90-430: Christophorus may refer to: Saint Christopher Antipope Christopher disputedly held the papacy 903–904 Christophorus III (1873-1932), Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia 1927-1932 Christophorus Records Christophorus , Porsche AG's customer magazine Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
180-653: A hippopotamus . The tooth was then removed from the altar and its veneration prohibited. Devotional medals with St. Christopher's name and image are commonly worn as pendants , especially by travelers, to show devotion and as a request for his blessing. Miniature statues are frequently displayed in automobiles . In French a widespread phrase for such medals is Regarde St Christophe et va-t-en rassuré ("Look at St Christopher and go on reassured", sometimes translated as "Behold St Christopher and go your way in safety"); Saint Christopher medals and holy cards in Spanish have
270-420: A spiritual being ( Geistwesen ), having no relation to any form of sensual pleasure. It is necessarily required for the devil to be a spiritual being because if the devil were also a sensual being, it would be possible that the devil does evil to satisfy lower sensual desires, and does not act from the mind alone. The devil acts against morals, not to satisfy sensual lust, but solely for the sake of evil. As such,
360-442: A dangerous river, where they were perishing in the attempt. The hermit promised that this service would be pleasing to Christ. After Christopher had performed this service for some time, a little child asked him to take him across the river. During the crossing, the river became swollen and the child seemed as heavy as lead, so much that Christopher could scarcely carry him and found himself in great difficulty. When he finally reached
450-936: A god, but an evil angel. These writings commonly refer to the Creator of the material world as "a demiurgus " to distinguish him from the One true God . Some texts, such as the Apocryphon of John and On the Origin of the World , not only demonized the Creator God but also called him by the name of the devil in some Jewish writings, Samael . In the 12th century in Europe the Cathars , who were rooted in Gnosticism , dealt with
540-487: A gold-plated reliquary holds the skull of St. Christopher. According to church tradition, a bishop showed the relics from the city wall in 1075 in order to end a siege of the city by an Italo-Norman army. The Cathedral of St. James in Šibenik holds a relic claimed to be the incorrupt leg of the saint is kept at the . It was brought over in 1484 from Constantinople through Corfu and originally intended to be transferred to Korčula . The feast day of Saint Christopher
630-484: A good soul will be brought to Paradise by a Yayutshi sent by Ulgen. Some shamans also made sacrifices to Erlik, for gaining a higher rank in the Underworld, if they should be damned to Hell. According to Yazidism there is no entity that represents evil in opposition to God; such dualism is rejected by Yazidis, and evil is regarded as nonexistent. Yazidis adhere to strict monism and are prohibited from uttering
720-693: A holy death; mariners; market carriers; motorists and drivers; sailors; storms; surfers; toothache ; mountaineering; and transportation workers. Christopher is the patron saint of many places, including: Baden, Germany ; Barga, Italy ; Brunswick, Germany ; Mecklenburg, Germany ; Rab, Croatia ; Roermond, the Netherlands ; Saint Christopher's Island ( Saint Kitts ); Toses, Catalonia, Spain ; Mondim de Basto, Portugal ; Agrinio, Greece ; Vilnius, Lithuania ; Riga, Latvia ; Havana, Cuba ; San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic ; Paete, Laguna, Philippines ; and Tivim, Goa, India . Numerous places are named for
810-551: A literal translation of the original Greek term 'dog-headed. (kunokephalos). This tradition may have translated the term as "dog-like" (canineus). This later evolved into a misreading as the Latin term Cananeus , ' Canaanite ', thus turning Christopher into a Canaanite. According to the medieval Irish Passion of St. Christopher, "This Christopher was one of the Dog-heads, a race that had the heads of dogs and ate human flesh." It
900-564: A personal name. The Eastern Orthodox Church venerates Christopher of Lycea (or Lycia ) with a Feast Day on 9 May. The liturgical reading and hymns refer to his imprisonment by Decius who tempts Christopher with harlots before ordering his beheading. The Kontakion in the Fourth Tone (hymn) reads: Thou who wast terrifying both in strength and in countenance, for thy Creator's sake thou didst surrender thyself willingly to them that sought thee; for thou didst persuade both them and
990-537: A secondary deity, a demiurgus , who was god, in a sense, but not the supreme God; he was just, rigidly just, he had his good qualities, but he was not the good god, who was Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. John Arendzen (1909) in the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) mentions that Eusebius accused Apelles , the 2nd-century AD Gnostic, of considering the Inspirer of Old Testament prophecies to be not
