4. The concept of religion in the Early Christian Literature

4 The concept of religion in the Early Christian Literature

Georgios Gaitanos

Head of the Department of Theology & Culture, Lecturer of Religious Studies, University College Logos, Tirana Corespondence:

e-mail: gaitanosg@yahoo.gr

Abstract

The paper seeks to highlight how to understand and interpret the term “religion” during a period when “religion” was not a clear and distinct conceptual category, as it is now understood in the western world from the Enlightenment onwards. Through the study of the sources of Early Christian literature I seek to present more data that will help to understand the mentality of the people of the first three centuries AD to highlight the evolution of thought on the subject of “religion”. Analytical statistics will be presented on the different meanings of the term and how often it was used by the Christian authors. Another goal is to point out what practices or concepts are associated with “religion”, to decipher when the meaning of the term differs and for what purpose, to find out if in some texts or if any Church Father tried to study religion or religious interactions with any scientific approach.

Keywords:

religion, definition, Early Christianity, study of religion.

Citation:

Gaitanos G. The concept of religion in the Early Christian Literature. Theology & Culture. 2021; 3: 35-80. Doi: 10.13140/RG.2.2.35768.26883

As M. Spiro was the first to point out, “while a definition cannot take the place of inquiry, in the absence of definitions there can be no inquiry – for it is the definition, either ostensive or nominal, which designates the phenomenon to be investigated” (sic) (Spiro, 1966, 90). The definition of religion and the clarification of its characteristics was a process that occupied most of the researchers of the western world, especially since the needs and the demand for the scientific study of the religious phenomenon were formed. From the beginning, the scientists who laid the foundations of the academic study of religion aimed at defining it1. Since then, various definitions have been formulated and specific characteristics of religion have been studied depending on the theory, ideology, but also the school represented by the various scholars, as it was deemed necessary to define the object they were studying. Essentially, the scientific study of religion is a creation from the Enlightenment because of the need to document and prove confessional differences, resulting in the establishment of an academic approach (Saler, 1987, 395). Thus, the belief has developed since then that religion is something that has been appropriated, that is, it can be known, understood, just like any human fact that is recorded (Smith, 1982, 104).

The above brief reference to the beginnings of the interest of a systematic study and definition of religion was attempted, in order to understand that the documentation and definition of the religious phenomenon, as well as the introduction of the term “religion”, was an academic pursuit of the western world and in no way did it correspond to the mentality of the time examined in the present study. Therefore, we will try to approach a concept whose meaning has neither been articulated with a specific term nor fully clarified. Thus, according to the general mentality and tradition of the Greco-Roman world, it is difficult to identify a compact and unified system of faith, worship and institutions, which could be given the title “religion”, based on the usual meaning of the term today. Even the concept of “religion” does not seem to correspond to the traditional form of Greco-Roman culture, which began to develop around the 2nd century BC. Although it is extremely difficult to pinpoint the way people perceived the world in the past, the surviving texts can provide insight into the subject.

1 Morris Jastrow was the first to emphasize the need to establish an exclusive method for the study of religion in his work “The Study of Religion” (1901). See, S. Cain (1987). “Study of Religion”, in M. Eliade (ed.), Encyclopedia of Religion, vol. 14, 64.

It is particularly important to emphasize that there is no specific Greek or Latin term that ascribes the meaning of religion as it is understood in modern times (Rives, 2007, 13; Ziakas, 2002, 39-40). Thus, terms2 related to sanctity are noted, such as holy (ιερός), saint (άγιος), sacred (όσιος), sacer, but also terms related to piety, such as piety (ευσέβεια) and pietas. The definition of ritual and act of worship was generally attributed to the terms worship, cultus, while the Latin term colere, which literally means to be careful, was used with special reference to the gods, thus meaning devotion. Of course, terms and phrases related to the rendering of values and reverence to supernatural forces are found, such as the phrase «νομίζειν θεούς» or the Latin term “religio” (Rives, 2007, 13). Next, an attempt will be made to briefly identify the linguistic origins of the Greek term “religion” (θρησκεία) and the Latin term “religio”, in order to first determine which activities the specific terms were related to.

So the etymology of the Greek term “religion” is not certain, as three different origins have been suggested. Specifically, according to Plutarch, the term “religion” is etymologically derived from “θρήσσα-θρήσσαι (thrissa/I)”, that is, from the mysteries initiated in Kaviria mysteries, occupied by excitement and fury during their participation in the rituals3. Another version comes from the verb “θρέομαι, θροέω (threomai/throeo)”, which means I shout out loud, I make noise and in its passive version it is interpreted with the meaning of tremble (Ziakas, 2002, 39). Certainly, another different proposition linked the concept of religion with the concept of healing as a service to the sanctuary and to the deity4, resulting in the verb “θρησκεύω” as to heal to etymologize religion (Ziakas, 2002, 39). Definitely, this is a very inaccessible concept and from the above it is not clear the origin of the term, but through the use of words related to the term “religion” in various texts5, such as θρησκεύω6 ,

2 See, J. Mikalson (22010). Ancient Greek Religion, Malden; Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. D. Ogden (2007). (ed.) A Companion to Greek Religion, Malden; Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. J. Bremmer (1994). Greek Religion, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 3 Plutarch, Alexander, 2,7-8: «… ταῖς περὶ τὸν Αἷμον Θρῄσσαις ὅμοια δρῶσιν· ἀφ᾽ ὧν δοκεῖ καὶ τὸ θρησκεύειν ὄνομα ταῖς κατακόροις γενέσθαι καὶ περιέργοις ἱερουργίαις˙». 4 Herodotus, Histories, 2,37: «… οἱ δὲ ἱρέες ξυρῶνται πᾶν τὸ σῶμα διὰ τρίτης ἡμέρης, ἵνα μήτε φθεὶρ μήτε ἄλλο μυσαρὸν μηδὲν ἐγγίνηταί σφι θεραπεύουσι τοὺς θεούς». 5 Terms and texts were identified by H. Liddell & R. Scott (eds.) (2007), Μέγα Λεξικόν της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Αθήνα: Ιωάννης Σιδέρης. 6 a) Introduce and perform religious duties (Herodotus, Histories, 2,64.65˙ Dionysios of Halicarnassus, Roman Archeology, 7,62.67), b) Worship the gods (Dionysios of Halicarnassus, Roman Archeology, 2,22˙ Herodian, Stories of the post-Mark kingdom, 1,11).

θρησκηΐη7 , θρήσκος8 , θρήσκια9 , θρησκευτήριον10, it is found that religion was related to the performance of religious duties, piety and worship of the divine (Liddell & Scott, 2007, 494).

Corresponding difficulties are encountered with the Latin term, as it is difficult to determine precisely the original meaning of the term “religio”. The original meaning of the term broadly seems to have been an obligation to honor the divine, often with the negative connotation of prohibition or moral hesitation, but sometimes with the positive connotation of the prescribed worship or ordinary ceremony (Saler, 1987, 396; Rives, 2007, 14; Fowler, 1908, 170; Hoyt, 1912, 128). For example, the historian Libyan reported that two young men insulted the sacred cult of Demeter in Eleusis, as they did not know the cult (religio) that forbade the participation of the ignorant11. Of course, the dominant view (Benveniste, 1969, 268; Fowler, 1908, 169; Hoyt, 1912, 127, 128; Ziakas, 2002, 41-42) is that the term comes from either the term “legere”, which means reading and was used by Cicero12 in the sense of the obligatory in many cases repetition of a thought, a reading or a speech13, or from the term “ligare”, which is interpreted as a bond14 and was used by the poet Lucretius15 . However, a third working hypothesis was developed about the origin of the term, which rejected the previous two and argued that the term “ligere” came from the Greek verb “ἀλέγει”, that is, care, take care (Liddell & Scott, 2007,

7 The term is in the Ionian dialect and has the meaning of religious worship or custom in Herodotus, Histories, 2,18: «οἱ γὰρ δὴ ἐκ Μαρέης τε πόλιος καὶ Ἄπιος, οἰκέοντες Αἰγύπτου τὰ πρόσουρα Λιβύῃ, αὐτοί τε δοκέοντες εἶναι Λίβυες καὶ οὐκ Αἰγύπτιοι καὶ ἀχθόμενοι τῇ περὶ τὰ ἱρὰ θρησκηίῃ, βουλόμενοι θηλέων βοῶν μὴ ἔργεσθαι, ἔπεμψαν ἐς Ἄμμωνα φάμενοι οὐδὲν σφίσι τε καὶ Αἰγυπτίοισι κοινὸν εἶναι: οἰκέειν τε γὰρ ἔξω τοῦ Δέλτα καὶ οὐδὲν ὁμολογέειν αὐτοῖσι, βούλεσθαί τε πάντων σφίσι ἐξεῖναι γεύεσθαι». Ηρόδοτος, Ιστορίαι, 2,37: «ἐσθῆτα δὲ φορέουσι οἱ ἱρέες λινέην μούνην καὶ ὑποδήματα βύβλινα· ἄλλην δέ σφι ἐσθῆτα οὐκ ἔξεστι λαβεῖν οὐδὲ ὑποδήματα ἄλλα. λοῦνται δὲ δίς τε τῆς ἡμέρης ἑκάστης ψυχρῷ καὶ δὶς ἑκάστης νυκτός. ἄλλας τε θρησκηίας ἐπιτελέουσι μυρίας ὡς εἰπεῖν λόγῳ». 8 Adorer, pious in worship (Plutarch, Alexander, 2). 9 Religious acts (Collection of Inscriptions 5069 in Corpus inscripsionum graecarum by Bicchius). 10 A place of worship (Comments in Pindarus, Ο.7.33). 11 Titus Livius, Ad Urbe Condita Libri, 31,14. 12 Cicero, De Natura Deorum, 2, 28, 72. 13 In fact, this interpretation points out that an objective concept had not been developed that defined a specific form or a system of faith and ceremonies, but rather an internal arrangement and repetition of older ritual acts. 14 With the second meaning it seems to be used by Lactantius (Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 4, Chapter 28,3): “… nomen Religionis a vinculo pietatis esse deductum, quod hominem sibi Deus religaverit, et pietate constrinxerit; quia servire nos ei ut domino, et obsequi ut patri necesse est. Melius ergo id nomen Lucretius interpretatus est, qui ait, religionum se nodos exsolvere”. 15 Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, 1,931˙ 4,7.

102), as the verb is often used in texts in the sense of faithful observance, care and attention to matters concerning the worship of the gods (Wilt, 1954, 113; Hoyt, 1912, 128; Ziakas, 2002, 42).

