{"title":"Justin Martyr’s Problem with Platonism: Heresy and Anthropology in Dialogue 4 and the Syntagma","authors":"Nicholas List","doi":"10.1163/15700720-bja10089","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-bja10089","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000In Dialogue 4, Justin changes his mind on two specific tenets of Platonic philosophy: the idea that the soul can see God, and the doctrine of transmigration. The Platonic anthropology rejected by Justin happens to be foundational to the theological systems of his Christian demiurgical opponents: Simon and Helen, Basilides, and Carpocrates (who are likely discussed and refuted in Justin’s now-lost Syntagma Against all the Heresies). In this paper, I argue that this is not coincidental, and that Justin’s problem with Platonic anthropology is bound up with his broader heresiological concerns. By rejecting these two doctrines, Justin was able to define Christianity on his own terms while effectively undermining the teachings of his religious rivals. This further explains the specificity of Justin’s problem with Platonism, which should not be read as a wholesale rejection of Platonic philosophy.","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141010991","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}
{"title":"Elementary Errors: Philosophers, Idolaters, and τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου in Paul and Clement of Alexandria","authors":"Brayden Hirsch","doi":"10.1163/15700720-bja10090","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-bja10090","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Historically, interpreters of Gal. 4 have found the literal sense of τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου, “the elements of the world” to be unintelligible in context. Although a compelling Pauline vision of enslavement to these στοιχεῖα has remained elusive, this paper argues that it is possible to recapture that vision with recourse to the traditional usage of the phrase in ancient Greek philosophical literature. By examining one of the earliest extant quotations of Gal. 4 – i.e., that of Clement of Alexandria in his Protrepticus (c.190 CE) – and the philosophical language with which Clement associates Paul’s στοιχεῖα, this paper argues that Paul uses the phrase τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου according to its meaning in the ancient philosophical Sondersprache. Because an ambiguity between matter and divinity already characterized ancient philosophical thought about στοιχεῖα, Paul’s “elements” need not be either “cosmological” or “principial” (as most previous interpreters have thought), but both.","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141007916","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}
{"title":"Doxography and Eschatology in Clement of Alexandria","authors":"Charlotte Kirsch-Klingelhöffer","doi":"10.1163/15700720-bja10088","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-bja10088","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000In strom. V.9.1 and strom. V.14.103–106, Clement of Alexandria presents opinions (doxai) of Greek philosophers regarding ‘eschatology’. By making use of so-called doxographies (i.e. the collection of philosophical opinions on a particular topic), Clement employs a popular method in contemporary philosophical debate. In this article, I will show how Clement reinterprets philosophers’ opinions and modifies them to construct a philosophical proof for (Christian) eschatology. It allows him to make controversial topics such as ‘final judgement’ and ‘resurrection’ more plausible to his philosophically educated readers, as according to him, these ideas have already been discussed and confirmed by several well-known philosophers (Heraclitus, Empedocles, Plato and the Stoics).","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140252665","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}
{"title":"“Just as You Quenched the Fiery Furnace of Nebuchadnezzar, Also Quench Every Fever.” The Three Holy Children in Coptic Magic","authors":"Roxanne Bélanger Sarrazin","doi":"10.1163/15700720-bja10087","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-bja10087","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This article offers editions of four amulets with Coptic healing charms invoking the Three Holy Children from the third chapter of the book of Daniel. As an introduction, it discusses the importance of the Three Children in Christian traditions and their role as healing saints, and provides an overview of their occurrences in Coptic magic.","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139598287","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}
{"title":"Mani and Augustine. Collected Essays on Mani, Manichaeism and Augustine, written by Johannes van Oort","authors":"Madeleine Scopello","doi":"10.1163/15700720-12347534","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-12347534","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139605490","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}
{"title":"Shaping Mind and Model: John Chrysostom’s Method of Exemplification in De Davide et Saule I","authors":"Mathieu Cuijpers","doi":"10.1163/15700720-bja10082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-bja10082","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000In recent studies on Chrysostom, there has been an increased interest in his use of Biblical figures as moral examples and in his position within the ancient psychotherapeutic tradition. Building upon these new insights, this study analyses Chrysostom’s portrayal of David in the first homily De Davide et Saule (CPG 4412.1). Particular attention is paid to Chrysostom’s various techniques to visualise David, and moral exemplars more broadly. As a physician of the soul, Chrysostom not only seeks his audience to visualise David, but to interiorise this image, so it may morally transform his audience. This study shows that to inculcate a moral exemplar, he often uses a specific “spiritual exercise”, not only in the present case of David, but throughout the Chrysostomic corpus.","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139613064","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}
{"title":"A Problem in Gregory of Nazianzus, Epistle 4","authors":"Konstantine Panegyres","doi":"10.1163/15700720-bja10076","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-bja10076","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This paper reconsiders an alleged textual problem raised by the word ξουφηρία in one of Gregory of Nazianzus’s letters to Basil (Ep. 4). Contrary to what has been argued by a recent scholar, the text does not need emendation. The problem can be resolved by means of lexicographical analysis: ξουφηρία is merely a spelling variant of ζοφερία (“darkness”).","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139615166","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}
{"title":"The Circumcising Antichrist in the Credo of Gregory of Tours: Sources, Context, and Influence","authors":"G. Halfond","doi":"10.1163/15700720-bja10066","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-bja10066","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000In the personal credo that prefaces his Decem libri historiarum, Gregory of Tours states his belief in an Antichrist who would impose circumcision upon his subjects. While Gregory did not invent this theme of a circumcising Antichrist, it nevertheless closely mirrored his own eschatological anxieties. Physical circumcision was, for Gregory, an unmistakable indicator of Judaism and the Old Law. The Bishop of Tours was deeply concerned about the Jews of his own time, whose obstinate refusal to acknowledge Christian truth he perceived as an obstacle to his socio-religious ideal of a unified Christian society. While Gregory did not necessarily believe that the End Times would arrive during his own lifetime, he saw signa of its inevitability everywhere, and consequently encouraged readiness on the part of his contemporaries. The Antichrist’s imposition of compulsory circumcision thus implied for Gregory the culmination of an ongoing effort by Jews to inhibit Christian unity.","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139615274","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}
{"title":"Unfinished Christians: Ritual Objects and Silent Subjects in Late Antiquity, written by Georgia Frank","authors":"Wendy Mayer","doi":"10.1163/15700720-12347535","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-12347535","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139614746","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}
{"title":"The Latin Polycarp, the Division Hypothesis, and Polylingual Text","authors":"Grant W. Gasse","doi":"10.1163/15700720-bja10083","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-bja10083","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Polycarp’s Letter to the Philippians (Pol.Phil.) is poorly attested. All extant Greek manuscripts (G) stem from one source, Vaticanus Graecus 859 (V), which preserves only a portion of the text. Accordingly, editors reproduce G, supplemented as needed with the old Latin translation (L), preserved in its entirety, and with Greek fragments preserved in Eusebius. I argue that L ought to be treated as a discrete witness to the epistle, and not merely as supplement to G. The paper proceeds in two parts: first, I offer a careful analysis of the translation, concluding that L offers a relatively faithful, literal translation and a comparably well-preserved attestation to the epistle. Second, I demonstrate that the well-known “division hypothesis” relies upon an incomplete analysis of L. In short, I contend that the construction of composite, polylingual critical editions of Pol.Phil. has occasioned textual problemata unreflected in the text’s individual manuscript traditions.","PeriodicalId":44928,"journal":{"name":"VIGILIAE CHRISTIANAE","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139617978","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}