Origenism and Manichaeism through the Lens of a Mazdakite Distortion

The contemporary accusations against the Origenist movement during Justinian times usually associated this “heresy” with Manichaeism, altough the doctrines of these two schools present some radical differences. Despite the fact that some scholars have attempted to discover some points of reasonable contact between them, with questionable results, the possibility that some of the attacks were, in reality, directed not precisely against a genuine Manichaean sect, but toward a broader ambiance involving the active presence of the western branch of the Mazdakite diaspora, opens a new perspective. We know that some Mazdakites actually exercised a covert influence in Byzantium during late Antiquity. They attracted not only poor people, but even members from the highest strata of society. In the framework of this hypothesis, the virulence in the repression of the Origenists and the double Synodal excommunications under Justinian (543 and 553) might indicate not only a theological bias, but also a political fear of social vindications connected with and inspired by the Mazdakite movement, whose egalitarian protests had led to a dramatic situation in Sasanian Iran. The parallel (double) excommunication of Origen in Byzantium, and the progressive restriction of access to theological studies in Iran, marked a moment of serious difficulty for the official powers, in connection with the eruption of social protests. It is also probable that this situation favoured a larger circulation of new ideas, such as the hope for a universal paradise, which was certainly more suitable to the expectations of the humblest strata of Iranian society.