Christian Cyclopedia

(Lat. “small fan”). Ceremonial fan; often made of silk, parchment, or peacocks' feathers; used in early ch. and in some RC and E Orthodox Chs. to keep insects away from sacred vessels; fans made of, or adorned with, peacocks' feathers are carried before the pope in solemn procession and displayed on special occasions.

(Croatian: Matija Vlacic Ilir; Serbian: Matija Frankovic Ilir; 1520–75). B. Labin (It.: Albona), Istria (Illyria); studied in Venice under Baptista Egnatius (humanist; d. 1553); Baldo Lupetino (Baldus Lupetinus; relative of M. Flacius Illyricus) pointed him to M. Luther*; went to Augsburg 1539, then Basel, where he lived in the home of S. Grynäus (see Grynäus, 1); his 3-yr. “soul struggle” began at Basel; spent some time at Tübingen, where he lived with Matthias Garbitius. prof. Gk.; came to Wittenberg and into close contact with P. Melanchthon* and M. Luther 1541; cured of “soul struggle” ca. 1543 (in own opinion by ev. doctrine of justification); prof. Heb., Wittenberg, 1544.

After Augsburg Interim* (see also Lutheran Confessions, C 1) he wrote 3 tracts using pseudonyms Joannes Waremund (attacked emp.), Theodor Henetus (criticized Interim itself), and Christian Lauterwar (attacked canon of mass and J. Agricola*). After the Leipzig* Interim he pub. Wider den schnöden Teuffel under pseudonym Carolus Azarias (against the Interim). Left Wittenberg for Magdeburg 1549 and the Interimistic or Adiaphoristic Controversy (see Adiaphoristic Controversies, 1) began in earnest. Writings included Apologia ad scholam Vitebergensem in adiaphorum causa and De veris et falsis adiaphoris. Held interim introduced not only ceremonial but also doctrinal errors (see Adiaphoristic Controversies). At Magdeburg he began Ecclesiastica historia (“Magdeburg* Centuries”). His Catalogus testium veritatis appeared 1556. At Magdeburg he was also involved in other controversies that grew out of the Interimistic controversy. Against G. Major* and J. Menius* he contended that good works are not necessary to salvation (see Majoristic Controversy). Against A. Osiander* the Elder he urged that though the essential, eternal righteousness of Christ is not idle in redemption, it is not the righteousness that justifies (see Osiandrian Controversy). Against K. v. Schwenkfeld* he concentrated on the fact that the Holy Spirit employs the human word. While at Magdeburg he took part in attempts to reconcile warring parties within Lutheranism.

Prof. Jena 1557. Sharply criticized the Frankfurt* Recess 1558. At his prompting Duke John* Frederick II had the Konfutationsbuch* (polemical doctrinal statement upholding views of M. Flacius Illyricus and opposing G. Major, V. Strigel, adiaphorists [see Adiaphoristic Controversies], and others) drafted 1558–59. With his Refutatio propositionum Pfeffingeri de libero arbitrio 1558 he involved himself in the Synergistic* Controversy against J. Pfeffinger* and V: Strigel.* Opposed Strigel's views on free will in Weimar Disputation 1560; held that original sin is substantia, not accidens. The unevangelical methods of the Flacian Supt. Balthasar Winter at Jena and Flacius' uncharitable attitude led to his dismissal at Jena 1561. To Regensburg 1562; involved in further controversies; worked on “Magdeburg Centuries” and Clavis scripturae. Regensburg withdrew asylum for Flacius 1566; with 5 others he was called to Antwerp to organize ch. life. Opposed union formula with Ref.; insisted on disputation. Wrote Confessio ministrorum Jesu Christi, in ecclesia Antverpiensi, quae Augustanae Confessioni adsentitur. On arrival of Duke of Alba went to Frankfurt 1567, then Strasbourg; refused to sign Jakob Andreä's* articles for proposed union of Ger. chs. Gnesio-Luths. (including T. Hesshus* and J. Wigand*) and Andreä attacked Flacius' assertion that original sin is substantia. Forced to leave Strasbourg 1573; spent last yrs. in a former convent of White Ladies (also called Magdalens, or Penitents) at Frankfurt administered as a haven of refuge by Prot. prioress Katharina von Meerfeld. HR

See also Lexicons, B.

J. W. Preger, Matthias Flacius Illyricus und seine Zeit, 2 vols. (Erlangen, 1859–61); M. Mirkovic, Matija Vlacic Ilirik (Zagreb, 1960;) K. Heussi, Geschichte der Theologischen Fakultät zu Jena (Weimar, 1954); H. W. Reimann, “Matthias Flacius Illyricus,” CTM, XXXV (February 1964), 69–93.