In fact, the term did not seem to have any technical or legal significance, while Latin scholars concluded that it probably did not correspond to a virtue, but rather conveyed a feeling of fear and awe towards something that could not be explained (Ste Croix, 2005, 4; Saler, 1987, 396; Fowler, 1908, 169, 170, 171). Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the term “superstitio” was introduced in the sense of vile religious beliefs as opposed to the term “religio” (Benveniste, 1969, 272-273), which may lead to the conclusion that religio was more in line with the concept of worship in more formal and acceptable situations by the family, the wider society and the state (Ste Croix, 2005, 6), as pointed out in another work of Cicero, when he legislated for the ideal state16. Also, from the 2nd c. BC and then, the authors used the term to mean the worship of a particular deity, where the believer showed devotion and followed a certain way of life (Martin, 1994, 125-131; Martin, 1987, 23, 24, 29, 72-81; Fowler, 1908, 172; Ste Croix, 2005, 7-8). For example, Lucius, the protagonist of Apoulios’ play “Metamorphoses”, after being initiated into the worship of the goddess Isis17 in Greece, participated in her worship in Rome as a stranger in the local sanctuary, but as a mystic of her worship (religio)18 .

Christian writers used this tendency and extended it even further, to attribute to the term “religio” a characteristic of comparing and differentiating their own faith and ritual from non-Christians (Rives, 2007, 14; Ziakas, 2002, 42). For example, Tertullian described Christianity as “veram religionem veri dei”19. Thus, from Tertullian onwards, Christian writers began to use the term with a meaning very close to what we mean by religion today, that is, as a distinct and autonomous system of faith and worship. This change in the interpretation of the term gradually marked the important changes recorded in the course and development of Christianity, especially from the time of Emperor Constantine onwards. However, according to the philological analysis of the terms “θρησκεία” and “religio” it became clear that the world of Greco-Roman

16 Cicero, De Legibus, 2,17-22, 27. 17 About the worship of Isis, see P. Pachis (2010). Οι ανατολικές λατρείες της ελληνορωμαϊκής εποχής: συμβολή στην ιστορία και τη μεθοδολογία της έρευνας, Θεσσαλονίκη: Χ. Μπαρμπουνάκης; (2003a). Ίσις Καρποτόκος, τόμος Ι – Οικουμένη, Θεσσαλονίκη: Βάνιας; (2003b). “The Hellenistic Era as an Age of ProGentileda: The case of Isis’ cult”, Luther H. Martin – Panayotis Pachis (eds.) in: Theoretical Frameworks for the Study of Graeco – Roman Religions, Thessaloniki: University Studio Press, 97-125. 18 Apoulios, Metamorphosis, ΧΙ,26. 19 Tertullian, Apologeticum, PL 1, Chapter ΧΧΙV,2.

culture did not take into account their modern meaning; in general, the term was associated with piety, devotion and repetition in observance of rules in the worship of various transcendental beings or deities20, which were accepted by the respective local community or official state.

2. The analysis of the term in the Early Christian Literature

Having presented the meaning and origin of the term in the Greek and Latin literature, then the meaning of the term in the works of the early Christian literature will be studied. Αll the passages, Greek and Latin, which include the term “religion” or its derivatives were studied through critical publications. In total, 592 verses were collected. The presentation and analysis of the term “religion” is not attempted per verse, but all verses have been included in categories that reflect the meaning with which the term is associated each time. Of course, the main categories that have been formed will be further analyzed in separate sections, in order to clarify certain peculiarities based on the author or the work to which each verse belongs. The section attempts to examine the evolution of the term through the texts, when its meaning is differentiated and for what purpose. Also, another aim is to find out if in some texts or if an author tried to study religion with a more scientific / academic approach.

A first picture of the evolution of the meaning of the term was presented in the previous section and as will be recorded later, many elements from the interpretation of the term through the literature of the time were preserved in the texts of the early Christian literature. The verses that include the term religion or its derivatives were divided into 8 categories, which attach the meaning to it. The categories-interpretations of the term are the following: a) piety / fear of God, b) presentation of a specific religious tradition or teaching, c) Devotion or faith to higher beings through worship actions, d) worship-ritual, e) sacred / profane, f) true religion / superstition, g) religious freedom, h) conceptual category. It should be noted that some verses are classified into more than one category. Then, further clarifications will be given for the categories based on the passages included in each of them and a more specialized statistical presentation will be attempted in each case category. The analysis of the categories will be completed with an overview of the evolution of the meaning of the term in the early Christian literature.

20 See «θρησκεία, ας, ἡ», in A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 32002 (Electronic Edition).

The first category regarding the meaning of the term “religion” is associated with piety, reverence and fear of God. The vast majority of the verses belong to the Latin literature, because in Greek piety, although in a few cases that we will mention later, is not attributed through the term “religion” (θρησκεία). According to Statistical Illustration 1, the majority of the passages collected come from the Latin literature, where the use of the adjective “religiosus” predominates, since half of the passages that belonged to this category used the term in the sense of pious, that is, one who truly respects God and is not a worshiper of other deities, while at the same time not indulging in an immoral way of life, as the followers of other worships may have done (Trempelas, 1955, 80-81, 313, 404). It is characteristic that in three verses of Acts in the Latin translation, which use the term “religiosus”, the Greek text rendered the term as pious, reverent and fearing God. The same importance is attached to the other verses of the Latin early Christian literature that we have included in this category, which use the adjective “religiosus”21 .

However, this meaning of pious through the term “religion” appears in four passages of the Greek early Christian literature. Specifically, the term “religious” (θρήσκος) in the Epistle of James 1:26, which is once, implies the external types of religious worship and piety, a code of religious behavior and external events, which we will find in many passages of the Latin literature. Of course, this verse scolds the person who relies solely on external formulas and not on real faith, but this term describes the external manifestations of piety and worship (Agouridis, 2012, 54-56). In this sense, the term “religion” can be interpreted in the next verse (1,27) (Agouridis, 2012, 56-57). The second verse is the prologue of Letter to Diogenes 1.1, as the phrase “πῶς θρησκεύοντες”, refers essentially to the purpose of the work, which is to explain, inform and present the way in which the piety and worship of Christians is manifested in relation to the Jews or the Greeks and Romans (Papadopoulos, 1977, 310;

21 Acts, 2,5˙ 10,2˙ 13,50. Tertullian, Apologeticum, PL 1, Chapter XIV,6˙ XV,4˙ XXV,2˙ XXV,12-13˙ XXXIV,3. Tertullian, Ad Nationes, PL 1, Book 1, Chapter X,19-20˙ 2,XVII,11˙ 2,XVII,13. Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem, PL 2, Book 3, Chapter XX,5˙ 3,XX,8. Tertullian, De Resurrectione, PL 2, Chapter XXVI,8. Tertullian, De Ieiunio, PL 2, Chapter X,8˙ XVI,7-8. Minucius Felix, Octavius, PL 3, Chapter V,9˙ XX,5˙ XXXII,3. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, Letter XIII,2˙ LXV,2. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De Lapsis, XVIII. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De Habitu Verginum, VIII. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De Unitate Ecclesiae, XIV. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, Ad Demetrianum, XIX. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De Laude Martyrii, IV. Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book Α΄, Chapter 24,1˙ Γ,16,1˙ Γ,20,1˙ Γ,28,3˙ Δ,30,2˙ Ε,23,3˙ 5,30,1˙ 5,40,3˙ Στ,8,2˙ Ζ,35,3˙ Ζ,42,2. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 1, Chapter 20,16˙ 4,28,12.

Arampatzis, 2014, 75; Rankin, 2006, 117-118). Of particular interest are the other two verses, derived from the work of Origen Contra Celcum, where the verb “ὑπερθρησκεύω”22 is used, to declare the excessive respect and reverence of Christians for the one and only God and not for another being.

The other verses that have been included in the category use the noun “religio” or “θρησκεία” and can be combined with more specific meanings related to the subject of piety and fear of God (Statistical Illustration 1). We mentioned that 50% of the verses use the adjective “religiosus”, which means pious and pious towards God. Specifically, we found that about 20% of the verses in this category are connected by the noun “religio”23 or religion (θρησκεία)24 in the sense of piety-devotion, 10% in the sense of “fear of God”25, 16% have a code of religious conduct and a set of worship obligations26 and only 3.5% attribute a character of moral hesitation27, which is introduced in later texts, but again concerns issues of worship and in particular the futility of the worship events of the various deities.

Of course, this systematic codification of the term “religion” with the meaning of piety is directly related to the worship of God and we observe that in the course of the first three centuries it maintains approximately the same

22 Origen, Contra Celcum, Book 8, Chapter 12,5˙ 8,12,19. 23 Tertullian, Apologeticum, PL 1, Chapter XXXV,8. Tertullian, De Spetaculis, PL 1, Chapter Ι,3. Tertullian, De Oratione, PL 1, Chapter IX,8-11. Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem, PL 2, Book 3, Chapter VI,2˙ 5,VIII,4. Minucius Felix, Octavius, PL 3, Chapter XXV,1˙ XXVI,3. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De Habitu Verginum, II˙ XXIII. Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book Α΄, Chapter 29,2˙ Β,2,3-4˙ Ε,27,3˙ Στ,22,1. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 5, Chapter 9,22-24. Lactantius, De Ira Dei, PL 7, Chapter VI,2. 24 The first Greek verse that connects the noun “religion” with the concept of piety is found in the preface of the sixth Book Stromateis by Clement of Alexandria, which refers to «θεοσεβῆ, τὸν τρόπον τῆς θρῃσκείας τοῦ γνωστικοῦ»; the term Gnostic refers to the Gnostic Christian, who should know in every detail the mysteries and teaching of the Lord and will possess all spiritual goods and virtues. On the other hand, the second verse comes from the work of Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Proof, where in the preface of the fifth Book there is a mention to Moses as an importer of the pious religion. 25 Tertullian, Apologeticum, PL 1, Chapter VI,9˙ XXXIII,1˙ XXXIX,1. Tertullian, Ad Nationes, PL 1, Book 1, Chapter X, 33. Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem, PL 2, Book 5, Chapter VIII,8. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De Laude Martyrii, II. Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book Ε΄, Chapter 33,6˙ Στ,13,5. Lactantius, De Ira Dei, PL 7, Chapter VIII,6-10˙ XI,16. 26 Epistle of Jacob, 1,27. Tertullian, Apologeticum, PL 1, Chapter XXXIX,5˙ XXXIX,17. Tertullian, De Oratione, PL 1, Chapter XVIII,15-17. Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem, PL 2, Book 5, Chapter VII,2. Tertullian, De Virginibus Velandis, PL 2, Chapter ΧIV,2. Tertullian, De Jejunio, PL 2, Chapter XI,1˙ XIII,6. Novatianus, De cibis judaicis epistola, PL 3, Chapter IV,1. Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book 4, Chapter 30,4˙ Δ,34,2-3˙ Ε,28,7˙ Ζ,24,1. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 5, Chapter 12,3. 27 Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book 7, Chapter 18,3˙ Ζ,20,5. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 2, Chapter 4,28.

meaning and frequency as it appears from the Hellenistic era and as recorded through the New Testament passages. However, we should also note some differences, which were identified in some passages. Specifically, we refer to the issue of the fear of God. First of all, the theme of “fear” has been associated since the time of the OT with piety and honor / devotion to God, a meaning that was maintained and used in the NT, but also in the other passages of the early Christian literature that we quoted. However, at the end of the 3rd to the beginning of the 4th century there is a significant difference from Lactantius, who connects the fear of God not with piety, but with punishment, as fear must exist, in order to motivate man not to violate the laws28. In fact, he developed his argument in such a way, to the point that one can assume that religion can be identified with fear.

