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Moses and Christ, and the "prince of this world" and Christ, are emphasised. In asceticism, Priscillian distinguished three degrees, though he did not deny hope of pardon to those who were unable to attain full perfection. The perfect in body, mind, and spirit were celibate, or, if married, continent. Certain practices of the
Priscillianists are known through the condemnatory canons issued by the 380 synod, such as receiving the Eucharist in the church but eating it at home or in the conventicle; women joining with men during the time of prayer;
322:, bishop of Augusta Treverorum, and all others associated with the enquiries and the trial, and restored communion only when the emperor promised to stop the persecution of the Priscillianists. Maximus was killed in his attempted invasion of Italy in 388. Under the new ruler, Ithacius and Hydatius were deposed and exiled. The remains of Priscillian were brought from Augusta Treverorum to Spain, where he was honoured as a martyr, especially in the west of the country, where Priscillianism did not die out until the second half of the 6th century.
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Consequently, he was charged with practicing magic (maleficium), for which he was convicted and sentenced to death. Ithacius was his chief accuser. Priscillian was condemned and, with five of his companions, executed by the sword in 385. Priscillian's execution is seen as the first example of secular justice intervening in an ecclesiastical matter and the first
Christian killed by other Christians for heresy.
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in 380. Ten bishops were present at this synod from Spain, and two from
Aquitaine, Delphinus of Bordeaux, and Phœbadus of Agen. Although neither Priscillian nor any of his followers attended, he wrote in reply his third tract justifying the reading of apocryphal literature, without denying that their
361:
were also followers of the rigorist tradition of
Priscillian. Something was done for its repression by a synod held by
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sense of "teachers") are the divinely appointed orders of the Church, preeminence being due the doctors, among whom
Priscillian reckoned himself. The "spiritual" comprehend and judge all things, being "children of wisdom and light"; and the distinction between flesh and spirit, darkness and light,
120:), and was well-educated. About 370, he initiated a movement in favour of asceticism. Priscillian advocated studying not only the Bible, but also apocryphal books. His followers, who were won over by his eloquence and his severely ascetic example, included the bishops Instantius and Salvianus.
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protested to the
Emperor against the ruling, which said that the accused who went to Treves should be imprisoned. Maximus, a Spaniard by birth, treated the matter not as one of ecclesiastical rivalry but as one of morality and society. He is also said to have wished to enrich his treasury by
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At
Augusta Treverorum, Priscillian was tried by a secular court on criminal charges that included sorcery, a capital offence. Priscillian was questioned and forced to make the confession that he studied obscene doctrines, held nocturnal meetings with shameful women, and prayed while naked.
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protested against the execution, largely on the jurisdictional grounds that an ecclesiastical case should not be decided by a civil tribunal, and worked to reduce the persecution. Pope
Siricius censured not only Ithacius but the emperor himself. On receiving information from Maximus, he
154:, "He played the role of a catalyst among Lusitanian Christians and crystallized a variety of ascetic, monastic and intellectual aspirations that were either fairly, or even entirely, incompatible with Christianity as it was lived by the great majority of the bishops of the day."
410:(who quotes a fragment of a letter of Priscillian's), although at the Council of Toledo in 400, fifteen years after Priscillian's death, when his case was reviewed, the most serious charge that could be brought was the error of language involved in a misrendering of the word
389:
It is not always easy to separate the genuine assertions of
Priscillian himself from those ascribed to him by his enemies, nor from the later developments taken by groups who were labelled Priscillianist. The long prevalent estimation of Priscillian as a heretic and
225:". This was a threat against the Priscillianists, since the Roman Empire had banned Manichaeism long before it legalized Christianity. Consequently, the three bishops, Instantius, Salvianus and Priscillian, went in person to Rome, to present their case before
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excommunicated
Ithacius and his associates. On an official visit to Augusta Treverorum, Ambrose refused to give any recognition to Ithacius, "not wishing to have anything to do with bishops who had sent heretics to their death".
