Agapius (or Agapios) was a philosopher associated with

Manichaeism Manichaeism (; in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian Empire, Parthian ...

. He is believed to have lived in the fourth or fifth century.Obolensky, Dimitri. ''The Bogomils: a Study in Balkan Neo-Manichaeism''. Pages 25-26. Anthony C. Hall, 1972 (reprint)

Identity

He is chiefly known for being mentioned in the Bibliotheca, a work by

Photius Photios I ( el, Φώτιος, ''Phōtios''; c. 810/820 – 6 February 893), also spelled PhotiusFr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., & Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Materia ...

, the ninth-century

Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...

. He is listed by Photius, as well as Peter of Sicily, as being among the twelve disciples of

Mani Mani may refer to: Geography * Maní, Casanare, a town and municipality in Casanare Department, Colombia * Mani, Chad, a town and sub-prefecture in Chad * Mani, Evros, a village in northeastern Greece * Mani, Karnataka, a village in Dakshi ...

.Schneemelcher, Wilhelm & Robert McLachlan Wilson. ''New Testament Apocrypha: Writings Relating to the Apostles Apocalypses and Related Subjects.'' Page 91. John Knox Press, 2003. However, in earlier sixth-century works, such as the abjuration formula of

Zacharias of Mytilene Zacharias of Mytilene (c. 465, Gaza – after 536), also known as Zacharias Scholasticus or Zacharias Rhetor, was a bishop and ecclesiastical historian. Life The life of Zacharias of Mytilene can be reconstructed only from a few scattered repo ...

and the handbook on abjuration of heresies by Presbyter

Timothy of Constantinople Timothy of Constantinople (fl. c. 600/700) was a Chalcedonian Christian heresiologist and presbyter of the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. He wrote a treatise in Greek on Christian heresies from a Chalcedonian perspective, ''On Those ...

, he is not listed as a Manichean but merely as the author of a work entitled ''the Heptalogue'' (''Heptalogus'').Lieu, Samuel N.C. ''Manichaeism in the Later Roman Empire and Medieval China: a Historical Survey''. Pages 106-107. Manchester University Press, 1985. Photius also describes Agapius as challenging the teachings of Eunomius, who, according to Samuel N.C. Lieu, may be identified as

Eunomius of Cyzicus Eunomius ( el, Εὐνόμιος Κυζίκου) (died c. 393), one of the leaders of the extreme or "anomoean" Arians, who are sometimes accordingly called Eunomians, was born at Dacora in Cappadocia or at Corniaspa in Pontus. early in th ...

, the

Arian Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...

bishop of

Cyzicus Cyzicus (; grc, Κύζικος ''Kúzikos''; ota, آیدینجق, ''Aydıncıḳ'') was an ancient Greek town in Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peni ...

Mysia Mysia (UK , US or ; el, Μυσία; lat, Mysia; tr, Misya) was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor (Anatolia, Asian part of modern Turkey). It was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on the ...

. Agapius, however, could not have both been a disciple of Mani, who died in 276, and have lived long enough to write against

, who began as bishop in 360.Smith, Henry & Henry Wace. ''A Dictionary of Christian Biography, Literature, Sects and Doctrines'', Vol. I. Page 58. John Murray, 1877.

Writings

Photius described reading an unidentified work, possibly ''the Heptalogue'', by Agapius that contained "23 fables and 102 other sections", where Agapius feigns his own Christianity but reveals himself as an "enemy" of Christ. Agapius dedicated his work of twenty-three chapters to his female fellow philosopher Urania. Photius summarizes Agapius' apparently Manichaean teachings as follows: Agapius, however, appears to have also endorsed ideas unrelated to Manichaeism, such as Orthodox Christian concepts like "the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Baptism, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ, the Resurrection of the Dead and the Last Judgment." Photius claims Agapius was able to do so by "altering and translating almost all the terms of piety and of the Christian religion into other meanings..." Photius mentions that Agapius made use of apocryphal Christian literature, especially the

Acts of Andrew The Acts of Andrew (), is the earliest testimony of the acts and miracles of the Apostle Andrew. The surviving version is alluded to in a 3rd-century work, the Coptic ''Manichaean Psalter'', providing a , according to its editors, M. R. James (1 ...

, and pagan philosophy in his arguments: Agapius is also described as an author of hymns.

References

{{Manichaeism footer Manichaeans