Lactantius proclaimed that religion, greatness and honor exist only when fear is present, while at the same time adding that there is no fear when there is no anger. Therefore, belief in an angry God is necessary both for the preservation of religion, which distinguishes man from beasts, and for the restraint of lawless conduct. Essentially, Lactantius’ reasoning on the relationship between religion and fear can be summed up in the statement that religion can be destroyed if God is not angry, as where there is no fear, respect is lost. So if God is not respected, then he is not worshiped and therefore religion dies. But if this were to happen, it would mean that man would not be superior to animals. For this reason, religion must be preserved and man in turn must respect and fear God. But in order for the above to become a reality, God must be angry, thus causing fear and piety of man (Harvey, 1996, 13). Thus, under the fear of punishment from God and the dissolution of society as a whole, Lactantius formed a peculiar system from which, according to him, religion originated. Of course, this was one of his interpretations of the conceptual construction of religion, which will be discussed in the following section.

28 Lactantius, De Ira Dei, PL 7, Chapter VIII,7: “ Quod enim non metuitur, contemnitur, quod contemnitur, utique non colitur”.

Statistical Illustration 1 Statistical presentation of verses with the concept “Piety/Fear of God”

2.2. Presentation of a specific religious tradition or teaching

The second category of verses concerns the use of the term in a way that describes or identifies a specific religious group or cult tradition, which is objectively recognized by the author or is known to the readers of the text based on specific external characteristics (Trempelas, 1955, 636)29. Through a first reading of Statistical Illustration 2 we find also in this case that the Latin verses are more, while of particular value is the fact that 65% of the verses that use the term “religion” in relation to a particular religious group come from texts around the end of the 3rd century and the beginning of the 4th, that is, when the idea that the term is more related to a concept that describes an organized religious group with a specific teaching, priesthood and worship has begun to

29 «θρησκεία, ας, ἡ», in A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 32002 (Electronic Edition).

Nevertheless, during the first three centuries it appears that the term is used to describe or identify specific religious groups that practice their own worship. Thus, the religious groups described in the texts are Christianity30, Judaism31, several cults32, local religious cults33, Egyptian religion34, idolatry35, Arbitrary Religion36, official Roman cult37 and a reference to the birth of the cult

30 Epistle of Jacob, 1,27. 1 Clement Epistle, 62,1. Paraenetic speech to Greeks, 9˙ 10˙ 11. Martyrs of Lyon, 1,63. Tertullian, Apologeticum, PL 1, Chapter XVI,14˙ XXI,27˙ XXIV,9˙ XXXV,5. Tertullian, Ad Nationes, PL 1, Book 1, Chapter XIII,4. Tertullian, De Baptismo, PL 1, Chapter XII,6. Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem, PL 2, Book 4, Chapter IV,2. Tertullian, De Resurrectione, PL 2, Chapter XXI,3. Tertullian, De Jejunio, PL 2, Chapter X,8. Clement of Alexandria, Stromateis, Book 6, Chapter 15,123. Minucius Felix, Octavius, PL 3, Chapter IX,2˙ XXIX,2˙ XXXV,6˙ XXXVIII,1. Novatianus, De Trinitate, PL 3, Chapter XXIΧ. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, Epistle LIX,1˙ LXXX,4. Origen, Contra Celcum, Book 8, Chapter 68,8˙ 8,68,39. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 2, Chapter 17,18˙ 5,1,60˙ 9,10,8˙ 9,10,10˙ 9,10,12˙ 10,5,2˙ 10,5,5-7˙ 10,5,21-22˙ 10,6,1˙ 10,7,2. Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book 1, Chapter 2,3˙ Α,3,1˙ Α,5,3˙ Α,6,1˙ Α,16,3˙ Α,27,1˙ Α,31,3˙ Α,55,1˙ Α,72,2˙ Β,5,5˙ Β,66,2˙ Β,69,1˙ Β,70,5˙ Β,73,4˙ Γ,1,2˙ Γ,7,1. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 1, Chapter 20,21˙ 5,18,1˙ 5,20,30˙ 6,2,13. Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum, PL 7, Chapter II,6˙ III,5˙ XI,3˙ XI,7˙ XII,1˙ XIII,1˙ XXIV,9˙ XLVIII,3-6. 31 Acts, 26,5. Tertullian, Apologeticum, PL 1, Chapter XVI,2-3˙ ΧΧΙ,1. Tertullian, Ad Nationes, PL 1, Book 1, Chapter ΧΙ,3. Hippolytus of Rome, On Isaiah. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, Letter LXV,1. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De Idolorum Vanitate, X˙ XI. Origen, Contra Celcum, Book 2, Chapter 8,45˙ 5,25,4˙ 5,25,18˙ 8,46,27. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 1, Chapter 4,13˙ 3,27,2˙ 6,12,1. Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Proof, Book 1, Chapter 1,7˙ 1,2,10˙ 1,6,13˙ 1,6,63˙ 1,7,21˙ 2,3,53˙ 2,3,57˙ 2,3,106˙ 2,3,164˙ 6,3,4˙ 6,13,24˙ 6,18,12˙ 6,18,20˙ 6,18,32˙ 6,18,40˙ 7,1,117˙ 8,preface,3˙ 9,9,5. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on Isaiah, Book 1, Chapter 17,4˙ 2,36,38˙ 2,38,22˙ 2,43,91˙ 2,47,63. Eusebius of Caesarea, On Psalms, PG 23,724˙ 1045. Lactantius, De Ira Dei, PL 7, Chapter XXIII,12. 32 Melitοn, Apology to Antoninon, Fragment 1,3. Tertullian, Apologeticum, PL 1, Chapter XXV,17. Minucius Felix, Octavius, PL 3, Chapter XXV,6. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 4, Chapter 26,7. Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book Α΄, Chapter 24,3˙ Α,25,4˙ Α,35,2˙ Α,46,7˙ Γ,2,1˙ Δ,11,1˙ Ε,24,3. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 1, Chapter 1,23˙ 1,1,25˙ 1,6,2˙ 1,7,12˙ 1,14,1˙ 1,15,7˙ 1,16,2˙ 1,17,1˙ 1,17,4˙ 1,20,28˙ 1,21,4˙ 1,22,5˙ 1,22,7˙ 2,1,1˙ 2,3,1-2˙ 2,3,23˙ 2,4,37˙ 2,7,7˙ 2,10,13˙ 3,11,3˙ 3,30,9˙ 4,1,1˙ 5,1,1˙ 5,2,15˙ 5,20,10˙ 5,21,12-13˙ 6,4,23. Lactantius, De Ira Dei, PL 7, Chapter XI,9. 33 Theophilus of Antioch, Apology to Aytolycus, Book 3, Chapter 29. Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Proof, Book 2, Chapter 3,29. Eusebius of Caesarea, About Theophania, Book 4, Chapter 20. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 1, Chapter 22,22-23. 34 Theophilus of Antioch, Apology to Aytolycus, Book 2, Chapter 6. Clement of Alexandrea, Protreptikos, Speech Α΄, Chapter 2,39,5. Clement of Alexandrea, Stromateis, Book 6, Chapter 4,35. 35 Clement of Alexandrea, Stromateis, Book 7, Chapter 9,52. Minucius Felix, Octavius, PL 3, Chapter VI,2. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 2, Chapter 16,3˙ 2,17,12. 36 Apostle Paul, Letter to Colossians, 2,23. Clement of Alexandrea, Stromateis, Book 3, Chapter 6,51. Novatianus, De cibis judaicis epistola, PL 3, Chapter V. 37 Tertullian, Apologeticum, PL 1, Chapter VI,1˙ XVI,8˙ XXIV,1˙ XXV,14˙ XXVI,3˙ XXXIX,5˙ XLII,8. Tertullian, Ad Nationes, PL 1, Book 1, Chapter XII,5˙ 2,XVII,17. Minucius

of Bacchus38. Most references are made to the Christian religion with 33%, followed by Judaism and various cults with about 22%, while the official Roman cult holds 14%. Of course, this categorization is our construction, to make the presentation and use of the term for this purpose more understandable, because nowhere in the texts will we find for example the term “Christianity” or “Judaism”.

Of course, the peculiarity of this category is not just to mention the percentages and frequency of occurrence or reference of the various religious traditions. After all, the percentages we quoted are normal, as the texts have been written by supporters of the Christian religion, who for the most part want to present Christian worship and identity and overturn the accusations, highlighting the value of their own worship and faith in relation with Roman worship and deities, but also Jewish worship. The importance of this category is to highlight the way they are presented and the descriptions given to the various religious traditions.

In particular, we mentioned above that Christianity was not presented with this term, but usually as a Christian religion39 from the 2nd century onwards or with the designation “our religion”, which appears as a declarative first by Clement of Rome40, and covers 12.4% of the total areas of this category. If we compare the 10.7% of the verses that present the other religious traditions with the definition “their own religion”, then we can understand the magnitude of the controversy and the effort of the authors to demonstrate the differences between the traditions and to promote the superiority of their own religion. After all, the “us/others” dipole creates a positive and a negative pole in dealing with other religions, leads to a qualitative evaluation of religions, ie whether they are true or false, while forming the framework for more classifications and evaluations of content of any religious teaching (Smith, 1982, 6, 7). Of course, as we will see in the following sections, this discussion of the authors of the texts about true or false religion helped to give a definition of religion at the beginning of the 4th century and to gradually form it as a conceptual category. However, in some passages there are other aggressive defi-

Felix, Octavius, PL 3, Chapter VI,1˙ VIII,1˙ XXV,3˙ XXIX,8. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De Idolorum Vanitate, IV. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 9, Chapter 9,18˙ 9,9,21. Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book Β΄, Chapter 71,2˙ Β,71,5˙ Β,72,1˙ Ζ,46,2. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 1, Chapter 11,5˙ 1,11,49˙ 1,20,1˙ 1,22,8-9˙ 3,17,12˙ 5,5,5. 38 Commodianus, Instructiones, PL 5, Book 1, poem ΧΙΙ. 39 Only Tertullian and once Arnobius in three cases used the term “religio christiana”. 40 1 Clement Letter, 62,1: «Περὶ μὲν τῶν ἀνηκόντων τῇ θρησκείᾳ ἡμῶν καὶ τῶν ὠφελιμωτάτων εἰς ἐνάρετον βίον τοῖς θέλουσιν εὐσεβῶς καὶ δικαίως διευθύνειν ἱκανῶς ἐπεστείλαμεν ὑμῖν ἄνδρες ἀδελφοί».

nitions associated with the Christian religion, such as saint41, heaven42, new43 , unique44 and foreign45 .

Of particular interest is the variety with which the Jewish religion is presented. In most reports it is recorded as the patriarchal religion of the Jews, while in many cases it is characterized as the religion of the law46, arbitrary religion47, physical48, old49, religion of Moses50, religion of Sion51 or of Jerusalem52. Most of these descriptions come from Eusebius of Caesarea and are found mainly in his work Evangelical Proof. In particular, the harsher characterization of the Jewish religion as physical, as arbitrary, or its separation as the religion of the law is entirely within the scope of the work, which is “writing against the Jews”, as it seeks to show that Christians better understood the meaning of Scripture of the Jews, they were right to reject the old way of life of the Jews, and through the new covenant of Christ the religion of the Patriarchs was fulfilled (Kofsky, 2002, 87-90).

