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Libellus De Fide Seu Duodecim Anathematismi [Incertus]

Rufinus Aquileiensis · ogl-pl

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machine-draft · no human review 3 passages · 640 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

The 'Libellus De Fide Seu Duodecim Anathematismi' is a short Latin treatise attributed to Rufinus of Aquileia (c. 345–411), though its authorship is uncertain and contested. The work survives in a single manuscript tradition, often appended to Rufinus' translations of Origen. Despite its title promising twelve anathemas, the text contains only two, suggesting it may be incomplete or the title is conventional. The anathemas employ standard conciliar condemnation formulas to denounce heretical positions, reflecting a pseudo-synodal character. The work was later cited in medieval florilegia and canon law collections as a concise statement of anti-heretical orthodoxy, though never formally adopted by a council. Its dating is speculative, usually placed in the late 4th or early 5th century based on theological content and association with Rufinus.

The 'Libellus De Fide' matters as a witness to late antique Latin theological polemic, particularly the Origenist controversies. Its pseudo-synodal structure and use of anathemas prefigure later medieval conciliar decrees. The work's uncertain attribution to Rufinus highlights the complexities of authorship in early Christian literature. Its citation in medieval florilegia and canon law collections demonstrates its lasting influence as a concise statement of anti-heretical orthodoxy, despite never being formally adopted by a council.

Historical context

The work is rooted in the late 4th to early 5th century Latin Christian tradition, likely produced in the Western Roman Empire, possibly in Aquileia or Rome. It reflects the theological controversies of the period, particularly the Origenist disputes and the rise of Pelagianism. The text's association with Rufinus, a translator and theologian who defended Origen, places it within the broader anti-Origenist polemics. The work's pseudo-synodal form, using 'anathema sint' formulas, mimics conciliar decrees, indicating its intended use as a tool for doctrinal enforcement. Its survival in a single manuscript tradition, often appended to Origen's translations, suggests limited circulation. The text's later citation in medieval florilegia and canon law collections shows its enduring utility as a concise statement of orthodoxy, though its authenticity was doubted even in antiquity. The work's incomplete state (only two anathemas) raises questions about its original form and purpose.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

