Timothy of Constantinople (

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 ...

: Τιμόθεος; fl. c. 600/700) was a Chalcedonian Christian

heresiologist In theology or the history of religion, heresiology is the study of heresy, and heresiographies are writings about the topic. Heresiographical works were common in both medieval Christianity and Islam. Heresiology developed as a part of the emerg ...

and

presbyter Presbyter () is an honorific title for Christian clergy. The word derives from the Greek ''presbyteros'', which means elder or senior, although many in Christian antiquity understood ''presbyteros'' to refer to the bishop functioning as overseer ...

of the church of

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...

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 ...

. He wrote a treatise in

Christian heresies Heresy in Christianity denotes the formal denial or doubt of a core doctrine of the Christian faith as defined by one or more of the Christian churches. The study of heresy requires an understanding of the development of orthodoxy and the ro ...

from a Chalcedonian perspective, ''On Those Who Enter the Church, or On the Reception of Heretics''. This pastoral work is best described as "a handbook on the procedure for admitting heretics to the church".Frank R. Trombley
"The Council in Trullo (691–692): A Study of the Canons Relating to Paganism, Heresy, and the Invasions"
''Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies'', 9.1 (1978), pp. 1–18. Timothy classifies heresies based on the requirements for admission that the orthodox church placed on their members. In his first category were those heretics who would need to be baptised before they could be accepted into the church; in the second, those who needed to be anointed but not baptised; and in the third, those who only needed to abjure all heresy (including their own former beliefs) by pronouncing an

anathema The word anathema has two main meanings. One is to describe that something or someone is being hated or avoided. The other refers to a formal excommunication by a Christian denomination, church. These meanings come from the New Testament, where a ...

. The same three categories were used by

Theodore the Studite Theodore the Studite (; 759–826), also known as Theodorus Studita and Saint Theodore of Stoudios/Studium, was a Byzantine Greek monk and abbot of the Stoudios Monastery in Constantinople. He played a major role in the revivals both of Byzantin ...

writing one or two centuries later. In the first class, Timothy lists

Manichaeans Manichaeism (; in ; ) is an endangered former major world religion currently only practiced in China around Cao'an,R. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''. SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 found ...

Tascodrugites The Tascodrugites (Greek: Τασκοδρούγιται, ''Taskodrougitai''; Latin ''Tascodrugitae'', ''Tascodrugi'') were a sect active in Galatia in the fourth and fifth centuries AD, and possibly as late as the ninth. Ancient sources present them ...

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 ...

, Valentinians,

Basilideans The Basilidians or Basilideans were a Gnostic sect founded by Basilides of Alexandria in the 2nd century. Basilides claimed to have been taught his doctrines by Glaucus, a disciple of St. Peter, though others stated he was a disciple of the S ...

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 ...

, Eunomians, Paulianists,

Photinians Photinus (Greek: Φωτεινός; died 376) was a Christian bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bisho ...

, Marcellians,

Sabellians Sabellians is a collective ethnonym for a group of Italic peoples or tribes inhabiting central and southern Italy at the time of the rise of Rome. The name was first applied by Niebuhr and encompassed the Sabines, Marsi, Marrucini and Vest ...

Simonians The Simonians were a Gnostic sect of the 2nd century which regarded Simon Magus as its founder and traced its doctrines, known as Simonianism, back to him. The sect flourished in Syria, in various districts of Asia Minor and at Rome. In the 3rd ce ...

, Menandrians,

Cerinthians Cerinthus (; fl. c. 50-100 CE) was an early Gnostic, who was prominent as a heresiarch in the view of the early Church Fathers.See, in particular, Irenaeus, ''Adversus haereses'', Book I, III and relative External links Contrary to the Church Fat ...

, Saturninians,

Carpocratians The Carpocratians (Greek: Καρποκρατιανοὶ) were a Gnostic sect partially based on Platonism that was established in the 2nd century AD and existed until the 6th. It was named after Carpocrates of Alexandria, its founder, and gaine ...

Marcosians The Marcosians were a Gnostic sect founded by Marcus in Lyon, France, and active in southern Europe from the second to the fourth century. Women held special status in the Marcosian communities; they were regarded as prophetesses and participa ...

