In Christian theology, a heresiarch (also hæresiarch, according to the Oxford English Dictionary; from Greek: αἱρεσιάρχης, hairesiárkhēs via the late Latin haeresiarcha[1]) or arch-heretic is an originator of heretical doctrine or the founder of a sect that sustains such a doctrine.[1]
Examples[edit]
- Marcion, the founder of Marcionism
- Arius, the founder of Arianism
- St. Augustine refers to Mani, the founder of Manichaeism, as a heresiarch.[2]
- Menocchio, an Italian miller who was burned at the stake in 1599
- Catholics, especially traditionalist Catholics such as Hilaire Belloc, consider Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other leaders of the Protestant Reformation to be arch-heretics.[3]
- Conversely, some fundamentalist Protestants (including Alexander Hislop and Charles Chiniquy) have used the term to refer to the papacy and the members of the Roman Curia.
- Martin of Armenia, the fictional founder of the Old Russian Rite used by the Old Believers
Dante's Inferno[edit]
In his Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri represents the heresiarchs as being immured in tombs of fire in the Sixth Circle of Hell. In Cantos IX and X of the Inferno, Virgil describes the suffering these souls experience, saying "Here are the Arch-Heretics, surrounded by every sect their followers... / Like with like is buried, and the monuments are different in degrees of heat."[4] Among the historical figures that Dante specifically lists as arch-heretics are Epicurus, Farinata Degli Uberti, Frederick I of Sicily, and Pope Anastasius II.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Cross and Livingstone, Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church 1974
- ^ Augustine and Manichaeism, Gillian Clark
- ^ Hilaire Belloc, "What was the Reformation?"
- ^ Dante's Inferno, Canto IX, 125–129
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