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#17327727069851080-440: A sensual joy or relief still accompanies the destruction of the tulip and therefore cannot be thought of solely as a violation of morality. Kant further argues that a (spiritual) devil would be a contradiction. If the devil would be defined by doing evil, the devil had no free choice in the first place. But if the devil had no free-choice, the devil could not have been held accountable for his actions, since he had no free will but
1170-528: A son of God and a brother to Christ. To explain this, they used the parable of the prodigal son, with Christ as the good son, and Lucifer as the son that strayed into evilness. The Catholic Church responded to dualism in AD 1215 in the Fourth Lateran Council , saying that God created everything from nothing, and the devil was good when he was created, but he made himself bad by his own free will. In
1260-436: A tulip seller who was in possession of a rare tulip, but when he learned that another seller had the same tulip, he bought it from him and then destroyed it instead of keeping it for himself. If he had acted according to his sensual urges, the seller would have kept the tulip for himself to make a profit, but not have destroyed it. Nevertheless, the destruction of the tulip cannot be completely absolved from sensual impulses, since
1350-441: A variety of definitions for the meaning of "devil", supported by a range of citations: "Devil" may refer to Satan, the supreme spirit of evil, or one of Satan's emissaries or demons that populate Hell, or to one of the spirits that possess a demoniac person; "devil" may refer to one of the "malignant deities" feared and worshiped by "heathen people", a demon, a malignant being of superhuman powers; figuratively "devil" may be applied to
1440-519: A wayside cross and found out that the devil feared Christ, he left him and enquired from people where to find Christ. He met a hermit who instructed him in the Christian faith. Christopher asked him how he could serve Christ. When the hermit suggested fasting and prayer, Christopher replied that he was unable to perform that service. The hermit then suggested that because of his size and strength Christopher could serve Christ by assisting people to cross
1530-672: A wicked person, or playfully to a rogue or rascal, or in empathy often accompanied by the word "poor" to a person—"poor devil". In the Baháʼí Faith , a malevolent, superhuman entity such as a devil or satan is not believed to exist. However, these terms do appear in the Baháʼí writings, where they are used as metaphors for the lower nature of man. Human beings are seen to have free will , and are thus able to turn towards God and develop spiritual qualities or turn away from God and become immersed in their self-centered desires. Individuals who follow
1620-453: Is Ahriman . They are in eternal struggle and neither is all-powerful, especially Angra Mainyu is limited to space and time: in the end of time, he will be finally defeated. While Ahura Mazda creates what is good, Angra Mainyu is responsible for every evil and suffering in the world, such as toads and scorpions. Iranian Zoroastrians also considered the Daeva as devil creature, because of this in
1710-661: Is also used in the New Testament as a synonym for the devil. A corrupted version, "Belzeboub", appears in The Divine Comedy ( Inferno XXXIV). In other, non-mainstream, Christian beliefs (e.g. the beliefs of the Christadelphians ) the word "satan" in the Bible is not regarded as referring to a supernatural, personal being but to any 'adversary' and figuratively refers to human sin and temptation. In
1800-577: Is celebrated on 27 July in Šibenik. Greek Orthodox churches in Grevena , Filothei , and Siatista hold other relics claimed to be those of the saint. In the Late Middle Ages, a claimed large tooth of St. Christopher was delivered to the church in Vercelli . Pilgrims came from all over Europe to look at this relic until the end of 18th century when a naturalist determined it was a tooth of
1890-519: Is good, the evil in the world must be part of God's plan. Actually, God allowed the devil to seduce humanity. Evil and suffering are regarded as a test or a chance to prove confidence in God. Some philosophers and mystics emphasized Iblis himself as a role model of confidence in God. Because God ordered the angels to prostrate themselves, Iblis was forced to choose between God's command and God's will (not to praise someone other than God). He successfully passed
