Hypsistarians
Encyclopedia
Hypsistarians, i.e. worshippers of the Hypsistos , is a term appearing in documents dated about 200 BC to about AD 400, referring to various groups mostly in Asia Minor
(Cappadocia
, Bithynia
and Pontus
) and on the South Russian coasts of what is today known as the Black Sea
.
Some modern scholars identify the group, or groups, with God fearers, that is uncircumcised semi-proselyte
s to, and sympathizers with, Hellenistic Judaism
.
(Orat., xviii, 5) and the name Hypsistianoi in Gregory of Nyssa
(Contra Eunom., II), i. e. about A. D. 374, but a great number of votive tablets, inscriptions and oracles of Didymos
and Klaros establish beyond doubt that the cult of the Hypsistos (Hypsistos, with the addition of Theos 'god' or Zeus
or Attis
, but frequently without addition) as the sole God was widespread in the countries adjacent to the Bosphorus (cf. Acts 16:17, "these men are servants of the most high God" — oracle of the pythonissa at Philippi
).
Contemporary Hellenistic use of ὕψιστος (hýpsistos) as a religious term appears to be derived from and compatible with the term as it had much earlier appeared in the Septuagint. (Greek ύψίστος translating Hebrew elyon עליון English "highest".)
In the Septuagint the word "hypsisto-" is used more than fifty times as a title for Yhwh or in direct relation to him (most often in the Psalms, Daniel, Siracides). (Strong's Concordance wordcode #5310)
Thus an interpretation of "Hypsisto" and derivative terms that it defines a particular group is not supported by its already common use as a generic term in Septuagint Greek. Unless shown otherwise, all usages should be assumed to be the established common usage of the term. Many different groups speaking Greek used common Greek terms for God. Use of common terms only shows a common language. Using those common terms, it is speculative to interpret particular unions or mergers.
It seems probable that the native Cappadocian cult of Zeus Sabazios
was deliberately merged
in the cult of Jahve Sabaoth practised by the numerous and intellectually predominant Jewish colonies, and that associations (sodalicia, thiasoi) of strict monotheists were formed, who fraternized with the Jews, but considered themselves free from the Mosaic Law. The importance and exalted ideas of these associations can be gathered from the fact that when someone asked Apollo of Klaros whether the Hypsistos alone was without beginning and end, he answered: "He is the Lord of all, self-originated, self-produced, ruling all things in some ineffable way, encompassing the heavens, spreading out the earth, riding on the waves of the sea; mixing fire with water, soil with air and earth with fire; of winter, summer, autumn and spring, causing the changes in their season, leading all things towards the light and settling their fate in harmonious order."
The existence of these Hypsistarians must have been partially responsible for the astounding swiftness of the spread of Christianity in Asia Minor; yet not all of them accepted the new faith, and small communities of monotheists, neither Christians nor Jews, continued to exist, especially in Cappadocia. The father of Gregory of Nazianzus
belonged to such a sect in his youth, and they are described in his panegyric
written by his son. They rejected idols and non-Abrahamic sacrifices, and acknowledged the Creator (pantokrator) and the Most High, to whom however, in opposition to the Christians, they refused the title of "Father"; they had some customs in common with the Jews, the keeping of the Sabbath, the distinctions of food, but they rejected circumcision
.
Persius may have had Hypsistarians in view when he ridiculed such hybrid religionists in Satire v, 179–84, and Tertullian
seems to refer to them in "Ad nationes", I, xiii. The statement that Hypsistarians continued to exist till the ninth century, is based on a mistaken interpretation of Nicephorus Const., "Antirhet. adv. Const. Copr.", I, in Migne, PG, col. 209. Hypsistarians are probably referred to under the name Coelicoloe in a decree of the Emperors Honorius
and Theodosius II
(AD 408), in which their places of worship are transferred to the Catholics.
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
(Cappadocia
Cappadocia
Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...
, Bithynia
Bithynia
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
and Pontus
Pontus
Pontus or Pontos is a historical Greek designation for a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in modern-day northeastern Turkey. The name was applied to the coastal region in antiquity by the Greeks who colonized the area, and derived from the Greek name of the Black Sea: Πόντος...
) and on the South Russian coasts of what is today known as the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
.
Some modern scholars identify the group, or groups, with God fearers, that is uncircumcised semi-proselyte
Proselyte
The biblical term "Proselyte", derives from the Koine Greek προσήλυτος/proselytos, as used in the Septuagint for "stranger", i.e. a "newcomer to Israel"; a "sojourner in the land", and in the New Testament for a convert to Judaism from Paganism...
s to, and sympathizers with, Hellenistic Judaism
Hellenistic Judaism
Hellenistic Judaism was a movement which existed in the Jewish diaspora that sought to establish a Hebraic-Jewish religious tradition within the culture and language of Hellenism...
.
History
The names Hypsianistai, Hypsianoi first occur in Gregory of NazianzusGregory of Nazianzus
Gregory of Nazianzus was a 4th-century Archbishop of Constantinople. He is widely considered the most accomplished rhetorical stylist of the patristic age...
(Orat., xviii, 5) and the name Hypsistianoi in Gregory of Nyssa
Gregory of Nyssa
St. Gregory of Nyssa was a Christian bishop and saint. He was a younger brother of Basil the Great and a good friend of Gregory of Nazianzus. His significance has long been recognized in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Catholic and Roman Catholic branches of Christianity...
