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

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

that flourished c. 200 CE, and taught that the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "Book of Signs, signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the ...

and the Apocalypse of John were not the work of the Apostle, but his adversary Cerinthus. What we know of them is derived from their doctrinal opponents, whose literature is extant, particularly

Epiphanius of Salamis Epiphanius of Salamis (; – 403) was the bishop of Salamis, Cyprus, at the end of the Christianity in the 4th century, 4th century. He is considered a saint and a Church Father by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic Churche ...

. 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, ph ...

suggesting that they were both illogical and they were against the Christian

doctrine Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a ...

of the

Logos ''Logos'' (, ; ) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric, as well as religion (notably Logos (Christianity), Christianity); among its connotations is that of a rationality, rational form of discourse that relies on inducti ...

. 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 of Rome Hippolytus of Rome ( , ; Romanized: , – ) was a Bishop of Rome and one of the most important second–third centuries Christian theologians, whose provenance, identity and corpus remain elusive to scholars and historians. Suggested communitie ...
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 (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

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

Pope Zephyrinus Pope Zephyrinus was the bishop of Rome from the year 199 until 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 fo ...

, and had published a disputation with

Proclus Proclus Lycius (; 8 February 412 – 17 April 485), called Proclus the Successor (, ''Próklos ho Diádokhos''), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major classical philosophers of late antiquity. He set forth one of th ...

, a Montanist leader in Rome.

Beliefs

“St. Epiphanius (''Haer''. LI) gives a long account of the party of heretics who arose after the Cataphrygians, Quartodecimans, and others, and who received neither the Gospel of St. John nor his

Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre originating in Judaism in the centuries following the Babylonian exile (597–587 BCE) but persisting in Christianity and Islam. In apocalypse, a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a ...

.�

they instead attributed the two

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

books to the

Gnostic Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: , romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: �nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among early Christian sects. These diverse g ...

Cerinthus, who was actually an enemy of

John the Apostle John the Apostle (; ; ), also known as Saint John the Beloved and, in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Saint John the Theologian, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he ...

. Regarding their beliefs, Epiphanius asserts that the Alogians denied the continuation of

spiritual gifts In Christianity, a spiritual gift or charism (plural: charisms or charismata; in Greek singular: χάρισμα ''charisma'', plural: χαρίσματα ''charismata'') is an extraordinary power given by the Holy Spirit."Spiritual gifts". ''A ...

in the church in opposition to the

Montanists Montanism (), known by its adherents as the New Revelation, was an early Christian movement of the mid-to-late 2nd century, later referred to by the name of its founder, Montanus. Montanism held views about the basic tenets of Christian theo ...

. 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 is a branch of Christian theology, theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would b ...

as much as he is concerned with their

biblical criticism Modern Biblical criticism (as opposed to pre-Modern criticism) is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible without appealing to the supernatural. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical c ...

. 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 Ebionites (, derived from Hebrew , , meaning 'the poor' or 'poor ones') as a term refers to a Jewish Christian sect that existed during the early centuries of the Common Era. Since historical records by the Ebionites are scarce, fragmentary and ...

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 Gnostics Christian anti-Gnosticism Heresy in ancient Christianity Schisms in Christianity Christian terminology