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#17327727069851980-519: Is in stark contrast to Islamists, such as Osama bin Laden , who justifies his violence against the infidels by contrary assertions. While in classical hadiths , devils ( shayāṭīn ) and jinn are responsible for ritual impurity, many Salafis substitute local demons by an omnipresent threat through the Devil himself. Only through remembrance of God and ritual purity, the devil can be kept away. As such,
2070-504: Is in use throughout the Lusophone world. Because St. Christopher offered protection to travelers and against sudden death, many churches placed images or statues of him, usually opposite the south door, so he could be easily seen. He is usually depicted as a giant, with a child on his shoulder and a staff in one hand. In England, there are more wall paintings of St. Christopher than of any other saint; in 1904, Mrs. Collier, writing for
2160-619: Is inherently evil. The One true God is remote, beyond the material universe; therefore, this universe must be governed by an inferior imposter deity. This deity was identified with the deity of the Old Testament by some sects, such as the Sethians and the Marcions . Tertullian accuses Marcion of Sinope , that he [held that] the Old Testament was a scandal to the faithful … and … accounted for it by postulating [that Jehovah was]
2250-460: Is not necessarily seen as opposed to God. The devil activates the selfish desires of the psyche, leading the human astray from the Divine. Thus, it is the I that is regarded as evil, and both Iblis and Pharao are present as symbols for uttering "I" in ones own behavior. Therefore, it is recommended to use the term I as little as possible. It is only God who has the right to say "I", since it
2340-440: Is only God who is self-subsistent. Uttering "I" is therefore a way to compare oneself to God, regarded as shirk . Many Salafi strands emphasize a dualistic worldview between believers and unbelievers, The unbelievers are considered to be under the domain of the Devil and are the enemies of the faithful. The former are credited with tempting the latter to sin and away from God's path. The Devil will ultimately be defeated by
2430-431: Is portrayed as a large, ferocious dragon or snake and is considered the king of the World of Darkness. Together they rule the underworld and create the seven planets and twelve zodiac constellations . Also found in the underworld is Krun , the greatest of the five Mandaean Lords of the underworld. He dwells in the lowest depths of creation and his epithet is the 'mountain of flesh'. Prominent infernal beings found in
2520-558: Is the English version of the Greek name Χριστόφορος ( Christóphoros or Christóforos ). It is formed from the word elements Χριστός ( Christós , 'Christ'), and φέρειν ( phérein , 'to bear'), together signifying, "Christ bearer". Widely dispersed into other languages and cultures from the Greek, many native forms of Christopher are used both to refer to the saint and as
2610-429: Is venerated by several Christian denominations. According to these traditions, he was a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman emperor Decius ( r. 249–251 ), or alternatively under the emperor Maximinus Daia ( r. 308–313 ). Churches and monasteries were named after him by the 7th century. There is no evidence for the historicity of the saint. The most famous legend connected to
2700-513: The Gospel of the Secret Supper , Lucifer, just as in prior Gnostic systems, appears as a demiurge, who created the material world. In Islam, the principle of evil is expressed by two terms referring to the same entity: Shaitan (meaning astray , distant or devil ) and Iblis . Iblis is the proper name of the devil representing the characteristics of evil. Iblis is mentioned in
2790-558: The Book of Wisdom , the devil is represented as the one who brought death into the world. The Second Book of Enoch contains references to a Watcher called Satanael, describing him as the prince of the Grigori who was cast out of heaven and an evil spirit who knew the difference between what was "righteous" and "sinful". In the Book of Jubilees , Satan rules over a host of angels. Mastema , who induced God to test Abraham through
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2880-741: The British Archaeological Association , reported 183 paintings, statues, and other representations of the saint, outnumbering all others except for the Virgin Mary . In the Eastern Orthodox Church , certain icons identify Saint Christopher with the head of a dog. Such images may carry echoes of the Egyptian dog-headed god, Anubis . Because of the association of the representation of dog-headed saint with stories of werewolves or of monstrous races,
2970-661: The Lake of Fire . He is described as hating all humanity (or more accurately all creation), opposing God, spreading lies and wreaking havoc on their souls. In the Bible , the devil is identified as "the dragon" and "the old serpent" in the Book of Revelation, as "the prince of this world" in the Gospel of John ; "the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience" in the Epistle to
