“The Heretic who Wanted to be Heard”
Eunomius of Cyzicus and the Disputes Between Faith and Power int Fourth Century ce
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34024/herodoto.2025.v10.22651Keywords:
Late Antiquity, Christianities, Cappadocian Fathers, Eunomius of CyzicusAbstract
The Christian bishop Eunomius of Cyzicus (335–394) became known in historiography and patristic literature for his debates with the so-called Cappadocian Fathers, which took place in the eastern part of the Roman Empire during the second half of the fourth century CE. A defender of a Christian current known as Anomoean Arianism, Eunomius challenged the consubstantiality widely upheld by Trinitarian doctrine. Building on the provocation “The heretic who wanted to be heard”, this article analyzes the work Profession of Faith by Eunomius of Cyzicus, treating it as a politico-religious discourse written at the request of Emperor Theodosius I. The study situates the text within the conflicts between faith and power that marked the fourth century, especially the aftermath of the Council of Constantinople (381). By problematizing Eunomius’s place in this context, the article reflects on the historiographical construction of the so-called “officialization” of Christianity, understood not as an endpoint but as a historical process of negotiation, silencing, and contestation over the truth of faith.
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