Natale Benazzi
A Brief History of Heresies
(I-VIII secolo)
1st edition March 2026
Series
STORIA PER TUTTI
Size 12 x 19 cm
Also available in eBook format
Number of pages 208
CDU
26H 11
ISBN/EAN
9788892249998
A Brief History of Heresies
Heresies – positions at odds with orthodoxy and openly condemned by the Church – first appeared in history as early as the first century and, since then, to varying degrees, have played a role in shaping Catholic theology, influencing reflections within the Church and sometimes initiating – or accelerating – processes of discernment regarding doctrine (particularly concerning dogmas). It was precisely thanks to the impetus provided by heretical movements that spread throughout the Roman Empire (both Western and Eastern) in the first millennium AD that the Catholic Church addressed, and defined the orthodox interpretation of, issues such as the human and divine nature of Christ, the relationship with Jewish Law, the Trinity, the relationship with sacred images, and the true substance of the Eucharist. This volume reconstructs the heresies of the early centuries with the aim of understanding them as religious, social and cultural phenomena arising from real tensions within Christianity. Simon Magus, Valentinus, Arius, Mani; and also the Sethites, the ‘Renunciants’, the Fibionites, the Adoptionists: these are just some of the names that populate the diverse world of heresies and which feature in these pages.