Socrates Scholasticos

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Socrates Scholastikos (Greek Σωϰράτης Σχολαστιϰός Sokrátēs Scholastikós; Latinized Socrates Scholasticus ; * around 380 in Constantinople ; † after 439 ibid) was a late antique church historian . His main work is a church history consisting of seven books (Ἐϰϰλησιαστιϰὴ ἱστωρία Ekklesiastikḕ historía , Latin Historia ecclesiastica) in ancient Greek .

life and work

From the nickname Scholastikos (which has not been passed down with certainty) it was concluded that Socrates was supposed to have worked as a lawyer. However, this is no more certain than the question of whether he belonged to the clergy . He may have traveled to Cyprus and Paphlagonia . The teachers of Socrates were Helladios and the grammarian Ammonios. Socrates was theologically influenced by the teachings of Origen, who is considered unorthodox . He was also able to understand heretical views (such as those of the Novatian ) without, however, abandoning orthodox doctrine himself. The good knowledge that he had about the Novatians could indicate that he himself was a follower of the teaching of the theologian Novatian.

The Historia ecclesiastica was commissioned at the request of a cleric named Theodoros and sees itself as a continuation of the church history of Eusebius of Caesarea . It deals with the period of the 4th and early 5th centuries in chronological order (including the years 305 to 329 in an annalistic way). Each of the seven books covers the term of office of an Eastern Roman emperor . Sources for the work were the church histories of Eusebius and Rufinus of Aquileia (based on Gelasius of Caesarea ), the writings of the historian Eutropius and those of the church fathers Athanasius and Gregory of Nazianzen . In addition, Socrates used documents and reports of his time (lists of bishops, council acts, the Latin Chronicle of Constantinople ) and resorted to oral reports and his own experiences. Research ascribes him an above-average critical handling of his sources and a high level of reliability.

Lore

Socrates revised the Historia ecclesiastica once during his lifetime . Only the later version has been completely preserved in the Greek original; in an Armenian translation from the 6th or 7th century, the original version is in remnants. Further early translations were made into Latin (by Epiphanios Scholastikos on behalf of Cassiodorus ) and into Syriac . In the handwritten tradition there are chapter headings that come from late antique times, but probably not from Socrates himself.

The Historia ecclesiastica is an important historical source for the middle and late 4th centuries and the early 5th centuries. It served as the basis, among other things, for the church history works of Sozomenos , Theodorus Lector and Epiphanius von Salamis . In post-ancient times the work of Socrates was mostly handed down together with that of Sozomenos; the editio princeps took place in Paris in 1544 by Robert Estienne . Günther Christian Hansen published the latest critical edition in 1995.

Text output

  • Günther Christian Hansen (ed.): Socrates: Church history (= The Greek Christian writers of the first centuries. New series, volume 1). With contributions by Manja Širinjan. Akademie Verlag, Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-05-002546-8 (critical edition with detailed introduction without translation).
  • Andrew C. Zenos (Ed.): Socrates, Sozomenus: Church Histories (= Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. Series 2, Volume 2). The Christian literature Company, New York 1890, pp. 1–178 (several reprints, English translation).
  • Pierre Périchon, Pierre Maraval (transl.): Socrate de Constantinople: Histoire ecclésiastique (= Sources Chrétiennes . Volume 477/493/505/506). 4 volumes, Éditions du Cerf, Paris 2004–2007 (Greek text of the edition by Günther Christian Hansen with French translation).

A Greek-German edition is being prepared under the direction of Heinz-Günther Nesselrath .

literature

  • Balbina Bäbler , Heinz-Günther Nesselrath (ed.): The world of Socrates of Constantinople . Saur, Munich / Leipzig 2001, ISBN 3-598-73003-9 .
  • Hartmut Leppin : From Constantine the Great to Theodosius II. The Christian Empire with the church historians Socrates, Sozomenus and Theodoret . Goettingen 1996.
  • Hartmut Leppin: The Church Historians: Socrates, Sozomenus, and Theodoretus . In: Gabriele Marasco (Ed.): Greek & Roman Historiography in Late Antiquity. Fourth to sixth century AD Leiden 2003, pp. 219-254.
  • Peter Van Nuffelen : Un héritage de paix et de piété. Étude sur les Histoires ecclésiastiques de Socrate et Sozomène . Leuven et al. 2004.
  • Theresa Urbainczyk: Socrates of Constantinople: Historian of Church and State . University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor (Michigan) 1997, ISBN 0-47210737-2 .
  • Martin Wallraff : The church historian Socrates. Studies of history, method and person . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1997, ISBN 3-525-55176-2 .

Web links

Commons : Socrates Scholasticus  - collection of images
Wikisource: Socrates Scholastikos  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Josef Rist : Socrates 9. In: Der Neue Pauly (DNP). Volume 11, Metzler, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-476-01481-9 , column 687 f.
  2. ↑ Martin Wallraff : The church historian Socrates. Studies of history, method and person . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1997, ISBN 3-525-55176-2 , p. 294.
  3. ^ Günther Christian Hansen : Introduction. In: The same (ed.): Sokrates: Kirchengeschichte (= The Greek Christian writers of the first centuries. New series, volume 1). Akademie Verlag, Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-05-002546-8 , pp. IX – LXII, here p. LX.
  4. ↑ Heinz-Günther Nesselrath's page on the website of the University of Göttingen , accessed on January 24, 2017.
personal data
SURNAME Socrates Scholasticos
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Socrates Scholasticus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Christian church historian
DATE OF BIRTH at 380
PLACE OF BIRTH Constantinople
DATE OF DEATH around 440