Severus of Antioch

[coriolan_cmc2001]

No: HPFGUIDX 41395

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Dave Hardenbrook <DaveH47 at m...> wrote:
> When we talk about Snape's first name, we have in the past usually
> talked about that Roman Emperor, but apparently there is another
> famous Severus -- Severus of Antioch, who in the sixth century
> advanced the then heretical idea that all human souls contain
> divinity, and that therefore even serfs and slaves had human rights.
> Could Snape be some sort of modern counterpart to *this* Serverus,
> somehow, as a modern "freedom-fighter" against the Voldemortian
> view that human lives are meaningless?
> 

I Googled Severus of Antioch and failed to find anything supporting 
your claim. What is your source? This was the most comprehesive essay 
I found...

http://www.quodlibet.net/farrington-severus.shtml

...focuses on Severus' involvement in one of those exhaustive debates 
which so animated post-Nicene Christians about the exact nature of 
Christ's incarnation (that is, precisely how were the human and 
divine elements mixed in Him?). Severus affirmed the union in Christ 
of both human and divine, as opposed to prevailing school led by 
Chalcedon that seperated the human and divine aspects of Christ.

Perhaps he elsewhere extrapolated that into identifying a divine 
aspect in each human individual, but that probably wouldn't have been 
considered a major heresy.  Christianity (in theory, if not always in 
practice) has always recognized the equality of all souls before God. 
As Paul writes in Galatians (3:27-28). "You are all sons of God 
through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into 
Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor 
Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ 
Jesus." Christianity first spread widely among the slaves and serfs 
of the Roman Empire, and even today (as in the "Untouchables" of 
India) has its greatest appeal amongst the disadvantaged.

BTW, I was recently reading that the Emperor Septimius "Inner Eye" 
Severus was more a Trelawmey than a Snape (too bad - ever since 
reading Gibbon's statement about Severus' magical inclinations, I had 
always cherished the idea of an evil Roman Emperor sprinkling 
Veritaserum in his rivals salad, or slipping amongst them unnoticed 
via Polyjuice).  He was skilled at devising astrological charts, and 
was also devoted to dream interpretation.  As a young soldier, he 
visited an  astrologer who refused to believe that Severus had given 
him the correct birthdate information - his birthdate and birthplace 
forecast a future far too glorious for a mere calvary officer. 
Severus knew from then on he was Destined to Rule but took pains 
after that to conceal the circumstances of his birth, lest any rival 
should figure out his favored status. However, once in power, Severus 
prohibited the practice of magic and potion-making in places like 
Egypt, where such things were commonly practiced.

(this is from Anthony Birley's 1988 biography)

  - CMC (I know, off-topic)