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De gentilium fonte : Hieronymus, origenism och icke-kristen litteratur

Pålsson, Katarina LU (2021) In Patristica Nordica Annuaria 36. p.39-67
Abstract (Swedish)
This article examines the heresiological mechanisms involved in constructing Origenism as a heresy in Late Antiquity. Attention is especially paid to the rhetorical role that “paganism” played in this construction. Focusing on the polemics of Jerome of Stridon, I argue that Jerome created a dichotomy of pagan learning and Christian confession, and described the Origenists as relying excessively on non-Christian authors. He also accuses the Origenists of being deceitful and not professing publicly what they actually teach. In contrast to the Origenists, he presents himself as a man of the church who confesses the plain faith without engaging in philosophical discussions. In this way, he marks the Origenists as deviant from true... (More)
This article examines the heresiological mechanisms involved in constructing Origenism as a heresy in Late Antiquity. Attention is especially paid to the rhetorical role that “paganism” played in this construction. Focusing on the polemics of Jerome of Stridon, I argue that Jerome created a dichotomy of pagan learning and Christian confession, and described the Origenists as relying excessively on non-Christian authors. He also accuses the Origenists of being deceitful and not professing publicly what they actually teach. In contrast to the Origenists, he presents himself as a man of the church who confesses the plain faith without engaging in philosophical discussions. In this way, he marks the Origenists as deviant from true Christianity, while he himself is clearly placed within the boundaries of orthodoxy. It is argued that this was a strategy that Jerome applied with the purpose of defending his own ways of relating to Origen as well as to non-Christian thought, which was not so clear-cut as his rhetoric would indicate. (Less)
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Patristica Nordica Annuaria
volume
36
pages
39 - 67
publisher
Collegium Patristicum Lundense
ISSN
2001-2365
language
Swedish
LU publication?
yes
id
d1af0fa7-c224-425e-a00b-bffebdd8ba08
alternative location
https://journals.lub.lu.se/pna/article/view/24066
date added to LUP
2023-12-18 13:29:42
date last changed
2023-12-19 11:32:25
@article{d1af0fa7-c224-425e-a00b-bffebdd8ba08,
  abstract     = {{This article examines the heresiological mechanisms involved in constructing Origenism as a heresy in Late Antiquity. Attention is especially paid to the rhetorical role that “paganism” played in this construction. Focusing on the polemics of Jerome of Stridon, I argue that Jerome created a dichotomy of pagan learning and Christian confession, and described the Origenists as relying excessively on non-Christian authors. He also accuses the Origenists of being deceitful and not professing publicly what they actually teach. In contrast to the Origenists, he presents himself as a man of the church who confesses the plain faith without engaging in philosophical discussions. In this way, he marks the Origenists as deviant from true Christianity, while he himself is clearly placed within the boundaries of orthodoxy. It is argued that this was a strategy that Jerome applied with the purpose of defending his own ways of relating to Origen as well as to non-Christian thought, which was not so clear-cut as his rhetoric would indicate.}},
  author       = {{Pålsson, Katarina}},
  issn         = {{2001-2365}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  pages        = {{39--67}},
  publisher    = {{Collegium Patristicum Lundense}},
  series       = {{Patristica Nordica Annuaria}},
  title        = {{De gentilium fonte : Hieronymus, origenism och icke-kristen litteratur}},
  url          = {{https://journals.lub.lu.se/pna/article/view/24066}},
  volume       = {{36}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}