See Christian Union.

People who, inspired by fanatic religious zeal, practice castigation, often self-inflicted, e.g., by whipping, believing that they are thereby earning some form of merit. There were Christian flagellants at least as early as the 4th c., but the movement assumed internat. epidemic proportions in the 13th c., when it swept from Perugia through N It. into Alsace, Bavaria, Hungary, Bohemia, and Poland. In 1348–49, during the black death, the movement revived throughout Eur., including England. Flagellants formed fraternities and bound themselves to a penitential season. Movements of this kind recur periodically.

Vessel for liquid; used when necessary besides chalice* to hold eucharistic wine; usually made of precious metal or glass.

(1759–1821). B. Tübingen; brother of K. C. Flatt*; educ. Tübingen; prof. philos. Tübingen 1785, theol. 1792. Enthusiastic Kantian (see Kant, Immanuel); exponent of the Biblical supernaturalism (see Rationalism) of the older Tübingen* school, together with G. C. Storr,* F. G. v. Süskind,* and K. C. Flatt.

(1772–1843). B. Stuttgart; brother of J. F. Flatt*; educ. Tübingen; prof. theol. Tübingen 1804; collegiate preacher and supreme consistorial councillor Stuttgart 1812; gen. supt. Ulm 1829. Held that forgiveness of sins depends on moral improvement; regarded the death of Christ as symbolic assurance of God's grace. Translated G. C. Storr,* Doctrinae christianae pars theoretica e sacris litteris repetita, into Ger. as Lehrbuch der christlichen Dogmatik; other works include Philosophisch-exegetische Untersuchungen tiber die Lehre von der Versöhnung.

(1713–97). B. Beihingen, near Ludwigsburg, Ger.; educ. Tübingen; pastor and pedagogue Asperg 1742, Metterzimmern 1747, Münchingen 1760. Pupil and disciple of J. A. Bengel.*

1. Flavian I (ca. 320–ca. 404). B. probably Antioch, Syria; bp. or patriarch Antioch 381–404 but appointment not recognized by bp. Rome and bps. Egypt; opposed Arianism,* Eustathians (see Eustathius of Antioch), Euchites.* 2. Flavian II (d. 518 AD). Bp. or patriarch Antioch, Syria, ca. 498–512; accepted the Henoticon*; anathematized by patriarch of Constantinople; deposed and banished to Petra by Anastasius I (ca. 430–518; emp. 491–518). 3. Flavian (ca. 390–449). Bp. or patriarch Constantinople 447–449; opposed Eutyches*; deposed by “Robber Syn.” of Ephesus.*

(January 22, 1815–September 11. 1878). B. Regensburg, Bavaria; itinerant minister among Luths. in Pomerania and Nassau; pastor Walkers Point (suburban Milwaukee), Wisconsin; helped found and conduct Mo. Syn. teachers sem., Milwaukee, 1855 (see also Lochner, Friedrich Johann Carl); prof. and dir. teachers sem. Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1857; resigned 1864 because of eye trouble; pastor Soest and Kendallville, Indiana See Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, The, V 6.

(1807–94). B. Mifflin Co., Pennsylvania; educ. Princeton (New Jersey) Theol. Sem.; Presb. ABCFM miss. to Creek Indians; devised Creek, or Muskogee, alphabet; miss. Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan; pastor Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania; home miss. La Salle Co., Illinois; settled at Ayr, Nebraska Works include primary Creek textbooks; translations of hymns into Creek.

(Fleming; 1606[1609?]–1640). Poet; b. Hartenstein, Ger.; studied medicine Leipzig; attached to embassy to Russ. 1633–35, Persia 1635–39. Hymns include “In allen meinen Taten”

In some Scripture passages “flesh” stands for the material part of a human being (Job 33:21; Ps 78:39; Lk 24:39; 1 Ptr 2:24). In other passages it denotes man's incapacity for good, the total depravity of his whole nature (Ro 6:19; 7:18; 8:3). This sinful flesh remains with the Christian even after conversion and hinders the efficacy of the Law. The Law gains the assent of the new man (Eph 4:24; Cl 3:10), but it is not fulfilled because of the tendency of the flesh toward what is forbidden. The fleshly (carnal) mind is enmity against God (Ro 8:3–9); it is the source and seat of all evil passions and leads to death (Ro 6:21–23; 7:5). The lusts and works of the flesh are opposed to holy, divine impulses (Gl 5:16; Eph 2:1–3). The flesh can be crucified only through the Spirit of Christ, who dwells in the regenerate (Gl 5:24–25; Ro 8:13). In some passages “flesh” is used in a positive sense, connoting good character (Ez 11:19; 36:26). See also Sanctification.

