Bulletin of Nizhnevartovsk State UniversityBulletin of Nizhnevartovsk State University2311-14022686-8784Nizhnevartovsk State University49601Research ArticleON THE QUESTION OF THE RELIGIOUS VIEWS OF AN EARLY-BYZANTINE ANTIQUARIAN JOHN LYDUSSinitcaM. M.Postgraduate at the Department of General History, Belgorod National Research University-15032018111912805112020Copyright © 2018, Sinitca M.M.2018The theme of this work is the study of religious views of John Lydus who was an early-Byzantine administrator and writer on antiquarian subjects. The main methods of the study are content analysis, historical systematical analysis and historical-genetical approach. In his works John Lydus writes about pagan culture and values with such piety that many researchers consider him a priori a hidden pagan, at the same time, in the context of the epoch, others unreasonably think him to be a Christian. However, his long and successful career of a writer in the era of Justinian religious persecutions in addition to his interest in paganism requires a reconsideration of these points of view. Analyzing Lydus’ treatises, it is possible to draw a conclusion that the author positions himself as a Christian, though a rather vulgar one, who does not understand the nuances of Christian doctrine. Lydus perceived pagan doctrines through the prism of «science» rather critically. His interest in antiquity was of scholastic research nature. Nevertheless, the John Lydus’ outlook was based on the pagan, Neoplatonic in its essence, philosophy, which was the dominant scientific paradigm in the early Byzantine society. 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