Sabellius

Biographical Information

Like many other challengers to early Christian orthodoxy, little is known of the life of Sabellius save the (potentially unreliable) details that can be gleaned from the writings of his critics. In the case of the arch-monarchian himself, few details survive, with the notable exception being the writings of Hippolytus, who appears to have had some contact with the heresiarch. In these scant sources, Sabellius is described as a third century priest and theologian who taught in Rome during the reigns of Popes Victor (186/189–197/201), Zephyrinus (199–217) and Callixtus I (217–222), though he was anathematized at some point during the reign of Callixtus. Indeed, Brown notes that his teachings were actually relatively popular during this period, as they provided a theological counterpoint to the adoptionist heresies that were prevalent at the time.

Basil and others call him a Libyan from Pentapolis, but this seems to rest on the fact that Pentapolis was a place where the teachings of Sabellius thrived, according to Dionysius of Alexandria, c. 260. What we know of Sabellius is drawn mostly from the polemical writings of his opponents. The Catholic Encyclopedia "New Advent" cautions: It is true that it is easy to suppose Tertullian and Hippolytus to have misrepresented the opinions of their opponents.. Sabellius' opposition to the emerging idea of the Trinity led to his excommunication as a heretic by Pope Calixtus I (Callistus) in AD 220. Wace and Bunsen have both suggested that Calixtus' action was motivated more by a desire for unity rather than by conviction.

Callistus perverted Sabellius himself, and this, too, though he had the ability of rectifying this heretic’s error. For (at any time) during our admonition Sabellius did not evince obduracy; but as long as he continued alone with Callistus, he was wrought upon to relapse into the system of Cleomenes by this very Callistus, who alleges that he entertains similar opinions to Cleomenes. Sabellius, however, did not then perceive the knavery of Callistus; but he afterwards came to be aware of it, as I shall narrate presently.

And Callistus, who was in the habit of always associating with Zephyrinus, and, as I have previously stated, of paying him hypocritical service, disclosed, by force of contrast, Zephyrinus to be a person able neither to form a judgment of things said, nor discerning the design of Callistus, who was accustomed to converse with Zephyrinus on topics which yielded satisfaction to the latter. Thus, after the death of Zephyrinus, supposing that he had obtained (the position) after which he so eagerly pursued, he excommunicated Sabellius, as not entertaining orthodox opinions. He acted thus from apprehension of me, and imagining that he could in this manner obliterate the charge against him among the churches, as if he did not entertain strange opinions. He was then an impostor and knave, and in process of time hurried away many with him. And having even venom imbedded in his heart, and forming no correct opinion on any subject, and yet withal being ashamed to speak the truth, this Callistus, not only on account of his publicly saying in the way of reproach to us, “Ye are Ditheists,” but also on account of his being frequently accused by Sabellius, as one that had transgressed his first faith, devised some such heresy as the following. Callistus alleges that the Logos Himself is Son, and that Himself is Father; and that though denominated by a different title, yet that in reality He is one indivisible spirit. And he maintains that the Father is not one person and the Son another, but that they are one and the same; and that all things are full of the Divine Spirit, both those above and those below. And he affirms that the Spirit, which became incarnate in the virgin, is not different from the Father, but one and the same. And he adds, that this is what has been declared by the Saviour: “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?” For that which is seen, which is man, he considers to be the Son; whereas the Spirit, which was contained in the Son, to be the Father. “For,” says (Callistus), “I will not profess belief in two Gods, Father and Son, but in one. For the Father, who subsisted in the Son Himself, after He had taken unto Himself our flesh, raised it to the nature of Deity, by bringing it into union with Himself, and made it one; so that Father and Son must be styled one God, and that this Person being one, cannot be two.” And in this way Callistus contends that the Father suffered along with the Son; for he does not wish to assert that the Father suffered, and is one Person, being careful to avoid blasphemy against the Father. (How careful he is!) senseless and knavish fellow, who improvises blasphemies in every direction, only that he may not seem to speak in violation of the truth, and is not abashed at being at one time betrayed into the tenet of Sabellius, whereas at another into the doctrine of Theodotus.