Definitely, the term that makes an impression is “εθελοθρησκεία” (arbitrary religion). The term is first found in Colossians 2:23, to describe a philosophical group (of wisdom) of the Colossians, of Jewish origin with ascetic predispositions (ταπεινοφροσύνῃ- ἀφειδίᾳ σώματος). It is a term that appears for the first time and essentially wants to state that the teaching of this group leads man to choose a religion that comes from the will of man and not from the will of God (Karavidopoulos, 1968, 385-387, 452-453; Tsakonas, 1975, 3940, 140-141). The reference to the same verse is made twice. First, Clement

41 Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 10, Chapter 5,21-22˙ 10,6,1˙ 10,7,2. Chapter Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum, PL 7, Chapter XI,7˙ XXIV,9. 42 Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 6, Chapter 2,13. 43 Martyrs of Lyon, 1,63. 44 Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 1, Chapter 20,21. 45 Martyrs of Lyon, 1,63. 46 Hippolytus of Rome, On Isaiah. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 1, Chapter 4,13˙ 3,27,2. Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Proof, Book 6, Chapter 13,24˙ 6,18,12. 47 Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 6, Chapter 12,1. Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Proof, Book 1, Chapter 2,10˙ 1,6,13˙ 1,6,63. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on Isaiah, Book 1, Chapter 17,4˙ 2,36,38. 48 Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Proof, Book 2, Chapter 3,106˙ 2,3,164˙ 9,9,5. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on Isaiah, Book 1, Chapter 17,4˙ 2,38,22˙ 2,43,91. Eusebius of Caesarea, On Psalms, PG 23,724. 49 Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Proof, Book 1, Chapter 1,7. 50 Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Proof, Book 1, Chapter 7,21˙ 2,3,57˙ 6,18,12˙ 8, preface. 51 Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Proof, Book 2, Chapter 3,53. 52 Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Proof, Book 6, Chapter 18,20˙ 6,18,40. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on Isaiah, Book 2, Chapter 38,22.

of Alexandria used the verse as an example in presenting various heretical teachings on the subject of the management of the human body, but also their proposal for self control and abstinence from marriage53. Second, Novatian in his letter on Jewish food used the verse as a reference54, to clarify which foods are considered unclean, with the main purpose of pointing out that Jewish provisions do not apply to Christian communities (Papadopoulos, 1977, 425). Essentially, the term appears as many times as the authors want to present a heretical teaching about Christianity, so it is clear that Eusebius’ use of the term “Jewish arbitrary religion” or “physical Jewish arbitrary religion” as a general definition of Judaism is a dynamic message, to point out the final differentiation of the Christian religion from the Jewish tradition, but at the same time to emphasize its superiority, as the Jewish tradition is not only a tradition of the past, but is more connected to the will of man and not to God’s will.

Statistical Illustration 2

Statistical presentation of verses with the concept “Presentation of a specific religious tradition or teaching” 53 Clement of Alexandrea, Stromateis, Book 3, Chapter 6,51: «καὶ πάλιν λέγει· «μηδεὶς ὑμᾶς καταβραβευέτω ἐν ἐθελοθρησκείᾳ ταπεινοφροσύνης καὶ ἀφειδίᾳ σώματος». 54 Novatianus, De cibis judaicis epistola, PL 3, Chapter V: “… imaginem … religionis…”.

The third category is related to the indication of faith or personal devotion of people to one or some higher beings. Of course, it should be noted that belief in these beings is always combined through acts of worship55 and the term “religion” in these cases is always accompanied by the name of a deity or vaguely by the general term “god/s”. As shown by Statistical Illustration 3, the majority of the verses belonging to this category refer to the “religion of God” with 57%, mainly of the God of Christianity, while over 60% of the verses in this category come from at the end of the period of early Christian literature, as the use of the phrase “religion of God” by Lactantius is very often, who in his work Divinae Institutiones tried in a strong and dynamic way to point out that Christianity is the religion of the only and true God in relation to the other cults that follow false gods (Bowen & Garnsey, 2003, 1-54; Ioannidis, 2014, 44-46; Kontogonos, 1851, 697-706; Christou, 2005, 138-139; Chadwick, 2001, 190-201).

However, in addition to the designation “religion of God/s”56 there are other special descriptions that are identical to this phrase, such as “of the highest”57 ,

55 «θρησκεία, ας, ἡ», in A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 32002 (Electronic Edition). 56 Paraenetic Speech to Greeks, 38. Martyrs of Lyon, 1,60. Theophilus of Antioch, Apology to Aytolycus, Book 2, Chapter 1. Tertullian, Ad Nationes, PL 1, Book 1, Chapter XVII,2˙ 1,XIV,1. Tertullian, Scorpiace, PL 2, Chapter VIII,1˙ VIII,3. Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem, PL 2, Book 2, Chapter ΧVΙΙΙ,3˙ 2,XXII,4. Tertullian, De Ieiunio, PL 2, Chapter IX,1. Tertullian, De Resurrectione, PL 2, Chapter XXIV,15. Clement of Alexandrea, Protrepticos, Speech Α΄, Chapter 2,40,1. Clement of Alexandrea, Stromateis, Book 6, Chapter 9,77˙ 6,14,110-111˙ 7,1,2. Hippolytus of Rome, On Daniel, Book 1, 20,3. Pontios deacon, Vita Cypriani, PL 3, Chapter III. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, Letter VII,1. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De Idolorum Vanitate, ΙΙΙ. Origen, Contra Celcum, Book 1, Chapter 26,51˙ 3,34,9˙ 7,9,15˙ 7,64,10˙ 8,66,4. Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Preparation, Book 4, Chapter 23,2. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 4, Chapter 13,5˙ 5,21,1˙ 8,17,9˙ 9,1,4˙ 9,7,7˙ 9,9,14˙ 9,9,15-16˙ 9,9,18-19˙ 9,9,21. Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Proof, Book 3, Chapter 3,10˙ 9,13,9. Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book Α΄, Chapter 2,2˙ Γ,5,2˙ Γ,38,1˙ Δ,15,2˙ Δ,21,3. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 1, Chapter 1,16˙ 1,6,3˙ 1,15,12˙ 1,15,16˙ 1,19,2˙ 1,20,21˙ 2,1,1˙ 2,1,14˙ 2,3,11˙ 2,7,6˙ 2,7,10˙ 2,14,8˙ 2,18,6˙ 4,1,1˙4,1,4˙ 4,3,4-5˙ 4,3,19˙ 4,3,21-22˙ 5,2,7˙ 5,6,12˙ 5,7,2˙ 5,8,4˙ 5,14,12-13˙ 5,19,11˙ 5,20,9˙ 5,20,11˙ 5,22,8˙ 6,20,36˙ 7,14,10. Lactantius, De Ira Dei, PL 7, Chapter Ι,9˙ VII,15˙ VIII,1-2˙ VIII,6-10˙ IX,2˙ X,53. Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum, PL 7, Chapter X,5˙ XXXI,1. 57 1 Clement Letter, 45,7. Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Proof, Book 4, Chapter 7,4.

“of Christ”58, “of Creator”59, “celestial religion/heaven religion”60, “of Father and Son”61. Finally, relevant to Christianity is the description of the faith and worship of Christians in a deity with a donkey’s head62, which was one of the accusations and slanderous statements against the early Christian communities.

But in addition to definitions referring to the God of Christians, there are references to the worship of various deities63, while there are few reports of demon/dragon religion64, idols65, magicians66, angels67 and the worship of the Emperor through the term “despot”68. A special category could be considered 10% of the verses that connect religion with the concept of faith69. In these verses faith is associated exclusively with the worship of the one God.

58 Meliton, Apology to Antoninon, Fragment2,1. Tertullian, De Oratione, PL 1, Chapter I,24-27˙ VI,10-15. Novatianus, De Trinitate, PL 3, Chapter XXVIΙ. 59 Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem, PL 2, Book 5, Chapter ΧVΙΙ,13. Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Preparation, Book 3, Chapter 13,24. 60 Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 10, Chapter 7,1. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 2, Chapter 14,10˙ 3,10,9-15˙ 3,20,12˙ 3,27,13. 61 Origen, Contra Celcum, Book 8, Chapter 12,24˙ 8,13,1˙ 8,15,13. 62 Minucius Felix, Octavius, PL 3, Chapter IX,3. 63 Clement of Alexandrea, Protrepticos, Speech Α΄, Chapter 2,34,1˙ 2,38,5. Minucius Felix, Octavius, PL 3, Chapter XXVIII,7. Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Preparation, Book 2, Chapter 6,10˙ 3,4,8˙ 3,11,15˙ 3,11,18˙ 6,10,46. Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book Β΄, Chapter 70,4˙ Β,73,1˙ Στ,22,3˙ Ζ,42,2. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 1, Chapter 17,13˙ 1,22,26. 64 Clement of Alexandrea, Stromateis, Book 6, Chapter 3,31. Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Preparation, Book 2, Chapter 3,38. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 6, Chapter 41,2. 65 On Monarchy, Chapter 1. Tertullian, Ad Nationes, PL 1, Book 2, Chapter XVII,13. 66 Tertullian, De Idololatria, PL 1, Chapter IX,3. 67 Apostle Paul, Letter to Colossians, 2,18. Origen, Contra Celcum, Book 5, Chapter 8,25. The religion of the angels is the arbitrary religion mentioned in the previous section and is estimated to be a cognitive group of Jewish origin, which may have been influenced by various mystical cults in the area. See, Ι. Karavidopoulos (1968), «Ερμηνευτικόν Υπόμνημα εις την Προς Κολοσσαείς Letterν του Αποστόλου Παύλου», Επιστημονική Επετηρίς Θεολογικής Σχολής, τ. ΙΓ΄, 384-387, 448-450. V. Tsakonas (1975), Υπόμνημα εις την Προς Κολοσσαείς Letterν του Αποστόλου Παύλου (Εισαγωγή-Κείμενον-Ερμηνεία), Αθήνα, 37-39, 134-137. 68 On Monarchy, Chapter 1. Tertullian, Ad Nationes, PL 1, Book 2, Chapter XVII,2. 69 Pontios deacon, Vita Cypriani, PL 3, Chapter VII. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, Letter IV,1˙ LXXVI,1-3. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De Lapsis, VI. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De Habitu Verginum, II. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De Laude Martyrii, XVIII. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De Spectaculis, X. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 10, Chapter 5,23. Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book Δ΄, Chapter 36,3˙ Στ,8,7. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 2, Chapter 7,9˙ 5,23,23. Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum, PL 7, Chapter XVIII,13.

