Rufinus the Syrian or Rufinus of Syria (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

c. 400) was a Christian theologian, priest and author, generally identified as a

Pelagian Pelagianism is a Christian theological position that holds that the fall did not taint human nature and that humans by divine grace have free will to achieve human perfection. Pelagius (), an ascetic and philosopher from the British Isles, ta ...

."Rufinus (fl. 399–401?)"
in F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone, eds., ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'', 3 rev. ed. (Oxford University Press, 2005 nline 2009. According to the anti-Pelagian writer Marius Mercator, Rufinus "of the Syrian nation" (''natione Syrus'') taught at

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

during the episcopate of Anastasius I (399–401) and through this teaching was a bad influence on the theology of

Pelagius Pelagius (; c. 354–418) was a British (Celtic Britons, Brittonic) theologian known for promoting a system of doctrines (termed Pelagianism by his opponents) which emphasized human choice in salvation and denied original sin. Pelagius was accus ...

and his followers. There is disagreement between scholars over the correct reading of the word preceding ''natione Syrus'': it is either ''quidam'' ("a nobody of Syrian race") or ''quondam'' ("at one time of the nation of Syria"). Walter Dunphy even argues that whole phrase is ultimately a copyist's error and that there was no Rufinus from Syria.Stuart Squires, ''The Pelagian Controversy: An Introduction to the Enemies of Grace and the Conspiracy of Lost Souls'' (Pickwick, 2019), pp. 61–67. There are a total of seven references to persons named Rufinus from around 400 and scholars are unsure how many individuals lie behind them. There are three other Rufinuses who are often identified with the Mercator's Syrian Rufinus. If "Syrian" was being used in its broad sense (i.e., of

Syria Palaestina Syria Palaestina ( ) was the renamed Roman province formerly known as Judaea, following the Roman suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt, in what then became known as the Palestine region between the early 2nd and late 4th centuries AD. The pr ...

), then Mercator's Rufinus may be identical to the Rufinus who was a monk in

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

and went on a mission to the West for

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

in early 399. The Syrian Rufinus is usually identified with the Rufinus who wrote the ''Liber de fide'' (Book of Faith), which survives in a single manuscript, now MS Q. v. 1. 6 in the Saint Petersburg Public Library. The manuscript describes the author as a priest from the province of Palestine. In this work Rufinus attacks

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 ...

Origen Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic, and Christian theology, theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Early cent ...

ism and the doctrine of

original sin Original sin () in Christian theology refers to the condition of sinfulness that all humans share, which is inherited from Adam and Eve due to the Fall of man, Fall, involving the loss of original righteousness and the distortion of the Image ...

. The work was for a long time ascribed erroneously to

Tyrannius Rufinus Tyrannius Rufinus, also called Rufinus of Aquileia (; 344/345–411), was an early Christian monk, philosopher, historian, and theologian who worked to translate Greek patristic material, especially the work of Origen, into Latin. Life Rufinus ...

. The latter, also called Rufinus of Aquileia, was definitely a different person. The Syrian Rufinus is usually also identified with the "holy priest" mentioned by

Caelestius Caelestius (or Celestius) was the major follower of the heretical Christian teacher Pelagius and the heresy of Pelagianism, which was opposed to Augustine of Hippo and his doctrine on original sin, and was later declared to be heresy by mainstream ...

at his trial in

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

in 411. At that time the priest was already dead.

References

External links

A new translation of the ''Liber de Fide'' by Walter Dunphy

The text of the "Liber de Fide"
{{Authority control Syrian Christians 4th-century births 5th-century deaths 4th-century Christian theologians 4th-century writers in Latin Pelagians

References

Further reading

External links