Encyclopedic Dictionary of Bible and Theology

Soracte a mountain in ancient Italy which, according to Servius, was sacred to the infernal gods, especially to Diespiter. It was a custom among the Hirpi (or Hirpini) that at a festival held on Mount Soracte they walked with bare feet upon glowing coals of fir wood, carrying about the entrails of victims which had … Continue reading “Soracte”

Sora A titular see in Paphlagonia, suffragan of Gangra. Sora must have been an insignificant town; an inscription discovered at Zorah, a village in the vilayet of Castamouni, in which a local era and the worship of Zeus Epicarpios are mentioned, has enabled its exact position to be fixed. (Doublet in “Bull. de correspondance hellénique”, … Continue reading “Sora”

Sor in Persian mythology, is the personification. of a deadly drought and heat. He is an evil deva, created by Ahriman and opposed to the devas of Ormuzd, for the purpose of hindering the growth of plants, and thus to cause famine and miser. Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Sophronius, ecclesiastical writer Sophronius (7), a learned Greek friend of Jerome, who was with him in 391-392, and is included in his catalogue of ecclesiastical writers. He had, while still young, composed a book on the glories of Bethlehem, and, just before the catalogue was written, a book on the destruction of the Serapeum, and … Continue reading “Sophronius, ecclesiastical writer”

Sophronius, bishop of Tella Sophronius (10), bp. of Tella or Constantina in Osrhoene, first cousin of Ibas, bp. of Edessa. He was present at the synod of Antioch which investigated the case of Athanasius of Perrha, in 445 (Labbe, iv. 728). At the “Robbers’ Synod” of Ephesus in 449 (Evagr. H. E. 10) he was … Continue reading “Sophronius, bishop of Tella”

Sophronius Sophronius, Bishop of Constantina or Tella in Osrhoene, was a relative of Ibas, Bishop of Edessa, and apparently of the same theological tendency, i. e. strongly anti-Monophysite and liable to be suspected of Nestorianism. He was present at a synod held at Antioch in 445 at which Athanasius, Bishop of Perrha, was deposed on … Continue reading “Sophronius”

Sophonias (Hebrew: Zepkania, the Lord protects) One of the Minor Prophets who lived under King Josias near the end of the 7th century before Christ, a contemporary of Jeremias. He favored the king’s reforms. His prophecy contaius three chapters on the evils that were to befall various nations, promising the coming of Christ, the conversion … Continue reading “Sophonias”

Sophocracy (Gr. sophos, wise) Government by the wisest. (Montague) — H.H. Fuente: The Dictionary of Philosophy

Sophists A group of Greek teachers who flourished at the end of the fifth century B.C. They claimed to be purveyors of wisdom — hence the name sophistai, which originally meant one who possesses wisdom — but in reality undertook to show that all true certitude is unattainable, and that culture and preparation for the … Continue reading “Sophists”

Sophistici Elenchi (Gr sophistikoi elenchoi) The last of the logical treatises of Aristotle, dealing with fallacies in argumentation. — G.R.M. Fuente: The Dictionary of Philosophy