Statistical Illustration 3 Statistical presentation of verses with the concept “Devotion or Faith to higher beings”

2.4. Worship-ritual

This category includes all verses that use the term “religion” with the meaning of worship and especially its practical expression through worship and ritual acts. In many cases the term has the meaning of healing to a deity, as we mentioned in the previous section with the meanings of the term “religion” in Greek and Latin literature. In fact, during the study of the verses it was found that when the term “θρησκεία” or “religio” was used, to generally denote worship/healing70, in some cases a more specific reference was made to the wor-

70 Letter of Jacob, 1,26. Epistle to Diognetus, 1,1˙ 3,2. Theophilus of Antioch, Apology to Aytolycus, Book 2, Chapter 2. Tertullian, Apologeticum, PL 1, Chapter XIII,6˙ XVI,11. Tertullian, Ad Nationes, PL 1, Book 1, Chapter XII,14˙ 2,XVII,18. Tertullian, Ad Scapulam, PL 1, Chapter II,2. Tertullian, De Baptismo, PL 1, Chapter X,1. Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem, PL 2, Book 5, Chapter II,4˙ 5,XVI,4. Clement of Alexandrea, Protrepticos, Speech Α΄, Chapter 2,22,3˙ 2,40,1˙ 10,91,1. Clement of Alexandrea, Stromateis, Book 4, Chapter 23,152˙ 4,25,158. Origen, Contra Celcum, Book 1, Chapter 30,15. Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Preparation, Book 1, Chapter 9,14˙ 2,6,20˙ 3,12,6˙ 4,11,1. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 2, Chapter 3,2˙ 2,17,3˙ 4,13,5˙ 8,17,9˙ 9,1,4-5˙ 9,4,2˙ 9,10,9-10˙ 9,10,12˙ 10,7,1. Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Proof, Book 1, Chapter 6,35˙ 1,7,12˙ 3,3,10. 5,6,9˙ 5,9,14˙ 5,34,17˙ 5,36,23˙ 7,69,30. Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book Β΄, Chapter 68,3˙ Γ,10,1˙

ship ritual of a ceremony, to various religious festivals or customs71, but also to a worship place72. Clearly, more than half of the verses (Statistical Illustration 4) use the term to denote worship in general, with a significant percentage highlighting various parts of a ritual.

In particular, it should be noted that 37% of the verses belonging to the category of the ritual generally referred to the ceremony73, 25% is about the priesthood of the ritual74, 18.5% described the process of sacrifice75, 15% presented some “sacred” object for the ritual76, while only 4% stressed the need for pilgrimage77 during ritual. It is also important to note that it is the first category so far, where there is a balance between Greek and Latin passages in terms of the use of the term with this meaning, while it seems that the term is used with this interpretation by authors who had undertake to present the worship traditions of the Gentile environment of Christians and compare them with the corresponding Christian ones.

Γ,38,2˙ Δ,5,5˙ Ε,23,3˙ Ε,29,1˙ Ε,29,5˙ Ε,44,6˙ Στ,13,5˙ Στ,17,1˙ Ζ,26,6. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 1, Chapter 6,17˙ 1,22,3˙ 2,4,7˙ 5,19,11. Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum, PL 7, Chapter XXXIV,4. 71 Tertullian, De Spectaculis, PL 1, Chapter V,2-3. Tertullian, Scorpiace, PL 2, Chapter VI,2. Origen, Contra Celcum, Book 5, Chapter 34,6. Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book Β΄, Chapter 68,1˙ Γ,2,1˙ Γ,6,2˙ Γ,38,4˙ Δ,16,6˙ Ε,39,6˙ Ζ,26,4˙ Ζ,33,1˙ Ζ,39,3. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 1, Chapter 11,38˙ 2,18,10. Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum, PL 7, Chapter XI,6. 72 Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem, PL 2, Book 4, Chapter XXXV,10. Clement of Alexandrea, Protrepticos, Speech Α΄, Chapter 2,19,4. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 7, Chapter 13,2. Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Proof, Book 5, Chapter 9,7. Eusebius of Caesarea, Nominal, 6,13˙ 66,6˙ 76,3. 73 Minucius Felix, Octavius, PL 3, Chapter VI,2˙ VII,2˙ XXII,8. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 2, Chapter 13,6˙ 9,7,7. Origen, Contra Celcum, Book 3, Chapter 5,4. Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book Α΄, Chapter 57,1˙ Γ,8,2. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 1, Chapter 21,38˙ 3,20,15˙ 4,17,1˙ 5,9,17. 74 Justin the Martyr, First Apology 62,2,2. Tertullian, De Resurrectione, PL 2, Chapter IX,2. Clement of Alexandrea, Stromateis, Book 6, Chapter 4,35. Minucius Felix, Octavius, PL 3, Chapter XXV,10. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 10, Chapter 3,3. 75 Epistle to Diognetus, 2,8. Tertullian, Scorpiace, PL 2, Chapter VII,7˙ VIII,1 (the martyrs as an offering of sacrifice). Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Proof, Book 1, Chapter 6,66. 76 Tertullian, Apologeticum, PL 1, Chapter XVI,6. Tertullian, De Baptismo, PL 1, Chapter V,2˙ IX,1. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, Letter I,16. 77 Theophilus of Antioch, Apology to Aytolycus, Book 2, Chapter 35.

Statistical Illustration 4 Statistical presentation of verses with the concept “Worship-Ritual”

2.5. Sacred/Profane

Subsequently, a smaller section has been formed, one part of which could be included in the previous category and another in the next category of “true religion”. It was preferred to be a separate category, because it included verses which sought to give the term “religion” a higher characteristic, by which it can be distinguished from any other human activity. After all, the “sacred/ profane” dipole was another methodological tool for the writers who sought to prove the superiority of Christian worship over the rest. Some interesting data have been summarized from Statistical Illustration 5.

First, 3 general groups / categories were distinguished in terms of the use of the term in this sense. The first group concerns the issue of the sanctity of a ritual78, which by an overwhelming majority is related to Christian worship and

78 Tertullian, De Spectaculis, PL 1, Chapter V,3. Tertullian, De Baptismo, PL 1, Chapter V,2˙ IX,1˙ X,1. Tertullian, Scorpiace, PL 2, Chapter VIII,1. Minucius Felix, Octavius, PL 3, Chapter VI,2. Pontios deacon, Vita Cypriani, PL 3, Chapter VI. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De

includes many of the verses we examined in the previous section. The second group included the verses that present the unholy and ungodly of the worship of other deities79. Definitely, this group of verses is of particular importance, because it aims to degrade the way of life and approach of the divine from the followers of other religious traditions. Clearly, several of these passages are included in the topic of “true religion/superstition”, which will be discussed below. The third group includes those verses that attributed to the concept of “religion” the characterization of the divine or the saint80 and generally sought to place the Christian religion at a level of purity, beyond human activity, and at the same time to introduce the presence and intervention of a divine entity in human affairs. In fact, this group includes about half of the verses in this category.

It is also seen that the Latin passages dominate in another category, as they attributed more theological characteristics to the term. It is characteristic that all the verses that use the term “religion” as an adjective come from the Latin literature and have the meaning of divine or saint81, with the exception of one case from Tertullian’s Apologeticum, which has the meaning of the unholy82 . On the other hand, the few Greek verses that have been included in this category belong to Origen and Eusebius of Caesarea in the sense that religion is associated either with the sanctity or not of a ritual83 or by designating it as “holy/divine”84, but with the specific reference to be found in the last book of

Idolorum Vanitate, V. Origen, Contra Celcum, Book 5, Chapter 34,6. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 9, Chapter 7,7˙ 10,3,3. Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book 1, Chapter 25,3-4˙ 4,31,4˙ Ζ,9,2. 79 Tertullian, Apologeticum, PL 1, Chapter XXIV,6. Minucius Felix, Octavius, PL 3, Chapter XXVI,8. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, Letter LXIII,3. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De Unitate Ecclesiae, XVII. Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Preparation, Book 4, Chapter 17,2. Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book Ε΄, Chapter 29,5. 80 Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem, PL 2, Book 3, Chapter XX,8. Tertullian, De Resurrectione, PL 2, Chapter XXXII,5. Minucius Felix, Octavius, PL 3, Chapter XXXIII,3. Novatianus, De Trinitate, PL 3, Chapter XXVI. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, Letter I,15. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De Lapsis, II. Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book Β΄, Chapter 70,4˙ Ζ,23,2˙ Ζ,31,1. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 2, Chapter 10,1˙ 4,5,9˙ 4,10,19. Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum, PL 7, Chapter XI,7˙ XXIV,9. 81 Tertullian, De Resurrectione, PL 2, Chapter XXXII,5. Minucius Felix, Octavius, PL 3, Chapter XXXIII,3. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, Letter I,15. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De Lapsis, II. Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book 7, Chapter 23,2. 82 Tertullian, Apologeticum, PL 1, Chapter XXIV,6. 83 Origen, Contra Celcum, Book 5, Chapter 34,6. Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Preparation, Book 4, Chapter 17,2. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 9, Chapter 7,7˙ 10,3,3. 84 Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 10, Chapter 5,21-22˙ 10,6,1˙ 10,7,1-2.

Ecclesiastical History, which essentially celebrates the imperial favor in favor of Christianity and the establishment of a peaceful state (Maier, 1999, 15-16). Thus, it is more valuable to state that the term is used in this sense by the authors of the 2nd (exclusively by Tertullian) and 3rd century, where there was great competition and variety in the presence of various religious teachings, because the special importance and meaning they attached to the term established a more aggressive attitude and expression of the points that Christian worship prevailed for themselves.

Statistical Illustration 5 Statistical presentation of verses with the concept “Sacred/Profane”

2.6. True religion/superstition

The third dipole of opposition to the term “religion” identified through the study of the texts of the early Christian literature is that of “true / false religion or superstition”, which is perhaps the most important for the gradual formation of the conceptual category of “religion” as well as for the differentiation of religious traditions. It is characteristic that this dipole is the most aggressive

in the effort to promote Christian worship in relation to the rest of the time, as the discussion shifts to what is considered true and what is deceptive and whether a person can really benefit if he/she actively participates in worship manifestations of one or the other religion. The use of the terms “true”, “false”, “deceptive”, “superstition”, “unreligious” focuses on the essence of the purpose of the texts, which seek to prove whether the cults they present can indeed be considered “religions” or simply is a deception of the citizens of the Empire.

According to Statistical Illustration 6, these descriptions are commonly found in the Latin early Christian literature, and most passages are found in Lactantius and Tertullian. Tertullian used to use an aggressive style against Gentile cults (Papadopoulos, 1977, 358), as he placed more emphasis on demonstrating the error of other cults, but without failing to emphasize that Christian worship is the true religion. On the other hand, Lactantius, as we will mention in the next section, used this dipole as a basis, to formulate the concept of “religion” and to present its definition (Schott, 2008, 105-106).

In general, four categories were formed that linked the term “religion” with aggressive definitions, which were related to plausibility and validity. The first category concerns true religion/“vera religio”85, the second category proceeds to a confrontation of religion with superstition/“superstitio”86, the third category uses adjectives that denote the deception of certain religious traditions, while the fourth category has the harsh characterization “unreligious”87, which is answered only by Tertullian, in order to show in an absolute way that the religious tradition or way of life that was presented had nothing to do with the worship of the divine.

