At the beginning of Irenaeus of Lyons’ Adversus Haereses, the doctrine of the Valentinian Ptolemy is presented using terms from the semantic field of time and eternity, which were undergoing a semantic evolution in contemporary Middle Platonic philosophy. These allow us to identify three phases, from a chronological point of view, at the beginning of the Valentinian myth: strict, supra-durational, eternity – eternity of indefinite duration – moment ante tempus.

Gregory of Nyssa’s bearing in Qohelet 3:5b to wealth, rather than to the matrimonial “embrace”, is unusual by comparison withother ancient exegeses; it seems to be motivated not only by the acoluthia which characterizes his spiritual interpretation of the passage Qo. 3:2-8 (Sandro Leanza), but also by the crucial importance he gives to catharsis, as one the qualities he considered necessary for the exegete.

The phrase tempora christiana in Augustine has been studied from various points of view. This article illuminates the way in which it refers to the care of divine providence for individuals and society in the period when true worship is rendered to God through the Christian religion. Furthermore, we find Augustine proposing, using the idea of kairós, i.e. a new opportunity to be embraced, to create a new cycle of the human story, to which everyone will contribute.

The verbal form κατέλθῇ, which appears in the passage of Adv. Haer. 1, 13, 3, linn. 56-58, in which Irenaeus presents the Marcosian doctrine, is usually translated as to descend, following the old Latin version (cf. descendat). However, in another place in the work of Irenaeus himself, this verb receives other translations. This note shows how it may be much better to translate the verb κατέρχομαι in AH 1, 13, 3, linn. 56-58 by devenire, redere.

This article proposes an interpretation of the use of the lemma ὁ κανὼν τὴς ἀληϑείας – regula veritatis in Irenaeus’ Adversus haereses. It is commonly interpreted as a compendium of the main items of Christian faith (more or less as a symbolum) or as indicating the wholeness of the faith (as synonym of veritas). These interpretations focuse themselves in terms of the “contents” of faith. We propose to understand it in a more formal way, as a lemma that indicates the formal structure of Christian truth (μορφή), the specific shape that keeps the objects of faith joined together.

The paper focuses on Rufinus’ translation of Eusebius’ Historia Ecclesiastica 1, 1-3, which discusses trinitarian and christological matters. Firstly, I will analyze how Rufinus amends or removes statements which are close to Origenism and Arianism, sometimes replacing them with orthodox ones; I will then examine Rufinus’ way of citing and interpreting the Bible, by correcting Eusebius’ reading, when it is suspected of heresy, or by explaining passages himself. This work of emendation reveals, on the one hand, Rufinus’ desire to give the readers a text which fits perfectly with the nicen-constantinopolitan creed, and, on the other hand, his aim of protecting himself from accusations.

Given the authority accorded to Hilary of Poitiers by ecumenical councils of the 1st millennium, it is of interest to determine his teaching about the disputed question of the eternal relation of the Son and the Holy Spirit. The question is complex, partly because it is one that Hilary in most cases touches upon only indirectly, when arguing for the divinity of the Son, and partly because the meaning of the relevant passages, even on the level of Latin syntax, is often hard to determine, and a matter of disagreement between different translators or editors. Y. Congar and A. E. Siecienski, in their surveys of the discussions of the inter-trinitarian relations of the Son and the Holy Spirit in the patristic age do not examine all these textual difficulties, nor do they discuss the Opus Historicum, which contains a highly relevant passage on this subject. The present article attempts to throw light on the question by examining the key texts and suggesting answers to the problems of translation and interpretation that they present. It concludes that Hilary’s position is substantially identical to that which would later be agreed by the Greek and Latin churches at the council of Florence, and enshrined in the decree Laetentur caeli.

Poem XXII of Paulinus Nolanus constitutes an important testimony to the saint’s personality and of his mystical experience. Reinterpreting classical poetry according to Christian faith, he expresses the bond of love between Christ and man through erotic symbols and classic metaphors. Through this union, Paulinus also clarifies the concept of divine immutability, fundamental to the patristic theology of the first centuries.

In an effort to identify the genre of the Confessions, this essay: 1) explains the patristic notion of confession and how Augustine expands upon this already-rich concept to include that of sacrifice; 2) offers an overview of Augustine’s pervasive sacrificial imagery in the Confessions, especially with respect to himself, Monica, Alypius, and the philosophi; and 3) teases out the implications of this imagery and how Augustine’s theology of sacrifice relates to the genre of his Confessions. We conclude the Confessions is best understood as a sacrifice offered to God by Augustine in his capacity as bishop on behalf of his readers so that they may join him in the transformative act of confessing.

Well-known Augustinian scholars have complained about unresolved issues and the nature of argumentation of De Trinitate 6. In this book Augustine examines the role of 1 Cor. 1:24, Christum […] dei sapientiam in anti-Arian polemic, and critiques what may be considered quasi-relational predication of divine wisdom. The present essay surveys recent scholarship on book 6, with special attention to the commentary of M. Carreker, affirming the role of logic in this book. It examines Augustine’s understanding of the genitive in the key phrase, sapientia dei, and recognizes that, in spite of his critique, Augustine goes out of his way in affirming the Nicene argument in order to do justice to the longstanding patristic tradition appropriating wisdom for Christ as God’s Son.

