themselves as theosebeis, precisely the term used to designate
the pagan/gentile ‘god-worshippers’ who attached themselves to
Jewish synagogues. Christians too were associated with the cult
of Theos Hypsistos. Various early Christian writers condemned
worshippers of Theos Hypsistos, whom they termed Hypsistarii
or Hypsistiani, and whom they regarded as dangerous heretics.
Inscriptions from Asia Minor suggest that some Christians, like
Jews, could describe their God as theos hypsistos(Mitchell 1999:
122–3). The various manifestations of the worship of Theos
Hypsistos suggest that religious boundaries were blurred ‘and the
beliefs and doctrinal positions of Christians, Jews, and [pagan]
god-fearers continued to overlap throughout antiquity’ (Mitchell
1999: 127).
A striking example of how religious traditions could
intersect is attested by the fifth-century ecclesiastical historian
Sozomen. He recounts how the emperor Constantine came to
build a basilica by the oak at Mamre. This had been the site of
the Hebrew patriarch Abraham’s vision of three angels (Genesis
18.1–8). Christians later interpreted this as a vision of God, and
therefore of Jesus Christ, in the form of the Trinity (Siker 1991:
178–82). Sozomen tells us of a remarkable festival celebrated at
the site:Here the inhabitants of the local country and those from
further afield – Palestinians, Phoenicians, and Arabians –
gather every year in summer to observe a brilliant festival... This festival is attended by all peoples: by Jews, because
they claim descent from the patriarch Abraham; by Hellenes
[i.e. pagans], because angels appeared to men there; and by
Christians, because he who appeared to that pious man was
later born to a virgin for the salvation of humankind.
(Sozomen,Ecclesiastical History2.4.2–3)
Although Sozomen states that Constantine endeavoured to stamp
out this mixed religious festival, the whole tenor of his account
suggests that it was still being celebrated in his own day.CONTEXTS FOR THE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIANITY
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