Honouring the gods in the classical Mediterranean realm and on its fringes

Debates between pagan and Christian elites

The meeting of Christianity with Hellenism in Antioch and its dependant territories made for a lively cultural interaction wherein intellectual debate played out in all its shapes and forms. Pagan philosophers lead the charge, no doubt bringing grist to the persecution mill. Christian thinkers refuted. Tatian[1], Theophilus of Antioch[2] and Origen[3] pioneered the apologetic form. The 4th century fathers' writings have a specific content aimed at intellectual elites they seek to persuade rather than to confound. Eusebius[4], in his Evangelical Preparation treatise, guides his readers' mind towards the adoption of the tenets of the Christian faith and, in his Demonstration, he seeks to win them over to his beliefs. John Chrysostom[5] called on every rhetoric device, every dialectic argument to convince the pagans. Theodoret of Cyrus[6] proposed through his treatise Therapeutic for Hellenic Maladies to heal his reader and lead him to faith.

The range of acculturation modalities show Christianity's aptitude to absorb new elements which account for its universalism. Besides those already mentioned, the philosophico-theological Antiochene school brought together theologians and exegetes such as Diodore of Tarsus[7] who applied the historical and philological method to explain their understanding of salvation, life after death, interpreting Christian scripture according to the Magisterium. This Antiochian tradition also embraced the cultural and spiritual heritage bequeathed by Syriac authors, not least Saint Ephrem. Conversely Syriac authors achieved a remarkable cultural feat: they translated Greek knowledge into Syriac, then into Arabic. This major translation exercise benefited the Arabs but also medieval Europe. Today, regardless of the decline of Antioch's spiritual metropolitan status, its heirs keep up in the Middle-East fruitful exchanges centred on life and culture.

  1. Tatian (c.120-c. 173)

    Pagan converted to Christianity; Tatian attempted a synthesis of part of the Greek heritage drawn from Stoicism and elements of the Christian tradition. After the martyrdom of Justin, his master, he broke away from Christianity and was party to the development of the Encratite movement. He is the author of the Diatessaron, a single text harmonising the four Gospel texts and an Oratio ad Graecos [Address to the Greeks] which amounts to an attack on Hellenism and polytheism and where he sets forth his conception of God, the Creation, of man, the Resurrection and the Last Judgment.

  2. Theophilus of Antioch (2nd century)

    Bishop of Antioch circa 168, author of a book entitled Apology to Autolycus. A pagan converted to Christianity, he presents the Gospels as words inspired by God and never mentions the person of Jesus in his apologetics.

  3. Origen (c.185-c.253)

    Theologian born in Alexandria where his father was martyred to death during anti-Christian persecutions, counted among the Church Fathers. Confronting pagan authors, he stood as the heir to his master Clement of Alexandria and his merits, which earned him many disciples, are vaunted by his biographer Eusebius. His literary output is impressive and founded in the systematic reading of the bible – in Hebrew and in Greek - yielding a scholarly and sometimes allegorical commentary.

  4. Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 265-c.340)

    He was trained by Pamphilus one of Origen's most distinguished disciples. He fled to Tyre then to Egypt during Diocletian's persecution and returned to Palestine only to side with Arius. He was condemned at the 325 Council of Antioch but subscribed to the anti-Arian creed passed at the Council of Nicaea in 325. However he remained in sympathy with Arius and, thanks to Constantine's favour, got the better of those bishops seeking to incriminate him. His massive output embraces many disciplines: theology, exegesis, history, apologetics...

  5. John Chrysostom (c.354-407)

    Archbishop of Constantinople in 397, his name means “golden mouthed”. He was born in Antioch in an aristocratic family of Christian persuasion and educated in the Greek tradition. In his youth, he had to suffer abuse from Arius' disciples spurned by Christian communities. He applied his gifts to the inclusion of the Gospel message within society and aimed to defend doctrinal orthodoxy – even though some of his propositions were considered questionable by his opponents. He had a number of confrontations with the political power.

  6. Theodoret of Cyrus (393-466)

    Antiochian theologian and renowned writer, Theodoret played a foremost part in the Councils of Chalcedon and Ephesus. Elected bishop of Cyrus in 423, he comes over as a pastor who knew, besides his own diocese, the region of Antioch and Mesopotamia. He has left an important body of work including several theological treatises, diverse exegetic commentaries, two histories – one concerning the Church and the other the monks – several works of apologetics and a rich correspondence. A part of his works has disappeared in the wake of two condemnations. Erudite and versed in Greek sciences, he is famous for his clear explanations of Christian mysteries and for his recording of historical data. According to Christian Eastern tradition, he wrote a life of anchorite Maron and his followers. He is also considered one of the founding fathers of the Maronite Church defined at Chalcedon.

  7. Diodore of Tarsus (330-394)

    Bishop of Tarsus in Cilicia, exegete and founder of what became known as the School of Antioch. An ascetic, he supported first as a layman then as a priest the Nicene understanding of Christianity against Constantius' Arian bishops. He took part in the 381 Constantinople Council and was one of John Chrysostom's masters.

PrécédentPrécédentSuivantSuivant
AccueilAccueilImprimerImprimer Karam Rizk, Dean of the Faculty of Letters, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (Lebanon) Paternité - Pas d'Utilisation Commerciale - Pas de ModificationRéalisé avec Scenari (nouvelle fenêtre)