3060-822: The Middle English devel , from the Old English dēofol , that in turn represents an early Germanic borrowing of the Latin diabolus . This in turn was borrowed from the Greek διάβολος diábolos , "slanderer", from διαβάλλειν diabállein , "to slander" from διά diá , "across, through" and βάλλειν bállein , "to hurl", probably akin to the Sanskrit gurate , "he lifts up". In his book The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity , Jeffrey Burton Russell discusses various meanings and difficulties that are encountered when using
3150-628: The Quranic narrative about the creation of humanity. When God created Adam , he ordered the angels to prostrate themselves before him. Out of pride, Iblis refused and claimed to be superior to Adam. Therefore, pride but also envy became a sign of "unbelief" in Islam. Thereafter, Iblis was condemned to Hell, but God granted him a request to lead humanity astray, knowing the righteous would resist Iblis' attempts to misguide them. In Islam, both good and evil are ultimately created by God. But since God's will
3240-460: The Shahnameh , it is mentioned as both Ahriman Div ( Persian : اهریمن دیو , romanized : Ahriman Div ) as a devil. A non-published manuscript of Spinoza 's Ethics contained a chapter (Chapter XXI) on the devil, where Spinoza examined whether the devil may exist or not. He defines the devil as an entity which is contrary to God. However, if the devil is the opposite of God,
3330-407: The sacrifice of Isaac , is identical with Satan in both name and nature. The Book of Enoch contains references to Sathariel , thought also to be Sataniel and Satan'el . The similar spellings mirror that of his angelic brethren Michael , Raphael , Uriel , and Gabriel , previous to his expulsion from Heaven. Gnostic and Gnostic-influenced religions postulate the idea that the material world
3420-412: The 6th century and had spread to France by the 9th century. The 11th-century bishop and poet Walter of Speyer gave one version, but the most popular variations originated from the 13th-century Golden Legend . According to the legendary account of his life Christopher was initially called Reprobus . He was a Canaanite , 5 cubits (7.5 feet (2.3 m)) tall and with a fearsome face. While serving
3510-606: The Devil becomes an increasinly powerful entity who is believed to interfer with both personal and political life. For example, many Salafis blame the Devil for Western emancipation . Yahweh , the god in pre-exilic Judaism , created both good and evil, as stated in Isaiah 45:7: "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things." The devil does not exist in Jewish scriptures. However,
3600-537: The Ephesians ; and "the god of this world" in 2 Corinthians 4:4. He is also identified as the tempter of the Gospels . Satan is traditionally identified as the serpent who convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit ; thus, Satan has often been depicted as a serpent. Beelzebub is originally the name of a Philistine god (more specifically a certain type of Baal , from Ba‘al Zebûb , lit. "Lord of Flies") but
3690-414: The Jewish idea of the devil as yetzer hara . On the other hand, Shaitan refers unilaterally to forces of evil, including the devil Iblis who causes mischief. Shaitan is also linked to humans' psychological nature, appearing in dreams, causing anger, or interrupting the mental preparation for prayer. Furthermore, the term Shaitan also refers to beings who follow the evil suggestions of Iblis. Also,
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3780-528: The Limits of Reason Alone , Immanuel Kant uses the devil as the personification of maximum moral reprehensibility. Deviating from the common Christian idea, Kant does not locate the morally reprehensible in sensual urges. Since evil has to be intelligible , only when the sensual is consciously placed above the moral obligation can something be regarded as morally evil. Thus, to be evil, the devil must be able to comprehend morality but consciously reject it, and, as
3870-601: The Roman numerus Marmaritarum ('Unit of the Marmaritae'). He was reported to be of enormous size, with the head of a dog instead of a man. This was in line with the cultural beliefs of the time, which held that typical Marmaritae were tall, strong, and rascally; being a cynocephalus was also consistent with this image. Roman writer Pliny the Elder reported that the " Cynamolgi cynocephali , of Ethiopia were men with
3960-650: The Russian Orthodox Church proscribed the depiction of the saint with a dog head in the 18th century. The roots of that iconography lie in a hagiographic narrative set during the reign of the Emperor Diocletian , which tells of a man named Reprebus , (also, Rebrebus or Reprobus ; 'the reprobate' or 'scoundrel'). He was captured by Roman forces fighting against tribes dwelling to the west of Egypt in Cyrenaica and forced to join
