Frankly, there isn’t much to be said regarding any of this day’s saints (who were on the Calendar by the mid-1700s when Butler wrote his 12 volumes). But there is one line in Butler’s discussion of the travails of St. Lullus that is a useful springboard for grappling with terms used to categorize those whom the orthodox pity, mistrust, and/or castigate. Of Lullus, Butler writes:

From the time Lullus shared with that great saint (Lullus’ cousin, Boniface) the labours of his apostleship, and the persecutions which were raised against him by idolaters, heretics, and schismatics.

If we add to this mix these–Gentiles, barbarians, pagans, heathen, and infidels–we have a good basis for constructing a glossary of terms used to describe “them” from the perspective of “us.” So here comes the religion teacher in me, as I offer these definitions to help distinguish each suspect group from the others. My definitions and distinctions are my own; others do it their way. So be it.

Again, according to the dictates of orthodoxy:

• Gentiles. This refers to the non-Jewish world. All Christians who were not (ever) Jews are Gentiles. Within Christianity, this more or less ceases to be a pejorative term after the time of the apostle Paul.
• Barbarians. Non-urbanized Gentiles, likely without anything one might properly call “religion.”
• Heathens. These come in two varieties.
  • Pagans. They are people who practiced earth-based (read: sex-affirming) religious practices.
  • Idolaters. These are people with town- or urban-based religious practices, usually with buildings and related accoutrements.
• Infidels. These are persons who worship the monotheistic God of Abraham, but are not Christians. That is, infidels are Jews or Muslims, and most often the term refers to the latter.
• Heretics. These are Christians (at least to begin with) who espouse wrong beliefs that are deemed toxic to Christianity.
• Schismatics. These are Christians who agree on doctrine, but not about what earthly person has authority over them.

That’s a start. Another way to see three of these groups:

• Heathens: Wrong God, Wrong Religion, Wrong Beliefs.
• Infidels: Right God, Wrong Religion, Wrong Beliefs.
• Heretics: Right God, Right Religion, Wrong Beliefs.

And those pesky Schismatics? They have the Right God, Right Religion, Right Beliefs…except that they don’t listen to the Right People. The Protestant Reformation became the Ultimate in Schism.

So poor Lullus was assailed by idolaters (heathens with buildings, and thus competition for adherents in the towns and cities where they worshipped), heretics (those Christians who don’t teach right doctrine, and thus endanger the salvation of their adherents), and schismatics (those who don’t agree to be bound by Rome, and thus endanger the institutional Church). In other words, Lullus had to deal with…wait for it…DIVERSITY. And when you’re used to being the ones in a position of power and privilege (Christianity of the Roman variety in the 700s), the only way to characterize diversity that doesn’t assimilate is to call it…wait for it…PERSECUTION.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be?