The Agnoetae ( Greek ἀγνοηταί agnoetai , from ἀγνοέω agnoeo , to be ignorant of) or Themistians were a Monophysite Christian sect of Late Antiquity that maintained that the nature of Jesus Christ was like other men's in all respects, including limited knowledge despite being divine.
6-639: The sect grew out of the dispute between Severus of Antioch and Julian of Halicarnassus concerning the nature of Christ's body. Julian held the view, termed Aphthartodocetism , that Christ's body was incorruptible from birth. The followers of Severus, the Severans, rejected this, holding that only after the Resurrection was Christ's body incorruptible. Around 534, a Severan deacon of Alexandria in Egypt, Themistius Calonymus, published his views on Christ's knowledge under
12-491: The acts of the councils of 549 and 680/1, in the works of Maximus the Confessor (d. 661) and in the compendium Doctrina patrum de incarnatione verbi . These quotations, however, demonstrate his Monophysitism and not his Agnoetism. More generally, the name Agnoetae may be applied to all those who deny the omniscience either of God or of Christ. The Catholic Encyclopedia identifies: "Though God foreknows that which
18-553: The feeling of fear. His interpretations, however, were not widely accepted among the Monophysites, being notably rejected by Patriarch Timothy IV of Alexandria , who died in 535. Themistius attacked the views of John Philoponus , often considered a tritheist , who attacked his views in turn. Themistius' successor was Theodosius, not the Patriarch Theodosius I , whose views were opposed by Themistius. John of Damascus calls
24-698: The issue. Gregory condemned the Agnoetae as heretics, as did Eulogius, who had written a treatise against them. Patriarch Sophronius of Jerusalem ( r. 634–638 ) condemned Agnoetism and it was condemned at the Lateran Council of 649 and the Third Council of Constantinople in 680 or 681, the council declaring Themistius a heretic alongside Severus of Antioch and Apollinaris of Laodicea . No Agnoetic texts survive, but some of Themistius' works are quoted in Greek in
30-466: The movement the Themistiani . There is evidence of an Agnoete monastery in Egypt, the monastery of Salamites near Thunis . It spread out of Egypt into the monastic communities of Palestine . There are surviving fragments of a Syriac treatise Against Themistius . In 599, Pope Gregory I wrote to Patriarch Eulogius of Alexandria to draw his attention to the Agnoetae and to ask him for his advice on
36-549: The title Apology for Theophilus . Although he saw himself as defending the Severan view, he ended up founding a new sect. Themistius' views were based on his exegesis of Mark 13:32 and John 11:34 , in which Christ appears ignorant of the Day of Judgement and of the location of Lazarus ' body. Agnoetae could also cite Luke 2:52 , in which Christ is said to grow in knowledge. According to Liberatus of Carthage , he also attributed to Christ
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