Lucian of Antioch

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Lukian of Antioch (also Lukian of Samosata ; * around 250 probably in Samosata ; † January 7, 312 in Nicomedia ) was theologian and priest of the Church of Antioch . He was the head of the Antiochian School and is venerated as a martyr and saint .

Lukian was widely respected for his ascetic life and erudition. Both the Arians and the Nestorians invoked him and his school. However, John Chrysostomus , Diodorus and Theodor of Mopsuestia also emerged from the Antiochian School .

Life

Very little is known about his life. After the Suda (tenth century), Lukian is said to have been born near Samosata to respected parents and trained in the school of a certain Macarius in neighboring Edessa . However, this information dates from the tenth century and is not confirmed by any other sources. At the same time, there could be a confusion with the satirist of the same name Lukian of Samosata . Lucian is said to have concentrated the rejection of the allegorizing tendencies emerging in Alexandria, since he allegedly flatly rejected the method of allegory of the Alexandrian school for interpreting the Bible and suggested the system of literary interpretation, which later prevailed in the Eastern Church for a long time.

Lukian is said to have settled in Antioch on the Orontes at a young age and was ordained a priest . Especially in the older scientific literature, for example by Adolf von Harnack , Lukian is still regarded as the head of the Antiochian School . For Lukian there are apparently no connections to theology with the 'Antiochene School' that actually emerged long after his death at the end of the fourth century. Although from today's point of view no connection can be made with the theological views of Paul of Samosata , he is said to have come under suspicion in the course of his condemnation and to have been forced to give up fellowship with the church. This break with the orthodox representatives supposedly lasted during the tenure of bishops Domnus I (268-273), Timaeus (273-277) and Kyrillos I (277-299). Lukian is said to have reconciled with the church (possibly around 285) during the episcopate of Kyrillos I.

In scientific research, Lukian is sometimes seen as a possible theological teacher of personalities who were later generally referred to as representatives and teachers of theological positions of Arianism . In some cases, a concrete teacher-student relationship between Lucian and, for example, Arius or Eusebius is not considered proven by Nicomedia . His Christology represents a union of modalism and subordinatianism : the word , although it was the creator of all subsequent beings, was itself a creature, but superior to all other created things.

Despite his supposed or actual heterodoxy , Eusebius of Caesarea describes him in his church history as a man of virtue without exception; at the height of the Arian conflict, his holiness was no less famous than his reputation as a scholar.

During the persecution of Christians of the Roman emperor Maximinus Daia , he was arrested, tortured in Nicomedia and, after making a public creed, sentenced to death there. Lucian died a martyr's death on January 7, 312 and is said to have been buried in Helenopolis , where Constantine the Great or his mother Helena built a church over Lucian's grave in about 327. Soon after his death, a martyr cult around Lukian arose, later by Constantine and above all Eusebius of Nicomedia, also partly purposefully promoted and instrumentalized. He has been venerated as a saint since the end of the 4th century .

Works

Decades after his death, traditions developed which, in addition to his role in the Christological and Trinitarian controversy, attribute greater importance to him in Bible exegesis . He is said to have taken the view that the literary sense was preferable to textual precision, and even revised the Septuagint based on the original Hebrew version or the other translations. His revision of the Septuagint is said to have been predominant in the fourth century from Antioch to Constantinople. He is also credited with a Bible review of the New Testament . Hieronymus names Libelli de Fide as another work. However, none of them have survived.

He is also credited with drafting a creed presented at the synod of Antioch in 341 . His authorship is doubtful, however, and he certainly did not write it in its current form. A translation of his apologetic speech has come down to us through Rufinus of Aquileia . Suidas names a series of letters, one of which reports the death of Bishop Anthimus .

literature

Web links

Commons : Lucian of Antioch  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
Wikisource: Lucian of Antioch  - Sources and full texts (English)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ but not to be confused with the satirist of the same name Lukian of Samosata
  2. ^ Hanns Christof Brennecke , Lukian of Antioch in the history of the Arian controversy , in: Hanns Christof Brennecke, Ernst Ludwig Grasmück, Christoph Markschies (ed.): Logos. Festschrift for Luise Abramowski on July 8, 1993 . Walter de Gruyter , Berlin / New York 1993, pp. 170–192, here p. 180.
  3. ↑ Winrich Löhr , Arius reconsidered (Part 2) , in: Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum , 2006, Volume 10, Issue 1, pp. 121–157, there p. 157.
  4. ^ Hanns Christof Brennecke:  Lucian of Antioch . In: Theologische Realenzyklopädie (TRE). Volume 21, de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1991, ISBN 3-11-012952-3 , pp. 474-479. ( Retrieved for a fee from TRE , De Gruyter Online), pp. 475–477.
  5. ↑ Eusebius of Caesarea : Historia Ecclesiastica . Book VIII, Chapter 13.2 ( German translation by Philipp Häuser in the library of the church fathers - 4th century).
  6. ^ Hanns Christof Brennecke , Lukian of Antioch in the history of the Arian controversy , in: Hanns Christof Brennecke, Ernst Ludwig Grasmück, Christoph Markschies (ed.): Logos. Festschrift for Luise Abramowski on July 8, 1993 . Walter de Gruyter , Berlin / New York 1993, pp. 170–192, here pp. 184f.
  7. ↑ Hieronymus : Lucianus . In: De viris illustribus . Chapter 77 (4th century).
  8. ↑ Hieronymus : Adversus Rufinum . Chapter 26 (4th century).
  9. ↑ Athanasius the Great : Treatise on the Synods at Rimini in Italy, and at Seleucia in Isauria . In: All the works of St. Athanasius . tape 3 . Kempten 1836, chapter 23 ( German version - Latin: De synodis Arimini et Seleuciae in Isauria . 4th century).
  10. ↑ Chronicon Paschale. In: PG XCII p. 689.
personal data
SURNAME Lucian of Antioch
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lucian of Antioch; Lucianus Antiochenus; Lucian of Samosata
BRIEF DESCRIPTION early Christian theologian
DATE OF BIRTH at 250
PLACE OF BIRTH Samosata
DATE OF DEATH January 7, 312
Place of death Nicomedia