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91-398: The central part of the building was constructed around 360, atop the substructures of Roman buildings that were demolished in 276, in what subsequently became the episcopal quarter of the town of Poitiers, near the residence of Saint Hilary and the future cathedral. Many changes have been made to the original structure. A baptismal tank was added in the 6th century, as at that time baptism

182-587: A lesser festival on 13 January . From his writing St. Hilary's symbol came to be three books and a quill pen. Sulpicius Severus ' Vita Sancti Martini led to a cult of Saint Hilary as well as of St. Martin of Tours which spread early to western Britain . The villages of St Hilary in Cornwall and Glamorgan and that of Llanilar in Ceredigion bear his name. In France most dedications to Saint Hilary are styled "Saint-Hilaire" and lie west (and north) of

273-520: A borrowing of Greek ἔθνος ( ethnos ) via Armenian hethanos . The term has recently been revived in the forms "Heathenry" and "Heathenism" (often but not always capitalized), as alternative names for the modern Germanic pagan movement, adherents of which may self-identify as Heathens. It is perhaps misleading even to say that there was such a religion as paganism at the beginning of [the Common Era] ... It might be less confusing to say that

364-514: A bust of the Holy Virgin. The building was abandoned in 1791 during the French Revolution , and was confiscated from the church and sold as national property to a private citizen who used it as a warehouse. It was saved from demolition by a public subscription which allowed it to be repurchased in 1834. The baptistery underwent restoration in the middle of the 20th century. Excavations during

455-502: A class of subordinate gods/ daimons —see henotheism —or divine emanations . To Christians, the most important distinction was whether or not someone worshipped the one true God . Those who did not (polytheist, monotheist, or atheist ) were outsiders to the Church and thus considered pagan. Similarly, classical pagans would have found it peculiar to distinguish groups by the number of deities followers venerate. They would have considered

546-503: A creed outworn; So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn; Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea; Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn. In Italy, with the fall of the Papal States the process of Italian unification fostered anti-clerical sentiment among the intelligentsia. Intellectuals like archaeologist Giacomo Boni and writer Roggero Musmeci Ferrari Bravo promoted

637-612: A cultural and scholarly center, with the establishment of the first Muslim university in 717 under Umar II , attracting scholars from across the Islamic world. Although Harran lost its capital status under the Abbasid Caliphate , it continued to flourish, particularly during the reign of Harun al-Rashid (786–809), when its university became a key center for translation and intellectual activity. The local religion, blending elements of Mesopotamian paganism and Neoplatonism, persisted into

728-405: A cultural sense. It retained that meaning for roughly the first millennium of Christianity. This was influenced by Christianity's early members, who were Jewish . The Jews of the time distinguished themselves from foreigners according to religion rather than ethno - cultural standards, and early Jewish Christians would have done the same. Since Hellenic culture was the dominant pagan culture in

819-581: A gift to the devil of that world for which Christ had suffered." According to Jerome , Hilary died in Poitiers in 367. While Hilary closely followed the two great Alexandrians, Origen and Athanasius , in exegesis and Christology respectively, his work shows many traces of vigorous independent thought. Among Hilary's earliest writings, completed some time before his exile in 356, is his Commentarius in Evangelium Matthaei , an allegorical exegesis of

910-622: A hypocrite as he had been ignominiously expelled from Milan. Upon returning home, Hilary in 365, published the Contra Arianos vel Auxentium Mediolanensem liber, describing his unsuccessful efforts against Auxentius. He also, perhaps at a somewhat earlier date, published the Contra Constantium Augustum liber , accusing the deceased emperor as having been the Antichrist , a rebel against God , "a tyrant whose sole object had been to make

1001-612: A largely pagan city well into the early Islamic period. When the city was besieged by the armies of the Rashidun Caliphate in 639–640, it was the pagan community that negotiated its peaceful surrender. Under the subsequent rule of the caliphates, Harran became a major settlement within the Diyar Mudar region and retained a significant degree of autonomy. During the First Fitna , the people of Harran sided with Mu'awiya I over Ali at

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1092-591: A military context rather than a religious one is in Tertullian 's De Corona Militis XI.V, where the Christian is referred to as paganus ( civilian ): Paganus acquired its religious connotations by the mid-4th century. As early as the 5th century, paganos was metaphorically used to denote persons outside the bounds of the Christian community. Following the sack of Rome by the Visigoths just over fifteen years after

