The image of a Christian in Sidonius Apollinaris’ letters

Abstract

The paper deals with the collective image of a Christian reconstructed by comparing several portraits described in the 5th century Gallo-Roman writer’s epistles and verses Sidonius Apollinaris. This source was chosen due to the fact that Sidonius himself combined the features inherent for both the representative of the highest social stratum of the Late Antique society and for the Christian shepherd. The method of cultural and historical reconstruction with combination of biographical and retrospective methods is used for the formation of the image of a Christian of the Late Antiquity. The authors come to the conclusion that during the 5th century AD as a true Christian was deemed such person who observes the biblical commandments and church rites, distinguished by patience and mercy. The image of a Christian evolved in this period from the weakly expressed version presented by Germanicus, a man for whom, more important the ancient cult of the body, despite belonging to Christian flock, to the ideal, seeking to asceticism, who embodied the bishop Faustus.