Ulfilas ( Greek : Ουλφίλας ; c. 311 – 383), known also as Wulfila(s) or Urphilas , was a 4th-century Gothic preacher of Cappadocian Greek descent. He was the apostle to the Gothic people.
44-727: Ulfila served as a bishop and missionary, participated in the Arian controversy , and is credited with converting the Goths to Christianity as well as overseeing translation of the Bible into the Gothic language . For the purpose of the translation he developed the Gothic alphabet , largely based on the Greek alphabet , as well as Latin and Runic characters. Although the translation of the text into Gothic has traditionally been ascribed to Ulfila, analysis of
88-461: A 4th century letter from his pupil, Auxentius of Durostorum , who wrote it immediately after his death. A summary by Photios I of Philostorgius' Ecclesiastical History is also significant, but references to Ulfila's life are generally scarce, and he was omitted from Jerome 's De Viris Illustribus . Around the year 311, Ulfila was born presumably in what is now modern Romania . He was partially descended from Roman prisoners who were captured in
132-631: A disputation. He likely traveled to the city in 383, although the emperor came to reject the Homoian position. Ulfila soon became ill, died, and was buried soon after, though not before drafting a creed affirming his belief in Homoianism. He was succeeded as bishop by the Gotho-Phrygian Selenas. The traditional date for Ulfila's completion of religious texts for the Goths of Moesia is around 369. Cassiodorus attests that he "invented
176-453: A raid by Goths at Sadagolthina and carried away from Asia Minor . His ancestors were likely kidnapped by Western Goths in 264 or 267 then brought to an area near the Danube river . Prisoners taken in such raids from Anatolia were usually unrepentant Christians, and Ulfila was raised as a Christian in a pagan society. He lived in a diaspora community composed of Cappadocian Christians under
220-586: A single, imperially approved version of the faith. Ironically, his efforts were the cause of the deep divisions created by the disputes after Nicaea. These disagreements divided the Church into various factions for over 55 years, from the time before the First Council of Nicaea in 325 until after the First Council of Constantinople in 381. There was no formal schism . Inside the Roman Empire,
264-459: A third council, at Constantinople (359), of both the eastern and western bishops, to resolve the split at Seleucia. Acacius and Basil of Ancyra, respectively, again proposed the " like the Father " and " similar substance " views, as were explained at Seleucia. However, Maris of Chalcedon, Eudoxius of Antioch , and the deacons Aëtius of Antioch and Eunomius of Cyzicus proposed a third view which
308-637: Is God the Father, who is also the God of our God); and in one Holy Spirit, the illuminating and sanctifying power, as Christ said after his resurrection to his apostles : "And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49) and again "But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Ghost is come upon you" ( Acts 1:8 ); being neither God (the Father) nor our God (Christ), but
352-633: Is known about his life in Moesia, but he resumed preaching and likely exercised the office of chorepiscopus (Greek: χώρα) . Most of his theological works, including the translation of the Bible from Greek into Gothic, were likely to have been produced in this period. He seemed to have remained the temporal and spiritual leader of the Christian Goths in Nicopolis, possibly exerting influence beyond
396-541: Is traditionally said that 318 bishops came to Nicaea to attend the council, though others suggest figures from 250-300. The vast majority of those bishops were from the East. Italy, Spain, Gaul, North Africa, Persia, and Scythia each sent one bishop. Pope Sylvester I , himself too aged to attend, sent two priests as his delegates. Arius himself attended the council as well as the young deacon Athanasius, who attended as an assistant to Alexander of Alexandria and who would become
440-505: The Homoian view, Acacius of Caesarea declared that the Son was " like the Father ". But Basil of Ancyra and his party, following a (Homoiousian) Creed of Antioch from 341, declared that the Son was of " similar substance " to the Father. The majority at Seleucia accepted the " similar substance " view and deposed the opposing party. Constantius did not accept this outcome and requested
484-579: The Thervingi between the Olt , Dniester , and Danube. It is believed that he was Cappadocian Greek on his maternal line and of Gothic descent through his father. Ulfila was either raised by Goths in his childhood as a captive or was born in captivity to Cappadocian parents. No sources exist concerning Ulfila's education. However, he was a lector in a church in Gothia by age thirty, which required study of
SECTION 10