1183-435: A particular group of people or set of ideas other than their family and political context. If this is the right view of pagan life, it follows that we should look on paganism quite simply as a religion invented in the course of the second to third centuries AD, in competition and interaction with Christians, Jews and others. Defining paganism is very complex and problematic. Understanding the context of its associated terminology

1274-504: A sacred – although secular – longstanding, unwavering and unchallenged authority with a cross-religious effectiveness over the Albanians, which is attributed to an earlier pagan code common to all the Albanian tribes . Historically, the Christian clergy has vigorously fought, but without success, the pagan rituals practiced by Albanians for traditional feasts and particular events, especially

1365-477: A subject in their own right." In addition, Petts notes how various spiritual, religious, and metaphysical ideas branded as "pagan" from diverse cultures were studied in opposition to Abrahamism in early anthropology, a binary he links to ethnocentrism and colonialism. Ludwig Feuerbach defined the paganism of classical antiquity , which he termed Heidentum ('heathenry') as "the unity of religion and politics, of spirit and nature, of god and man", qualified by

1456-481: A theological aspect to an ethnological one, and religions began to be understood as part of the ethnic identities of peoples, and the study of the religions of so-called primitive peoples triggered questions as to the ultimate historical origin of religion . Jean Bodin viewed pagan mythology as a distorted version of Christian truths. Nicolas Fabri de Peiresc saw the pagan religions of Africa of his day as relics that were in principle capable of shedding light on

1547-530: A very short time of the accession of Emperor Julian . On returning to his diocese in 361, Hilary spent most of the first two or three years trying to persuade the local clergy that the homoion confession was merely a cover for traditional Arian subordinationism. Thus, a number of synods in Gaul condemned the creed promulgated at the Council of Ariminum (359). In about 360 or 361, with Hilary's encouragement, Martin ,

1638-419: Is crucial to stress right from the start that until the 20th century, people did not call themselves pagans to describe the religion they practised. The notion of paganism, as it is generally understood today, was created by the early Christian Church. It was a label that Christians applied to others, one of the antitheses that were central to the process of Christian self-definition. As such, throughout history it

1729-452: Is important. Early Christians referred to the diverse array of cults around them as a single group for reasons of convenience and rhetoric . While paganism generally implies polytheism , the primary distinction between classical pagans and Christians was not one of monotheism versus polytheism, as not all pagans were strictly polytheist. Throughout history, many of them believed in a supreme deity . However, most such pagans believed in

1820-496: Is related to pangere ('to fasten', 'to fix or affix') and ultimately comes from Proto-Indo-European *pag- ('to fix' in the same sense): The adoption of paganus by the Latin Christians as an all-embracing, pejorative term for polytheists represents an unforeseen and singularly long-lasting victory, within a religious group, of a word of Latin slang originally devoid of religious meaning. The evolution occurred only in

1911-553: Is the context in which Early Christianity itself developed as one of several monotheistic cults, and it was in this period that the concept of pagan developed in the first place. As Christianity emerged from Second Temple Judaism and Hellenistic Judaism , it stood in competition with other religions advocating pagan monotheism, including the cults of Dionysus , Neoplatonism , Mithraism , Gnosticism , and Manichaeanism . Dionysus in particular exhibits significant parallels with Christ, so that numerous scholars have concluded that

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2002-570: The Battle of Siffin in 657, which allegedly resulted in a brutal retaliation by Ali, who massacred much of the population. Under the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750), Harran prospered and was selected as the capital by the last Umayyad caliph, Marwan II , from 744 to 750. This move may have been influenced by the city's pagan sympathies and its strategic position near the empire's eastern provinces. The city's prominence under Umayyad rule saw it grow as

2093-559: The Christian persecution of paganism under Theodosius I , murmurs began to spread that the old gods had taken greater care of the city than the Christian God. In response, Augustine of Hippo wrote De Civitate Dei Contra Paganos ('The City of God against the Pagans'). In it, he contrasted the fallen "city of Man" with the "city of God", of which all Christians were ultimately citizens. Hence,

2184-511: The Church . Arianism was becoming popular among Christians in this era and this theological position was supported by Constantine the Great . There were a series of violent battles between Trinitarians and Arians. [cite source] In 353, the Trinitarian Christians of Arles elected Hilary as bishop as the existing bishop, Saturninus of Arles , was an Arian. At the Council of Arles ,