1155:(Bóveda 2009), offers a fictionalised version of the events in Priscillian's story and furthers the suggestion put forth by Henry Chadwick that Priscillian may be the occupant in the tomb in Santiago de Compostela
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and an enemy of Ambrose, they succeeded in procuring the withdrawal of Gratian's edict, and an order for the arrest of Ithacius. Instantius and Priscillian, returning to Spain, regained their sees and churches.
72:. Tensions between Priscillian and bishops opposed to his views continued, as well as political maneuvering by both sides. Around 385, Priscillian was charged with sorcery and executed by authority of the
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in 384. After this, the matter was transferred to the secular court at Augusta Treverorum. Ithacius and Hydatius of Mérida both went there for the trial. Sulpicius Severus notes that
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characterizes the concern at Zaragoza as the relationship between town and country, and the authority of the urban episcopacy over religious practice in outlying rural areas.
462:, not as being inspired but as helpful in discerning truth and error. It was long thought that all his writings had perished, but in 1885, Georg Schepss discovered at the
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Neither Priscillian nor any of his disciples is mentioned in the decrees. The synod forbade certain practices. It forbade assumption of the title of "doctor", and forbade
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in nature. Through his intolerance of and severity toward Priscillian, Hydatius promoted rather than prevented the spread of his sect. Hydatius convened a synod held at
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The heresy, notwithstanding the severe measures taken against it, continued to spread in Gaul as well as in Hispania. A letter dated 20 February 405, from
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432:), where his headless body was reverentially returned from Augusta Treverorum and allegedly became rediscovered and revered in the 9th century as
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Before the trial, Martin had obtained from Maximus a promise not to apply a death penalty. After the execution, Martin broke off relations with
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Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century A.D., with an Account of the Principal Sects and Heresies
450:) into a series of texts on their theological points and wrote an introduction to each section. These canons survived in a form edited by
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237:, where the emperor resided, granted them an audience. Salvianus died in Rome, but through the intervention of Macedonius, the imperial
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414:("unbegettable"). Augustine criticized the Priscillianists, who he said were like the Manicheans in their habit of fasting on Sundays.
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Some writings by Priscillian were accounted orthodox and were not burned. For instance he divided the Pauline epistles (including the
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454:. They contain a strong call to a life of personal piety and asceticism, including celibacy and abstinence from meat and wine. The
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in 1886.Though they bear Priscillian's name, four describing Priscillian's trial appear to have been written by a close follower.
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in 380. Certain practices of his followers (such as meeting at country villas instead of attending church) were denounced at the
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Priscillianism continued in the north of Hispania and the south of Gaul. Priscillian was honored as a martyr, especially in
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Herzog, Johann Jakob; Hauck, Albert; Jackson, Samuel Macauley; Sherman, Charles Colebrook; Gilmore, George William (1910).
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upon its priests, and of recognizing, or rather immuring, such of the laity as desired to live out the old ascetic ideal."
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in 563, a sign that Priscillianist asceticism was still strong long after his execution. "The official church," says
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II.46) as noble and rich, a layman who had devoted his life to study, and was vain of his classical pagan education.
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gifts of all believers are equally affirmed. Study of scripture is urged. Priscillian placed considerable weight on
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by Priscillian and close followers, which were thought lost, were discovered in 1885 and published in 1889.
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Pagans and Christians in Late Antique Rome: Conflict, Competition, and Coexistence in the Fourth Century
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from becoming monks on the motivation of a more perfect life; women were not to be given the title of "
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in 447; as an openly professed creed it had to be declared heretical once more by the second synod of
908:"The Lusitanian Episcopate in the 4th Century: Priscilian of Ávila and the Tensions Between Bishops"
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The principal and almost contemporary source for the career of Priscillian is the Gallic chronicler
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even on Sunday; and meditating at home or in the mountains instead of attending church during
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Priscillian was born around 340, into the nobility, possibly in northwestern Hispania (
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King Lear and the Naked Truth: Rethinking the Language of Religion and Resistance
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Paganism and Pagan Survivals in Spain: Up to the Fall of the Visigothic Kingdom
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The Making of a Heretic: Gender, Authority, and the Priscillianist Controversy
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1083:. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 360–361.
