Tria genera hominum. Controversie e convergenze dottrinali fra giudei, pagani ed eretici fra IV e VI secolo

German and Italian historiography, especially from the 1980s onwards, has highlighted that at the end of the 4th century emerged a sort of philosophical- theological alliance between Arians, Jews and pagans, especially in correspondence with the polemics between Bishop Ambrose and anti- Catholic resistance, and the turmoil that troubled the Roman See with the double episcopal election first of Liberius and Felix (355-358) and then of Damasus and Ursinus (c. 366-381). In this context, our sources relate several episodes in which not only Jews, Arians and pagans, but also schismatics, heretics and exponents of religious minorities provided reciprocal help in disputes and were often associated in imperial and conciliar measures. The aim of this contribution is to broaden the analysis of Western sources to the period between the second half of the 5th century and the first half of the 6th century, in order to investigate whether it is possible to find in this context, too, evidence of these claimed doctrinal convergences between minorities. It should be important to determine if the testimonies reflect a still plural and lively scenario of clashes and encounters between different faiths, or whether they should rather be read in the light of late antique rhetoric on proselytism and conversions. In this sense, the weight of hagiographic texts as a weapon in the political-religious controversies of the time must also be assessed.