Phantasiasts (from Greek
φαντασία, ''phantasia'', appearance, phantasm) was a label applied to several distinct
Christian heresies by their opponents in
late antiquity. The term appears in
Greek and
Syriac writings mainly to refer to extreme forms of
Miaphysitism.
[Sergey Minov]
"Date and Provenance of the Syriac Cave of Treasures: A Reappraisal"
''Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies'' 20,1 (2017): 129–229, esp. at 141–145. The term evokes the second-century heresy of
Docetism. Both movements were accused of denying the full reality of
Jesus's humanity.
The first targets of the label were the
Eutychians, the followers of
Eutyches. In a letter read before the
Council of Chalcedon (451), Pope
Leo the Great
Pope Leo I ( 400 – 10 November 461), also known as Leo the Great, was bishop of Rome from 29 September 440 until his death. Pope Benedict XVI said that Leo's papacy "was undoubtedly one of the most important in the Church's history."
Leo was ...
castigates the ''phantasmatici Christiani'' (Christian phantasmatics) in a clear reference to the Eutychians. Moderate Miaphysites like
Timothy Aelurus,
Philoxenus of Mabbug Philoxenus of Mabbug (Syriac: , ') (died 523), also known as Xenaias and Philoxenus of Hierapolis, was one of the most notable Syriac prose writers and a vehement champion of Miaphysitism.
Early life
He was born, probably in the third quarter of ...
and
Severus of Antioch
Severus the Great of Antioch (Greek: Σεβῆρος; syr, ܣܘܝܪܝܘܣ ܕܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ), also known as Severus of Gaza or Crown of Syrians (Syriac: ܬܓܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܥܝܐ; Tagha d'Suryoye; Arabic: تاج السوريين; Taj al-Suriyyun ...
also labelled the Eutychians phantasiasts. One Miaphysite oath administered to those returning to Miaphysitism from heresy called for the abjuration of the Phantasiasts.
[ The use of the label Phantasiasts by both Dyophysites and moderate Miaphysites indicates the extreme nature of the position relative to orthodox theologies.
In the middle of the sixth century, the term Phantasiasts was applied to the Aphthartodocetae, the followers of Julian of Halicarnassus, the theological foe of Severus of Antioch. It was in this sense that Patriarch Sergius I of Antioch used the term in the late 550s when writing to the Miaphysite bishops of ]Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkme ...
about receiving back those who had lapsed into the "heresy of Julian the Phantasiast". The poet George of Pisidia also describes Phanatasiasts in his poem celebrating the emperor Heraclius's campaign of 622 against the Persians.[
The term was also applied to the Gaianites (latter-day Aphthartodocetae) and in this sense was used into the ninth century.][Grillmeier and Hainthaler (1996), p. 48.]
References
{{reflist
Christian terminology
Heresy in ancient Christianity
Nature of Jesus Christ
Allegations