2017. L. Van Hoof, P. Manafis, P. Van Nuffelen, Philo of Carpasia, Ecclesiastical history, in Revue d’Histoire ecclésiastique 112 (2017), 35-52 (original) (raw)
Related papers
Studia Patristica, vol. 66, 2013
The textual Vorbild most commonly posited for Eusebius’ Historia Ecclesiastica [Hist. eccl.] is Flavius Josephus’ Antiquitates Judaicae [AJ]. This paper probes the limits of Eusebius’ use of Josephus through a case study, a comparison of how each historian represented Philo of Alexandria. Josephus mentions Philo just once in the AJ, when the philosopher defended the Judeans of Alexandria before Caligula (18.259f.). Such sparse coverage of Philo is striking because description of the great Judean’s philosophical activity would have enhanced the Judean glories exhibited in the AJ. Far richer is Eusebius’ portrayal of Philo: not only does Philo’s political service come up in the Hist. eccl. (2.6), but Eusebius also praises Philo’s erudition (2.4), notes purported encounters with Peter and Mark (2.16), reproduces the philosopher’s description of a purportedly Christian ascetic community (2.17), and catalogues his writings (2.18): in short, Eusebius foregrounds Philo’s philosophical achievements alongside the political, deploying many un-Josephan literary topoi along the way. That Eusebius stressed Philo’s literary and philosophical activities, as well as the political service narrated by Josephus, illustrates how the models for the pioneer of church history included philosophical biography along with national historiography along Josephan lines. The paper concludes by showing that the topoi whereby Eusebius represented Philo are paralleled in Diogenes Laertius’ Lives and Opinions of the Famous Philosophers, the best surviving example of philosophical historiography. Eusebius’ display of Philo’s intellectual accomplishments through biographical topoi both reinforced the Jewish philosopher’s credibility as an admirer of Christianity and encouraged comparison between Philo and the Christian intellectuals portrayed throughout the Hist. eccl.
Theophilus of Antioch: The Life and Thought of a Second-Century Bishop (review)
The Catholic Historical Review, 2001
Deux mille ans d'histoire de l'eT glise. Bilan et perspectives historiographiques. Edited by J. Pirotte and E. Louchez. Pp. . (Revue d'histoire eccle! siastique, , .) (). Louvain-la-Neuve : Louvain University Press. JEH () ; DOI : .\S The centenary of a great learned journal, a notable event both for individual readers and for libraries, is proper matter for a deep salute to the twin universities of Leuven\Louvain. This special volume celebrating the RHE contains thirtynine papers on selected problems in the two millennia of past Christian history. A discernible emphasis lies on the sense of tension between traditional conservative catholic theology and the assumptions of modernity. Some good essays on hagiography include an admirable stress on the scholarly achievements of the Bollandists, especially (but not only) Hippolyte Delehaye, who broke new ground by applying strict historical method to texts which, even when far from being sober and dry records, could often contain social history of high value. Mathlijs Lamberigts contributes a major paper on the modern rehabilitation of Pelagius, whose ' ism ' was largely a construct of his opponents and who found considerable sympathy in the Greek Churches. W. Frijhoff comments on rationalist histories of sorcery and demon possession. Two sections discuss the delicate topic of church authority, including a sympathetic piece by Bruno Neveu on the treatment of Jansenism, the problems of recruiting clergy and religious in western Europe, and the rise of an audible voice on the part of women and Catholic laity. Ecumenism, particularly Catholic-Orthodox dialogue, is handled perhaps more nervously but has developed a convincing method and offers a good process of education for those Catholics and Protestants to whom ecumenism is a polite term for treachery. J. A. Komonchak has here a candid piece on religious freedom and the confessional state. Emile Poulat, expert on Loisy and Modernism, reconsiders some of the lasting problems. Finally, the grand master Roger Aubert concludes the collection, analysing the distinct assumptions of those who think church history no branch of theology but only of history. The point is perhaps worth making here that theology has not only had but retains a decisive role in the formation of the central narrative.
P. Buzi, A. Camplani & F. Contardi (eds.), Coptic Society, Literature and Religion from Late Antiquity to Modern Times. Proceedings of the Tenth International Congress of Coptic Studies …, Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 247, Leuven, Paris & Bristol 2016, 969–978, 2016
'Finding Philo' Exploring the influence of Philo of Alexandria in the works of St Gregory of Nyssa
When looking into the development of Christian Philosophy, especially that of the mystical Tradition, in the Imperial world it is vitally important to understand the context of the writing and cultural impact of the Hellenic thinkers who lived and taught before the advent of Christianity. A key aspect is looking at how the thought of the Pagan Philosophers of the Greek world such as Plato and the Stoics entered into the Christian understanding of and patristic exegetical thought on Scripture. Things brings forward the intellectual contribution made by the Jewish Philosopher; Philo of Alexandria.
Scrinium. Т. 7–8: Ars Christiana. In memoriam Michail F. Murianov (21.XI.1928–6.VI.1995). Edited by R. Krivko, B. Lourié, and A. Orlov (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2011–2012) Part One. Р. 102-13, 2012
The article deals with the approaches to philosophy and to theology that were demonstrated by John Philoponus (6 th AD) and by Maximus the Confessor (7 th AD) during their lives. Periodization of their creative activity is given and some parallels in their lives are shown to exist in spite of all their diff erences. This comparison of their respective lives and approaches to some important themes of philosophy and theology allows clarifi cation of a character of appropriation and usage of philosophy during the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Several similarities and diff erences in the teaching of these thinkers are examined. These include particularly the theory of logoi; Christological and Trinitarian teaching; some aspects of anthropology (body-soul relations and embryology); a itude to Neoplatonism. Philoponus' "projects" on the Christianization of philosophy and the philosophisation of Christianity are compared to Maximus's "project" on Christian philosophy with the teaching of deifi cation in its center.
Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum, 2023
Eusebius did not represent all heretics in the Ecclesiastical History as equally pernicious. This paper presents close readings of Eusebius' chapters about three relatively benign heretics, namely Tatian (Historia ecclesiastica 4,29), Bardaisan (4,30), and Symmachus (6,17), and I also explore Rhodon (Historia ecclesiastica 5,13), a student of Tatian whom Eusebius never labels a heretic. Three inferences emerge from these readings. First, rather than condemning all heretics as equally demonic, deceitful, morally depraved, and worthless, Eusebius considered some heresies less dangerous than others. Second, Eusebius commended some heretics' useful writings, which in each case Eusebius quotes in his own oeuvre; he thus retained some of Clement's and Origen's openness to heretics' ideas. Third, the case of Rhodon shows that Eusebius assumed no obligation to classify all Christian thinkers as orthodox or heretical: as with Rhodon, Eusebius elides the ecclesiastical status of Tertullian and Ammonius (Historia ecclesiastica 2,2,4; 6,19,9-10), two other Christians of questionable orthodoxy. For Eusebius, in sum, the usefulness of an author's texts sometimes superseded the harm of that author's questionable orthodoxy, especially when that author hailed from a less-harmful heresy or was not clearly a heretic.