Pub Date : 2021-07-14DOI: 10.1163/15700720-12341484
Brian Dunkle
John Chrysostom’s pairing of φύσις and χάρις, which tends to be read exclusively in light of the Pelagian controversies, reflects the influence of distinct models in early Christianity for conceptualizing the interaction between created nature(s) and the divine creator. The first, informed especially by Pauline categories, understands “nature” (φύσις; natura) to refer to an inborn relationship that stands in contrast to the adopted sonship qualified by “grace” (χάρις; gratia). The second, evident especially in Philo and Alexandrian theologians, takes nature as an individual essence, to which grace is superadded as a property. In the final portion of the essay I show evidence that Chrysostom tends to prioritize the property model over the filial model of nature and grace.
{"title":"“The Twofold Affection”: The Background to John Chrysostom’s Use of Φύσις and Χάρις","authors":"Brian Dunkle","doi":"10.1163/15700720-12341484","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-12341484","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000John Chrysostom’s pairing of φύσις and χάρις, which tends to be read exclusively in light of the Pelagian controversies, reflects the influence of distinct models in early Christianity for conceptualizing the interaction between created nature(s) and the divine creator. The first, informed especially by Pauline categories, understands “nature” (φύσις; natura) to refer to an inborn relationship that stands in contrast to the adopted sonship qualified by “grace” (χάρις; gratia). The second, evident especially in Philo and Alexandrian theologians, takes nature as an individual essence, to which grace is superadded as a property. In the final portion of the essay I show evidence that Chrysostom tends to prioritize the property model over the filial model of nature and grace.","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":"33 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72509966","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-14DOI: 10.1163/15700720-12341487
G. Malavasi
{"title":"Augustine on the Will. A Theological Account, written by Han-Luen Kantzer Komline","authors":"G. Malavasi","doi":"10.1163/15700720-12341487","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-12341487","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":"21 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75401174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-06-17DOI: 10.1163/15700720-12341488
Micah M. Miller
In his study on angelomorphic traditions in early Christian pneumatology, Bogdan Bucur suggests that Origen is both indebted to and develops upon Clement of Alexandria’s pneumatology. This article takes up Bucur’s claim, offering the first examination of Origen’s pneumatology in light of previous research on early Christian angelomorphic traditions. It argues that Origen interprets the traditional understanding of the Holy Spirit as one and seven in terms of a philosophical notion of power, allowing him to explain how the one Holy Spirit can distribute many different gifts.
{"title":"The Unity and Multiplicity of the Holy Spirit in Origen of Alexandria","authors":"Micah M. Miller","doi":"10.1163/15700720-12341488","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-12341488","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000In his study on angelomorphic traditions in early Christian pneumatology, Bogdan Bucur suggests that Origen is both indebted to and develops upon Clement of Alexandria’s pneumatology. This article takes up Bucur’s claim, offering the first examination of Origen’s pneumatology in light of previous research on early Christian angelomorphic traditions. It argues that Origen interprets the traditional understanding of the Holy Spirit as one and seven in terms of a philosophical notion of power, allowing him to explain how the one Holy Spirit can distribute many different gifts.","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89986206","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-21DOI: 10.1163/15700720-12341478
Marion Pragt
This article explores the political portrayal of Solomon’s marriages presented by three East Syrian authors. It will be shown that whereas Jewish and early Christian interpreters often pointed to desire and demonic influence to explain Solomon’s many marriages, Theodore bar Koni, Ishoʿdad of Merv and the commentators of the anonymous manuscript olim Diyarbakır 22 instead portrayed the marriages as a form of nuptial politics intended to provide peace. The article examines the role of this political motif against the background of Theodore of Mopsuestia’s views on Solomon and the Song of Songs. It will be argued that the ways in which the East Syrian authors evaluated Solomon’s marriages are related to their different attitudes to the Song. The article illustrates how Greek exegesis could be transmitted and transformed in the East Syrian tradition of scriptural interpretation.
