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St. Michael the Archangel in Late Antiquity Christopher West University of Colorado at Boulder, [email protected]

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St. Michael the Archangel in Late Antiquity Christopher West University of Colorado at Boulder, Christophertmwest@Gmail.Com View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by CU Scholar Institutional Repository University of Colorado, Boulder CU Scholar Undergraduate Honors Theses Honors Program Fall 2014 St. Michael the Archangel in Late Antiquity Christopher West University of Colorado at Boulder, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholar.colorado.edu/honr_theses Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, History of Religion Commons, and the Medieval History Commons Recommended Citation West, Christopher, "St. Michael the Archangel in Late Antiquity" (2014). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 737. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Honors Program at CU Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of CU Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Christopher West Department of Classics University of Colorado at Boulder November 4, 2014 Primary Thesis Advisor Noel Lenski, Department of Classics Honors Council Representative Sarah James, Department of Classics Committee Members Scott Bruce, Department of History Anne Lester, Department of History CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER I: Michael and Angels in Biblical Scripture ............................................................... 5 CHAPTER II: Michael and Angels in Patristic Doctrine ............................................................. 24 CHAPTER III: Michael’s Cult in the Greek East ......................................................................... 49 CHAPTER IV: Greek East to Latin West..................................................................................... 79 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 104 ABSTRACT This study examines the late ancient cult of St. Michael the Archangel, focusing on its emergence in the eastern Roman Empire during the closing centuries of antiquity and ensuing transfer into the western Mediterranean world by the early medieval period. Chapter I surveys portrayals of angels and Michael in the biblical canon and reviews basic patristic interpretations of these scriptural sources. Chapter II reconstructs intertwined fourth-century Christological and angelological doctrinal controversies, the resolution of which established fundamental ontological and cosmological understandings about angels, including Michael, on literary planes of Christian doctrine. Chapter III recounts the blossoming of imperially sanctioned Michaeline veneration within cultic and ritual settings throughout the late ancient eastern empire. Finally, Chapter IV explores the gradual spread of the cult of St. Michael the Archangel from Greek East to Latin West over the course of the fifth, sixth, and seventh centuries. Together, these chapters argue that by the closing centuries of Late Antiquity the tense religious environment of the eastern Roman Empire had forged Michael’s nascent cult into a doctrinally elucidated and imperially sanctioned religious system equipped for “export” to the western Mediterranean. Subsequently, over the course of the fifth, sixth, and seventh centuries the eastern cult of the Archangel was successfully introduced into the Latin West. Therefore, the vibrant setting of the late ancient Greek East proved to be the crucible of St. Michael’s later efflorescence as a figure of sanctioned veneration in the cultic and liturgical practices of the Roman Church in Western Europe. INTRODUCTION A late ancient hagiography composed in Greek tells the story of a hermit who lived at a shrine in Anatolia. There, heralded by a pillar of bright flame searing upwards from earth into the heavens, Michael the Archangel appeared to him. The Archangel made a promise: All who flee to this place in faith and in fear, calling upon the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and Michael the Arxistrategos, swearing an oath by my name and the name of God, will not depart in despair, but instead the grace of God and my power will overshadow this place.1 A few centuries later Michael showed himself again, this time far to the west across the waters of the Mediterranean in Italy. A Latin hagiography describes the intent of his coming: Lo! I am Michael the Archangel, who stands always in sight of the Lord. And undertaking to protect this place and the people of this land, I resolved to demonstrate by this sign that I am the watcher and guardian of this place and all things which are done here.2 After Michael’s appearance the Latin hagiography reports, “When the revelation was told and made known to the citizens they established the custom of praying there to God and St. Michael.”3 By the end of antiquity, the Archangel had thus augured his presence in both Greek East and Latin West, separate spheres of a far-flung Mediterranean world, commanding devotees in each who entreated his character. What processes precipitated these expressions of religious faith? 