, Apelleasts, Theodotians,

Elcesaites The Elcesaites, Elkasaites, Elkesaites or Elchasaites were an ancient Jewish Christian sect in Lower Mesopotamia, then the province of Asoristan in the Sasanian Empire that was active between 100 and 400 CE. The members of this sect, which origi ...

, Nepotians,

Marcionites Marcionism was an early Christian dualistic belief system that originated with the teachings of Marcion of Sinope in Rome around 144 AD. Marcion was an early Christian theologian, evangelist, and an important figure in early Christianity ...

, Artotyrites, Saccophori,

Apotactics The Apotactics or Apotactites (from the Greek , to renounce, because of their renunciation of private property) were a Christian sect in the western and southern parts of Asia Minor starting in about the third century. They were also known as Apost ...

Encratites The Encratites ("self-controlled") were an ascetic 2nd-century sect of Christians who forbade marriage and counselled abstinence from meat. Eusebius says that Tatian was the author of this heresy. It has been supposed that it was these Gnostic En ...

, Hydroparastatae,

Nicolaitans Nicolaism (also called Nicholairufus, Nicolaitism, Nicolationism or Nicolaitanism) was an early Christian sect mentioned twice in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament. The adherents were called Nicolaitans, Nicolaitanes, or Nicolaites. The ...

, Melchisedechites,

Pelagians 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 ...

and Caelestians. These are mostly early heresies, many of them

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 ...

sects. They represent theoretical problems more than actual ones, since few of them would have been active in Timothy's time. For this reason, Timothy does not distinguish between "elect" and "hearers" among the Manichaeans. He is interested in Manichaeism as a set of beliefs and not a practising sect. He does provide a valuable list of

Mani Mani may refer to: People * Mani (name), (), a given name and surname (including a list of people with the name) ** Mani (prophet) (c. 216–274), a 3rd century Iranian prophet who founded Manichaeism ** Mani (musician) (born 1962), an English ...

's works. Theodore the Studite, taking a more practical stance, lists only the Manichaeans, Tascodrugites and Marcionites in his first class. Timothy's second class includes

Quartodecimans Quartodecimanism (from the Vulgate Latin ''quarta decima'' in Leviticus 23:5, meaning fourteenth) is the name given to the practice of commemorating the death of Christ on the day of Passover, the 14th of Nisan according to biblical dating, on wha ...

Novatianists Novatianism or Novationism was an early Christian sect devoted to the theologian Novatian () that held a strict view that refused readmission to communion of '' lapsi'' (those baptized Christians who had denied their faith or performed the formal ...

Arians Arianism (, ) is a 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 considered h ...

Pneumatomachi The ''Pneumatomachi'' (; ), also known as Macedonians or Semi-Arians in Constantinople and the Tropici in Alexandria, were an anti-Nicene Creed sect which flourished in the regions adjacent to the Hellespont during the latter half of the fourth, ...

and

Apollinarians Apollinarism or Apollinarianism is a Christological position proposed by Apollinaris of Laodicea that argues that Jesus had a human body and sensitive human soul, but a divine mind and not a human rational mind, the Divine Logos taking the place ...

.Migne (1865). Timothy's third class includes the major anti-Chalcedonian sects of

Nestorians Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinary, doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian t ...

and

Miaphysites Miaphysitism () is the Christological doctrine that holds Jesus, the Incarnate Word, is fully divine and fully human, in one nature (''physis'', ). It is a position held by the Oriental Orthodox Churches. It differs from the Dyophysitism of the ...

, a collection of sects he calls Marcianists and also the

Melitians The Melitians, sometimes called the Church of the Martyrs, were an early Christian sect in Egypt. They were founded about 306 by Bishop Melitius of Lycopolis and survived as a small group into the eighth century. The point on which they broke w ...

, who he says commit no error but schism. His list of Marcianists includes

Messalians The Euchites or Messalians were a Christian sect from Mesopotamia that spread to Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) and Thrace. The name 'Messalian' comes from the Syriac , ''mṣallyānā'', meaning 'one who prays'. The Greek translation is , ''euch ...

Euchites The Euchites or Messalians were a Christian sect from Mesopotamia that spread to Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) and Thrace. The name 'Messalian' comes from the Syriac , ''mṣallyānā'', meaning 'one who prays'. The Greek translation is , ''euch ...