(originally Jean Guillaume de la Fléchère; 1729–85). B. Nyon, Switz.; to Eng. ca. 1752; ordained 1757; vicar of Madeley, Yorkshire; assoc. of J. Wesley.* Works include Five Checks to Antinomianism.

(1640–1723). B. Paris; educ. by Jesuits; lawyer; ordained ca. 1672; friend of J. B. Bossuet,* L. Bourdaloue,* F. de S. de la M. Fenelon*; tutor to the princes of Conti, to the son of Louis XIV and Louise de la Vallière, and to the grandsons of Louis XIV. Works include Histoire ecclésiastique.

(1845–1901). B. Kaiserswerth, Ger.; son of T. Fliedner*; educ. Halle and Tübingen; chaplain to legation of Germany in Sp. 1870; tried to evangelize Sp. Works include Sp. biography of D. Livingstone,* M. Luther,* T. Fliedner, J. Howard,* and E. Fry*; a Sp. hymnal. See also Spain, 5.

(1800–64). B. Eppstein, Ger.; educ. Giessen, Göttingen, and Herborn; pastor Kaiserswerth 1821–49. Organizations and institutions founded include Rheinisch-Westfälische Gefängnisgesellschaft 1826; refuge home for discharged female prisoners 1833; nursery school and deaconess institute that served as hosp. and training center at Kaiserswerth 1836 (see Deaconesses, 5); orphanage for girls 1842; deaconess house at Dresden and institute for training pastors' assistants at Duisburg 1844; sem. for women teachers for folk schools 1844; institution for female mental cases 1847; hospitals at Jerusalem, Constantinople, and Alexandria; training schools at Smyrna, Jerusalem, and Beirut. He brought 4 deaconesses to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on request of W. A. Passavant* (see also Deaconesses, 7). Issued Armen- und Krankenfreund beginning 1849.

M. Gerhardt, Theodor Fliedner: Ein Lebensbild, I (Düsseldorf-Kaiserswerth, 1933); A. R. Wentz, Fliedner the Faithful (Philadelphia, 1936); A. Sticker, Theodor und Friederike Fliedner: Von den Anfängen der Frauendiakonie (Neukirchen, 1965).

(April 16, 1858–September 30, 1947). “Senior Flierl.” B. Oberpfalz, Ger.; educ. Miss. Inst., Neuendettelsau; served in Australia at Bethesda Miss. Station 1878–85, Elim 1885–86; arrived at Finschhafen, New Guinea, July 12, 1886; est. miss. near Simbang; moved to Sattelberg, NW of Finschhafen; served 44 yrs. in New Guinea; retired to Australia 1930; returned to Eur. 1937. Senior Flierl Sem. est. 1957 at Finschhafen. See also Neuendettelsau Mission Society.

G. Pilhofer, Johann Flierl, der Bahnbrecher des Evangeliums unter den Papua (Neuendettelsau, 1953).

(Flysteden; d. 1529). Rhenish martyr; b. perhaps Fliesteden, near Cologne, Ger.; probably not assoc. with Anabap. movement as at times alleged; to Cologne in December 1527; rejected “idolatrous worship” of mass and other features of RCm; tried to gain converts to Lutheranism; arrested in 1527 Christmas season; imprisoned nearly 2 yrs., last 9 mo. with A. Clarenbach*; their religious convictions given in pamphlets circulated by friends 1528 and after execution; refused to recant under torture; burned at Cologne September 28.

See Feast of Asses.

(1796–1869). Ger. Luth. clergyman in Russ.; educ. Dorpat; pastor in Volga region and St. Petersburg; gen. supt. and vice-pres. of gen. consistory 1840–61.

(1618–78). B. Suhl, Ger.; educ. Wittenberg, Jena, Leipzig, and Rostock; precentor 1644, deacon 1646 at Grimmen, near Greifswald; hymnist. Hymns include “Jesu, meines Herzens Freud'.”

(Frodoard; ca. 894–966). B. probably Épernay, Fr.; educ. Reims; archivist cathedral ch. Reims. Works include Historia Remensis ecclesiae; Annales (919–966).

The deluge sent in the time of Noah as punishment for the sins of antediluvians. Described Gn 6–8. See also Babylonians, Religion of the, 6.

