The Ecclesiastical History of Evagrius Scholasticus - Coptic ...

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GLOSSARY
Nestorians. Followers of Nestorius who had been deposed after the First
Council of Ephesus (431) because he rejected the term Theotokos for
the Virgin Mary and opposed the views of Cyril of Alexandria. The
Christology of Nestorius stressed the full humanity as well as full
divinity of Christ, while also accepting the unity of His person. The
term became one of abuse for opponents of Cyril, especially those
who strictly espoused Antiochene Christology.
Nicene Creed/doctrine. The anti-Arian de¢nition drawn up at the
Council of Nicaea in 325 (and subsequently expanded) which
stressed the equality of God the Father and God the Son through
the homoousian formula.
oikonomos. Steward or administrator, often of ecclesiastical property.
Origenism. Views associated with alleged followers of the third-century
heretic, Origen, although the Origenist theories espoused in the ¢fth
and sixth centuries were derived from the teaching of Evagrius of
Pontus and Didymus the Blind. This was another convenient term of
abuse for religious opponents, especially intellectual monks who
pursued theoretical enquiries too far for the liking of others.
Photinians. Followers of the subordinationist heretic Photinus (fourth
century) who accepted the superhuman excellence of Christ without
equating him with God the Father.
rhetor. Literally ‘orator’, often used as a general term to describe a
person of education, sometimes with more speci¢c reference to an
ability to teach rhetoric.
scholasticus. A lawyer with the training to be a public advocate.
Severans. Followers of Severus of Antioch, who espoused the ‘mainstream’
Cyrillan Monophysite position (as opposed, for example, to
Julianists).
skeuophylax. Treasurer.
Synodicals/synodical letters. Literally letters ‘concerned with a
council’, hence letters connected with a Church Council; also used
for a bishop’s encyclical letters since, in the context in Evagrius,
these would invariably have to address the conciliar issue of
Chalcedon.
Theopaschite. The doctrine that, because of the unity of divinity and
humanity in the incarnate Christ, God could be said to have su¡ered.
Provided that Theopaschite language was directly applied to Christ,
as in the Monophysite understanding of Peter the Fuller’s addition
to the Trisaghion, or to ‘one of the Trinity’ as in Justinian’s doctrinal