The Christian Goths at the Bosporus in the 4th and 5th Centuries AD

The paper is devoted to the barbarian Christian community that existed in Late Antiquity and is known as the Tetraxite (Trapezite) Goths in the Russian literature. The history of these barbarians still continues to be debatable. The main objective of the study is to determine the exact location of the Christian Goths and the specifics of their religion. Using the method of source analysis and the comparative-historical method, the authors have determined the distinctive features of the organization of episcopal cathedrae in the 4th-5th centuries AD, both in the border territory of the Roman Empire and in a barbarous environment. Based on a careful analysis of written sources and the latest archaeological material, the authors give new arguments allowing pinning down the location of the Gothic Diocese in the territory of the European Bosporus. At the same time, the authors argue that the transformation of pagan rituals into Christian formal dinners was the main distinguishing feature of their spiritual practice. It is for this reason that the term "Trapezite Goths" appeared; the Goths could receive it from their new neighbors, the Bosporans, in this case, playing around with the famous Greek word. The authors also believe that not all Goths left Eastern Crimea in the 5th century AD. It was the Christian Goths and their descendants who remained in the area of the ancient settlement "Belinskoye" that provided a high level of Christianization of the population living here in the Middle Ages, which in its active devotion of Christ contrasted sharply with the inhabitants of neighboring similar settlements openly practicing pagan rites. In this connection, there is no doubt about the importance of the results obtained for further studies of the early Christian communities in the territory of the Bosporus and throughout the Black Sea region since the authors’ conclusions highlight the special role of the Tetraxite (Trapezite) Goths in the Christianization of the northern periphery of the Greco-Roman world.