Theories and Definitions of Heresy

doi:10.1017/9781108556620.003

1 - Theories and Definitions of Heresy

from Part I - Approaches and Evidence

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 July 2025

John H. Arnold

Edited by

Richard Flower

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Richard Flower: Affiliation:
University of Exeter

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Summary

This chapter surveys different ways in which ‘heresy’ has been conceptualised by a variety of writers, both within the periods in which it arose and in later centuries. Tracing a number of different inflections to the charge of heresy, the chapter suggests that we might see it not only as constructed by orthodox authority but as a means by which ‘authority’ itself is reaffirmed; and in conclusion suggests some ways through which modern historians might then reconceptualise their search for ‘dissent’ in past times.

Keywords

authority dissent persecution sects obstinacy

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge Companion to Christian Heresy , pp. 17 - 32

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108556620.003 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2025

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References

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