4050-570: The Sufi idea of seeing "Many as One" and considering the creation in its essence as the Absolute, leads to the idea of the dissolution of any dualism between the ego substance and the "external" substantial objects. The rebellion against God, mentioned in the Quran, takes place on the level of the psyche that must be trained and disciplined for its union with the spirit that is pure. Since psyche drives
4140-465: The World of Darkness include lilith , nalai ( vampire ), niuli ( hobgoblin ), latabi (devil), gadalta ( ghost ), satani ( Satan ) and various other demons and evil spirits. In Manichaeism , God and the devil are two unrelated principles. God created good and inhabits the realm of light, while the devil (also called the prince of darkness ) created evil and inhabits the kingdom of darkness. The contemporary world came into existence, when
4230-411: The body, flesh is not the obstacle to humans but rather an unawareness that allows the impulsive forces to cause rebellion against God on the level of the psyche. Yet it is not a dualism between body, psyche and spirit, since the spirit embraces both psyche and corporeal aspects of humanity. Since the world is held to be the mirror in which God's attributes are reflected, participation in worldly affairs
4320-537: The devil as an independent force of evil besides God. After the apocalyptic period , references to Satan in the Tanakh are thought to be allegorical . In Mandaean mythology , Ruha fell apart from the World of Light and became the queen of the World of Darkness , also referred to as Sheol . She is considered evil and a liar, sorcerer and seductress. She gives birth to Ur , also referred to as Leviathan . He
4410-446: The devil can be summed up as 1) a principle of evil independent from God , 2) an aspect of God, 3) a created being turning evil (a fallen angel ) or 4) a symbol of human evil. Each tradition, culture, and religion with a devil in its mythos offers a different lens on manifestations of evil. The history of these perspectives intertwines with theology, mythology, psychiatry, art, and literature, developing independently within each of
4500-421: The devil is blamed for could be explained without the proposal of a devil. Thus, the devil does not have any explanatory power and should be dismissed ( Occam's razor ). Regarding evil through free choice, Spinoza asks how it can be that Adam would have chosen sin over his own well-being. Theology traditionally responds to this by asserting it is the devil who tempts humans into sin, but who would have tempted
4590-400: The devil is unselfish, for he does not benefit from his evil deeds. However, Kant denies that a human being could ever be completely devilish. Kant admits that there are devilish vices (ingratitude, envy, and malicious joy), i.e., vices that do not bring any personal advantage, but a person can never be completely a devil. In his Lecture on Moral Philosophy (1774/75) Kant gives an example of
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#17327727069854680-547: The devil is usually referred to as Satan . This is because Christian beliefs in Satan are inspired directly by the dominant view of Second Temple Judaism (recorded in the Enochian books ), as expressed/practiced by Jesus , and with some minor variations. Some modern Christians consider the devil to be an angel who, along with one-third of the angelic host (the demons), rebelled against God and has consequently been condemned to
4770-531: The devil or Satan is a fallen angel who is the primary opponent of God . Some Christians also considered the Roman and Greek deities to be devils. Christianity describes Satan as a fallen angel who terrorizes the world through evil, is opposed to truth , and shall be condemned, together with the fallen angels who follow him, to eternal fire at the Last Judgment . In mainstream Christianity ,
4860-491: The devil would consist of Nothingness, which does not exist. In a paper called On Devils , he writes that we can a priori find out that such a thing cannot exist. Because the duration of a thing results in its degree of perfection, and the more essence a thing possess the more lasting it is, and since the devil has no perfection at all, it is impossible for the devil to be an existing thing. Evil or immoral behaviour in humans, such as anger, hate, envy, and all things for which
4950-433: The devil? According to Spinoza, a rational being, such as the devil must have been, could not choose his own damnation. The devil must have known his sin would lead to doom, thus the devil was not knowing, or the devil did not know his sin will lead to doom, thus the devil would not have been a rational being. Spinoza deducts a strict determinism in which moral agency as a free choice, cannot exist. In Religion Within
