Luciferians
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Luciferians describes two quite separate heterodox tendencies, one in opposition to Arianism, the other to the Roman Catholic Church.
Contents |
[edit] Followers of Lucifer Calaritanus
"Luciferians" described a schismatic group named after Lucifer Calaritanus, Bishop of Cagliari, Sardinia in the late 4th century. The movement was linked to the complex political machinations involving the emperor Constantius II and Pope Liberius. Lucifer was a staunch ultra-orthodox opponent of Arius, declared a heretic by the Catholic Church but whose movement, Arianism, became powerful for a brief time throughout the known world. The movement died out early in the following century, the followers being reconciled with the Catholic Church, now having disavowed Arianism. All that we know of Bishop Lucifer's views derive from the anti-Luciferian polemic of Jerome in the form of a dialogue, Altercatio Luciferiani et orthodoxi ("Altercation of the Luciferian and the orthodox").
[edit] Gnostic Luciferians
While "Gnostic Luciferian" can sometimes be found mentioned in older works (such as Eliphas Levi's Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie, first published in 1855) the term did not enter more popular usage until the early 2000s. Modern groups and individuals identifying themselves as "Gnostic Luciferian" often emphasize their understanding of the entity or Archetype titled "Lucifer" (from the Latin for "Light Bearer") as being separate from the usually synonymous entity titled "Satan" (from the Hebrew for "Adversary".) The orthodox view has associated Lucifer with "Satan before the fall", though, as Bishop Lucifer's name attests, Lucifer was not yet associated with "Satan" in the 4th century. Some classically-educated Free Masons and those inspired by their work used "luciferian" in the scholarly sense of "bringing enlightenment," invoking Prometheus who stole fire from the gods to bring to man. Pro-Catholic polemicists linked such Masonic usage with sects worshiping Lucifer, which have had persistent groups of followers since the Middle Ages.
