liverworts, lichens, and the Myxogastria. A thallus usually names the entir ...

, bishop of

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, eighth largest ...

, (c. 363–?, at the same time as

). * Euphronius, bishop of

Galatia Galatia (; , ''Galatía'') was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace (cf. Tylis), who settled here ...

, the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

and

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

, (c. 363–?). * Julian, bishop of

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

, (c. 363–?). * Serras,

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

, and Heliodorus, bishops of Egypt, (c. 363–?). *

, historian.

Notable opponents of Anomoeanism

Basil of Caesarea Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (330 – 1 or 2 January 379) was an early Roman Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia from 370 until his death in 379. He was an influential theologian who suppor ...

, bishop of

Caesarea Caesarea, a city name derived from the Roman title " Caesar", was the name of numerous cities and locations in the Roman Empire: Places In the Levant * Caesarea Maritima, also known as "Caesarea Palaestinae", an ancient Roman city near the modern ...

, and author of ''Against Eunomius''. *

Gregory of Nazianzus Gregory of Nazianzus (; ''Liturgy of the Hours'' Volume I, Proper of Saints, 2 January. – 25 January 390), also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory Nazianzen, was an early Roman Christian theologian and prelate who served as Archbi ...

, archbishop of

, prolific writer and orator.
''The First Theological Oration. A Preliminary Discourse Against the Eunomians.''
*

Gregory of Nyssa Gregory of Nyssa, also known as Gregory Nyssen ( or Γρηγόριος Νυσσηνός; c. 335 – c. 394), was an early Roman Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Nyssa from 372 to 376 and from 378 until his death in 394. He is ve ...

, bishop of the Cappadocian town of Nyssa and brother to Basil of Caesaria.
Against Eunomius
' (12 books) and

''

Notes

References

*First edition

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

ssued 1768-1771* {{Heresies condemned by the Catholic Church Arianism Trinitarianism Christian terminology Nature of Jesus Christ

Overview

Notable Anomoeans

Notable opponents of Anomoeanism

See also

Notes

References