5040-560: The figure in the Abrahamic religions . In the Introduction to his book Satan: A Biography , Henry Ansgar Kelly discusses various considerations and meanings that he has encountered in using terms such as devil and Satan , etc. While not offering a general definition, he describes that in his book "whenever diabolos is used as the proper name of Satan", he signals it by using "small caps". The Oxford English Dictionary has
5130-400: The first human. He desired to create a human just as Ulgen did, thereupon Ulgen reacted by punishing Erlik, casting him into the Underworld where he becomes its ruler. According to Tengrism, there is no death, meaning that, when life comes to an end, it is merely a transition into the invisible world. As the ruler of Hell, Erlik enslaves the souls, who are damned to Hell. Further, he lurks on
5220-489: The heads of dogs." Pliny's work, The Natural History was, during the first century A.D., a well-respected compendium of Roman science. It reports accepted "knowledge" about people from Cyrenaica . Pliny notes that these "dog-headed men" resided in "Ethiopia"—a name used to encapsulate areas of Africa West and South of Alexandrian Egypt by contemporary Romans. Reprebus and the unit were later transferred to Syrian Antioch , where bishop Peter of Attalia baptised him and where he
5310-398: The idea that Satan is an opponent of God and the implied struggle between God and the devil . Iblis might either be regarded as the most monotheistic or the greatest sinner , but remains only a creature of God. Iblis did not become an unbeliever due to his disobedience, but because of attributing injustice to God; that is, by asserting that the command to prostrate himself before Adam
5400-562: The infant Jesus across a river on his shoulders. Small images of him are often worn around the neck, on a bracelet, carried in a pocket, or placed in vehicles. He is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers . The Eastern Church tradition depicts the saint as a cynocephalus ('dog-headed creature') in a literal interpretation of its legendary tradition. Legends about the life and death of Saint Christopher first appeared in Greece in
5490-650: The influence of Zoroastrianism during the Achaemenid Empire introduced evil as a separate principle into the Jewish belief system, which gradually externalized the opposition until the Hebrew term satan developed into a specific type of supernatural entity, changing the monistic view of Judaism into a dualistic one. Later, Rabbinic Judaism rejected the Enochian books (written during the Second Temple period under Persian influence), which depicted
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#17327727069855580-462: The king of Canaan, he took it into his head to go and serve "the greatest king there was". He went to the king who was reputed to be the greatest, but one day he saw the king cross himself at the mention of the devil. On thus learning that the king feared the devil , he departed to look for the devil. He came across a band of marauders, one of whom declared himself to be the devil, so Christopher decided to serve him. But when he saw his new master avoid
5670-565: The kingdom of darkness assaulted the kingdom of light and mingled with the spiritual world. At the end, the devil and his followers will be sealed forever and the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness will continue to co-exist eternally, never to commingle again. Hegemonius (4th century CE) accuses that the Persian prophet Mani , founder of the Manichaean sect in the 3rd century CE, identified Jehovah as "the devil god which created
5760-467: The line taken by Irenaeus instead of the later Christian consensus that the devil did not rebel against God but against humanity. Further, although Iblis is generally regarded as a real bodily entity, he plays a less significant role as the personification of evil than in Christianity. Iblis is merely a tempter, notable for inciting humans into sin by whispering into humans minds (waswās), akin to
5850-463: The local king, he refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods. The king tried to win him by riches and by sending two beautiful women to tempt him. Christopher converted the women to Christianity, as he had already converted thousands in the city. The king ordered him to be killed. Various attempts failed, but finally Christopher was beheaded. The name Christopher , as used in the Anglophone world,
5940-698: The names of the state ministers of the Byzantine Empire and those church ministers who were involved in the laying of the foundation stone, the construction or the consecration of the church. The inscription attests to the veneration of Saint Christopher in Chalcedon in the 5th century. A nunnery in Galatia was consecrated to Saint Christopher around the year 600. The Museum of Sacred Art at Saint Justine's Church (Sveta Justina) in Rab , Croatia claims