#1732772086948528-633: The Trinitarian faction ultimately gained the upper hand through the Edict of Thessalonica , issued on 27 February AD 380, which made Nicene Christology the state religion of the Roman Empire , and through strict enforcement of that edict. However, outside the Roman Empire, Arianism and other forms of Unitarianism continued to be preached for some time (without the blessing of the Empire), but it
572-553: The 'see', or ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The Homoousians taught that the Son is of the same substance as the Father, i.e. both uncreated. The Sabellian form had been condemned as heresy in the 3rd century by Pope Calixtus. The Athanasian form would be declared orthodox at the Council of Constantinople in 383, and has become the basis of most of modern trinitarianism . According to the historian Socrates of Constantinople , Marcellus of Ancyra and Photinus taught "that Christ
616-525: The Alexandrian diocese . By the time Bishop Alexander finally acted against his presbyter, Arius's doctrine had spread far beyond his own see; it had become a topic of discussion—and disturbance—for the entire Church. The Church was now a powerful force in the Roman world, with Constantine I having legalized it in 313 through the Edict of Milan . "Constantine desired that the church should contribute to
660-615: The Bible and prepared him as a translator. Since services were rendered in the Gothic language, he may have already had both the ability to translate and read. According to Philostorgius, he was sent by the Goths during the reign of Constantine I as an ambassador to the Roman Empire, where he was consecrated as the bishop of Gothia by the Arian Eusebius of Nicomedia . The Romans saw Ulfila as pontifex ipseque primas (bishop and tribal leader); Constantius II supposedly described him as
704-487: The Father, therefore the time obviously was when He was not, and hence He was a finite being." According to some accounts in the hagiography of Saint Nicholas , debate at the council became so heated that at one point, he slapped Arius in the face. The majority of the bishops at the council ultimately agreed upon a creed, known thereafter as the Nicene Creed formulated at the first council of Nicaea. It included
748-452: The Gothic letters and translated the divine scriptures into that language". Walafrid Strabo wrote that "(a team of) scholars translated the sacred books". There is no primary evidence to support the traditional assumption that Ulfila translated the Bible into Gothic; the brief mentions of Ulfila as a translator in the works of ancient historians count only as circumstantial evidence. Authoritative scholarly opinion, based on rigorous analysis of
792-541: The Roman frontier into Gothia as well. He also engaged in theological debates and subscribed to Homoeanism , which became established at the 357 Council of Sirmium . Ulfila was present at the Council of Constantinople in 360, where he endorsed the council's creed and represented the Moesian Goths as their leader. The Roman emperors during the tenure of his bishopric were generally sympathetic to Arianism, though
836-591: The Son ("only-begotten"), who was begotten before time and created the world, and the Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father and the Son: I, Ulfila, bishop and confessor, have always so believed, and in this, the one true faith, I make the journey to my Lord; I believe in one God the Father, the only unbegotten and invisible, and in his only-begotten son, our Lord and God, the designer and maker of all creation, having none other like him (so that one alone among all beings
880-421: The Son of God was a Creature, made from nothing; and that he was God's First Production, before all ages. And he argued that everything else was created through the Son. Thus, said Arius, only the Son was directly created and begotten of God; furthermore, there was a time that He had no existence. He was capable of His own free will, said Arius, and thus "were He in the truest sense a son, He must have come after
924-516: The bishop Alexander of Alexandria , when Arius formulated the following syllogism : "If the Father begat the Son, he that was begotten had a beginning of existence: hence it is that there was when the Son was not. It follows then of necessity that he had his existence from the non-existence". Bishop Alexander of Alexandria was criticised for his slow reaction against Arius. Like his predecessor, Dionysius, he has been charged with vacillation. According to Eusebius 's work, The Life of Constantine ,
SECTION 20
#1732772086948968-481: The champion of the Nicene Creed and spend most of his life battling Arianism and other form of Unitarianism . Also there were Eusebius of Caesarea and Eusebius of Nicomedia . Before the main conclave convened, Hosius initially met with Alexander and his supporters at Nicomedia . The council was presided over by the emperor himself, who participated in and even led some of its discussions. Those who upheld
