Church History

The Croatian-born Matthias Flacius Illyricus (1520–1575) was a Lutheran theologian and reformer who spent most of his adult life in the German-speaking territories of the Holy Roman Empire, playing an important role within the Evangelical churches and in the confessionalization of his day. Luka Ilic establishes that Flacius’ theology became increasingly radicalized with time and examines aspects of this process through following two parallel tracks. One trajectory focuses on the development of Flacius’ theological thought, while the other one discusses the pivotal influences and major turning points in his life, such as being exiled from different cities. Although Flacius did enjoy some measure of success and even attracted a considerable number of followers for shorter periods of time, his radicalized theology ultimately led to his public downfall and marred his legacy. Flacius’ relationships with the most important Wittenberg figures, Luther and Melanchthon, are also explored, along with the vast personal and professional networks Flacius built up in imperial cities, all of which shaped his theological development. One of the dominant claims is that Flacius’ understanding of original sin and of grace were the lynchpin for much of his opus. At the same time, the findings demonstrate that Flacius was a multifaceted individual with interest and competences in a number of different academic fields.

"Over the 10th and 11th centuries, the dioceses of Florence and Fiesole were governed by important bishops. Their charisma and political power, however, did not prevent them being consigned to obscurity. This paper describes how and why this came about, presenting an analysis of clues found in several texts written by the reformers (Saint Peter Damian, Saint John Gualbert). It appears that the authority of the bishops was undermined by the rivalry between two influential religious communities close to the Episcopate – the monastery of San Miniato al Monte and the Florentine cathedral chapter – that came to the fore at about the same time. A powerful Florentine family (the Visdomini) and a group of John Gualbert’s monastic followers took advantage of this conflict, and while the bishops were busy calming the waters between the canons and monks, the Visdomini rose to political prominence and John Gualbert’s fortunes were favoured on the spiritual plane.
Tra X e XI secolo vescovi importanti ressero le diocesi di Firenze e Fiesole. Nonostante il loro carisma e la loro forza politica, essi sono stati dimenticati. Il saggio si sofferma su questo oblio, cercando di descriverne le modalità e di
comprenderne le cause attraverso l’analisi di alcuni testi dei riformatori (Pier Damiani, San Giovanni Gualberto). L’idea di fondo è che l’autorevolezza dei presuli sia stata minata dal sorgere – quasi contemporaneo – della rivalità tra
due comunità religiose assai influenti e prossime all’Episcopato: il monastero di San Miniato al Monte e la Canonica della cattedrale fiorentina. Dello scontro approfittarono una potente famiglia (i Visdomini) e il gruppo di monaci raccolti
attorno a Giovanni Gualberto. L’offuscarsi del ruolo dei vescovi – impegnati nel sedare la lotta tra monaci e canonici – favorì l’affermazione politica dei Visdomini e la fortuna di Giovanni Gualberto sul piano spirituale."

"A project within Wikiversity (https://en.wikiversity.org).
This resource will identify and study sources on heretics and inquisitors in the Mediterranean world, and will provide opportunity for discussion. We will create subpages on notable individual heretics and Church personalities, taking as a starting place the page list for ereticopedia.org. See more on https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Heresy_and_the_Church_in_the_Mediterranean_world"

In this book Christoph Ochs presents for the first time an extensive study of the use of the Gospel of Matthew in Jewish polemics. These often overlooked texts advance numerous exegetical arguments against Jesus' divinity, the incarnation, and the Trinity. Seven Jewish polemical key texts comprise the main sources for this inquiry: Qissat Mujādalat al-Usquf (c. 8/9th century) and Sefer Nestor ha-Komer (before 1170), Sefer Milhamot ha-Shem (c. 1170), Sefer Yosef ha-Meqanne (c. 13th century), Nizzahon Vetus (13-14th century), Even Bohan (late 14th century), Kelimmat ha-Goyim (c. 1397), and Hizzuq Emunah (c. 1594) et al. Together with the relevant passages in the original Hebrew and in translation each text is presented with a historical and exegetical introduction. Contemporary parallels are also discussed, but in less detail. The result is a compendium of arguments against the divinity of Jesus based on the Jewish interpretation of Matthew. Jewish polemicists focused in particular on Jesus' portrayal as a human (e.g. as sleeping, hungry, and ignorant) and passages where he differentiates himself from God. Some of these arguments can be traced back to philosophical and heterodox dogmatic debates in antiquity, while others look surprisingly modern. The aim of the polemicists was to highlight what they saw as contradictions between Christian Scriptures and Christian beliefs.