ABSTRACT
Gothic Arianism is defined by its creed and its use of the Gothic language. Gothic and other non-Nicene churches labelled themselves as catholic or orthodox. Yet Gothic Arianism has no connection to the preaching of the Alexandrine presbyter. Therefore one should use the neutral term homoian. The cradle of Gothic-homoian Christendom is a small Christian group of Goths which settled on Roman soil in Lower Moesia during the reign of Emperor Constantius. Its leader was Ulfila. The most important source on Ulfila's life and theology is Auxentius of Durostorum. Generally it is assumed that Ulfila translated the Bible into Gothic upon his arrival in the Roman Empire. The Gothic-Homoian churches have left no traceable legacy within Christianity. It is an ideological misconception to believe that Ulfila's Arian theology represents in some way a typically or characteristically Germanic conception of the Trinity. Ulfila's duties came to an end when a Thervingian iudex persecuted Christians in 348.