2275-486: The French Revolution and saw it as a path to restoring an ancient republic. He took the name Quintus Nautius, claimed Roman priestly lineage, and performed Orphic rites at his home. His followers were mainly his household. In 1799, he published La Thréicie , advocating a revival of paganism in France, condemning Christianity, and promoting universal animation . In the 17th century, the description of paganism turned from

2366-652: The Gheg – Tosk dialectal diversification. Regardless of the Christianization, ancient paganism persisted among Albanians , and especially within the inaccessible and deep interior – where Albanian folklore evolved over the centuries in a relatively isolated tribal culture and society – it has continued to persist, or at most it was partially transformed by the Christian, and later Muslim and Marxist beliefs, that were either to be introduced by choice or imposed by force. The Albanian traditional customary law ( Kanun ) has held

2457-826: The Mani Peninsula —where paganism had endured until the 12th century) encouraged the Medici, descendants of the Maniot Latriani dynasty, to found the Neoplatonic Academy in Florence , helping to spark the Renaissance . In addition Julius Pomponius Laetus (student of Pletho) established the Roman academy which secretly celebrated the Natale di Roma and the birthday of Romulus . The Academy

2548-491: The Massif Central ; the cult in this region eventually extended to Canada . In northwest Italy the church of Sant'Ilario at Casale Monferrato was dedicated to St. Hilary as early as 380. In southern Spain the feast of San Hilario is celebrated in the village of Comares with a Mass, a procession and local Verdiales dances. In Wales the village St Hilary has a Church allegedly dedicated to St Hilary, from which

2639-689: The Middle Ages , the term paganism was applied to any non-Christian religion, and the term presumed a belief in " false gods ". The origin of the application of the term "pagan" to polytheism is debated. In the 19th century, paganism was adopted as a self-descriptor by members of various artistic groups inspired by the ancient world . In the 20th century, it came to be applied as a self-descriptor by practitioners of modern paganism , modern pagan movements and Polytheistic reconstructionists . Modern pagan traditions often incorporate beliefs or practices, such as nature worship , that are different from those of

2730-533: The classical world ; including those of the Greco-Roman, Celtic, Germanic, and Slavic tribes. However, modern parlance of folklorists and contemporary pagans in particular has extended the original four millennia scope used by early Christians to include similar religious traditions stretching far into prehistory . Paganism came to be equated by Christians with a sense of hedonism, representing those who are sensual, materialistic, self-indulgent, unconcerned with

2821-438: The synod of Biterrae ( Béziers ), summoned by the emperor in 356 with the professed purpose of settling the longstanding dispute, an imperial rescript banished the new bishop, along with Rhodanus of Toulouse, to Phrygia , a stronghold of Arianism. Hilary spent nearly four years in exile, although the reasons for this banishment remain obscure. The traditional explanation is that Hilary was exiled for refusing to subscribe to

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2912-555: The 10th century, though periodic decrees enforced conversions to Islam, especially under Al-Ma'mun in 830. Nonetheless, Harran retained its heterogeneity, with a population that included Muslims, Christians, Jews, and a variety of other religious groups. The medieval church accused sects deemed heretical such as the Waldensians and Cathars of participating in pagan fertility rites. Arab paganism gradually disappeared during Muhammad 's era through Islamization . The sacred months of

3003-590: The 9th century, despite some church ruins from the 4th century indicating early Christian presence. The region's mountainous terrain allowed the Maniots to evade the Eastern Roman Empire's Christianization efforts, thus preserving pagan traditions, which coincided with significant years in the life of Gemistos Plethon . Another safe area for the pagans was the city of Harran which, Despite the persecution of its pagan inhabitants by Byzantine Emperor Maurice, remained

3094-618: The Arab pagans were the 1st, 7th, 11th, and 12th months of the Islamic calendar. After Muhammad had conquered Mecca he set out to convert the pagans. One of the last military campaigns that Muhammad ordered against the Arab pagans was the Demolition of Dhul Khalasa . It occurred in April and May 632 AD, in 10AH of the Islamic Calendar. Dhul Khalasa is referred to as both an idol and a temple, and it

3185-425: The Christian population, or because they were not milites Christi (soldiers of Christ). Alternative terms used in Christian texts were hellene , gentile , and heathen . Ritual sacrifice was an integral part of ancient Greco-Roman religion and was regarded as an indication of whether a person was pagan or Christian. Paganism has broadly connoted the "religion of the peasantry ". During and after

