Theognostus ( grc-gre, Θεόγνωστος; c. 210 – c. 270) was a late 3rd century

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. George Thomas Stokes, ' Theognostus', in Wace (ed), ''A Dictionary of Christian Biography'', (Hendrickson), p. 1864. He is known from quotes by

Athanasius Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...

and Photios I of Constantinople.

Philip of Side Philip of Side or Philip Sidetes (''ca'' 380 - after 431), a historian of the early Christian church, was born at Side in Pamphylia. He wrote a Christian history of which fragments survive. For some detail he relied upon the well-known ''Historia E ...

says that he presided over the school of Alexandria after

Pierius Pierius was a Christian priest and probably head of the Catechetical School of Alexandria, conjointly with Achillas. He flourished while Theonas was bishop of Alexandria, and died at Rome after 309. The ''Roman Martyrology'' commemorates him on ...

(AD 265). Although a disciple of

Origen of Alexandria Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theo ...

no reference of him can be found by

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...

. The main textual point of reference is derived from

Works

He wrote a seven-volume work called ''Hypotyposes'', extant at the time of Photius' quotation. Some of the more notable quotations of book two appear Arian; the

Son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...

is spoken of as a creature, which is to say a created being. In book three his references to the

Spirit Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

are unorthodox and reminiscent of

Origen Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theo ...

. In book five he spoke of

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

s and

devils A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in many and various cultures and religious traditions. Devil or Devils may also refer to: * Satan * Devil in Christianity * Demon * Folk devil Art, entertainment, and media Film an ...

as embodied. In books six and seven he treated the

Incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...

in a more orthodox manner than book two, and

regarded him as a useful witness against Arianism. Under the influence of

Theognostus expounded on the trinity, divine redemption and the afterlife. His work was very much in line with the Christian

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

philosophy prevalent within the school of Alexandria at the time. Much of his theology would later be adopted by

Gregory of Nyssa Gregory of Nyssa, also known as Gregory Nyssen ( grc-gre, Γρηγόριος Νύσσης; c. 335 – c. 395), was Bishop of Nyssa in Cappadocia from 372 to 376 and from 378 until his death in 395. He is venerated as a saint in Catholicis ...

. The fragments of Theognostus are collected in Martin Joseph Routh's ''Reliquiae Sacrae'' 3:407–422. Translations into English can be found in the ''

Ante-Nicene Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...

'' (available at

WikiSource Wikisource is an online digital library of free-content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole and the name for each instance of that project (each instance usually re ...

). Most of the 2nd book was later published in 1902 by Franz Diekamp.

Exegetical writings

''Hypotypōseis:'' The seven books known in Greek as the "Outlines" a title given by Photios I of Constantinople is considered to be Theognostus' principal work. Themes include:Hist. Eccl., vii. 32. * Book I ''Creation'' * Book II ''The Divinity of Christ'' * Book III ''The Holy Spirit'' * Book IV ''Angels and Devils'' * Books VI & V ''The Divinity of God'' * Book VII ''A return to creation.''

Notes

References

* Ceillier, Remy. ''Histoire Générale des Auteurs Sacrés et Ecclesiastiques'' (General History of Sacred and Ecclesiastical Authors) 2:450. * Migne, Jacques Paul. ''

Patrologia Graeca The ''Patrologia Graeca'' (or ''Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca'') is an edited collection of writings by the Christian Church Fathers and various secular writers, in the Greek language. It consists of 161 volumes produced in 1857– ...

'' (Works of the Greek Fathers) 10:235–242. * Martin Joseph Routh'' Reliquiae Sacrae'' 2nd ed * Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 4. Edited by Philip Schaff. * The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Alexander Roberts Vol 6 (1885)

External links

Catholic Encyclopedia
* http://www.searchgodsword.org/his/ad/ecf/ant/theognostusofalexandria/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Theognostus, Alexandria 3rd-century writers Church Fathers Year of birth uncertain 270 deaths