6030-511: The other side, he said to the child: "You have put me in the greatest danger. I do not think the whole world could have been as heavy on my shoulders as you were." The child replied: "You had on your shoulders not only the whole world but Him who made it. I am Christ your king, whom you are serving by this work." The child then vanished. Christopher later visited Lycia and there comforted the Christians who were being martyred. Brought before
6120-537: The phrase Si en San Cristóbal confías, de accidente no morirás ("If you trust St. Christopher, you won't die in an accident"). St. Christopher was a widely popular saint, especially revered by athletes, mariners , ferrymen , and travelers. He is revered as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers . He holds patronage of things related to travel and travelers—against lightning and pestilence —and patronage for archers ; bachelors ; boatmen; soldiers; bookbinders ; epilepsy ; floods; fruit dealers; fullers ; gardeners ;
6210-628: The power of God, but remains until then a serious threat for the believer. The notion of a substantial reality of evil (or a form of dualism between God and the Devil) has no precedence in the Quran or earlier Muslim traditions. Neither in the writings of ibn Sina, Ghazali, nor ibn Taimiyya, has evil any positive existence, but is described as the absence of good. Accordingly, infidelity among humans, civilizations, and empires are not described evil or devilish in Classical Islamic sources. This
6300-416: The principle of shaitan is in many ways a symbol of spiritual impurity, representing humans' own deficits, in contrast to a " true Muslim ", who is free from anger, lust and other devilish desires. In Muslim culture, devils are believed to be hermaphrodite creatures created from hell-fire, with one male and one female thigh, and able to procreate without a mate. It is generally believed that devils can harm
6390-404: The problem of evil, and developed ideas of dualism and demonology. The Cathars were seen as a serious potential challenge to the Catholic church of the time. The Cathars split into two camps. The first is absolute dualism, which held that evil was completely separate from the good God, and that God and the devil each had power. The second camp is mitigated dualism, which considers Lucifer to be
6480-463: The saint recounts that after converting to Christianity, he devoted his life to carrying travelers across a river. One day he carried an unknown young boy across a river after which the boy revealed himself as Christ. Because of his help to travelers, he became the patron saint of travelers. In the iconography of the Western Church , the saint is often depicted as a giant with a staff carrying
6570-580: The saint, including Saint Christopher Island , the official name of the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts, and St. Christopher Island in Antarctica . Many places are named after the saint in other languages, for example Saint-Christophe is a common French place name; similarly, San Cristóbal is a place name in many Spanish-speaking or Spanish-influenced countries, and the São Cristóvão
6660-400: The souls of humans through their whisperings. While whisperings tempt humans to sin, the devils might enter the hearth ( qalb ) of an individual. If the devils take over the soul of a person, this would render them aggressive or insane. In extreme cases, the alterings of the soul are believed to have effect on the body, matching its spiritual qualities. In contrast to Occidental philosophy,
6750-456: The souls of those humans living on Earth by causing death, disease and illnesses. At the time of birth, Erlik sends a Kormos to seize the soul of the newborn, following him for the rest of his life in an attempt to seize his soul by hampering, misguiding, and injuring him. When Erlik succeeds in destroying a human's body, the Kormos sent by Erlik will try take him down into the Underworld. However
6840-461: The temptations of the self and do not develop spiritual virtues are often described in the Baháʼí writings with the word satanic . The Baháʼí writings also state that the devil is a metaphor for the "insistent self" or "lower self", which is a self-serving inclination within each individual. Those who follow their lower nature are also described as followers of "the Evil One". In Christianity ,
6930-408: The term devil . He does not claim to define the word in a general sense, but he describes the limited use that he intends for the word in his book—limited in order to "minimize this difficulty" and "for the sake of clarity". In this book Russell uses the word devil as "the personification of evil found in a variety of cultures", as opposed to the word Satan , which he reserves specifically for
7020-461: The test, yet his disobedience caused his punishment and therefore suffering. However, he stays patient and is rewarded in the end. Muslims hold that the pre-Islamic jinn , tutelary deities , became subject under Islam to the judgment of God, and that those who did not submit to the law of God are devils . Although Iblis is often compared to the devil in Christian theology , Islam rejects
