Zeno of Verona and the first Christian horoscope
Mike Norris
- đź“…Tuesday, November 4, 2025
- đź•Ą10:30 – 11:30
- 🏟Newtownpark Pastoral Centre (map)
Mike Norris studied physics at UCD in the 1960’s. He worked in several occupations before becoming chief technical officer at HEAnet, Ireland’s academic and research network. He also served on the boards of INEX (Dublin) and RIPE NCC (Amsterdam).
On retirement, he studied Classics at UCD, TCD, and the University of Verona. He had papers published in Italy and Greece. He completed his doctorate at UCD in 2023.
In 425, exactly 1700 years ago, a council of bishops met in Nicaea. Strongly encouraged by the emperor Constantine, they came up with a brief formula of words, the Nicene Creed. Those baptised as Christians would recite the Creed as a statement of their new belief system. Zeno was an early adopter of this Creed. As bishop of Verona, he instructed many converts on its meaning. He realised, though, that he was up against centuries of pagan tradition and practice. This included astrology which, with its emblematic zodiac and its claims to predict the future, ran counter to Christian beliefs. Zeno’s sermons include the earliest Christian homily on the signs of the zodiac. Rather than condemning the cult outright, he gave a Christian version of the signs in that sermon. In doing so, he undermined the zodiacal tradition and hinted at a Christian replacement, still practiced in some countries today. The sermon shows the bishop’s knowledge of his subject, his understanding of the Veronese people, and the subtle way in which he maintains a fine balance between Church and state.