This article studies Augustine’s Eucharistic Spirituality as it emerges primarily from his preaching, in his catechesis during the Easter Season. It investigates how the bishop of Hippo explains to the neophytes the transformation that makes bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ in order to ignite their awareness about what it is that they receive at the Altar. It further considers what Augustine indicates as the spiritual disposition necessary for the reception of the sacrament and its effects in the life of those who worthily share in it. Finally, the article explores the link Augustine establishes between the Eucharist and the Church to demonstrate the importance of Unity among those who approach the Altar of the Lord and the need to continuously become what we receive even today as we perpetuate the memorial of the Lord in our Eucharistic celebrations.

Barb. gr. 441 is a miscellaneous manuscript that contains fragments of different Fathers of the Church (Basil of Caesarea, John Chrysostom, Sophronius of Jerusalem and Epiphanius of Salamis). The scope of these adnotationes is to delimit the folios belonging to each author and offer a more detailed information on Epiphanius’ passages.

In this article, we deal with the intelligible world of the angels in the Areopagetic tradition and we compose references found in the De divinis nominibus to form, as far as possible, a complete definition of them. This systematic approach to the Areopagetic corpus takes into consideration Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite’s text and George Pachymeres’ Paraphrasis of this treatise. We also offer a methodological proposal on how we can structure theoretically general concepts that refer to objective realities, which however cannot be proved by the tools of formal Logic.

The present contribution proposes the study of the exegetical-soteriological assumption, elaborated by Clement of Alexandria in Str. 6, 15, 131, 1-5, where a passage taken from the Vis. II, 1, 3-4 of Hermas is reinterpreted. The Gnostic exegete, who professes the true gnosis, must be aware that while it is possible for everyone to read the sacrad Scripture “letter by letter”, not everyone will be in a position to undertake the “Gnostic explanation”, but only those to which faith has opened the depths of the text, “the elect”, so that they are able to progress from the “letter” to the “syllable” bringing to light the message that goes beyond the letter, which is already engraved in the “new heart” and now preserved in the book that has been “renewed” by the Savior, the Logos of God.

This article analyses an old issue regarding the identity of John the Baptist in the Commentary on the Gospel of John by Origen of Alexandria in response to the Gnostic Heracleon and some enigmatic anonymous adversaries. Taking as a starting point the two hypotheses existing nowadays about this topic, a new approach is proposed through which it is shown that both hypotheses are not mutually exclusive. The present work has been structured into two large sections. The context where this debate emerges is presented in the first part. This context refers to the continuity or discontinuity between the Old and New Testaments. The second part is focused on the identity of John the Baptist adopting the point view related to the impossibility of identifying the disciple with no specific character, also revealed in the first section.

In this paper we shall examine a few texts by authors who predate Hilary in order to investigate a possible exegetical tradition or interpretative current that could include several gnostic groups cited by Irenaeus of Lyons (II c.), to Origen (III c.) and saint Hilary of Poitiers (IV c.). However, one of the interpretations that Origen presents in his Commentary on saint John is the same interpretation that Hilary gives, but it is more developed. Certainly, Hilary and Origen comment two different Gospels, but both comment homologous scenes; Hilary comments Mt. 8:5-13 and Origen, Io. 4:46-54. In addition, we believe some testimonies in Hilary’s commentary can reveal the influence of Origen’s commentary on Hilary/s. One of these testimonies could be the explanation of the strange reading transmitted by Hilary who calls tribunus to the centurio of the Gospel.

This paper aims to show, on the one hand, that the humility mentioned in book 7 of the Confessions would become the prelude for Augustine to the humility that constitutes the true conversion, and, on the other hand, that the context in which this humility presented itself is continentia. In a passage of linguistic beauty (conf. 8, 27), Augustine describes the struggle that occurred between allegorical persons: those who pulled him back with the chain of the past, and those who urged him forward towards the decision to embrace continentia. The enjoyment of love not only requires the truth that remains forever, but also the steadfastness of all the emotions that come together in the lasting unity of the will. According to the author, Augustine in his Confessions has Christianised the Roman uirtus of continentia.

Augustine invites Christians to maintain a detached attitude towards this world, an invitation which is largely reflected in the Sermones ad populum. This article studies these sermons to highlight the understanding of the relationship of Christians with pagans who are ultimately called to convert. According to this study, it is through preaching that Augustine christianizes pagans without forgetting other means, especially dialogue and knowledge of the practices of peoples not yet educated in the faith.

The history of the relationship between Jerome and Augustine has often been studied; nevertheless it seems that, even after peace was made between the two, the Stridonian advanced some criticisms of Augustine in relation to the evangelical saying about the camel and the eye. He interprets this as an expression of an absolute impossibility, while for Augustine it indicates only the difficulty of an operation which can be overcome thanks to the intervention of God.

This paper explores Augustine’s ideal of just society, as developed in books XII, XIV and XIX of the City of God, and its rehabilitation of the notion of civitas peregrina. Bringing to maturity the classical notion of community (according to Aristotle and Cicero’s definitions), Augustine investigates how, in the Christian view, the different kinds of societies, which arise on earth, are dependent on the acceptance or refusal of the relation between man and his transcendental origin. This connection between metaphysics and history allows for an alternative reading of the City of God, by which man’s spiritual life and its public and social dimensions escape dichotomist views and the confinement to a purely philosophical or religious discourse.