Of course, it should be noted that in the second category, which includes

85 On Monarchy, Chapter 1. Tertullian, Apologeticum, PL 1, Chapter XXIV,2˙ XXXV,1. Tertullian, De Spectaculis, PL 1, Chapter I,4. Minucius Felix, Octavius, PL 3, Chapter I,5˙ XXXVIII,7. Pontios deacon, Vita Cypriani, PL 3, Chapter IX. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, Ad Demetrianum, XII. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De Idolorum Vanitate, VII. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De Spectaculis, ΙΙ. Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book Β΄, Chapter 2,4-5˙ 2,3,4. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 1, Chapter 1,19˙ 1,23,7˙ 2,7,10˙ 4,8,3˙ 4,28,1˙ 4,28,4-6˙ 5,20,30˙ 6,24,13˙ 6,25,7. 86 Tertullian, Apologeticum, PL 1, Chapter XIX,1. Tertullian, De Spectaculis, PL 1, Chapter V,2. Tertullian, De Oratione, PL 1, Chapter XV,1-5. Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem, PL 2, Book 1, Chapter V,5. Tertullian, Adversus Valentianos, PL 2, Chapter Ι,1. Minucius Felix, Octavius, PL 3, Chapter V,7˙ XIII,5. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, Ad Demetrianum, XXV. Origen, Contra Celcum, Book 3, Chapter 17,4. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 4, Chapter 28,11˙ 4,28,15-16. 87 Tertullian, Apologeticum, PL 1, Chapter XXIV,6˙ XXV,13-14. Tertullian, Ad Nationes, PL 1, Book 2, Chapter XVII,12-13. Tertullian, De Oratione, PL 1, Chapter XVI,13-17. Tertullian, De Ieiunio, PL 2, Chapter XVI,8.

about half of the verses, various aggressive designations are used, such as new/ nova88, vain/vana89, harmful/laesa90, alien/aliena91, special/propria92, corrupted/prava93, unholy/impius94, adverse/infausta95, false/falsa96, απάτη/derisio97 , stupid/inepta98, insane/contra rationem99. It is clear that every author’s attempt was to express in an absolute way that a religious tradition was not true in relation to his own.

Statistical Illustration 6 Statistical presentation of verses with the concept “True Religion/Superstition”

88 Martyrs of Lyon, 1,63. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 5, Chapter 1,63. Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book Α΄, Chapter 24,3. 89 Theophilus of Antioch, Apology to Aytolycus, Book 2, Chapter 1. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 1, Chapter 20,28˙ 2,3,12˙ 2,18,12. 90 Tertullian, Apologeticum, PL 1, Chapter XXIV,1. Tertullian, Ad Nationes, PL 1, Book 1, Chapter X,19-20. 91 Tertullian, De Spectaculis, PL 1, Chapter VIII,7. 92 Tertullian, De corona militis, PL 2, Chapter VII,1. 93 Minucius Felix, Octavius, PL 3, Chapter X,1˙ XXVI,8. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 1, Chapter 7,12˙ 3,30,2˙ 4,10,16˙ 6,4,2˙ 7,6,5. 94 Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De Unitate Ecclesiae, XVII. Eusebius of Caesarea, Evangelical Preparation, Book 4, Chapter 17,2. Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book 5, Chapter 29,5. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 7, Chapter 24,11˙ 7,26,10c. 95 Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book 1, Chapter 25,3-4. 96 Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book 1, Chapter 38,8˙ Β,68,3. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 1, Chapter 6,17˙ 1,23,6˙ 2,3,15˙ 2,3,22˙ 3,2,1˙ 3,30,10˙ 4,4,6˙ 5,4,8˙ 7,1,3. Lactantius, De Ira Dei, PL 7, Chapter ΙI,2. 97 Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 1, Chapter 20,34. 98 Ibid, Book 1, Chapter 22,9. 99 Ibid, Book 2, Chapter 10,11.

An interesting, albeit small number of verses, categorization is related to the connection of religion with freedom and in particular freedom both in the choice of worship and in public participation in worship events. The majority of the verses (Statistical Illustration 7) concern the need for freedom in the choice of religion and participation in worship events, while a small number of verses is essentially a request to allow and give this opportunity to all citizens of the Empire. It is characteristic that 71% of the verses come from texts dating to the beginning of the 4th century and present a consolidated situation, a fact, after the signing of the decree of religious tolerance, where it was allowed to all the inhabitants of the Empire, even to Christians, to choose any religion they wished100. In fact, this possibility and freedom of choice is presented as a necessary condition and part of religion.

However, what should be considered remarkable are not the verses that present a happy end result, but the process of requesting, in order to allow such a thing. This requirement is met in the 2nd century in Tertullian, who in one case asks to be given this opportunity101, while in a second case102, using a stricter style, demands the establishment of freedom in the practice of Christian worship. Tertullian’s request is related to the refusal of Christians to participate in public sacrifices in favor of the Emperor, as they did not consider him God, but man. Christians may have prayed in their worship for the health and longevity of the Emperor, still believing that he was chosen by God himself, but in no case could they worship him. The free exercise of Christian worship was not a reaction and resistance to the official power and authority of the Empire (Rankin, 2006, 61-63).

On the other hand, the second verse with the character of a request that we encountered belongs to Arnobius103, but has a different character. Arnobius refers to the opportunity to enable equality between all cults, so that all people understand the message of Christian worship and realize that God’s providence is universal, visible and refers to all people and not exclusively to his followers. After all, in many parts of Adversus Gentes, Arnobius presented the Christian God as a personal deity, perceived by the believer during worship. This also explains the presence of many “divine” adjectives in Arnobius’ text

100 Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 10, Chapter 5,2˙ 10,5,4-5. Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum, PL 7, Chapter XLVIII,3-6. 101 Tertullian, Apologeticum, PL 1, Chapter XXIV,6. 102 Tertullian, Ad Scapulam, PL 1, Chapter II,2. 103 Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book 3, Chapter 2,1.

Statistical Illustration 7 Statistical presentation of verses with the concept “Religious Freedom”

2.8. Conceptual Category

The last categorization of the verses that use the term “religion” is perhaps the most interesting, because they are the beginning of the gradual formation of the conceptual category “religion”, as it evolved and consolidated in Western thought later. In particular, the opposite dipole “true/false religion” helped in the conceptual formulation and construction of the term. The Statistical Illustration 8 shows that the term “religion” as a concept was a case of the Latin early Christian literature, as the only Greek verse that joined this group belongs to Eusebius, who refers to the possibility offered by Emperor Constantine for the free choice of religion and practice104, used the term “religion” to mean an organized system of divine worship.

Also, the vast majority of verses come from works written on the eve of the completion of the early Christian period and the beginning of a new situation for Christianity due to the favor of Emperor Constantine. It is characteristic that Lactantius monopolized the attempt to formulate a definition for the con-

cept of “religion”, as his work was dominated by the dipole “true/false religion”, which helped in the evolution of his thought. Of course, it is not possible in this effort to omit the contribution of Tertullian, who from the 2nd century dared to connect the term with the meaning of a system and even economic, to cauterize the cultic approach of the Roman state, which according to Tertullian it benefited financially according to the importance of a sanctuary or the popularity of a deity or a cult105. Thus, in his opinion, religion was identified with the frequency of the flow of money of a sanctuary, something that for him was cheap and unholy. In general, the term “religion” was divided in this sense into 3 subgroups, ie in verses that describe it as a system106, in verses that state that it is a distinct concept107 and in verses that seek to define it108 . With the exception of the case of Tertullian, the other verses belonging to the group of the system, rendered the term as a single and organized system of worship. In this regard we should note that many of the verses we presented in the second category of “religious tradition” depicted religion in this sense, but because they referred to a specific and well-known cult, it was chosen to be presented separately. In this category we have included the verses that referred to religion in general and not to a specific cult.

Definitely, special mention should be made to the issue of the definition of religion, but also the effort to consolidate it as a concept. As for its definition, Lactantius disagrees with Cicero as to the origin of the term from “relegere” and the suggestion that religion was related to those who very carefully renewed and studied the patriotic traditions. Also, the term “religio” should always be in direct conflict with the term “superstitio”, which was interpreted as an excessive interest in prayer and sacrifice in order to achieve the safety of the familiar109. On the contrary, Lactantius estimates that the term “religio”

105 Tertullian, Apologeticum, PL 1, Chapter XIII,6˙ XXXIX,5. Tertullian, Ad Nationes, PL 1, Book 1, Chapter Χ,24. 106 Tertullian, Apologeticum, PL 1, Chapter XIII,6˙ XXXIX,5. Tertullian, Ad Nationes, PL 1, Book 1, Chapter Χ,24. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, Letter LXII,15. Cyprian Carthage, PL 4, De Habitu Verginum, II. Eusebius of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Book 10, Chapter 5,48. Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book 1, Chapter 35,2˙ Β,71,1˙ Δ,15,2˙ Ε,24,3˙ Στ,13,5. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 1, Chapter 1,25˙ 3,10,9-15˙ 3,27,13˙ 5,20,22-24˙ 5,21,13. Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum, PL 7, Chapter XLVIII,2-3˙ XLVIII,5. 107 Arnobius, Adversus Gentes, PL 5, Book 2, Chapter 2,4˙ Ζ,37,2. Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 1, Chapter 20,16˙ 2,19,1-2˙ 3,10,1˙ 3,11,2˙ 3,28,3˙ 4,3,2˙ 4,3,4˙ 4,3,610˙ 4,4,1-4˙ 5,1,11˙6,10,2. Lactantius, De Ira Dei, PL 7, Chapter VII,6˙ VII,12-13˙ VII,15˙ VIII,6-10˙ X,47-48˙ XII,2-3˙ XIV,4˙ XXII,2. 108 Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 4, Chapter 28,3˙ 4,28,5-6˙ 4,28,11-13˙ 4,28,16. 109 Ibid, 4,28,3-8.

came from “religare” and interpreted it as the bond of piety with which we unite and connect with God110. Thus, while Cicero gave cultural features to the concept of “religion”, Lactantius rejected them, highlighting a non-cultural hue and forming a more theological one, as the development of “true religion” goes beyond the patriarchal traditions. At the same time, he contrasted the term “religio” with the term “superstitio”, but in relation to Cicero, Lactantius described superstition as the worship of images of familiar faces to preserve their memory111. Thus, the term “superstitio” for Lactantius was associated with the continuation of patriarchal and cultural traditions, which was essentially the basic principle of defining “religio” for Cicero. In addition, all traditional religions (religiones) are for the same form of patriarchal worship, thus falling into the category of “superstitio”112 and therefore be considered deceptive. Therefore, religion is the worship of the true and superstitio is the worship of the deceiver113. So the only true religion is that of the one and only true God, that is, Christianity. Lactantius therefore defined religion as the true worship of the true God, thus establishing a privileged position in the hierarchy for Christianity in relation to the other cults of the time. This contradiction between true and false religion led to the definition of religion and gave rise to religion as a distinct conceptual category (Schott, 2008, 105).