3276-473: The Genoese Il Basilisco (1979–1989), which released several works on pagan studies, and Politica Romana (1994–2004), seen as a high-level Romano-pagan journal. One prominent figure was actor Roberto Corbiletto , who died in a mysterious fire in 1999.The 1980s and 1990s also saw an increasing interest in serious academic research and reconstructionist pagan traditions. The establishment and growth of

3367-513: The Internet in the 1990s brought rapid growth to these, and other pagan movements. By the time of the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991, freedom of religion was legally established across Russia and a number of other newly independent states, allowing for the growth in both Christian and non-Christian religions. In the 2000s, Associazione Tradizionale Pietas began reconstructing temples across Italy and sought legal recognition from

3458-658: The Latin west, and in connection with the Latin church. Elsewhere, Hellene or gentile ( ethnikos ) remained the word for pagan; and paganos continued as a purely secular term, with overtones of the inferior and the commonplace. Medieval writers often assumed that paganus as a religious term was a result of the conversion patterns during the Christianization of Europe , where people in towns and cities were converted more easily than those in remote regions, where old ways tended to remain. However, this idea has multiple problems. First,

3549-620: The Latin-speaking Western Roman Empire of the newly Christianizing Roman Empire , Koine Greek became associated with the traditional polytheistic religion of Ancient Greece and was regarded as a foreign language ( lingua peregrina ) in the west. By the latter half of the 4th century in the Greek-speaking Eastern Empire , pagans were—paradoxically—most commonly called Hellenes ( Ἕλληνες , lit. "Greeks") The word had almost entirely ceased being used in

3640-671: The Moon and Starhawk 's The Spiral Dance opened a new chapter in public awareness of paganism. With the growth and spread of large, pagan gatherings and festivals in the 1980s, public varieties of Wicca continued to further diversify into additional, eclectic sub-denominations, often heavily influenced by the New Age and counter-culture movements. These open, unstructured or loosely structured traditions contrast with British Traditional Wicca , which emphasizes secrecy and initiatory lineage. The public appeal for pre-Christian Roman spirituality in

3731-619: The Roman calendar of saints, Hilary's feast day is on 13 January, 14 January in the pre-1970 form of the calendar. The spring terms of the English and Irish law courts and Oxford and Dublin universities are called the Hilary term since they begin on approximately this date. Some consider Saint Hilary of Poitiers the patron saint of lawyers . Hilary is remembered in the Anglican Communion with

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3822-636: The Roman east, they referred to pagans as Hellenes. Christianity inherited Jewish terminology for non-Jews and adapted it to refer to non-Christians with whom they were in contact. This usage is recorded in the New Testament . In the Pauline epistles , Hellene is almost always juxtaposed with Hebrew regardless of actual ethnicity The usage of Hellene as a religious term was initially part of an exclusively Christian nomenclature, but some Pagans began to defiantly call themselves Hellenes. Other pagans even preferred

3913-714: The Semi-Arian bishops in Gaul , Germania and Britain , analyzing the views of the Eastern bishops on the Nicene controversy. In reviewing the professions of faith of the Oriental bishops in the Councils of Ancyra , Antioch , and Sirmium , he sought to show that sometimes the difference between certain doctrines and orthodox beliefs was rather in the words than in the ideas, which led to his counseling

4004-689: The bishops of the West to be more reserved in their condemnation. The De trinitate libri XII , composed in 359 and 360, was the first successful expression in Latin of that Council's theological subtleties originally elaborated in Greek. Although some members of Hilary's own party thought the first had shown too great a forbearance towards the Arians, Hilary replied to their criticisms in the Apologetica ad reprehensores libri de synodis responsa . In his classic introduction to

4095-555: The churches", and his works continued to be highly influential in later centuries. Venantius Fortunatus wrote a vita of Hilary by 550, but few now consider it reliable. More trustworthy are the notices in Saint Jerome ( De vir. illus. 100), Sulpicius Severus ( Chron. ii. 39–45) and in Hilary's own writings. Pope Pius IX formally recognized him as a Doctor of the Church in 1851. In

4186-604: The condemnation of Athanasius and the Nicene faith. More recently several scholars have suggested that political opposition to Constantius and support of the usurper Claudius Silvanus may have led to Hilary's exile. While in Phrygia , however, he continued to govern his diocese, as well as writing two of the most important of his contributions to dogmatic and polemical theology: the De synodis or De fide Orientalium , an epistle addressed in 358 to

