Homoian Christianity amongst Visigoths, also known as “Arianism in the Visigothic Kingdom”, “Homoianism amongst Visigoths”, “Homoeanism amongst Visigoths”
Creators: name: Michel, Cédrik
Publisher: name: Database of Religious History (DRH)
Year: 2023

description: Homoian (also homoean) Christians, from the ancient Greek homoios (ὅμοιος), meaning similar, believed that God the Father, and Christ the Son were similar in nature. This was distinct from Nicene Christianity which adhered to the view that the Father and Son were identical (homos-ὁμός) in nature. The theological position of Homoianism was presented at the Councils of Ariminium and Seleucia in 359 and ratified at the Council of Constantinople in 360 CE. Homoianism was favored by the emperors Constantius II and Valens. Homoian Christianity was championed by Acacius of Caesarea (died in 365 CE) and its followers were sometimes called 'Acacians'. Arianism is often used (erroneously) in scholarship as a synonym for Homoian Christianity (as well as other theological positions rejecting the notion that the Son and Father are of the same nature). This stems from attempts by fifth-century CE opponents to slander Homoianism through association with the Alexandrian priest Arius (c.250 or 256-336 CE), who also believed that the nature of the Son was distinct from that of the Father. Like other instances of religious conversion in Antiquity, the adoption of Homoian Christianity amongst Goths was a gradual process rather than a punctual event. The genesis of Homoian gothic communities occurred in 341 when Ulfilas (also Wulfila, c.311-383 CE), considered the apostle of the Goths, was appointed bishop of the Homoian (or a theological position best described as Homoian) communities in Gothic-controlled lands at the Council of Antioch. He preached and converted Gothic communities north of the Danube until he was expelled, along with many of his followers in 347/8 due to a Christian persecution in Gothia. Ulfilas and his followers settled in Moesia, in the Roman Empire. He developed a Gothic script and translated the Bible into Gothic. Homoian Christianity received imperial patronage from the emperors Constantius II from 350-61, during his time as sole ruler of the Empire, and from Valens until his death in 378. During this time, Ulfila and his followers would adopt Homoianism, understood as a compromise between Arianism and Nicene Christianity due to its stipulation that the nature of Christ was similar to that of the Father. During the reign of these two emperors, two other events can be pinpointed as part of the conversion process of Goths. In 369, a power struggle occurred within the Thervingian people between Athanaric and Fritigern. Fritigern petitioned for support from the Roman emperor Valens. The Thervingian Goths under Fritigern's command converted to Homoian Christianity and requested theological teachers. In 376, the westward movement of the Huns and Alans encroached on Gothic land and two gothic Groups, the Thervingi and Greuthungi, requested to cross the Danube into Roman land to seek refuge. The Thervingi were allowed to cross but the Greuthungi were denied entry. Nevertheless, the Greuthungi crossed into Roman land illegally. Conversion to Homoianism was a condition for admission and would have applied to all Goths entering the Empire at this time. The Council of Constantinople of 381, summoned by emperor Theodosius I, condemned Arianism (and its associate theological doctrine, Homoianism). Nevertheless, Homoianism was allowed to flourish amongst barbarian peoples, who were allowed to worship in the ways that already existed at the time of their ancestors. Scholars such as Herwig Wolfram argue that the conversion of Goths to Homoianism would have created a sense of unity, a distinct change from the heterogenous pagan beliefs from the pre-Christian era. The exact ethnogenesis of the Visigoths, as a sub-group of Goths and other barbarian peoples has been disputed, but it seems likely that the identity of this group solidified under the Alaric in the 390s, until their definitive settlement in Aquitaine in 419 by the Roman Empire. Homoian Christianity became deeply entrenched within the ranks of the Visigothic aristocracy. Many Homoian bishops originated from aristocratic families. In 579, Hermenegild, the son of king Liuvigild, converted to Nicene Christianity and led a revolt in Baetica. Liuvigild called a synod in Toledo in 580 which revised Homoian beliefs to be more acceptable to Nicene Christians. These reforms would have little impact given that Homoianism had already largely lost its appeal since the 560s, if not earlier. In the second half of the sixth century, Nicene and Homoian clergy, bishops and churches would be operating in parallel in most major cities in the Visigothic Kingdom. Homoian Christianity would be replaced by Nicene Christianity as the state-sponsored religion at the third council of Toledo, in 589, convoked by king Reccared, who had himself converted to Nicene Christianity in 587. Former Homoian bishops were allowed to keep their posts and shared their duties with their Nicene counterparts, but metropolitans lost their province-wide authority.