The present article is devoted to the process of Gallo-Roman aristocracy members integration into the cadre structure of Church at a turn of Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Under the focus, in particular, are the ways of this integration which in their turn had a certain influence on a number of qualitative characteristics of the aristocrats-bishops who have redressed from the toga to the robe. It is possible to allocate at least two ways of integration: in clergy from the administrative environment; and in clergy from (or transit through) the monastery. And both radical manifestations of these ways (without passing of church steps, etc.) have generated some kind of cultural differences between bishops: while one part acted more as adherents of ascetic tradition, the others remained more faithful to traditional aristocratic culture. This tendency has made a contribution to the polemic in Christian Church about literary style, behavior models and about mission of the bishop in Late Antiquity. Nevertheless, the author comes to a conclusion that a typological line between bishops can’t be drawn as it doesn’t exist: each bishop had a certain set of aristocratic and ascetic qualities at various degree of balance which sometimes entered synthesis, sometimes created conflict. It seems t be more appropriate to talk about the clergy who have different proportions of elements of the aristocratic and ascetic traditions in the worldview and their model of behavior.
Key words: Late Antiquity Gaul, Episcopacy, Gallo-Roman aristocracy, integration, Ecclesiastical aristocracy, aristocratism, asceticism.
Reference to article:
Manukyan E. M. “From the toga to the robe”: ways and aspects of the integration of gallo-roman aristocracy in the episcopate in IV—VI centuries // Ivanovo State University Bulletin. Series «The Humanities». 2020. No.2. P. 57-68.