Galen and the Theodotians: Embryology and Adoptionism in the Christian Schools of Rome
Date
2017-01
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Peeters Publishers
Abstract
This article disputes two common points made in previous interpretations of the claim that Galen was worshipped by the Theodotians, a group of Christians contemporary with him at Rome. First, the claim is a probable sign of the Theodotians' interest in medical subjects, contrary to suggestions that they were only interested in Galen's works on logic and philosophy. The Theodotians had good reason to be interested in the research of Galen and other doctors, particularly in the area of embryology, a topic that held an underappreciated significance in Christological debates of the second and third centuries. Second, there is no reason to believe that Galen had any personal connection with the Theodotians, much less that he played a significant role in the development of their program of study, as has often been claimed. Galen had no patience for amateur scholars from non-elite backgrounds, and he would thus have had nothing to do with the banausic Theodotians, whose founder was a leather-worker by profession.
Description
Keywords
Galen, Embryology, Hippolytus of Rome, Epiphanius
Citation
Secord, J. (2017). Galen and the Theodotians: Embryology and Adoptionism in the Christian Schools of Rome. "Studia Patristica", LXXXI, 51-63.