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IMC 2009: Sessions

Session 1120: Arianism Revisited: Homoians and Homoousians in Late Antiquity, II - The Provinces and the New Masters - Africa, Britain, and Dalmatia

Wednesday 15 July 2009, 11.15-12.45

Organiser:Guido M. Berndt, Institut zur interdisziplinären Erforschung des Mittelalters & seines Nachwirkens, Universität Paderborn
Moderator/Chair:Thomas Brown, School of History, Classics & Archaeology, University of Edinburgh
Paper 1120-aArianism in Africa
(Language: English)
Ralf Bockmann, Institut für Klassische Archäologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München / University of Cambridge
Index terms: Archaeology - General, Archaeology - Sites
Paper 1120-bThe Vandal Kings and their Religious (Arian)-Imperial Dreams
(Language: English)
Roland Steinacher, Institut für Mittelalterforschung, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien
Index terms: Byzantine Studies, Historiography - Medieval
Paper 1120-cArians in Britain
(Language: English)
Meritxell Pérez Martínez, Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona
Index terms: Ecclesiastical History, Geography and Settlement Studies
Paper 1120-dSlavic Liturgy and Arianism
(Language: English)
Francesco Borri, Institut für Mittelalterforschung, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien
Index terms: Language and Literature - Slavic, Theology
Abstract

'Arianism' - the term later given to a series of theological propositions condemned as heretical at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 - was the focus of both theological and political conflicts and struggles throughout Late Antiquity.
The position that God the Father and the Son did not exist together eternally, with all its variations, achieved widespread popularity in the 4th to 6th centuries. It attracted considerable support from the Eastern imperial authorities throughout most of the fourth century. A number of the migrant elites (Goths, Vandals, Burgundians and others) also adopted this creed, and sought to reintroduce it in the Mediterranean Roman provinces throughout the 5th century under different circumstances. Relatively few documents illustrative of the 'Arian' side of the controversy survive, owing to the impressive propaganda campaigns of Athanasius and other pro-Nicene theologians. Despite the huge scholarly attention which has been devoted to the topic in recent years, scholarly analysis of many aspects of the history, politics, and theology of the Arian controversy remains incomplete.
Our sessions aim to address some of these gaps. 'Also to be addressed will be the apparent persistence of Arian belief in several of the barbarian successor-kingdoms. (Sara Parvis, Roland Steinacher)