Doctrines

Sabellius taught that God was indivisible, with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit being three modes or manifestations of the same divine Person. A Sabellian modalist would say that the One God successively revealed Himself to man throughout time as the Father in Creation; the Son in Redemption; and the Spirit in Sanctification and Regeneration. (Because of this focus on God's revelation of himself to man, Modalism is often confused with "Economic Trinitarianism"). This understanding has been called Sabellianism and Modalistic Monarchianism. The suggestion of development and change within the Godhead was seen as contradicting the concept of impassibility. It also stood in contrast to the position of distinct persons existing within a single godhead by representing Father, Son and Spirit as different “modes” (hence the term "modalism"), “aspects” or “faces” that God presented successively to the world.

According to Epiphanius of Salamis, Sabellius used the sun’s characteristics as an analogy of God’s nature. Just as the sun has "three powers" (warmth, light, and circular form), so God has three aspects: the warming power answers to the Holy Spirit; the illuminating power, to the Son; and the form or figure, to the Father. Von Mosheim described Sabellius' views thusly: But while Sabellius maintained that there was but one divine person, he still believed the distinction of Father, Son and holy Spirit, described in the Scriptures, to be a real distinction, and not a mere appellative or nominal one. That is, he believed the one divine person whom he recognized, to have three distinct forms, which are really different, and which should not be confounded.

The Teachings of Sabellius were most vigorously opposed by Tertullian in North Africa and Hippolytus of Rome who both proposed an hierachical trinity of subordinate persons. Tertullian gave Sabellius' doctrine the name Patripassianism, meaning "the father suffered," since Sabellius made no true distinction of persons between the Father and the Son. This is a distortion of Sabellius' teaching according to Clissold, who quotes scholars who have appealed to Epiphanius' writings. Epiphanius (died 403) says that in his time Sabellians were still numerous in Mesopotamia and Rome - a fact confirmed by an inscription discovered at Rome in 1742, evidently erected by Sabellian Christians.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Brown, Harold O. J. Heresies: Heresy and Orthodoxy in the History of the Church. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1998. ISBN 1565633652.
• Bunsen, C. C. Hippolytus and His Age. Kessinger Publishing, 2007. Originally published by Longmans, 1852. Partly reproduced online at Google Book Search.
• Chapman, John. "Monarchianism" in the Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911.
• Cozens, M. L. A Handbook of Heresies. New York: Sheed & Ward, 1959.
• Hultgren, Arland J. and Haggmark, Steven A. (eds.). The Earliest Christian Heretics: Readings from their Opponents. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1996. ISBN 0800629639.
• McGrath, Alister E. Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1998. ISBN 0631208445.
• Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, Volume 1: The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1975. ISBN 0226653714.
• Von Mosheim, J. L. Historical Commentaries on the State of Christianity During the First Three Hundred and Twenty-Five Years from the Christian Era. Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2006. ISBN 1597527041. Originally published by Trow & Smith Book Manufacturing Co, 1868.
• Wace, H. A Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century C.E. - with an Account of the Principal Sects and Heresies. Hendrickson Publishers, 1994. ISBN: 1565630572. Selections accessible online at CCEL.org.

External Links

All links retrieved October 23, 2007

• Barnett, D., History of the Doctrine Concerning the Nature of God in the Early Centuries of Christianity: Sabellius (part 8)
• Bernard, D. K., Oneness Belivers in Church History, The Oneness of God (chapter 10)
• Tillich, P., The History of Christian Thought (Lecture 12): Monarchianism. Sabellius. The Arian Controversy. Nicaea.
• Tertullian, Against Praxeas c.213 C.E.

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Sabellius  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Sabellius"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.