1012-594: The controversy had spread from Alexandria into almost all the African regions, and was considered a disturbance of the public order by the Roman Empire. Constantine the Great (Constantine I) sent two letters to Arius and Bishop Alexander, asking the religious leaders to stop the controversy. The ongoing controversy led to Constantine's oversight of the First Council of Nicaea. Arianism would not be contained within
1056-602: The council, including Maris and Eudoxius, agreed to a fourth view, namely the homoian (" like the Father ") view that was already agreed to at Ariminum. They made only minor modifications to the Ariminum creed. After the Council of Constantinople, the homoian bishop Acacius deposed and banished several homoiousian bishops, including Macedonius I of Constantinople , Basil, Eustathius, Eleusius of Cyzicus , Dracontius of Pergamum , Neonas of Seleucia , Sophronius of Pompeiopolis , Elpidius of Satala and Cyril of Jerusalem . At
1100-511: The emperor. However, Constantine soon found reason to suspect the sincerity of these three, for he later included them in the sentence pronounced on Arius. In 358, the emperor Constantius II requested two councils, one of the western bishops at Ariminum (now Rimini in Northern Italy ) and one of the eastern bishops at Nicomedia . In 359, the western council met at Ariminum. Ursacius of Singidunum and Valens of Mursa , following
1144-490: The era's Moses and he was additionally compared to the prophet Elijah . His first journey to Constantinople was made between 332 and 337 for the purpose of accompanying a Gothic delegation, and he possibly lived in the city for a time with Aoric . His consecration took place in either 336 or 341. Ulfila would master both Greek and Latin during his life, and as bishop he wrote theological and exegetical treatises in both languages. In 341, he returned to Gothia, spending
1188-447: The following seven years working to explain and confirm the doctrine of Arianism among existing adherents and the unconverted. His pursuits were abruptly ended in 348, when a Thervingian iudex began the persecution of Christians in the area. The exact catalyst of the persecution is unknown. Ulfila and his followers were expelled and fled to the Roman provinces, where they were accepted by Constantius II. Ulfila then established himself in
1232-479: The linguistic properties of the Gothic text, holds that the Gothic Bible was authored by a group of translators. This does not rule out the possibility that, while overseeing the translation of the Bible, Ulfila was one of several translators. The Creed of Ulfila concludes a letter praising him written by his foster son and pupil Auxentius of Durostorum . It distinguishes God the Father ("unbegotten") from God
1276-454: The minister of Christ... subject and obedient in all things to the Son; and the Son, subject and obedient in all things to God who is his Father... (whom) he ordained in the Holy Spirit through his Christ. Maximinus, a 5th-century Arian theologian, copied Auxentius's letter, among other works, into the margins of one copy of Ambrose 's De Fide ; there are some gaps in the surviving text. Arian controversy The Arian controversy
1320-602: The mountains near Nicopolis in Moesia Inferior , with no evidence that he would ever return north of the Danube. He had been the only religious and political leader of Christian Goths at the time of the expulsion, after which he held the honorary title of confessor . His followers were shepherds, and their descendants remained 200 years later in Nicopolis as a poor and docile community. For 33 years Ulfila continued to serve as bishop and attended church councils. Little
1364-455: The new creed drafted at Sirmium (359), proposed that, " according to the scriptures ," the Son was " like the Father ." This is known as the Homoian view which held that the Bible does not reveal whether the Son is of the same substance as the Father and we, therefore, should not speculate about such things. This view is in opposition to the " of the same substance " (Homoousios) view of the Nicene Creed. The council, including some supporters of
Ulfilas - Misplaced Pages Continue
1408-399: The notion that Christ was co-eternal and con-substantial with the Father were led by the young archdeacon Athanasius. Those who instead insisted that the Son of God came after God the Father in time and substance, were led by Arius the presbyter. For about two months, the two sides argued and debated, with each appealing to Scripture to justify their respective positions. Arius maintained that
1452-399: The older creed, accepted this proposal. After the council, Pope Liberius condemned the creed of Ariminum, while his rival, Pope Felix II , supported it. An earthquake struck Nicomedia , and in 359 the eastern council met at Seleucia Isauria instead. The council was bitterly divided and procedurally irregular, and the two parties met separately and reached opposing decisions. Following
