Not to be confused with 3

A SHORT while ago an evangelical publication, which should know better, referred to the current Archbishop of Canterbury as William Carey. Of course, his name is George Carey. If only he were more like the 18th century Baptist pioneer missionary!

It demonstrates how easily names that are alike get confused. Here are a few more tips on avoiding confusion.

We have all heard of the Cyrillic alphabet but which Cyril gave it its name? There were three famous Cyrils in church history. There was Cyril of Jerusalem (c 315-386). Bishop for 35 years (16 in exile) he was present at the Second Council of Constantinople in 381. Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) opposed not only the Novatians and the Nestorians but also, less encouragingly, John Chrysostom. He also violently opposed rebellious Jews in Alexandria. He was, however, orthodox on the Trinity. It is another Cyril Cyril of Thessalonica (c 826-869), however, who later became a missionary to the Slavs and gave them both the Bible in their own language and the alphabet known ever after as the “Cyrillic”.

Dionysius is a popular name in Church history. Dionysius the Great of Alexandria (c 190-264) was the successor of Origen. Dionysius of Corinth (died c 195) was Bishop of Corinth and a famous preacher in his day. Dionysius of Rome, who flourished in the third century, is considered a saint by the Church of Rome. Dionysius Exiguus (died c 527) is the man responsible for our celebrating the coming millennium about five years late. Because of his miscalculation, we now have to say that Christ was born about 5 BC. Dionysius-Telmaharensis (died 848) was Patriarch of the Syrian Jacobite Church. Dionysius the Carthusian (1402-1471) was a Dutch mystic. Dionysius the Areopagite is mentioned in Acts 17:34. In the Middle Ages a body of mystical writings, said to be by him, were highly esteemed. It is now accepted that these were the work of a man now referred to as Pseudo-Dionysius, who lived in Syria around AD 500.

Clement is another name from early church history. Some 14 popes and 2 anti-popes bore this popular name. It appears in Philippians 4:3 and it has been suggested that this man was Clement of Rome, who wrote a still extant letter to the Christians in Corinth. This seems unlikely. Other writings attributed to Clement of Rome are probably spurious. Clement of Alexandria (c 150 - c 215) sought to reconcile Christianity with other current belief systems. He was the first Christian writer to mention Buddha.

It has been known for people to confuse the Celtic missionaries Columba (c 521-597) and Columbanus (c 543-615). The former was the “Apostle of Caledonia” and his name is forever associated with the island of Iona, the headquarters for his extensive missionary labours. Also from Ireland the later Columbanus went further afield to the Germanic tribes of Central Europe.

Several other lesser Columbas existed, for example Columba of Rieti (1467-1501), a Dominican beatified mystic Columba of Sens (c. 257-273), saint and martyr Columba of Spain (died c 853), nun, saint and martyr Columba of Terryglass (died 553), saint and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland Columba the Virgin, sixth century saint and Columba Marmion (1858-1923), beatified Irish monk and third abbot of Maredsous Abbey.

Henry Drummond was a name shared by two Scotsmen in the last century. The first lived from 1786 to 1860 and was an “Apostle” and “Angel for Scotland” in the heretical Irvingite movement. The other Henry Drummond (1851-1897) was at first a helper of D L Moody but went on to write the pro-evolutionary Ascent of Man. There is also a fictional Henry Drummond in Inherit the wind a 1955 play about the Scopes monkey trial of 1925.

Two German theologians and preachers in this century shared, the same name. Martin Dibelius (1883-1947) was a pioneer of Form Criticism. F K Otto Dibelius (1880-1967) was a Lutheran bishop who opposed the Nazis and later settled the World Council of Churches. The two were cousins. There was also a German theologian Franz Dibelius (1847-1924) father of Martin adn uncle to F K Otto.

We should also distinguish Marcus Dods (1834-1909) and C H Dodd (1884-1973). Of the two theologians, the latter was the more liberal. Neither is to be confused with American C O Dodd (1899-1955) founder of Faith magazine and an Adventist.
This article (now slightly modified) appeared first in The Evangelical Library Bulletin