Restitutio 501 Early Church History 19: Arian Kingdoms from Ulfilas to Clovis
This is part 19 of the Early Church History class.
Even though the Roman Empire chose Nicene Christianity as it's "orthodoxy," subordinationist Christianity continued to exist, especially outside among the Germanic tribes. In this episode, you'll learn about Ulfilas the Missionary to the Goths who not only brought Christianity to these "barbarians," but also made them an alphabet and translated most of the bible into Gothic. Next, we'll briefly survey the major Germanic tribes, including the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Burgundians, Lombards, and finally the Franks. This little known chapter of history when the Arian kingdoms took over the Roman Empire had a massive effects on Europe and North Africa for centuries to come.
Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP9T3V1AWIs&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2lk3B0I7Pa77hfwKJm1SRI&index=19&t=27s&pp=iAQB
—— Links ——
- See also 494 Early Church History 12: Arius and Alexander of Alexandria and 423 One God 13: The Fourth Century
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—— Notes ——
Ulfilas, Missionary to the Goths
- 340 Subordinationist bishops ordained Ulfilas bishop to the Visigoths
- 341-347 lived with the Goths and preached to them
- Ulfilas translated the Bible into Gothic.
- Rule of Faith: “I believe in one God the Father, alone ingenerate and invisible, and in his only-begotten Son, our Lord and God, artificer and maker of the whole creation, who has nobody like him–therefore there is one God the Father of all who is also God of our God–and in one Holy Spirit, the power which illuminates and sanctifies, as Christ said after the resurrection to his apostles, and he (i.e. the Spirit) is not God nor our God, but the minister of Christ ... subordinate and obedient in all things to the Son, and the Son subordinate and obedient in all things to his God and Father…”[1]
Huns
- The Huns were a nomadic confederation of Mongolian tribes who began entering Europe in the fourth century.
- Ammianus Marcellinus described them as utter savages who never bathed or changed their clothes and lived on their horses.
- Atilla the Hun (r. 434-453) attacked Persia, the Balkans, Constantinople, Gaul, and Italy, terrifying many within the Roman Empire (both East and West).
Visigoths
- Eudoxius, B