Mithraism and Christianity

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Representation of Mithras ( Sol Invictus ), 2nd century, British Museum
Christ representation from Hinton St Mary, 4th century, British Museum
Mosaic of Christ as Sol Invictus in the Vatican necropolis , 3rd century
The Roman Empire 60 AD. This corresponds roughly to the distribution area of ​​Roman Mithraism

Since the second half of the 19th century, religious scholars have seen parallels between Mithraism and Christianity and between the figure of Mithras and Jesus Christ in these two religions. It was also stated that Christianity had taken over parts of its teachings and customs from the Mithras cult. At Christmas this is largely undisputed, with respect to other points of disagreement. The Roman cult of Mithras is the god Mithra ( Avestan Miθra and Miθrō ) from the Iranian mythology back. Here the 'Roman Mithras' showed great differences to the ' Iranian Mithra'. Despite a common origin, both deities cannot be equated.

Reasoning

The views are divided among religious scholars, historians and theologians. Some believe that Mithraism was one of the main competitors of Christianity. According to Ernest Renan's work of 1882 ( Marc Aurèle ou la fin du monde antique , page 390), the western world would have believed in Mithras if Christianity had been hindered in its expansion due to random events. In retrospect, other religious historians see Mithraism not only as a competitor, but also as a forerunner of Christianity in the Roman Empire . Contemporary church fathers such as Tertullian or Hieronymus have described the Mithraic cult as an imitation of Christianity.

Today's authors assume that the Mithras cult did not represent strong competition for Christianity. The rare mentions in the texts of the church fathers do not indicate a real conflict between the two religions, and the Mithras cult hardly spread in the early Christian regions such as Asia Minor, North Africa and Greece. The organization in small cult communities and the restriction only to men as members make one think more of esoteric men's associations than of a real community religion like Christianity; both addressed a completely different target group. The Mithras cult perished more as a result of changes in social structures than as a result of legislative measures. Sociologically, too, the Mithras cult was widespread in different strata than Christianity. Reinhold Merkelbach suspects that Mithraism, as a religion of loyalty to the emperor, simply lost its foundation when he turned to Christianity.

Postulated parallels

Very little is known of the religious content of the Mithraic cult and the meaning of the rituals. Since it was a secret cult, there is hardly any written evidence. Therefore, in many cases, these parallels are not historically secured, but modern interpretations of Mithraic sculptures and cult objects as well as reports from outside Roman chroniclers. The sources mainly used by today's proponents of these parallels are Ernest Renan's Marc-Aurèle et la fin du monde antique from 1882 and Franz Cumont's Textes et monuments figurés relatifs aux mystères de Mithra from 1896-99, but not more recent works on the Mithras cult, for example by Manfred Clauss or Walter Burkert .

  • Mithras was sent by a father god to be the world savior to overcome the dark and evil in the world.
  • Mithras was "born" out of a rock: he stormed out as an adult with torches in both hands, shepherds and animals stood next to him .
  • Mithras held a final supper with twelve of his followers before he died, was buried, and rose from the dead.
  • As "Sol invictus" Mithras is represented in the iconography with a ray of light around his head (cf. Aureole )
  • The Mithraists (like the followers of Zoroastrianism ) believed in heaven and hell , in a Last Judgment , a resurrection of the dead and a return of Mithras to finally overcome evil.
  • Since Mithras was viewed as the sun god , Sunday (“dies solis”) was the day dedicated to him.
  • The cross was an important Mithraic symbol.
  • The Mithraists celebrated an immersion ritual or a sprinkling of bull's blood in order to be accepted into the cult community (see baptism ). Baptism with water as a possible template for the Christian cult already existed in ancient Egypt, as numerous temple reliefs show.
  • The Mithraists celebrated a rite with bread, meat and water or wine (cf. Jesus' Last Supper ).
  • The four largest Mithraic festivals took place on the summer and winter solstices and on the spring equinox and autumn equinox (see Christmas , Easter ).
  • The highest priest of the Mithraic cult was called "Papa" and wore a red Phrygian cap (the " Mitra ", the forerunner of the bishop's cap ), a red robe, a ring and a shepherd's staff as a sign of office .
  • Meanings of the Middle and New Persian term Mihr ( derived from the old Persian Mithra (Miθra)مهر): "Light, Love, Mercy, Friendship / Kindness, Compassion".
  • The Mithraic sun symbol " + " as an isosceles cross (see also swastika ).