本文探讨了三位东叙利亚作家对所罗门婚姻的政治描写。我们将会看到,尽管犹太教和早期基督教的诠释者经常指出欲望和恶魔的影响来解释所罗门的许多婚姻,Theodore bar Koni, Merv的Isho al - dad和匿名手稿olim Diyarbakır 22的解说员却将这些婚姻描绘成一种旨在提供和平的婚姻政治形式。本文以莫普苏斯提亚的西奥多对所罗门和《雅歌》的看法为背景,考察了这一政治母题的作用。我们认为,东叙利亚作者评价所罗门婚姻的方式与他们对宋的不同态度有关。这篇文章说明了希腊训诂学是如何在东叙利亚传统的圣经解释中传播和转化的。
{"title":"Tu, felix Salomon, nube: Solomon’s Marriages in Early Christian and East Syrian Biblical Interpretation","authors":"Marion Pragt","doi":"10.1163/15700720-12341478","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-12341478","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This article explores the political portrayal of Solomon’s marriages presented by three East Syrian authors. It will be shown that whereas Jewish and early Christian interpreters often pointed to desire and demonic influence to explain Solomon’s many marriages, Theodore bar Koni, Ishoʿdad of Merv and the commentators of the anonymous manuscript olim Diyarbakır 22 instead portrayed the marriages as a form of nuptial politics intended to provide peace. The article examines the role of this political motif against the background of Theodore of Mopsuestia’s views on Solomon and the Song of Songs. It will be argued that the ways in which the East Syrian authors evaluated Solomon’s marriages are related to their different attitudes to the Song. The article illustrates how Greek exegesis could be transmitted and transformed in the East Syrian tradition of scriptural interpretation.","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":"67 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83514909","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-21DOI: 10.1163/15700720-12341473
Ilaria L. E. Ramelli
{"title":"Deacons and Diakonia in Early Christianity: The First Two Centuries, edited by Bart J. Koet, Edwina Murphy, and Esko Ryökäs","authors":"Ilaria L. E. Ramelli","doi":"10.1163/15700720-12341473","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-12341473","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79218233","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-21DOI: 10.1163/15700720-12341479
Elena Castelnuovo
Easter themes and motifs constitute a secondary level of meaning of the fifth poem in Prudentius’ Cathemerinon, namely the “hymn for the lighting of the lamps”. This is the result of a comparison between this evening hymn and the proclamations that were sung during the Easter vigil throughout the West from the fourth century onwards. The parallels found include light, the crossing of the Red Sea, Christ’s descent into hell, as well as the close relationship between the Exodus and baptism, which was commonly celebrated during the paschal night. That kind of scenario better explains the presence of the Paradise scene that follows the Exodus narrative in Cathemerinon 5: the Eden regained as is depicted by Prudentius, with references to the enclosed garden in the Song of Songs, appears to stand for the Church community to which the newly baptised had finally access.
{"title":"Across the Red Sea to the Paradise Regained: Easter Vigil and Baptism in Prudentius, Cathemerinon 5","authors":"Elena Castelnuovo","doi":"10.1163/15700720-12341479","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-12341479","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Easter themes and motifs constitute a secondary level of meaning of the fifth poem in Prudentius’ Cathemerinon, namely the “hymn for the lighting of the lamps”. This is the result of a comparison between this evening hymn and the proclamations that were sung during the Easter vigil throughout the West from the fourth century onwards. The parallels found include light, the crossing of the Red Sea, Christ’s descent into hell, as well as the close relationship between the Exodus and baptism, which was commonly celebrated during the paschal night. That kind of scenario better explains the presence of the Paradise scene that follows the Exodus narrative in Cathemerinon 5: the Eden regained as is depicted by Prudentius, with references to the enclosed garden in the Song of Songs, appears to stand for the Church community to which the newly baptised had finally access.","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87069762","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-21DOI: 10.1163/15700720-12341480
Barbara Feichtinger
Using the example of Epistula 3 Jerome’s citation technique is analyzed in detail. For this purpose, a comprehensive classification grid of intertextual references is introduced for the first time, which allows a systematization of the narrative examination of citations and allusions. Thus, not only differences in the use of Bible verses and quotations of classics can be highlighted transparently but also a (radical) syntactic, structural, and semantic incorporation of biblical and classic pre-texts by Jerome’s text can be substantiated. In stark contrast to former, rather negative verdicts on Jerome’s “cento style” and semantic incoherences in his writing, this approach is capable of showing a high functionality and authority in Jerome’s strategy of referencing, which shapes the narrative of the friendship letter not only aesthetically but also significantly helps to constitute its semantics.