4277-545: The context of the 1848 revolutions , leading to the creation of national epics and national myths for the various newly formed states. Pagan or folkloric topics were also common in the musical nationalism of the period. Paganism resurfaces as a topic of fascination in 18th to 19th-century Romanticism , in particular in the context of the literary Celtic , Slavic and Viking revivals, which portrayed historical Celtic , Slavic and Germanic polytheists as noble savages . Great God! I'd rather be A Pagan suckled in

4368-404: The course of the 20th century have recovered the baptismal tank and allowed the dating of the building to be made more precise. This improved dating has ruled out the theory that the baptistery first served as a pagan temple , under which pretext it was at one time given the name Temple Saint-Jean . Instead it appears the building was indeed constructed for the purpose of baptism, a sacrament which

4459-481: The decisions of Ariminum and Seleucia, Hilary responded with the bitter In Constantium , which attacked the Emperor Constantius as Antichrist and persecutor of orthodox Christians. Hilary's urgent and repeated requests for public debates with his opponents, especially with Ursacius and Valens, proved at last so inconvenient that he was sent back to his diocese, which he appears to have reached about 361, within

4550-406: The decoration of outside and inside of the building. By the tenth century the building had become dilapidated, and additions and repairs were made. These included the demolition of two original small sacristies (which were originally designated as preparation chambers for catechumens of both sexes) and the lateral apsidioles. The arms of the transept were rebuilt as apses, and the square narthex

4641-488: The emperor. The growing religious stigmatization of Hellenism had a chilling effect on Hellenic culture by the late 4th century. By late antiquity, however, it was possible to speak Greek as a primary language while not conceiving of oneself as a Hellene. The long-established use of Greek both in and around the Eastern Roman Empire as a lingua franca ironically allowed it to instead become central in enabling

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4732-463: The end of the 3rd or beginning of the 4th century A.D. His parents were pagans of distinction. He received a good education, which included a high level of Greek. He studied, later on, the Old and New Testament writings, with the result that he abandoned his Neoplatonism for Christianity , and with his wife and his daughter, traditionally known as Saint Abra of Poitiers , was baptized and received into

4823-628: The fairy tales of a country were particularly representative of it, to the neglect of cross-cultural influence. Among those influenced were the Russian Alexander Afanasyev , the Norwegians Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe , and the Englishman Joseph Jacobs . Romanticist interest in non-classical antiquity coincided with the rise of Romantic nationalism and the rise of the nation state in

4914-514: The fire rituals ( Zjarri ). Pagan Continuity in Mani and Mistra (800–1100) Christianity was introduced late in Mani, with the first Greek temples converted into churches during the 11th century. Byzantine monk Nikon "the Metanoite" (Νίκων ὁ Μετανοείτε) was sent in the 10th century to convert the predominantly pagan Maniots. Although his preaching began the conversion process, it took over 200 years for

5005-509: The first Gospel . This is the first Latin commentary on Matthew to have survived in its entirety. Hilary's commentary was strongly influenced by Tertullian and Cyprian, and made use of several classical writers, including Cicero, Quintilian, Pliny and the Roman historians. Hilary's expositions of the Psalms , Tractatus super Psalmos , largely follow Origen , and were composed some time after Hilary returned from exile in 360. Since Jerome found

5096-499: The foreign invaders were "not of the city" or "rural". The term pagan was not attested in the English language until the 17th century. In addition to infidel and heretic , it was used as one of several pejorative Christian counterparts to goy ( גוי / נכרי ) as used in Judaism, and to kafir ( كافر , 'unbeliever') and mushrik ( مشرك , 'idolater') as in Islam. In

5187-443: The future bishop of Tours , founded a monastery at Ligugé in his diocese. In 364, Hilary extended his efforts once more beyond Gaul. He impeached Auxentius , bishop of Milan , a man high in the imperial favour, as heterodox. Emperor Valentinian I accordingly summoned Hilary to Milan to there maintain his charges. However, the supposed heretic gave satisfactory answers to all the questions proposed. Hilary denounced Auxentius as

5278-465: The future, and uninterested in more mainstream religions. Pagans were usually described in terms of this worldly stereotype , especially among those drawing attention to what they perceived as the limitations of paganism. Thus G. K. Chesterton wrote: "The pagan set out, with admirable sense, to enjoy himself. By the end of his civilization he had discovered that a man cannot enjoy himself and continue to enjoy anything else." In sharp contrast, Swinburne