(Contra Eunom., II), i. e. about A. D. 374, but a great number of votive tablets, inscriptions and oracles of Didymos
Didymos
Didymos was an ancient Greek music theorist in the last century before Christ. He was a predecessor of Ptolemy at the library at Alexandria.- Theory :We know of his theory only indirectly from the works of Porphyry and Ptolemy...
and Klaros establish beyond doubt that the cult of the Hypsistos (Hypsistos, with the addition of Theos 'god' or Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
or Attis
Attis
Attis was the consort of Cybele in Phrygian and Greek mythology. His priests were eunuchs, as explained by origin myths pertaining to Attis and castration...
, but frequently without addition) as the sole God was widespread in the countries adjacent to the Bosphorus (cf. Acts 16:17, "these men are servants of the most high God" — oracle of the pythonissa at Philippi
Philippi
Philippi was a city in eastern Macedonia, established by Philip II in 356 BC and abandoned in the 14th century after the Ottoman conquest...
).
Contemporary Hellenistic use of ὕψιστος (hýpsistos) as a religious term appears to be derived from and compatible with the term as it had much earlier appeared in the Septuagint. (Greek ύψίστος translating Hebrew elyon עליון English "highest".)
In the Septuagint the word "hypsisto-" is used more than fifty times as a title for Yhwh or in direct relation to him (most often in the Psalms, Daniel, Siracides). (Strong's Concordance wordcode #5310)
Thus an interpretation of "Hypsisto" and derivative terms that it defines a particular group is not supported by its already common use as a generic term in Septuagint Greek. Unless shown otherwise, all usages should be assumed to be the established common usage of the term. Many different groups speaking Greek used common Greek terms for God. Use of common terms only shows a common language. Using those common terms, it is speculative to interpret particular unions or mergers.
It seems probable that the native Cappadocian cult of Zeus Sabazios
Sabazios
Sabazios is the nomadic horseman and sky father god of the Phrygians and Thracians. In Indo-European languages, such as Phrygian, the -zios element in his name derives from dyeus, the common precursor of Latin deus and Greek Zeus...
was deliberately merged
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
in the cult of Jahve Sabaoth practised by the numerous and intellectually predominant Jewish colonies, and that associations (sodalicia, thiasoi) of strict monotheists were formed, who fraternized with the Jews, but considered themselves free from the Mosaic Law. The importance and exalted ideas of these associations can be gathered from the fact that when someone asked Apollo of Klaros whether the Hypsistos alone was without beginning and end, he answered: "He is the Lord of all, self-originated, self-produced, ruling all things in some ineffable way, encompassing the heavens, spreading out the earth, riding on the waves of the sea; mixing fire with water, soil with air and earth with fire; of winter, summer, autumn and spring, causing the changes in their season, leading all things towards the light and settling their fate in harmonious order."
The existence of these Hypsistarians must have been partially responsible for the astounding swiftness of the spread of Christianity in Asia Minor; yet not all of them accepted the new faith, and small communities of monotheists, neither Christians nor Jews, continued to exist, especially in Cappadocia. The father of Gregory of Nazianzus
Gregory of Nazianzus
Gregory of Nazianzus was a 4th-century Archbishop of Constantinople. He is widely considered the most accomplished rhetorical stylist of the patristic age...
belonged to such a sect in his youth, and they are described in his panegyric
Panegyric
A panegyric is a formal public speech, or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing, a generally highly studied and discriminating eulogy, not expected to be critical. It is derived from the Greek πανηγυρικός meaning "a speech fit for a general assembly"...
written by his son. They rejected idols and non-Abrahamic sacrifices, and acknowledged the Creator (pantokrator) and the Most High, to whom however, in opposition to the Christians, they refused the title of "Father"; they had some customs in common with the Jews, the keeping of the Sabbath, the distinctions of food, but they rejected circumcision
Circumcision
Male circumcision is the surgical removal of some or all of the foreskin from the penis. The word "circumcision" comes from Latin and ....
.
Persius may have had Hypsistarians in view when he ridiculed such hybrid religionists in Satire v, 179–84, and Tertullian
Tertullian
Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicised as Tertullian , was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He is the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of Latin Christian literature. He also was a notable early Christian apologist and...
seems to refer to them in "Ad nationes", I, xiii. The statement that Hypsistarians continued to exist till the ninth century, is based on a mistaken interpretation of Nicephorus Const., "Antirhet. adv. Const. Copr.", I, in Migne, PG, col. 209. Hypsistarians are probably referred to under the name Coelicoloe in a decree of the Emperors Honorius
Honorius (emperor)
Honorius , was Western Roman Emperor from 395 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of the eastern emperor Arcadius....
and Theodosius II
Theodosius II
Theodosius II , commonly surnamed Theodosius the Younger, or Theodosius the Calligrapher, was Byzantine Emperor from 408 to 450. He is mostly known for promulgating the Theodosian law code, and for the construction of the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople...
(AD 408), in which their places of worship are transferred to the Catholics.
Mention by Goethe
After describing his difficulties with mainstream religion, Goethe laments that- ...I have found no confession of faith to which I could ally myself without reservation. Now in my old age, however, I have learned of a sect, the Hypsistarians, who, hemmed in between heathens, Jews and Christians, declared that they would treasure, admire, and honour the best, the most perfect that might come to their knowledge, and inasmuch as it must have a close connection to the Godhead, pay it reverence. A joyous light thus beamed at me suddenly out of a dark age, for I had the feeling that all my life I had been aspiring to qualify as a Hypsistarian. That, however, is no small task, for how does one, in the limitations of one's individuality, come to know what is most excellent?
Sources
- Boerner, Peter. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1832/1982: A Biographical Essay. Bonn: Inter Nationes, 1981.