Those who possessed writings of Arius were sentenced to death. However, his accusers were excommunicated both by Ambrose of Milan and by Pope Siricius, who opposed Priscillian's heresy, but 'believed capital punishment to be inappropriate at best and usually unequivocally evil.' The edict of TheodosiusВ II (435) provided severe punishments for those who had or spread writings of Nestorius.

Within six years of the official criminalization of heresy by the Emperor, the first Christian heretic to be executed, Priscillian, was condemned in 386 by Roman secular officials for sorcery, and put to death with four or five followers. This reinforcement of the Church's authority gave church leaders the power to, in effect, pronounce the death sentence upon those whom the church considered heretical. One of the outcomes of this blurring of Church and state was the sharing of state powers of legal enforcement with church authorities. By this edict the state's authority and that of the Church became somewhat overlapping. Prior to the issuance of this edict, the Church had no state-sponsored support for any particular legal mechanism to counter what it perceived as 'heresy'. The first known usage of the term in a legal context was in AD 380 by the Edict of Thessalonica of Theodosius I, which made Christianity the state church of the Roman Empire. To put an end to the doctrinal debate initiated by Arius, Constantine called the first of what would afterwards be called the ecumenical councils and then enforced orthodoxy by Imperial authority. By Roman law the Emperor was Pontifex Maximus, the high priest of the College of Pontiffs ( Collegium Pontificum) of all recognized religions in ancient Rome. Д¬onstantine the Great, who along with Licinius had decreed toleration of Christianity in the Roman Empire by what is commonly called the ' Edict of Milan', and was the first Roman Emperor baptized, set precedents for later policy. He also pointed out the concept of apostolic succession to support his arguments. He described the community's beliefs and doctrines as orthodox (from бЅЂПЃОёПЊП‚, orthos, 'straight' or 'correct' + ОґПЊОѕО±, doxa, 'belief') and the Gnostics' teachings as heretical. The use of the word heresy was given wide currency by Irenaeus in his 2nd-century tract Contra Haereses ( Against Heresies) to describe and discredit his opponents during the early centuries of the Christian community. AD 155вЂ“240) implied that it was the Jews who most inspired heresy in Christianity: 'From the Jew the heretic has accepted guidance in this discussion. In contrast, correct teaching is called sound not only because it builds up the faith, but because it protects it against the corrupting influence of false teachers. The Greek for the phrase 'divisive person' became a technical term in the early Church for a type of 'heretic' who promoted dissension. Heresiology is the study of heresy.ДЇurther information: Christian heresy in the modern eraДЄccording to Titus 3:10 a divisive person should be warned twice before separating from him.

Heresy is distinct from apostasy, which is the explicit renunciation of one's religion, principles or cause and from blasphemy, which is an impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things. In certain historical Christian, Muslim, and Jewish cultures, among others, espousing ideas deemed heretical has been (and in some cases still is) met with censure ranging from excommunication to the death penalty. The term is used particularly in reference to Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religious teachings, but is also used of views strongly opposed to any generally accepted ideas. Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization.

Illumination from the Grandes Chroniques de France, c. In the background is the Gibbet of Montfaucon and, anachronistically, the Grosse Tour of the Temple. The burning of the pantheistic Amalrician heretics in 1210, in the presence of King PhilipВ II Augustus.

Heretic synonym