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Priscillianism is a Christian belief system developed in the Iberian Peninsula (the Roman Hispania) in the 4th century by Priscillian, derived from the Gnostic-Manichaean doctrines taught by ''Marcus'', an Egyptian from Memphis, and later considered a heresy by the both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. ==History== Marcus, a native of Memphis in Egypt, came to Spain and taught Gnostic and Manichean theories. Two of his followers, a Spanish lady named Agape and the rhetorician Helpidius, converted Priscillian,〔(Wace, Henry. "Priscillianus and Priscillianism, Priscillian", ''A Dictionary of Early Christian Biography'', John Murray, London, 1911 )〕 who was a layman "of noble birth, of great riches, bold, restless, eloquent, learned through much reading, very ready at debate and discussion".〔Sulpicius Severus, "Histor. Sac.", II, 46〕 Through his oratorical gifts and reputation for extreme asceticism he attracted a large following, including a rhetorician named Helpidus and two bishops, Instantius and Salvianus. The new sect became an oath-bound society, attracting the attention of the bishop Hyginus of Cordoba. Hyginus made his fears known to Hydatius, Bishop of Emerita, and Ithacius of Ossonoba. The bishops of Hispania and Aquitaine then held a synod at Zaragoza in 380. Though summoned, the Priscillianists refused to appear, and the synod pronounced sentence of excommunication against the four leaders, Instantius, Salvianus, Helpidius and Priscillian.〔 Ithacius was chosen to enforce the synod's decrees, but he failed to bring the heretics to terms. In defiance Priscillian was ordained to the priesthood and appointed Bishop of Avila. Ithacius then appealed to the imperial authorities. The Emperor Gratian issued a decree which deprived the Priscillianists of their churches and sentenced them to exile. Instantius, Salvianus and Priscillian proceeded to Rome to gain the aid of Pope Damasus I (also from Iberia) in having this sentence revoked. On their journey they were joined by many supporters from Gaul. Euchrocia and her daughter Procula, amongst these, ministered of their substance to Priscillian and his colleagues. A promiscuous crowd of others, especially women, are mentioned. In consequence, injurious reports, probably calumnies, were vigorously circulated against Priscillian and his retinue.〔 Denied an audience by Pope Damasus, they went to Milan to make a similar request of St Ambrose, but with the same result. They then resorted to intrigue and bribery at the Court with such success that they were not only freed from the sentence of exile, but permitted to regain possession of their churches in Hispania, where, under the patronage of the imperial officials, they enjoyed such power as to compel Ithacius to leave the country. He, in turn, appealed to Gratian, but before anything had been accomplished the emperor was murdered in Lyon, and Magnus Maximus had taken his place.〔 Maximus treated the matter not as one of ecclesiastical rivalry, but as one of morality and society.〔 As he wished to curry favour with the orthodox bishops and to replenish his treasury through confiscations, the Emperor gave orders for a synod, which was held in Bordeaux in 384. Instantius was first tried and condemned to deposition. Thereupon Priscillian appealed to the emperor at Trier. Ithacius acted as his accuser and was so vehement in his denunciations that St Martin of Tours, who was then in Trier, intervened, and, after expressing his disapproval of bringing an ecclesiastical case before a civil tribunal, obtained from the emperor a promise not to carry his condemnation to the extent of shedding blood. After St Martin had left the city, the emperor appointed the Prefect Evodius as judge. He found Priscillian and some others guilty of the crime of magic. This decision was reported to the emperor, who killed Priscillian and several of his followers; the property of others was confiscated and they were banished. The conduct of Ithacius immediately met with the severest reprobation. St Martin, hearing what had taken place, returned to Trier and compelled the emperor to rescind an order to the military tribunes, already on their way to Iberia to extirpate the heresy. There is no ground in the condemnation and death of Priscillian for the charge made against the Church of having invoked the civil authority to punish heretics. The pope censured not only the actions of Ithacius but also that of the emperor. St Ambrose was equally stern in his denunciation of the case and some of the Gallican bishops, who were in Trier under the leadership of Theognistus, broke off communion with Ithacius, who was subsequently deposed from his see by a synod of Hispanic bishops, and his friend and abettor Hydatius, was compelled to resign. After the death of Priscillian and his followers, however, the numbers and zeal of the heretics only increased. In 400 another synod was held in Toledo to deal with this problem; many, including bishops Symphonius and Dictinnius were there reconciled to the Church. Dictinnius was the author of a book "Libra" (Scales), a moral treatise from the Priscillianist viewpoint. The upheaval in the Iberian Peninsula due to the invasion of the Vandals, the Alans and the Suevi aided the spread of Priscillianism. Paulus Orosius, a Gallaecian priest from northwest Hispania, wrote to St Augustine (415) to enlist his aid in combating the heresy. Pope Leo I at a later date took active steps for its repression and at his urgent insistence councils were held in 446 and 447 at Astorga, Toledo, and Braga. In spite of these efforts the sect continued to spread during the fifth century. In the following century it began to decline, and after the First Council of Braga (563), which specifically targeted its doctrines, it soon died out. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Priscillianism」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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