Abstract
In the Ante-Nicene period of the Church of Christ’s history, most holy fathers, church writers, and other authors devoted particular attention to the theology of numbers, or symbolic arrhythmology. They "borrowed" their numbers from Holy Scripture and several other sources. Therefore, in this study, we have limited ourselves to those writers for whom the symbolic numbers "one," "seven," and "eight" are particularly significant. Firstly, it is Philo of Alexandria, who, while revealing the symbolic significance of the numbers "one" and "seven," mentioned the number "eight" as a historical number. Secondly, there are Hermas, Anonymous, and Saint Cyprian of Carthage, who, paying attention only to the symbolic numbers "one" and "seven," teach that the number "one" is equal to the number "seven." And thirdly, it is Saint Victorinus of Poetovio, who, revealing the symbolic meaning of the numbers "one," "seven" and "eight," comes to the conclusion that the number "one" is equal to the number "seven," and also that the number "eight" is a "continuation" of the number "one." It should also be taken into account that, with the help of these numbers, Philo of Alexandria, Hermas, Anonymous, Saint Cyprian of Carthage and Saint Victorinus of Poetovio, while revealing "the laws of the Universe" (using the terminology of Professor Martine Dulaey), emphasize those issues that concern them most and examine a wide variety of topics.