On the subject of religion as a concept, Lactantius sought to place it on the same level as wisdom. It is characteristic that it mixes the concepts of religion and wisdom, in order to prove that the true philosophy is only religion (Bowen & Garnsey, 2003, 21), while emphasizing that religion as a concept was given by God himself to man, to distinguish him from animals114, apparently wishing to give precedence to Christianity as the only true philosophy and the only means that can unite it with religion. Clearly, Lactantius was not the first apologist to attempt to examine Christianity and religion in relation to wisdom. It is known that Justin the Philosopher had called Christianity a “divine philosophy”115, while other writers such as Tertullian, Tatian and Theophilos Antiochian were hostile to philosophy (Chadwick, 1966; Osborn, 1997, 19681982).

Lactantius, on the other hand, maintained an intermediate stance, as he used all the elements of philosophy that helped his arguments, while at the

110 Ibid, 4,28,3. 111 Ibid, 4,28,12-14. 112 Ibid, 4,28,16. 113 Ibid, 4,28,11. 114 Ibid, Book 4, Chapter 4,1-4. 115 Justin the Martyr, Second Apology, 12,5.

same time denying all its claims (Bowen & Garnsey, 2003, 22). Of course, the use of the methodological approach of philosophy in relation to religion and the connection of the dipole of wisdom / religion with knowledge is reminiscent of the reasoning of Clement of Alexandria, that especially the work of Stromateis was a reflection, presenting Christianity as real knowledge116 . The intention of the book is clear, as it sought to teach or explain the faith, to mature the thought of Christians through the defense of the philosophical way of thinking, to interpret what is true knowledge, that is, Christianity (Arampatzis, 2014, 83-85). That is why the work encouraged Christians to approach philosophy from the perspective of seeking interpretive tools to understand the gospel, despite the opposition of more conservative Christian circles. In addition, it should be mentioned that the work Pedagogοs was mainly instructive and can be better understood as a guide for catechumens and young Christians in general (Dawson, 1992, 183), while in the Protreptikos through continuous prompts he invites the Gentiles to accept the new philosophy (Rankin, 2006, 126).

Returning to Lactantius’ methodological approach, his ambiguous attitude towards philosophical thought became his typical feature, as soon as he praised philosophical thought, he immediately tried to demonstrate its weaknesses. In fact, he said of the philosophers that although they managed to get so close to the truth, they eventually immediately made a step back in their thinking, which led them to make mistakes117. According to him, the philosophers did not understand that the truth is a secret, hidden (Arcanum) and sacred (sacramentum), which is in the possession of God alone, far from the sight of man and can be revealed only through revelation. Thus the philosophers could not be the guides of the people because they were ignorant and could not recognize the truth, which is pure and clear118. The fact for Lactantius is that religion and philosophy are inseparable119, something that is a central feature of the whole project. That is why he blames the philosophers who proceeded to separate wisdom from religion. Although they denounced the errors of false religion and gave the impression that they were wise, they ultimately denied the expectations, as they failed to replace the false religion with the true one. Apparently, this was because they knew nothing about it so they either kept a religion they knew was false or rejected it altogether120. According to him, wis-

116 Clement of Alexandrea, Stromateis, Book 6. 117 Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 1, Chapter 5,28. 118 Ibid, 1,1,21. 119 Ibid, 1,23,9. 120 Ibid, 2,3,12˙ 2,3,22˙ 3,28.

dom is combined with religion in the worship of the true God, since wisdom helps in understanding and religion in worship (Bowen & Garnsey, 2003, 24).

Thus, the assessment is introduced that first man must understand and then worship. Once man knows that God is the first step, then he can worship him. Therefore, the dipole wisdom / religion is used as a means to formulate the cognitive process of construction of the term “religion”, which if understood by man, can then proceed to the practical application, which is worship. Lactantius therefore offered two understandings of the concept of “religion”; the first was purely theological, as it concerned the true religion, the true worship of the one and only God, which transcends cultural origins, while the second seems to have a character οφ cognitive anthropology, as man must first understand and know the content of the concept of religion and then apply it through the worship of the true God. However, in both cases the common point is that religion as a concept and as a way of worship is introduced into human life by God himself and is not related to his cultural origins and traditions.

Statistical Illustration 8 Statistical presentation of verses that present religion as a conceptual category

Through the presentation and statistical analysis of the categories and concepts associated with the term “religion”, an attempt was made to provide as well-substantiated an explanation as possible for the evolution of the meaning of the term until the political situation changes after the Emperor’s Constantine favorable interventions. At this point, an overview and commentary of the overall statistical findings on the frequency of meanings of the term as a whole, per century and per author will be attempted.

A first comment can be made on the language of the verses (Statistical Illustration 10), as the verses of the Latin language dominate with 75%. This large difference can be justified by the widespread use of the term “religio” by texts in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries in their attempt to explain the differences between the various cults and to build the character of “true religion” for Christianity. On the other hand, we found that despite many meanings, such as piety, in Greek they were pronounced differently, while in Latin the term “religio” was used with various meanings to express something that in Greek can be expressed in other terminology.

Regarding the distribution of the verses by meaning (Statistical Illustration 9), it is observed that the meaning with most verses is that of the reference to a distinct religious tradition with 30%, while a relative balance is presented by the piety of God with 15.4%, the devotion/faith with 22% and worship with 18%. The truth is that these three meanings together with the category of the sanctuary are related under different conditions, as they have been pointed out in each category, to the subject of worship or the performance of acts of worship in honor of a deity, which was the basic sense with what may be related to the term “religion”. Thus, about 61% of the verses were generally related to the topic of worship around the term “religion”, while 21% (true religion/religious freedom/conceptual category) sought to cultivate some different characteristics for the term, so that to be decoded more objectively. On the other hand, the verses that described specific religious traditions are in the middle, as most of them formed the separation of religions in relation to the content of worship, but at the same time they proceeded to a more objective separation based on specific evaluation criteria.

An interesting Statistical Illustration is the one that shows the evolution and development of each meaning per century, as we can more easily understand the above distribution. First of all, the first image of all four graphs of Statisti-

cal Representation 11 shows that the basic interpretations of the term are piety/fear of God, religious-worship tradition, devotion/belief in a higher being through worship and worship, which start from the 1st century and maintain a balance in their frequency of occurrence, with the exception of the concept of piety at the end of the 3rd century. From the other concepts, which should be considered as complementary and have more the role of adding features to the concept, the category “true/false religion” stands out with fixed percentages of 12-14%, but also the topic “conceptual category” at the end of the early Christian period. These two groups of verses are of particular value because, as mentioned above, they contribute significantly to the establishment of a more objective view of religion as a reality both socially and cognitively.

Statistical Illustration 13 confirms the growing trend of using the term as a distinct conceptual category from the end of the 3rd century onwards, as about 56% of the verses come from writers of this period (Arnobius, Lactantios, Eusebius of Caesarea), who based on Statistical Illustration 14 used this approach more often than other authors. Of course, we should not miss the remarkable presence of Tertullian, who is the only author from the 2nd century who used the term “religio” with all the meanings and concepts that we have presented in this chapter. Another point to note is that the subject of “true religion” is the only complementary category used with equal frequency by 2nd, 3rd and early 4th century writers, as it helps to set boundaries and mark the distinct differences on a theological level between the cults, which were not always felt according to the perception of that era.

Statistical Illustration 9 Total statistical distribution of verses per meaning

Statistical Illustration 10 Total statistical distribution of verses per language

Statistical Illustration 11 Frequency of use of meanings per century

Statistical Illustration 12 Frequency of use of term per author

Statistical Illustration 13 Frequency of use of meanings per author

In the previous section, the variety of meanings of the term “religion” and the frequency of their use were studied. Of course, the effort that developed around the end of the 3rd century was of particular importance, when religion gradually began to be projected as a conceptual category. As we will mention in Chapter 3, the central effort of most of the texts of the early Christian literature was the construction of the Christian identity, the treatment of the accusations by the Gentiles and the clarification of specific points of the Christian teaching, which caused ambiguities and unrest. However, it would be interesting to study whether a more systematic attempt was made to study the religion and the various cults of the time and whether it was based on a theoretical framework. Through the study of the texts, we found that the most systematic effort to record, study and present-evaluate the various religious traditions was attempted by Clement of Alexandria and Lactantius.

However, we consider that the most interesting statement, related to issues of the theory of the study of religion, comes from Arnobius, who with the phrase “Opinio religionem facit”121 (opinion constructs religion) justified in the best way not only the diversity of the various religions/cults, but also that what is considered relevant by everyone as religious or not. It should be noted that his phrase seems prophetic, because when the scientific study of religion gradually began to take shape from the 19th century onwards, where various approaches emerged from different schools, it seemed as if religion and especially its scientific study was a creation of its scholars (Smith, 1982, xi). The creative thinking and personal comparisons made by the various scholars in order to formulate their arguments for the analysis of a religious phenomenon and to make generalizations was a dominant feature of the academic scholars of religion (Smith, 1982, xi). Of course, Arnobius’ statement at this point in the text was part of his attempt to present the futility of worship and sacrifice in honor of the various deities (Zarotiadis, 2011, 15-16), as he tried to urge the readers of his text to change their opinion about their religion, but at the same time it is perhaps the first statement that reflects the idea that religion is not just an expression of worship, as it may be related to the way of thinking, the general worldview and perception of things.

Obviously, the purpose of the authors of the early Christian literature was not to form the theoretical basis for the systematic study of religion as a phenomenon or of various cults, but to establish a way of promoting Christian worship and overturning the “authenticity” of other cults. Also, the studied texts are not systematic studies or study manuals of the various religions with the modern view and form, but we estimate that Clement’s motivational tendency and Lactantius’ apologetic direction can be approached as the first theoretical attempts of an exclusively total study of the religious phenomenon.

Clement of Alexandria through his works, Pedagogos, Protreptikos and Stromateis, may not have a systematized structure and development of his study (Arampatzis, 2014, 82-86; Papadopoulos, 1977, 334-356; Christou, 2005, 108114; Kontogonos, 1851, 340-398; Rankin, 2006, 125-131; Itter, 2009, 33-54), but we could characterize his work as a religious history of mankind, where he gently seeks to present the course of the religious manifestations of the various nations under the guidance of Logos and within the plan of the salvation of mankind (Nikolakakis, 1984, 34-39). His rich material includes all nations, Greeks, Jews, Persians, Egyptians and all the teachings and cults. Emphasizing the Greek philosophy, he seeks to emphasize that this is a pedagogical material, analogous to the content of the OT, as it is a preparation for the acceptance of the Christian faith122. In fact, he stressed that in all nations one can discern through their texts the longing and anticipation for God, since he created people in the same way123, while the view that people of all ages and nations were included in the plan of the divine economy is typical124. Certainly, Christian truth and faith are perfect for Clement, but no one should be indifferent to those elements of Greek philosophy that try to approach the truth and can help Christians to understand it125. Thus, Clement formed a single religious history, where the various stages and the various religious views were a preparation for the emergence of the Christian faith.