5369-641: The historical paganism of Classical Antiquity. The 19th century also saw much scholarly interest in the reconstruction of pagan mythology from folklore or fairy tales. This was notably attempted by the Brothers Grimm , especially Jacob Grimm in his Teutonic Mythology , and Elias Lönnrot with the compilation of the Kalevala . The work of the Brothers Grimm influenced other collectors, both inspiring them to collect tales and leading them to similarly believe that

5460-488: The largest world religions. Contemporary knowledge of old pagan religions and beliefs comes from several sources, including anthropological field research records, the evidence of archaeological artifacts , and the historical accounts of ancient writers regarding cultures known to Classical antiquity . Most modern pagan religions existing today express a worldview that is pantheistic , panentheistic , polytheistic, or animistic , but some are monotheistic . It

5551-471: The legates of Pope Liberius refused to condemn Arianism and considered formally opposing Athanasius of Alexandria , who was a strong advocate of Trinitarianism against Arianism. Hilary still managed to secure the local excommunication , by those of the Gallican hierarchy who were his allies, of Bishop Saturninus and two of his prominent supporters, Bishops Ursacius of Singidunum and Valens of Mursa . About

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5642-460: The majority to accept Christianity fully by the 11th and 12th centuries. Patrick Leigh Fermor noted that the Maniots, isolated by mountains, were among the last Greeks to abandon the old religion, doing so towards the end of the 9th century: Sealed off from outside influences by their mountains, the semi- troglodytic Maniots themselves were the last of the Greeks to be converted. They only abandoned

5733-430: The narrow meaning of the word from a broad cultural sphere to a more specific religious grouping. However, there were many Christians and pagans alike who strongly objected to the evolution of the terminology. The influential Archbishop of Constantinople Gregory of Nazianzus , for example, took offence at imperial efforts to suppress Hellenic culture (especially concerning spoken and written Greek) and he openly criticized

5824-467: The observation that man in the pagan view is always defined by ethnicity , i.e., As a result, every pagan tradition is also a national tradition. Modern historians define paganism instead as the aggregate of cult acts, set within a civic rather than a national context, without a written creed or sense of orthodoxy . The developments in the religious thought of the far-flung Roman Empire during Late Antiquity need to be addressed separately, because this

5915-550: The old religion of Greece towards the end of the ninth century. It is surprising to remember that this peninsula of rock, so near the heart of the Levant from which Christianity springs, should have been baptised three whole centuries after the arrival of St. Augustine in far-away Kent . According to Constantine VII in De Administrando Imperio , the Maniots were referred to as 'Hellenes' and only fully Christianized in

6006-422: The pagans, before their competition with Christianity, had no religion at all in the sense in which that word is normally used today. They had no tradition of discourse about ritual or religious matters (apart from philosophical debate or antiquarian treatise), no organized system of beliefs to which they were asked to commit themselves, no authority-structure peculiar to the religious area, above all no commitment to

6097-558: The poet would comment on this same theme: "Thou hast conquered, O pale Galilean; the world has grown grey from thy breath; We have drunken of things Lethean, and fed on the fullness of death." Recently, the ethnocentric and moral absolutist origins of the common usage of the term pagan have been proposed, with scholar David Petts noting how, with particular reference to Christianity, "...local religions are defined in opposition to privileged 'world religions'; they become everything that world religions are not, rather than being explored as

6188-444: The priestly colleges (such as the College of Pontiffs or Epulones ) and cult practices more meaningful distinctions. Referring to paganism as a pre-Christian indigenous religion is equally untenable. Not all historical pagan traditions were pre-Christian or indigenous to their places of worship. Owing to the history of its nomenclature, paganism traditionally encompasses the collective pre- and non-Christian cultures in and around

6279-422: The recasting of Jesus the wandering rabbi into the image of Christ the Logos , the divine saviour, reflects the cult of Dionysus directly. They point to the symbolism of wine and the importance it held in the mythology surrounding both Dionysus and Jesus Christ; Wick argues that the use of wine symbolism in the Gospel of John , including the story of the Marriage at Cana at which Jesus turns water into wine,

6370-520: The restoration of Roman religious practices. In 1927, philosopher and esotericist Julius Evola founded the Gruppo di Ur in Rome, along with its journal Ur (1927–1928), involving figures like Arturo Reghini . In 1928, Evola published Imperialismo Pagano , advocating Italian political paganism to oppose the Lateran Pacts . The journal resumed in 1929 as Krur . A mysterious document published in Krur in 1929, attributed to orientalist Leone Caetani , suggested that Italy's World War I victory and