Enthusiasts In modern usage, enthusiasm refers to intense enjoyment, interest, or approval expressed by a person. The term is related to playfulness, inventiveness, optimism, zest, verve, and high energy. The word was originally used to refer to a person p ...

, Choreuts, Lampetians, Adelphians and Eustathians. He does not name any contemporary event in connection with these sects, possibly because they were all extinct by his time. Timothy gives two slightly different lists of the miaphysite sects. The first is a list of sixteen groups Timothy labels theopaschite and the second is a list of "the schismatics called ''diacrinomenoi''", which contains twelve groups. Together the two lists name the Eutychians, including the Dioscorians and Petrites;

Acephali In church history, the term ' (from Ancient Greek: ', "headless", singular ' from ', "without", and ', "head") has been applied to several sects that supposedly had no leader. E. Cobham Brewer wrote, in ''Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'', th ...

, who are subdivided into three sects; Julianists, who are subdivided into three sects; and Severans or Theodosians, who are subdivided into eight factions (

Agnoetae The Agnoetae (Greek ἀγνοηταί ''agnoetai'', from ἀγνοέω ''agnoeo'', to be ignorant of) or Themistians were a Monophysite Christian sect of Late Antiquity that maintained that the nature of Jesus Christ was like other men's in all res ...

, Condobaudites, Niobites, two groups of Tritheists and the factions adhering to the patriarchs

Damian Damian () may refer to: *Damian (given name) *Damian (surname) *Damian Subdistrict, in Longquanyi District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China See also *Damiani, an Italian surname *Damiano (disambiguation) *Damien (disambiguation) *Damon (disambiguation) *Da ...

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

and

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

).Theresia Hainthaler, "A Christological Controversy among the Severans at the End of the Sixth Century—The Conversion of Probus and John Barbur to Chalcedonism", in ''Christ in Christian Tradition, Volume 2: From the Council of Chalcedona (451) to Gregory the Great (590–604), Part 4: The Churches of Jerusalem and Antioch from 451 to 600'' (Oxford University Press, 2013), pp. 387–388. He recognized

Jacob of Serugh Jacob of Serugh (, ; ; 452–521), also called Jacob of Sarug or Mar Jacob (), was one of the foremost poets and theologians of the Syriac Christian tradition, second only to Ephrem the Syrian and equal to Narsai. He lived most of his life as ...

as orthodox.Philip Michael Forness, ''Preaching Christology in the Roman Near East: A Study of Jacob of Serugh'' (Oxford University Press, 2018), p. 10. Several sects mentioned by Timothy, such as the Melchisedechites, he describes as having Jewish practices, including

sabbatarianism Sabbatarianism advocates the observation of the Sabbath in Christianity, in keeping with the Ten Commandments. The observance of Sunday as a day of worship and rest is a form of first-day Sabbatarianism, a view which was historically heralded ...

, celebration of

new moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse. ...

s and delaying baptism. Some passages of Timothy are preserved only by quotation in the ''Pandects'' of the 11th-century monk

Nikon of the Black Mountain Nikon of the Black Mountain (born 1025, died 1105) was a Byzantine soldier, monk and author. Born at Constantinople around 1025 to a family of '' archontes'', Nikon served in the army under Constantine IX (). He never received a formal education ...

.Gustave Bardy
''Paul de Samosate: étude historique''
(Louvain and Paris: 1923), p. 421. __NOTOC__

Editions

Jean-Baptiste Cotelier Jean-Baptiste Cotelier or Cotelerius (born December, 1629, Nîmes; died 19 August 1686, Paris) was a Patristic scholar and Catholic theologian. Life His early education was under the personal direction of his father, at one time a Protestant minis ...

(ed.), ''Ecclesiæ græcæ monumenta'', Vol. 3 (Paris: 1686), pp
377
��420 (''De receptione haereticorum'') an
420
��424 (''Ex Niconis pandecte''). *

Jacques Paul Migne Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a u ...

(ed.), ''

Patrologia Graeca The ''Patrologia Graeca'' (''PG'', or ''Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca'') is an edited collection of writings by the Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857–18 ...

'', Vol. 86 (Paris: 1865), I, cols
12
��69 (''De iis qui ad ecclesiam accedunt sive de receptione haereticorum'') an
70
��74 (''Ex Niconis pandecte'').

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