7110-616: The title Christophorus . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christophorus&oldid=877675567 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Saint Christopher Saint Christopher ( Greek : Ἅγιος Χριστόφορος , Hágios Christóphoros , lit. ' Christ-bearer ' ; Latin : Sanctus Christophorus )
7200-405: The traditions. It occurs historically in many contexts and cultures, and is given many different names— Satan (Judaism), Lucifer (Christianity), Beelzebub (Judeo-Christian), Mephistopheles (German), Iblis (Islam)—and attributes: it is portrayed as blue, black, or red; it is portrayed as having horns on its head, and without horns, and so on. The Modern English word devil derives from
7290-477: The waters and collect some mud. Erlik hid some inside his mouth to later create his own world. But when God commanded the Earth to expand, Erlik got troubled by the mud in his mouth. God aided Erlik to spit it out. The mud carried by Erlik gave place to the unpleasant areas of the world. Because of his sin, he was assigned to evil. In another variant, the creator-god is identified with Ulgen . Again, Erlik appears to be
7380-438: The women that sought to arouse in thee the fire of lust, and they followed thee in the path of martyrdom. And in torments thou didst prove to be courageous. Wherefore, we have gained thee as our great protector, O great Christopher. The Roman Martyrology remembers him on 25 July. The Tridentine calendar commemorates him on the same day only in private Masses . By 1954 his commemoration had been extended to all Masses, but it
7470-480: The word "devil" and from speaking of anything related to Hell . Zoroastrianism probably introduced the first idea of the devil; a principle of evil independently existing apart from God. In Zoroastrianism, good and evil derive from two ultimately opposed forces. The force of good is called Ahura Mazda and the "destructive spirit" in the Avestan language is called Angra Mainyu . The Middle Persian equivalent
7560-545: The world" and said that "he who spoke with Moses, the Jews, and the priests … is the [Prince] of Darkness, … not the god of truth." Among the Tengristic myths of central Asia, Erlik refers to a devil-like figure as the ruler of Tamag (Hell), who was also the first human. According to one narrative, Erlik and God swam together over the primordial waters. When God was about to create the Earth, he sent Erlik to dive into
7650-615: Was commonly accepted at the time that there were several types of races, the Cynocephalus, or dog-headed people, being one of many believed to populate the world. The German bishop and poet Walter of Speyer portrayed St. Christopher as a giant of a cynocephalic species in the land of the Chananeans who ate human flesh and barked. Eventually, Christopher met the Christ child, regretted his former behavior, and received baptism. He, too,
7740-462: Was dropped in 1970 as part of the general reorganization of the calendar of the Roman rite as mandated by the motu proprio , Mysterii Paschalis . His commemoration is of Roman tradition, in view of the relatively late date (about 1550) and limited manner in which it was accepted into the Roman calendar, but his feast continues to be observed locally. A stone inscription of 2 m × 1 m (6 ft 7 in × 3 ft 3 in)
7830-582: Was found in the ruins of a church in the ruins of the ancient city Chalcedon near present day Istanbul . The inscription bears witness to the laying of the foundation stone, the construction and the consecration of a church in the name of "Saint Christopher's Martyrdom". The inscription states that this Church of St Christopher dates back to the time of the Fourth Ecumenical Council, the Council of Chalcedon . The inscription also mentions
7920-562: Was inappropriate. There is no reference to angelic revolt in the Quran and no mention of Iblis trying to take God's throne, and Iblis's sin could be forgiven at any time by God. According to the Quran, Iblis's disobedience was due to his disdain for humanity , a narrative already occurring in early New Testament apocrypha . As in Christianity, Iblis was once a pious creature of God but later cast out of Heaven due to his pride. However, to maintain God's absolute sovereignty, Islam matches
8010-488: Was martyred in 308. Scholars have suggested that the Byzantine depiction of St. Christopher as dog-headed may have resulted from his identification as a member of the tribe of the Marmaritae who were a land of cannibals and dog-headed peoples. The Greek tradition interpreted this literally, which led to Byzantine icons often depicting St. Christopher with a dog's head. The Latin tradition in the opposite direction away from
8100-426: Was rewarded with a human appearance, whereupon he devoted his life to Christian service and became an athlete of God , one of the soldier saints . Devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of
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