6461-420: The rise of fascism were influenced by Etruscan-Roman rites. The 1960s and 1970s saw a resurgence in neo-Druidism as well as the rise of modern Germanic paganism in the United States and in Iceland . In the 1970s, Wicca was notably influenced by feminism, leading to the creation of an eclectic, Goddess -worshipping movement known as Dianic Wicca . The 1979 publication of Margot Adler 's Drawing Down

6552-806: The rise of the Gruppo dei Dioscuri in cities like Rome, Naples, and Messina, which published a series of four booklets, including titles such as L'Impeto della vera cultura and Rivoluzione Tradizionale e Sovversione , before fading from public view ..The Evolian journal Arthos , founded in Genoa in 1972 by Renato del Ponte , expressed significant interest in Roman religion. In 1984, the Gruppo Arx revived Messina's Dioscuri activities, and Reghini's Pythagorean Association briefly resurfaced in Calabria and Sicily from 1984 to 1988, publishing Yghìeia . Other publications include

6643-403: The same time, Hilary wrote to Emperor Constantius II a remonstrance against the persecutions by which the Arians had sought to crush their opponents ( Ad Constantium Augustum liber primus , of which the most probable date is 355). Other historians refer to this first book to Constantius as the "Book Against Valens", of which only fragments are extant. His efforts did not succeed at first, for at

6734-629: The spread of Christianity—as indicated for example, by the use of Greek for the Epistles of Paul . In the first half of the 5th century, Greek was the standard language in which bishops communicated, and the Acta Conciliorum ("Acts of the Church Councils") were recorded originally in Greek and then translated into other languages. "Heathen" comes from Old English : hæðen (not Christian or Jewish); cf. Old Norse heiðinn . This meaning for

6825-562: The state, drawing inspiration from similar groups like YSEE in Greece. In 2023, Pietas participated in the ECER meeting, resulting in the signing of the Riga Declaration, which calls for the recognition of European ethnic religions. Public rituals, such as those celebrating the ancient festival of the Natale di Roma , have also resumed in recent years. The idea of practicing Roman religion in

6916-499: The term originated from Gothic haiþno ( gentile woman) being used to translate Hellene in Wulfila's Bible , the first translation of the Bible into a Germanic language . This may have been influenced by the Greek and Latin terminology of the time used for pagans. If so, it may be derived from Gothic haiþi (dwelling on the heath ). However, this is not attested . It may even be

7007-507: The various documents relating to the Arian controversy in Fragmenta historica . Some consider Hilary as the first Latin Christian hymn writer, because Jerome said Hilary produced a liber hymnorum . Three hymns are attributed to him, though none are indisputable. Hilary is the pre-eminent Latin writer of the 4th century (before Ambrose ). Augustine of Hippo called him "the illustrious doctor of

7098-545: The village is named. Pagan Paganism (from classical Latin pāgānus "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism , or ethnic religions other than Judaism. In the time of the Roman Empire, individuals fell into the pagan class either because they were increasingly rural and provincial relative to

7189-729: The word's usage as a reference to non-Christians pre-dates that period in history. Second, paganism within the Roman Empire centred on cities. The concept of an urban Christianity as opposed to a rural paganism would not have occurred to Romans during Early Christianity . Third, unlike words such as rusticitas , paganus had not yet fully acquired the meanings (of uncultured backwardness) used to explain why it would have been applied to pagans. Paganus more likely acquired its meaning in Christian nomenclature via Roman military jargon (see above). Early Christians adopted military motifs and saw themselves as Milites Christi (soldiers of Christ). A good example of Christians still using paganus in

7280-580: The work incomplete, no one knows whether Hilary originally commented on the whole Psalter. Now extant are the commentaries on Psalms 1, 2, 9, 13, 14, 51–69, 91, and 118–150. The third surviving exegetical writing by Hilary is the Tractatus mysteriorum , preserved in a single manuscript first published in 1887. Because Augustine cites part of the commentary on Romans as by "Sanctus Hilarius" it has been ascribed by various critics at different times to almost every known Hilary. Hilary's major theological work

7371-454: The works of Hilary, Watson summarizes Hilary's points: Hilary also attended several synods during his time in exile, including the council at Seleucia (359) which saw the triumph of the homoion party and the forbidding of all discussion of the divine substance. In 360, Hilary tried unsuccessfully to secure a personal audience with Constantius , as well as to address the council which met at Constantinople in 360. When this council ratified