{"title":"Quid facit cum psalterio Horatius? (Hier. ep. 22,29,7)","authors":"Barbara Feichtinger","doi":"10.1163/15700720-12341480","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-12341480","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Using the example of Epistula 3 Jerome’s citation technique is analyzed in detail. For this purpose, a comprehensive classification grid of intertextual references is introduced for the first time, which allows a systematization of the narrative examination of citations and allusions. Thus, not only differences in the use of Bible verses and quotations of classics can be highlighted transparently but also a (radical) syntactic, structural, and semantic incorporation of biblical and classic pre-texts by Jerome’s text can be substantiated. In stark contrast to former, rather negative verdicts on Jerome’s “cento style” and semantic incoherences in his writing, this approach is capable of showing a high functionality and authority in Jerome’s strategy of referencing, which shapes the narrative of the friendship letter not only aesthetically but also significantly helps to constitute its semantics.","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74821970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-21DOI: 10.1163/15700720-12341477
Adrian C. Pirtea
In 543 and 553, two church councils initiated by Justinian condemned Origen’s belief that stars possess rational souls. In this article, I place Justinian’s anathemas in the wider context of sixth-century debates on Biblical cosmology and on the validity of astral sciences. In the first part, I review the arguments for and against astral ensoulment and astral signification in Origen, Evagrius, and other Christian and Neoplatonic authors. The second part consists of an in-depth reading of two sixth-century Christian authors who reacted differently to Origen’s ideas: Sergius of Rešʿaynā (d. 536) and John Philoponus (d. ca. 570). While Sergius endorses and expands on the Origenian view by integrating Evagrian and Neoplatonic elements, I argue that John Philoponus constructs his arguments not only in opposition to Origen, but specifically as a reaction to the Origenist-Evagrian line of interpretation represented by Sergius. Finally, I offer a few examples of how Sergius’ and Philoponus’ divergent readings of Origen can contribute to a better understanding of later debates on similar issues in Byzantium and the Islamic world.
{"title":"Astral Ensoulment and Astral Signifiers in Sixth-Century Readings of Origen and Evagrius: Justinian’s Anathemas, Sergius of Rešʿaynā, John Philoponus","authors":"Adrian C. Pirtea","doi":"10.1163/15700720-12341477","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-12341477","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000In 543 and 553, two church councils initiated by Justinian condemned Origen’s belief that stars possess rational souls. In this article, I place Justinian’s anathemas in the wider context of sixth-century debates on Biblical cosmology and on the validity of astral sciences. In the first part, I review the arguments for and against astral ensoulment and astral signification in Origen, Evagrius, and other Christian and Neoplatonic authors. The second part consists of an in-depth reading of two sixth-century Christian authors who reacted differently to Origen’s ideas: Sergius of Rešʿaynā (d. 536) and John Philoponus (d. ca. 570). While Sergius endorses and expands on the Origenian view by integrating Evagrian and Neoplatonic elements, I argue that John Philoponus constructs his arguments not only in opposition to Origen, but specifically as a reaction to the Origenist-Evagrian line of interpretation represented by Sergius. Finally, I offer a few examples of how Sergius’ and Philoponus’ divergent readings of Origen can contribute to a better understanding of later debates on similar issues in Byzantium and the Islamic world.","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":"46 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83729947","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-21DOI: 10.1163/15700720-12341483
Claudio Moreschini
{"title":"Self-Portrait in Three Colors. Gregory of Nazianzus’s Epistolary Autobiography, written by Bradley K. Storin","authors":"Claudio Moreschini","doi":"10.1163/15700720-12341483","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-12341483","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":"EM-32 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84532881","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-21DOI: 10.1163/15700720-12341475
W. Helleman
Recent studies of Victorinus by Stephen Andrew Cooper, Ellen Scully, Lenka Karfiková and Werner Steinmann have highlighted the need to read the philosophical treatises more closely alongside explicitly theological and exegetical work. But the approach of these authors reflects significantly divergent goals, from reading his work to defend an almost Lutheran emphasis on sola fide, or rather differently, in terms of a ‘physicalist’ approach on universal implications of Christ’s role as Logos. Appreciating the work of Cooper and Karfiková, the present treatment is focused on a recent article by Scully, questioning her understanding of Victorinus on the interconnection of cosmology and soteriology to present the human Christ in terms of a Platonic form.
{"title":"Victorinus’ Soteriology as a Philosophical, Theological and Exegetical Project","authors":"W. Helleman","doi":"10.1163/15700720-12341475","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-12341475","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Recent studies of Victorinus by Stephen Andrew Cooper, Ellen Scully, Lenka Karfiková and Werner Steinmann have highlighted the need to read the philosophical treatises more closely alongside explicitly theological and exegetical work. But the approach of these authors reflects significantly divergent goals, from reading his work to defend an almost Lutheran emphasis on sola fide, or rather differently, in terms of a ‘physicalist’ approach on universal implications of Christ’s role as Logos. Appreciating the work of Cooper and Karfiková, the present treatment is focused on a recent article by Scully, questioning her understanding of Victorinus on the interconnection of cosmology and soteriology to present the human Christ in terms of a Platonic form.","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":"59 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85620977","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}