1 M. Bonnet, ed., Narratio de miraculo a Michaele Archangelo Chonis patrat (Paris, 1890). πᾶς ὅστις καταφύγῃ ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τούτῳ ἐν πίστει καὶ φόβῳ ἐπικαλούμενος πατέρα καὶ υἱὸν καὶ ἅγιον πνεῦμα καὶ Μιχαὴλ τὸν ἀρχιστράτηγον, μὰ τὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ὄνομα καὶ τὸ ἐμόν, οὐ μὴ ἐξέλθῃ λυπούμενος. ἡ δὲ χάρις τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἡ δύναμίς μου ἔσται ἐπισκιάζουσα ἐνταῦθα. 2 Richard Johnson, ed., Liber de apparitione sancti Michaelis in monte Gargano, printed in St. Michael the Archangel in Medieval English Legend, (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2005), 111. Ego enim sum Michaelus archangelus, qui in conspectu Domini semper adsisto. Locumque hunc in terra incolasque servare instituens, hoc volui probare inditio omnium quae ibi geruntur ipsiusque loci esse inspectorem atque custodem. 3 Johnson, Liber de apparitione. Hac revelatione conperta, consuetudinem fecerunt cives hic Dominum sanctumque deposcere Michaelem. | 4 This study examines the late ancient cult of St. Michael the Archangel, focusing on its emergence in the eastern Roman Empire during the closing centuries of antiquity and ensuing transfer into the western Mediterranean world by the early medieval period. Chapter I surveys portrayals of angels and Michael in the biblical canon and reviews basic patristic interpretations of these scriptural sources. Chapter II reconstructs intertwined fourth-century Christological and angelological doctrinal controversies, the resolution of which established fundamental ontological and cosmological understandings about angels, including Michael, on literary planes of Christian doctrine. Chapter III recounts the blossoming of imperially sanctioned Michaeline veneration within cultic and ritual settings throughout the late ancient eastern empire. Finally, Chapter IV explores the gradual spread of the cult of St. Michael the Archangel from Greek East to Latin West over the course of the fifth, sixth, and seventh centuries. Together, these chapters reveal that by the closing centuries of Late Antiquity the tense religious environment of the eastern Roman Empire had forged Michael’s nascent cult into a doctrinally elucidated and imperially sanctioned religious system equipped for “export” to the western Mediterranean. Subsequently, over the course of the fifth, sixth, and seventh centuries the eastern cult of the Archangel was successfully introduced into the Latin West. Therefore, the vibrant setting of the late ancient Greek East proved to be the crucible of St. Michael’s later efflorescence as a figure of sanctioned veneration in the cultic and liturgical practices of the Roman Church in Western Europe. CHAPTER I Michael and Angels in Biblical Scripture Portrayals of Michael and angels in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament constituted essential antecedents for the development of the Archangel’s character in late ancient Christianity. Although mentions of Michael in the biblical canon prove relatively sparse (his name appears only in brief passages from Daniel, Revelation, and Jude) the coupling of these portrayals with numerous canonical accounts involving anonymous angels provided late ancient Christians with ample scriptural sources for determining the nature of the Archangel’s character on planes of both literary doctrine and cultic ritual practice. As we shall see throughout this study, churchmen consistently depended upon scriptural material as they engaged various passages of an increasingly authoritative biblical canon to craft enduring conceptions about angels and Michael over the course of Late Antiquity.1 Moreover, because the raw biblical canon preserved dramatic ambiguities in its portrayals of angels, patristic churchmen derived competing, and oftentimes even conflicting, understandings about angels from scripture as they formulated ideas in response to the opposing doctrines of their theological rivals. Within the context of the heated doctrinal feuds that racked late ancient Christianity, such conflicting interpretations usually centered upon disparate understandings about the nature of the relationship between angels and Christ: some Christian sects associated Christ with angels, whereas others emphasized the Son’s inherent supremacy 1 Of course, the set of texts known today as “the Bible” was not a universally accepted, neatly packaged canon throughout much of Late Antiquity. The canonicity of
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