The Rise of Pagan Gods in Christianity
As converts were won and
Christianity experienced an influx of former adherents to other faiths, certain aspects of
Christian theology began to be shaped. Most significantly, the
pagans caused
saints in the
eastern Churches to be very strong. They were accustomed to praying to a number of
gods, and it seemed perfectly natural to pray to all of these
saints, thereby placing greater weight on them than perhaps was initially intended (Chadwick 28).
Most significant, however, was possibly the cult of
Artemis' influence on burgeoning
Christianity. Former members of that
cult would certainly have identified the
Virgin Mary with their old
goddess, and then simply applied their worship to this new case (Fotiou). This might explain why the
eastern Churches have the
Virgin Mary playing such a large part in their worship.
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