The devil is in the detail: the origins of heresies in socrates's ‘Historia Ecclesiastica'

A broad consensus exists among modern scholars that the role of the devil in Socrates's 'Historia Ecclesastica' is limited and that he explains the origins of religious controversy in terms of human causation. This paper argues that the modern consensus requires revision based on the devil's role in chapter i.22 on Manichaeism and on the correspondences between that chapter and the presentation of heresies elsewhere in the 'History'. If this interpretation of those correspondences is accepted, it should further nuance perceptions of Socrates's approach to heresies and his reputation for 'tolerance', while also highlighting his use of religious polemic.