论公元4-9世纪拜占廷帝国圣徒崇拜

An Analysis of the Cult of Saint in Byzantine Empire in the Fourth to Ninth Centuries

圣徒崇拜缘起于犹太教与早期基督教的信仰与仪式,是基督教信仰体系中最具活力的民众信仰。公元4—9世纪,圣徒崇拜盛行于拜占廷帝国。其因在于:一方面,它迎合了当时民众的精神和世俗需要;另一方面,它接纳了传统异教习俗,同时教父们对此采取了务实的"宽容"态度。因此,圣徒崇拜本身体现了基督教信仰的传统与发展、世俗性与神圣性共存的特点,是认识基督教信仰的一扇重要窗口,也是理解基督教能够战胜传统宗教的一个新视角。

The Cult of Saint originates from the faith and rite of the Jewry and the early Christianity. It is the most active popular faith of the Christian religion. It was very popular in Byzantine Empire in the Fourth to Ninth Centuries. The reason lies in two facts. On the one hand, it met the needs of the spirit and the world. On the other hand, it adopts the traditional conventions of the paganism. At the same time, the Christian Fathers accepted it without strong opposition. So the Cult of Saint itself demonstrated the characters of the Christian religion： tradition and development, lay and holiness. It is an important way to understand the Christian religion, and also a new approach to apprehend the conquering of the Christianity over the traditional religion.