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There Ithacius presented his case against Priscillian, and Maximus ordered a
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In the immediate aftermath of the synod, Priscillian was elected bishop of
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McKenna, Stephen (1938). "Priscillianism and Pagan Survivals in Spain".
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Priscillian of Avila: the occult and the charismatic in the early church
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According to Priscillian, apostles, prophets, and "doctors" (in the
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Salzman, Michele Renee; Sághy, Marianne; Testa, Rita Lizzi (2015).
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A sudden change occurred in 383, when the governor of Britain,
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Pilgrimage to Heresy: Don't Believe Everything They Tell You
880:. Vol. IX: Petri - Reuchlin. Funk and Wagnalls Company.
487:, known since the fourth century, appears to be the Latin
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The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge
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Christian denominations established in the 4th century
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The modern assessment of Priscillian is summed up by
229:, himself a native of Hispania. Neither the Pope nor
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1120:. The Catholic University of America. p. 50.
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869:. Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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174:. They accused Priscillian's teachings of being
291:confiscation of the property of the condemned.
974:The Westminster Handbook to Patristic Theology
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1171:, Ministry and Education, Culture, and Sport
194:" until they had reached the age of forty.
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466:eleven genuine tracts, published in the
60:who promoted a strict form of Christian
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162:His notable opponents in Hispania were
906:Jorge, Ana María C. M. (Winter 2006).
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1047:"St James and the Two Faces of Spain"
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80:is named after him, and continued in
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1099:Priscillian of Avila: Complete Works
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1240:People executed by the Roman Empire
1045:Webster, Jason (October 17, 2019).
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818:. University of California Press.
382:spirit to the extent of enjoining
14:
939:. Duke University Press. p.
1067:Grieve, Alexander James (1911).
863:. In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
1235:People executed by decapitation
1200:4th-century bishops in Hispania
977:. Westminster John Knox Press.
971:McGuckin, John Anthony (2004).
953:Late Roman Spain and Its Cities
912:e-Journal of Portuguese History
670:Salzman, Sághy & Testa 2015
183:contents were partly spurious.
152:Ana Maria Castelo Martins Jorge
998:. Cambridge University Press.
857:Healy, Patrick Joseph (1911).
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1205:4th-century Christian mystics
483:, a later insertion into the
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1215:4th-century writers in Latin
1021:. Wisconsin Lutheran College
88:until the late 6th century.
56:) was a wealthy nobleman of
1019:Fourth Century Christianity
353:, and the metropolitans of
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1245:People executed for heresy
477:(1995), the source of the
359:Gallia Narbonensis Secunda
299:Reactions to the execution
170:, and Hydatius, bishop of
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70:Council of Zaragoza in 380
931:Kronenfeld, Judy (1998).
812:Burrus, Virginia (1995).
797:. Yale University Press.
343:bishop of Aix-en-Provence
104:, who characterized him (
1153:Peregrinos de la Herejía
1135:Saunders, Tracy (2007).
765:The Freedom Not to Speak
761:Bosmajian, Haig (1999).
440:Writings and rediscovery
334:to Exuperius, bishop of
326:Continued Priscillianism
1080:Encyclopædia Britannica
885:Hughes, Philip (1979).
366:in 446, and by that of
345:, and Herod, bishop of
150:According to historian
76:. The ascetic movement
1210:4th-century executions
1040:. London: John Murray.
1015:"Priscillian of Avila"
1013:SMT (5 January 2012).