differences

Differences between Mithraism and Christianity include: a .:

  • Mithraism is not based on Judaism .
  • Mithras does not experience a passion , but appears as an undefeated hero.
  • Central theme of sacrifice: Mithras sacrifices a bull , while Jesus sacrifices "himself" (cf. Osiris ).
  • Christianity is not an astronomical / astrological cult.
  • Christianity is not a mystery cult .
  • Christianity also accepts women into the community; however, in some Christian churches - Catholicism and Orthodoxy - women are not allowed to receive ordination.

Points generally recognized today

  • Both religions spread throughout the Roman Empire in the second and third centuries.
  • Mithraism is older than Christianity in its origins, but is only proven within the Roman Empire from the end of the 1st century, i.e. at a time when the main Christian texts already existed in their current form.
  • Since the Mithraic cult is not identical with the worship of the god Mithra , but presumably developed from it, parallels between Mithraism and Christianity can also be explained by the adoption of Christian rites or thoughts by Mithraism. The "direction" of the transfer must be checked individually for each element on the basis of the source situation and cannot be made general.
  • The adoption of the dies solis invicti (birthday of Mithras) on December 25th by Christianity and its reinterpretation for the birthday of Jesus, determined by a bishop of Rome in the 4th century, is largely undisputed. However, it was not until the Middle Ages that Christmas became more important than the older Epiphany . In addition, there are first references to December 25th as the day of the birth of Jesus as early as the third century.
  • The Christian resurrection festival Easter falls around the time of the spring equinox , at which the Mithrean festival was also celebrated. However, the adoption of the date from the Mithraic cult can be practically ruled out, since the Passion of Jesus is directly connected to the date of the Jewish Passover, which is completely independent of the Mithraic cult .
  • Sunday as the day of the week on which Christians hold services was mentioned by Justin the Martyr in the 2nd century, 150 years before Constantine the Great introduced the dies solis as a day off and 100 years before Aurelian declared the dies solis invicti a public holiday . The fact that the Christians chose Sunday has to do with the fact that, according to the record of the Gospels, the resurrection of Jesus took place on the day after the Sabbath .

See also

literature

Web links

  • Joseph Schumacher : The mysticism in Christianity and in the religions. Lecture notes WS 2003/2004 University of Freiburg, Chapter II: The essence of mysticism, p. 123 ( [3] )

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans Kloft : Mystery Cults of Antiquity. Gods, people, rituals. CH Beck, Munich 2019, ISBN 978-3-406-73659-9 , pp. 69–81
  2. ↑ Adolf von Harnack : The mission and expansion of Christianity in the first three centuries. JC Hinrichs, Leipzig 1906, p. 351 ( [1] on archive.org)
  3. ↑ Karl Georg Wieseler: Studies on the history and religion of the ancient Germanic peoples in Asia and Europe. With parallels in the history of religion. , J. Hinrichs , Leipzig 1881, pp. 156-158
  4. ↑ In the Mithras cults, 'bread' and 'wine' should give the initiate the strength and wisdom in his earthly existence as well as the paradisiacal immortality in a life beyond. See Max Ortner: Greco-Roman understanding of religion and mystery cults as building blocks of the Christian religion. Dissertation, University of Vienna, October 2009 ( [2] on othes.univie.ac.at, p. 108)
  5. ↑ For example, Julius Africanus designated March 25th as the day of conception, which results in a birth on December 25th if the pregnancy is 9 months.