(1438–45). 1. Tried to reunite Gk. and Lat. chs. The Gk. Ch. was seeking support against Turks, who were approaching Constantinople. The council began January 8, 1438, at Ferrara, It., with a session of W representatives, Cardinal Niccolò Albergati presiding. The combined E-W council opened April 9 with over 500 dignitaries present. Important Gk. representatives included E Roman Emp. John* VIII Palaeologus, his brother Demetrius, Joseph* II (patriarch of Constantinople), Mark Eugenicus* (metropolitan of Ephesus), Isidore* of Kiev, G. Scholarios (see Gennadius II), and J. Bessarion.* Roman representatives included J. Cesarini,* J. de Torquemada,* Giovanni di Montenero (John of Montenero; Dominican provincial of Lombardy; scholastic), and Ambrogio* Traversari.

2. Discussions about purgatory, begun in June, were unresolved when interrupted by the plague. Debate about filioque (see Filioque Controversy), begun October 8, raged partly around legitimacy of adding the term to the Nicene Creed. Little was accomplished in sessions October 8–December 13. Various factors, including financial and military, brought about the 1439 move to Florence. It was agreed that the Holy Spirit is eternally from the Father and the Son, that the essence and being of the Holy Spirit have existence from the Father together with the Son, and that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both Father and Son eternally as from one principle (principium) and by a single spiration; but differences in expression (e.g., “from the Father through the Son”) were also allowed. Other agreements included: that both leavened and unleavened bread are valid in the Lord's Supper; that some souls go to purgatory after death and that they might be aided by prayers and gifts of the pious. The Gks. accepted the supremacy of the Roman pope; that this pope is a successor of Peter, true vicar of Christ, head of the whole ch., father and teacher of all Christians; that his rule does not infringe on the rights of patriarchs, with the Gk. patriarch of Constantinople 2d after the pope, followed in order by the patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. The agreement was signed July 5, promulgated July 6 in the decree Laetentur caeli by Eugenius* IV. Mark* of Ephesus refused to sign.

3. The council also made agreements with other non-Lat. chs. On November 22, 1439, the bull Exultate Deo (often called Decretum pro Armenis) announced agreement bet. the Armenians (see Armenian Churches) and the Latins. On February 4, 1442, the bull Cantate Domino expressed agreement with Copts (see Coptic Church). In 1443 the council began sessions at the Lateran,* Rome. Union with Mesopotamian Syrians was proclaimed September 30, 1444, and with Cypriots August 7, 1445 (the last known session of the council). In Constantinople there was hostility to union with the W But continuing Turkish threat led to continued pressure for support from the W The decree of E-W union was officially promulgated in Constantinople December 12, 1452, by lsidore of Kiev as papal legate. On May 29, 1453, the Turks captured Constantinople; that nullified the union. The Council of Florence did not achieve the aim of E-W union. But it gained a victory for the pope in the struggle bet. pope and council over primacy. CSM

See also Basel, Council of.

Concilium Florentinum: Documenta et scriptores (Rome, 1940– ); Sacrorum conciliorum nova, et amplissima collectio, ed. J. D. Mansi et al. (Venice [1767]); Conciliorum collectio, ed. J. Hardouin, IX (Paris, 1715); The Cambridge Medieval History, ed. J. R. Tanner et al., IV, VII, VIII (Cambridge, 1923, 1932, 1936); L. Pastor, History of the Popes, I–II, 5th ed. F. I. Antrobus (St. Louis, Missouri, 1923); J. Gill, The Council of Florence (Cambridge, 1959) and Personalities of the Council of Florence (New York, 1964).

See Nightingale, Florence.

Circle of scholars assoc. with M. Ficino* at Careggi, near Florence, It., 1462–94. Also called Platonic Academy of Florence.

(ca. 1350–1400). B. Leerdam, near Utrecht, Neth.; adherent of G. Groote*; head of the community of the Brethren* of the Common Life at Deventer 1384; founded monastery at Windesheim, but did not become monk himself.

(d. ca. 303 AD). Patron saint of Upper Austria; princeps officii praesidis in the Roman province Noricum ripense (along the Danube); martyred under Diocletian by having a millstone tied around his neck and being drowned in the Enns R.

See United States, Religious History of the, 2

See United Lutheran Church in America, The, Synods of, 4.

(pl. florilegia; Lat. “gathering of flowers”). Anthology. Collections from patristic commentaries and dogmatics from early centuries are extant. Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus (see Cappadocian Theologians, 1–2) made a collection from Origen* called Philocalia ca. 362. See also Catena; Patristics, 7.

See Gnosticism, 7 g.

(d. ca. 860). B. probably Sp.; deacon Lyons, Fr.; defended rights of the ch.; opposed Gottschalk in predestinarian* controversy. Works include commentaries; poems; liturgical works.

MPL 119, 9–424.

(1842–1914). B. Lützen, Ger.; educ. Schulpforte and Halle; Herbartian philos. and theol.; opposed monism*; held that God is finite. See also Herbart, Johann Friedrich.

See Fliesteden.