Barbatinus was a 4th-century early Church theologian and a
Jovinianist. Barbatianus disputed the merit of the unmarried life and opposed
ascetism
Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...
. Barbatianus along with
Sarmatio Sarmatio was a 4th-century monk in Milan and a disciple of Jovinian, who disputed the merits of the monastic and unmarried life. Sarmatio first met Jovinian when he travelled to Milan, where Jovinian found two monks of a similar mind, Sarmatio and B ...
met
Jovinian
Jovinian (; died c. 405) was an opponent of Christian asceticism in the 4th century and was condemned as a heretic at synods convened in Rome under Pope Siricius and in Milan by Ambrose in 393 because of his views. Our information about him is d ...
when he travelled to
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
and found themselves to have similar ideas.
Ambrose wrote about Barbatianus, saying that he came from the monastery of Milan, which was also Ambrose's own monastery. He accused Barbatianus of permitting fornication and asserting it not to be inferior to the state of virginity, calling Sarmatio and Barbatinus "foolish talkers, who say there is no merit in abstinence". He even wrote a letter urging the church at
Vercelli
Vercelli (; ) is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, around 600 BC.
...
to resist the ideas of Barbatianus, to influence the election of the episcopal see in Vercelli.
[{{Cite book , last1=S.J , first1=Brian E. Daley , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wYoFDgAAQBAJ&dq=Barbatianus+Ambrose&pg=PT148 , title=The Harp of Prophecy: Early Christian Interpretation of the Psalms , last2=Kolbet , first2=Paul R. , date=2015-01-30 , publisher=University of Notre Dame Press , isbn=978-0-268-15831-6 , language=en]
References
4th-century Christian theologians
4th-century Romans