The Goths in the Lower Danubian Area and Their Significance for Christianity in Present-Day Romania

Abstract

The Christianization of The Goths from The Lower Danube started in the 3rd century A.D. with their expeditions to the south of Da- nube, where they took Christian prisoners. The small Christian communities were shepherded afterwards by various priests among whom by bishop Wulfila, the translator of the Bible in the Germanic language. The mass conversion of the »barbarians«, politically justified, took place around 370 A.D., during the reign of Fritigern. The influence of Goths’ Christianity on the Daco-Romans was reduced. It would rather be a taking over of Christian terms of Latin origin by the Goths from the local population. The integration of the Goths in the »oriental Romanity« occurred through the measures taken by Theodosius I, when the Goths were already inside the Roman Empire.