860:"Priscillianism"
464:University of Würzburg
447:Epistle to the Hebrews
378:, "had to respect the
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866:Catholic Encyclopedia
769:. NYU Press. p.
485:First Epistle of John
434:Saint James the Great
404:Pope Leo I, the Great
1176:Works by Priscillian
1034:Wace, Henry (1911).
794:The Epistles of John
1070:"Priscillian"
948:Kulikowski, Michael
842:. Clarendon Press.
617:, pp. 244–250.
400:Turibius of Astorga
251:, rebelled against
240:magister officiorum
215:metropolitan bishop
555:Herzog et al. 1910
489:Liber Apologeticus
269:Augusta Treverorum
196:Michael Kulikowski
43:Augusta Treverorum
1169:España es Cultura
1146:978-0-595-46912-3
1127:978-1-77083-182-7
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963:978-0-8018-9949-2
898:978-0-7220-7982-9
891:. A&C Black.
825:978-0-520-08997-6
804:978-0-300-14027-9
789:Brown, Raymond E.
780:978-0-8147-1297-9
636:, pp. 27–28.
341:In 412, Lazarus,
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445:
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416:
412:innascibilis
411:
394:rested upon
388:
362:Turibius of
340:
329:
317:
302:
293:
282:convened at
277:
246:
238:
233:, bishop of
200:
185:
166:, bishop of
161:
149:
133:
115:
105:
99:
64:. He became
27:
19:
18:
16:Roman bishop
1058:October 19,
709:Grieve 1911
682:Burrus 1995
634:Hughes 1979
456:charismatic
267:, and made
20:Priscillian
1195:385 deaths
1189:Categories
1025:9 November
733:Brown 1995
574:Jorge 2006
536:Healy 1911
502:References
452:Peregrinus
392:Manichaean
235:Mediolanum
158:Opposition
62:asceticism
54: 385
39: 340
924:1645-6432
603:Wace 1911
507:Citations
419:Gallaecia
396:Augustine
284:Burdigala
223:Manichees
219:Lusitania
207:suffragan
118:Gallaecia
90:Tractates
32:Gallaecia
950:(2010).
836:(1976).
791:(1995).
586:SMT 2012
498:(1976).
430:Portugal
427:northern
421:(modern
384:celibacy
364:Asturica
351:Massilia
211:Ossonoba
106:Chronica
82:Hispania
1077:(ed.).
754:Sources
423:Galicia
408:Orosius
380:ascetic
368:Toletum
347:Arelate
257:Britain
253:Gratian
231:Ambrose
192:virgins
188:clerics
176:gnostic
168:Corduba
164:Hyginus
141:fasting
124:Beliefs
96:Sources
1143:
1124:
1105:
1002:
981:
960:
922:
895:
846:
822:
801:
777:
406:, and
355:Vienna
336:Tolosa
310:, and
213:, the
1073:. In
918:(2).
320:Felix
280:synod
271:, in
265:Spain
136:Latin
24:Latin
1141:ISBN
1122:ISBN
1103:ISBN
1060:2019
1027:2019
1000:ISBN
979:ISBN
958:ISBN
920:ISSN
893:ISBN
844:ISBN
820:ISBN
799:ISBN
775:ISBN
468:CSEL
425:and
357:and
263:and
261:Gaul
145:Lent
112:Life
86:Gaul
84:and
22:(in
1178:at
217:of
1191::
1049:.
1017:.
941:19
914:.
910:.
773:.
771:20
701:^
622:^
593:^
562:^
543:^
526:^
436:.
402:,
398:,
306:,
259:,
147:.
51:c.
49:,
45:,
41:-
36:c.
34:,
30:;
26::
1149:.
1130:.
1111:.
1062:.
1029:.
1008:.
987:.
966:.
945:*
943:.
926:.
916:4
901:.
852:.
828:.
807:.
783:.
747:.
696:.
605:.
588:.
576:.
557:.
538:.
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