1496-641: The same time, Acacius also deposed and banished the Anomoean deacon Aëtius. In 360, Acacius appointed Eudoxius of Antioch to replace Macedonius and Athanasius of Ancyra to replace Basil, as well as Onesimus of Nicomedia to replace Cecropius, who had died in the earthquake at Nicomedia. In 361, Constantius died and Julian became sole Roman emperor. Julian demanded the restoration of several pagan temples which Christians had seized or destroyed. According to Philostorgius , pagans killed George of Laodicea , bishop of Alexandria , allowing Athanasius to reclaim
1540-595: The scriptures," without speaking of substance. Several members of the other schools, such as Hosius of Cordoba and Aëtius, also accepted certain Homoian formulae. The Heteroousians taught that the Son is of a different substance from the Father, i.e. created. Arius had taught this early in the controversy, and Aëtius would teach the later Anomoean form. Many critics of the "Nicene" Creed cannot be clearly associated with one school, often due to lack of sources, or due to contradictions between sources. Nicopolis ad Istrum Too Many Requests If you report this error to
1584-774: The situation changed near the end of his life. In 380, Theodosius I issued a law against heresy, supported the First Council of Nicaea , and deposed the Arian Demophilus of Constantinople in favor of orthodoxy. The next year, he confiscated all church property belonging to heretics and banned all heterodox religious meetings. After the convocation of the Second Ecumenical Council , the Arian bishops Palladius of Ratiaria and Secundianus of Singidunum were anathematized. Ulfila would journey with them to Constantinople upon being ordered by Theodosius to attend
1628-467: The social and moral strength of the empire, religious dissension was a menace to the public welfare." Consequently, the emperor had taken a personal interest in several ecumenical issues, including the Donatist controversy in 316. He also wanted to bring an end to the Arian dispute. To this end, the emperor sent bishop Hosius of Corduba to investigate and, if possible, resolve the controversy. Hosius
1672-511: The text of the Gothic Bible indicates the involvement of a team of translators, possibly under his supervision. Ulfila is mentioned by the orthodox Catholics Socrates of Constantinople , Sozomen , and Theodoret , in addition to the Eunomian historian Philostorgius . He is also mentioned by the Gothic historian Jordanes , although the writer said comparatively little of him. The dominant and most important account of Ulfila's life comes from
1716-468: The word homoousios , meaning "consubstantial", or "same in essence ", which was incompatible with Arius' beliefs. On June 19, 325, council and emperor issued a circular to the churches in and around Alexandria: Arius and two of his unyielding partisans (Theonas and Secundus) were deposed and exiled to Illyricum , while three other supporters— Theognis of Nicaea , Eusebius of Nicomedia and Maris of Chalcedon—affixed their signatures solely out of deference to
1760-417: Was a mere man." Their opponents associated the teachings of Marcellus of Ancyra and Photinus of Sirmium with those of Sabellius and Paul of Samosata , which had been widely rejected before the controversy. The Homoiousian school taught that the Son is of a similar substance to the Father but not the same. The Homoians taught that the Son is similar to the Father, either "in all things" or "according to
1804-443: Was a series of Christian disputes about the nature of Christ that began with a dispute between Arius and Athanasius of Alexandria , two Christian theologians from Alexandria, Egypt . The most important of these controversies concerned the relationship between the substance of God the Father and the substance of His Son. Emperor Constantine , through the Council of Nicaea in 325, attempted to unite Christianity and establish
Ulfilas - Misplaced Pages Continue
1848-556: Was armed with an open letter from the Emperor: "Wherefore let each one of you, showing consideration for the other, listen to the impartial exhortation of your fellow-servant." As the debate continued to rage despite Hosius' efforts, Constantine in AD 325 took an unprecedented step: he called an ecumenical council at Nicaea composed of church prelates from all parts of the empire to resolve this issue, possibly at Hosius' recommendation. It
1892-614: Was eventually killed off. The modern Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church , as well as most other modern Christian sects, have generally followed the Trinitarian formulation, though each has its own specific theology on the matter. The early history of the controversy must be pieced together from about 35 documents found in various sources. The Trinitarian historian Socrates of Constantinople reports that Arius first became controversial under
1936-399: Was similar to Arius' teachings, namely that the Son was of " a dissimilar substance " from the Father. The Heteroousians (" dissimilar substance ") won the victory over the other two views in an initial debate. However, Constantius was not willing to accept this outcome either. He intervened and banished Aëtius; one of the leading proponents of the " dissimilar substance " view. After this,
#947052