7462-420: The years following fascism was largely driven by Julius Evola . By the late 1960s, a renewed "operational" interest in pagan Roman traditions emerged from youth circles around Evola, particularly concerning the experience of the Gruppo di Ur . Evola's writings incorporated concepts from outside classical Roman religion, such as Buddhism , Hinduism , sexual magic , and private ritual nudity . This period saw

7553-477: Was Bishop of Poitiers and a Doctor of the Church . He was sometimes referred to as the "Hammer of the Arians " ( Malleus Arianorum ) and the " Athanasius of the West". His name comes from the Latin word for happy or cheerful. In addition to his important work as bishop, Hilary was married and the father of Abra of Poitiers , a nun and saint who became known for her charity. Hilary was born at Poitiers either at

7644-452: Was conducted by total immersion. The building was badly damaged during the Visigoth occupation in the fifth century. A restoration was begun after Clovis I defeated Alaric II in 507 at the Battle of Vouillé , near Poitiers. This restoration included the repair of the upper parts of the walls of the cella , the addition of three apsidioles in the form of a transept and an apse , and

7735-822: Was dissolved in 1468 when Pope Paul II orderd the arrest and execution of some of the members, Pope Sixtus IV allowed Laetus to open the academy again until the Sack of Rome of the 1527. After the French Revolution , the French lawyer Gabriel André Aucler (mid 1700s–1815) adopted the name Quintus Nautius and sought to revive paganism , styling himself as its leader. He designed religious clothing and performed pagan rites at his home. In 1799, he published La Thréicie , presenting his religious views. His teachings were later analyzed by Gérard de Nerval in Les Illuminés (1852). Admiring ancient Greece and ancient Rome , Aucler supported

7826-488: Was generally used in a derogatory sense. The term pagan derives from Late Latin paganus , revived during the Renaissance . Itself deriving from classical Latin pagus which originally meant 'region delimited by markers', paganus had also come to mean 'of or relating to the countryside', 'country dweller', 'villager'; by extension, ' rustic ', 'unlearned', ' yokel ', ' bumpkin '; in Roman military jargon , 'non-combatant', 'civilian', 'unskilled soldier'. It

7917-598: Was given its present polygonal shape. It was around this time that baptism by immersion had been abandoned as a practice by the Catholic Church, and subsequently, the baptismal pool was filled in and replaced by baptismal fonts. The baptistery then became a parish church. From the twelfth to fourteenth century, the church was embellished by frescoes which are still visible today. They include representations of Christ's ascension, symbolic peacocks, horsemen with flowing cloaks, one of which represents Emperor Constantine, and

8008-743: Was intended to show Jesus as superior to Dionysus. The scene in The Bacchae wherein Dionysus appears before King Pentheus on charges of claiming divinity is compared to the New Testament scene of Jesus being interrogated by Pontius Pilate . Proto-Albanian speakers were Christianized under the Latin sphere of influence, specifically in the 4th century CE, as shown by the basic Christian terms in Albanian, which are of Latin origin and entered Proto-Albanian before

8099-445: Was known by some as the Ka'ba of Yemen, built and worshipped by polytheist tribes. Interest in reviving ancient Roman religious traditions can be traced to the Renaissance , with figures such as Gemistus Pletho and Julius Pomponius Laetus advocating for a revival, when Renaissance magic was practiced as a revival of Greco-Roman magic . Gemistus Plethon, who was from Mistras (near

8190-802: Was previously administered in the River Clain , which runs about a few hundred metres away. Despite the centuries of demolitions, additions, and other changes, the baptistery retains its original Latin character. The baptistery currently holds a small museum which includes many stone sarcophagi dating from the fifth to seventh centuries, many of which are vividly decorated with carved designs. It also includes remnants such as pieces of Roman columns, baptismal fonts, and other stone relics. 46°34′46″N 0°20′55″E  /  46.57944°N 0.34861°E  / 46.57944; 0.34861 Hilary of Poitiers Hilary of Poitiers ( Latin : Hilarius Pictaviensis ; c.  310  – c.  367 )

8281-642: Was the twelve books now known as De Trinitate . This was composed largely during his exile, though perhaps not completed until his return to Gaul in 360. Another important work is De synodis , written early in 359 in preparation for the councils of Ariminium and Seleucia. Various writings comprise Hilary's 'historical' works. These include the Liber II ad Constantium imperatorem , the Liber in Constantium inperatorem , Contra Arianos vel Auxentium Mediolanensem liber , and

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