Lactantius, on the other hand, took a different approach, as the removal of cultural characteristics from the concept of “religio”, as embodied by Cicero, helped to shape religion as a distinct concept in modern Western thought. In fact, this concept, due to Lactantius’ approach, acquired more theological characteristics, since it was directly connected with the worship of the one and

122 Clement of Alexandrea, Stromateis, Book 1, Chapter 28,3. 123 Clement of Alexandrea, Protrepticos, Speech Α΄, Chapter 1,5,3˙ 1,7,3. 124 Clement of Alexandrea, Stromateis, Book 6, Chapter 13˙ 6,41,5˙ 7,9,1-12,5. 125 Ibid, 1,26,1˙ 1,28,1˙ 1,98,4˙ 6,117,1˙ 6,160,1.

true God, while he was indifferent to any cultural elements (Schott, 2008, 106). Moreover, a central tool in shaping his theoretical thinking was the “true/false religion” dipole, as the concept of religion was identified with true religion, which was only Christianity. Thus, he formed a universal concept, where “religio” was identified only with Christianity, and Christianity was the example and model of what religion is (King, 1999, 37).

The definition of religion by Lactantius was an important achievement for the final construction of the term “religion” with theological or theistic criteria, but also to be a means of separation from “others”. Thus, those who worship other deities are superstitious, while those who worship the true God belong to religion126. This dipole then became the determining factor for the classification and study of religions and the establishment of “us/others” in terms of the approach of different cultures (Smith, 1998, 269-284). The term “religion” was therefore used to describe one aspect of the culture of others, as it conveys and indicates the classification criteria of the western world. The term religion appeared more as a symbol of discrimination, segregation and apologetic tendencies. “Our religion”, then, is the true, while the religion of others is a false religion, magic or just superstition. In fact, the crisis over religions has always been moral, always based on the Western way of thinking and the Western view and perception of religion (Redfield, 1968, 143-167; Segal, 2005, 1179). As for the distinction between the meaning of “us” and “others” is that religion was treated as something unique, as something unrelated to other human activities or to any cultural environment. So one understands that religion was presented as a sui generis case, which for the only thing it valued was the substance that was hidden behind the “religious” things through a phenomenological approach to religions127 .

Of course, in terms of shaping this theoretical background through “us/ others” and “true / false religion” we must not forget the political conditions under which these views were cultivated. In the case of Lactantius, the separation between religio and superstitio, that is, the true religion of a true God and the false worship of various peoples, is chronologically placed in the period of significant changes in the administration of the Empire. Also, the rationale for defining religion as a non-cultural ecumenical category was expressed in an Empire characterized by national and cultural diversity. The use of his apologetic approach therefore linked the deceptive nature of religions to different

126 Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 4, Chapter 28,16. 127 About the sui generis approach to religion, see R. T. McCutcheon (2003), Κατασκευάζοντας τη Θρησκεία (transl. Δ. Ξυγαλατάς, ed. Π. Παχής), Θεσσαλονίκη: Βάνιας.

nations and for this reason the discussion of religion at this time should always be related to the examination of ethnography and topography (Schott, 2008, 106).

3.2. History of Religions

Above, the view was expressed that the two apologists used a different approach to present the historical evolution of the religions/cults of mankind up to their modern times. We could analogously call the work they handed over to us as a History of Religions or a religious history of mankind, but with very different conditions and goals in relation to the modern industry and the modern meaning of the History of Religions128. After all, when they wrote their works they acted as apologists and defenders of a particular religious tradition and in no case did they work for scientific purposes according to a specific methodology of academic study of religion. However, the way they attempted to present, based on the data at their disposal, for the first time, in relation to the other apologists, the religious history of mankind up to their time could be considered proportionally as such an endeavor. After all, many of the earliest scholars of religion at the academic level attempted to classify and present the various religious traditions based on the criteria of their Christian faith (Gaitanos, 2016, 33-34).

It is clear, then, that these are two different tendencies and approaches, but they came to the same conclusion, that is, that Christianity is the perfect and true worship. Clement presented a set of works with a more motivating and less aggressive attitude towards philosophy and other cults compared to his predecessors, projecting Christianity as the final result in the course of humanity’s search for truth and God. The various worship traditions and teach-

128 In general, the scientific branch of the History of Religions examines the historical evolution of religions, studying their sources, their teaching and their course at the end of history. What characterizes this branch of Religious Studies is the dialectical relationship between the object and the methods of its research. It is the historical science that studies over time those phenomena, which we call religious. Each of them has its own peculiarity, as it exerts a different influence in relation to other religious phenomena, which may take place in the same place. Thus, religions are investigated as historical processes, as complexes of doctrine and practice, as systems. These systems on the one hand respond to a human behavior, the religious behavior, but on the other hand they seem to have significant differences, which lead to the development of questions about a historical categorization of them. Essentially, religion is studied as a system, where it is investigated whether religious beliefs and religious institutions change and are in a constant interaction with social reality. Thus, the relationship of religion with various areas of reality is examined, such as society, economy, politics, culture, but at the same time what situations are formed within the respective religious environment within the historical context. See, U. Bianchi (1975), The History of Religions, Leiden: Brill, 5.

ings were seen as a progressive development, trying to seek God but ultimately failing, like Christian teaching. In fact, many of these teachings, according to him, such as Greek philosophy and the OT, presented some common elements, observed influences and could be considered as a preparation for the acquaintance and knowledge of the complete truth by humanity through Christianity. Possibly, this model of presenting the various cults is reminiscent of a potential theory of diffusion and cultural loans129 .

Clement placed special emphasis on the presentation of Greek philosophy and Greek mystical cults, drawing information either from works of the ancient Greek literature (poetry, philosophy, works of religious content) or from personal observation and experience. It is characteristic that he made fewer references to the cults of the Egyptians, Phrygians, Indians, and Persians, not because he underestimated them, but because he preferred to present more data for the cults that he had personal opinion. In general, he did not give a detailed presentation of the institutions and characteristics of the cults of other nations, but based his argument on specific issues that served the apologetic purpose of his works. For example, he used the theory of Euhemerus extensively (euhemerismos) (Roubekas, 2011) and of Theodore of Cyrene, in order to extract data to overturn the belief that the gods of the Greeks and other nations really had a divine status (Nikolakakis, 1984, 41-48). Therefore, his works should not be seen as an objective presentation of others, despite the acceptance of the positive features of their teaching, but as an alternative apologetic effort to highlight the superiority of Christian worship.

129 This is an evolutionary theory of the Pan-Babylonian school, which argued that the similarities observed between cultures of different regions should be attributed to diffusion from an original source, the region where these common characteristics were born. Due to immigration or other contacts, a similar theory was supported within the so-called school of “culture circles”, ie the view that common or similar elements that can be found in the same geographical area are due to borrowing, contacts and small-scale migrations and within that area. Proponents of diffusion theory, however, usually assumed that cultural discoveries could not be made independently in different regions, and therefore diffusion from a single original site was necessary to appear later in different regions. This view states that evolution, progress is the prerogative of a single culture. See, G. Ziakas (2002), Θρησκεία και Πολιτισμός των προϊστορικών κοινωνιών και των αρχαίων λαών, 110-111. L. Martin (2003), «Σύγκριση», στο W. Braun – R. T. McCutcheon (eds.), Εγχειρίδιο Θρησκειολογίας (μτφρ. Δ. Ξυγαλατάς, Επιμ. Π. Παχής), Θεσσαλονίκη: Βάνιας, 103. E. Sharpe (2008), Συγκριτική Θρησκειολογία: ιστορική εισαγωγή (μτφρ. Στ. Παπαλεξανδρόπουλος), Αθήνα: Άρτος Ζωής, 325-331. E. E. Evans-Pritchard (1987), Κοινωνική Ανθρωπολογία (μτφρ. Αριστέα Παρίση), Αθήνα: Καρδαμίτσα, 67-68. C. Levi-Strauss (1991), Φυλή και Πολιτισμός (μτφρ. Ευρυδίκη Παπάζογλου), Αθήνα: Γνώση, 34. P. Erickson & L. Murphy (2002), Ιστορία της Ανθρωπολογικής σκέψης (μτφρ. Φανή Μπουρμπούλη, επιστ. επιμ – εισαγωγικό σημείωμα Φωτεινή Τσιμπιρίδου), Αθήνα: Κριτική, 77.

On the contrary, Lactantius followed a more aggressive stance in his apology, as through the devaluation of the cultural characteristics of the various teachings, he emphasized the absolute and unique truth of one God, giving religion exclusively theological characteristics. The “true/false religion” dipole devalued the cultural characteristics and peculiarities of each tradition, with the result that the discussion was limited to the worship of God. God is one and therefore religion is one. Anything that does not fall into these characteristics cannot be considered a religion. The apologetic dimension of Lactantius’ work can be summarized as a History of true religion and false worship. The Lactantius’ history of religions places at the top an authentic and original proto-monotheism130, which in the course of history was disrupted and lost. The reference and presentation of the various cultures and cults of the Romans, Greeks, Egyptians and Jews is made in such a way as to establish a historical distinction between authentic and pure monotheism or true religion (vera religio) and the variety of national cults or false cults (falsae religiones). True religion is ancient and eternal, while national worship is a product of culture and national diversity (Schott, 2008, 96-97).

According to Lactantius, these new national religions emerged as soon as people began to form separate communities under the guidance of their leaders and heroes. So, all the false religions were essentially “national” with some of them gaining more acceptance and others remaining at the local level131 . Therefore, he directly connects the birth of nations with the beginning of religion. A distinct group of people always develops a new religion, with the result that religion and nation are identified in the perception of Lactantius, since each ethnic group also has its own religion. Thus, the Lactantius’ history of religions resembles an ethnographic study, as he devotes much of his work to the topographic (geographical) origin of each cult (Schott, 2008, 97-98). Of course, these cults that are placed within the context of human history are considered false. On the other hand, true religion is placed beyond the history of human civilization and out of time. The origin of true worship cannot be

130 According to the theory of “Ur-Monotheism”, belief in a higher being that created the world pre-existed and then departed from it. It is considered a kind of Monotheism, which preceded Polytheism. See, G. Ziakas (2002), Θρησκεία και Πολιτισμός των προϊστορικών κοινωνιών και των αρχαίων λαών, 118. F. Eggan (1972), “One Hundred years of ethnology and social anthropology”, in J. O. Brew (ed.), One Hundred Years of Anthropology, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 131-132. E. E. Evans – Pritchard (21972), Theories of primitive religion, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 31-32. B. Morris (1987), Anthropological Studies of Religion: An Introduction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 102. P. Erickson & L. Murphy (2002), Ιστορία της Ανθρωπολογικής σκέψης, 79-80. 131 Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones, PL 6, Book 1, Chapter 15,7-10.

traced back to the chronicles of history, as true religion is not a human cultural product, but a divine one outside this world as well132 .

Conclusion

In conclusion, we see that the subject of “religion” in both authors was associated with national and cultural characteristics, which reveals that what was perceived by the man of the time as a religion was related to his cultural habits and national/religious identity. On the one hand, Clement accepted the contribution of different cultures to the search for the divine as part of the plan of the divine economy, while on the other hand Lactantius rejected cultural diversity in the search and worship of the divine, as he believed that religion was handed down to man from a higher ontological reality and is not a product of human invention.

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