Edward Gibbon and Paulicianism: A Rupture in Church Historiography

Abstract

Until the Enlightenment, the prevailing opinion about the Paulicians was that they were the resurrection of Manichaeism. However, with the Enlightenment, an alternative historiography to this traditional portrayal was developed in the context of criticism of the church. Edward Gibbon, one of the greatest historians England ever produced, had a seminal influence on Protestant historiography when he surprisingly allocated a separate chapter to the Paulicians in his famous history. Gibbon portrayed the Paulicians as the last witnesses of the early Christians described in Acts and therefore as victims of spiritual persecution by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. His conclusions were based on charges attributed to the Paulicians by Byzantine historians, such as their rejection of the established Church, her clergy, and the sacraments that developed around them, as well as their more liberal attitude towards the Bible, their rejection of icons, the veneration of the cross, saints, and relics. Due to the proximity of these claims to Protestantism, Gibbon argued that the Paulicians were the forefathers of the Reformation in Europe in the sixteenth century, which caused a great uproar later and can be traced back historically, theologically, and geographically.

Keywords

• Paulicianism
• Protestantism
• Papacy
• Heresy
• The Enlightenment.

Edward Gibbon ve Pavlikanlık: Kilise Tarihyazımında Bir Kırılma

Abstract

Kilise tarihinin en az göze çarpan hareketlerinden biri olan Pavlikanlar hakkında Aydınlanma Dönemine kadar hâkim olan kanaat, onların Maniheizm'in yeniden dirilişi olduğu yönündeydi. Ancak Aydınlanma ile birlikte Kilise'ye yöneltilen eleştiriler bağlamında bu geleneksel tasvire alternatif bir tarih yazımı geliştirildi. İngiltere'nin yetiştirdiği en büyük tarihçilerden biri olan Edward Gibbon meşhur tarihinde Pavlikanlara şaşırtıcı bir şekilde ayrı bir bölüm tahsis etmesiyle Protestan tarihyazımı üzerinde belirleyici bir etkiye sahip oldu. Gibbon Pavlikanları, Elçilerin İşleri'nde anlatılan ilk Hıristiyanların son tanıkları ve bu sebeple de Katolik ve Ortodoks Kiliselerinin ruhani zulmünün kurbanları olarak tasvir etmiştir. Bu konudaki kanaatleri, Pavlikanlara isnat edilen, yerleşik Kilisenin, ruhban sınıfının ve onların çevresinde gelişen sakramentlerin reddedilmesi, Kutsal Kitap karşısında daha serbest bir tutum takınmaları, ikonaları reddetmeleri, haça, azizlere ve kutsal emanetlere hürmet etmemeleri gibi Bizans tarihçilerinin ithamlarına dayanmaktadır. Bu iddiaların Protestanlık ile olan yakınlığı nedeniyle Gibbon, kendisinden sonra büyük bir infiale neden olan, on altıncı yüzyılda Avrupa'da meydana gelmiş olan Reformasyon'un tarihsel, teolojik ve coğrafi olarak da geriye doğru takip edilebilecek ilk atalarının Pavlikanlar olduğunu ileri sürmüştür.

Keywords

• Pavlikanlık
• Protestanlık
• Papalık
• Sapkınlık
• Aydınlanma.

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