Epiphanius of Salamis, the Kollyridians, and the Early Dormition Narratives: The Cult of the Virgin in the Fourth Century

The so-called Kollyridians of Epiphanius’s Panarion are commonly regarded in modern scholarship as a group of Christian goddess worshipers who believed in the Virgin Mary’s divinity. Yet a careful reading of Epiphanius’s account, with close attention to his rhetoric, suggests instead that the Kollyridians merely were offering Mary a kind of veneration that during the late fourth century was increasingly directed toward Christian saints. The Six Books apocryphon, an early Dormition narrative from the fourth century, enjoins on its readers ritual practices almost identical with what Epiphanius ascribes to the Kollyridians, yet without any indication of belief in Mary’s divinity. Comparison of this apocryphon with Epiphanius’s description of the Kollyridians further suggests that the Kollyridian rituals do not necessarily amount to goddess worship or belief in Mary’s divinity. Moreover, such comparison reveals that Epiphanius probably knew the Six Books apocryphon, either directly or indirectly, and his account of the Kollyridians likely responds in part to its early Dormition traditions.