18 commentary units 5 background4 scripture3 structure2 term2 caution2 reception 0 derived notes 8 open questions 3 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • coverageNo English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed.
  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: treatise in Latin; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 3 narrative.
  • sourceSource edition: ogl-pl — Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
tmp398.tmp398.opp-lat1:1 · narrativemedium
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LIBELLUS DE FIDE a SEU DUODECIM ANATHEMATISMI SUB RUFINI NOMINE. INCIPIT PROPTER FIDEM. Propter venerationem Sanctorum locorum, Jerosolymam et Bethlehem venimus; et intelleximus, plurimos fratres io nobis scandalizari, eo quod audierunt, nos multa haeretica, et quae contra fidem Ecclesiae veniunt, profiteri, itaque. Deo praesente, testamur, quae infra scripta sunt, nos ex parte sensisse per err(??)r(??)m, et praesenti tempore condemnare: alia autem, in quibus falso infamamur, nec dixisse, nec dicere, et contraria, quae in aliis suspicamur, posuisse atque damnasse. I. Qui dicunt, Diabolo, et Daemonibus, et impiis, hoc est, Gentibus, Judaeis, Samaritanis, omnibusque haereticis (exceptis Christianis, qui rectam fidem sequuntur, et sunt peccatores) poenas eorum uon esse perpetuas, anathema sint. II. Qui dicunt, quemvis sanctum virum, et prophetalem, et apostolicum sine Dei auxilio posse esse perfectum, anathema sint.
English
Little Book on the Faith, or the Twelve Anathemas under the Name of Rufinus. Here Begins: On Account of the Faith. On account of the veneration of the holy places, we came to Jerusalem and Bethlehem; and we understood that very many brothers are scandalized against us, because they have heard that we profess many heretical things, and things which come against the faith of the Church. Therefore, with God present, we testify that the things written below we have in part held through error, and at the present time condemn; other things, however, in which we are falsely defamed, we have neither said nor do say, and we have set down and condemned the contrary things which we suspect in others. I. Those who say that the punishments of the Devil, and of the Demons, and of the impious, that is, of the Gentiles, Jews, Samaritans, and all heretics (excepting Christians who follow the right faith and are sinners) are not perpetual, let them be anathema. II. Those who say that any holy man, whether prophetic or apostolic, can be perfect without the help of God, let them be anathema.
tmp398.tmp398.opp-lat1:2 · narrativemedium
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III. Qui dicunt, Christum Filium Dei, Deum Verbum, ia hominem esse mutatum, ita Deus Verbum esse desierit; aut hominem purum natum ex Maria secundum Paulum Samosatenum, et Photinum; et merito atque virtutibus in Dei vocabulum profecisse, anathema sint. IV. Qui dicunt, illud quod scriptum est. De die, anno et hora nesciunt neque Angeli, neque Filius (Marc. 13-32.), juxta blasphemias Arianorum, et non propter dispensationem carnis assumtae, anathema sint. V. Qui dicunt, Patrem, Filium, et Spiritum Sanctum, hoc est, Sanctam Trinitatem, diversis inter se esse substantiae, et non unius potestatis atque naturae, anathema sint. VI. Qui dicunt, quolibet modo, et quolibet sensu Filium Patrem non videre, anathema sint. VII. Qui dicunt, animas nostras ex Ange(??)orum fastigio in haec corpora corruisse, propter quaedam antiqua peccata, et in isto mundo agere poenitentiam, assumentes illa testimonia, Priusquam humiliarer ego peccavi (Psal. 118. (??)7.). Et, Educ de carcere animam meam (Psal. 141.8.), et cetera his similia, anathema sint.
English
III. Those who say that Christ, the Son of God, God the Word, was changed into a man, so that God the Word ceased to be; or that he was a mere man born of Mary, according to Paul of Samosata and Photinus, and that he advanced into the name of God by merit and virtues, let them be anathema. IV. Those who say that which is written, "Of the day, the year, and the hour, neither the Angels nor the Son know" (Mark 13:32), according to the blasphemies of the Arians, and not on account of the economy of the assumed flesh, let them be anathema. V. Those who say that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, that is, the Holy Trinity, are of different substances among themselves, and not of one power and nature, let them be anathema. VI. Those who say, in any manner and in any sense, that the Son does not see the Father, let them be anathema. VII. Those who say that our souls have fallen from the height of the Angels into these bodies on account of certain ancient sins, and that in this world they perform penance, adducing those testimonies, "Before I was humbled, I sinned" (Psalm 118:7?), and "Bring my soul out of prison" (Psalm 141:8), and other such things, let them be anathema.
tmp398.tmp398.opp-lat1:3 · narrativehigh
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VIII. Qui dicunt, Dominum et Salvatorem nostrum non in nostra venisse, sed divers sublimiorisque fu(??)sse substantae, sive caelestis, et non in totum sumsisse quod de Maria est, vel animam hominis non habuisse, vel mentem absque peccato, anathema sint. IX. Qui dicunt, post multa secula et tempora, quae non possumus humana cogitatione comprehendere, restitutionem fieri omnium in antiquam statum, et universa ad sua redire principia, anathema sint. X. Qui dicunt, post resurrectionem non eadem habere nos corpora, sed aerea quaedam et spiritalia, et non ejusdem naturae cujus in sepulchro conditi sumus, licet incorruptae atque immortalis, anathema sint. XI. Qui dicunt, post resurrectionis finem, et post multa tempora aboliri corpora, et reverti in usum, ut sine corporibus tantum animae simus, quod prius fu(??)mus, anathema sint. XII. Qui dicunt, animas prius fuisse quam natae sunt, et non cum corpore secundum exemplum primi hominis a Deo quotidie fieri, anathema sint. FINIT DE FIDE, DE NOMINE RUFINI.
English
VIII. Those who say that our Lord and Savior did not come in our nature, but was of a different and higher substance, whether celestial, and did not fully assume that which is from Mary, or did not have a human soul, or a mind without sin, let them be anathema. IX. Those who say that after many ages and times, which we cannot comprehend with human thought, there will be a restoration of all things to their ancient state, and that all things will return to their beginnings, let them be anathema. X. Those who say that after the resurrection we will not have the same bodies, but certain aerial and spiritual ones, and not of the same nature as those in which we are buried, even if incorrupt and immortal, let them be anathema. XI. Those who say that after the end of the resurrection, and after many times, the bodies will be abolished and return to use, so that we are only souls without bodies, as we were before, let them be anathema. XII. Those who say that souls existed before they were born, and that they are not made daily by God together with the body according to the example of the first man, let them be anathema. Here ends the work On the Faith, under the name of Rufinus.
Citation. Tergwame, “Libellus De Fide Seu Duodecim Anathematismi [Incertus]”, tmp398.tmp398.opp-lat1:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/tmp398.tmp398.opp-lat1#s1
Colophon. Source: ogl-pl · licence: Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0021 · generated 2026-11-15.