Synesius of Cyrene and the American “Synesii”

This article explores the Hellenic/Christian synthesis of bishop Synesius and its later influence, especially on nineteenth-century America. Synesius accepted a bishopric despite Neoplatonic reservations concerning Christian doctrine: the uncreated soul pre-exists; the uncreated cosmos is eternal; a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Numen
Main Author: Bregman, Jay (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2016
In: Numen
Further subjects:B Synesius “Synesii” Neoplatonism syncretism Christian synthesis / Hellenic Thomas Taylor American Transcendentalists Thomas M. Johnson secularization cosmic theism
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Summary:This article explores the Hellenic/Christian synthesis of bishop Synesius and its later influence, especially on nineteenth-century America. Synesius accepted a bishopric despite Neoplatonic reservations concerning Christian doctrine: the uncreated soul pre-exists; the uncreated cosmos is eternal; and the “resurrection” an ineffable mystery, beyond the vulgar. Whether or not born a Christian, his study under Hypatia brought about a conversion to “pagan” Neoplatonism. His attempted synthesis of Hellenism and Christianity was unique, unlike that of any other late antique Christian Platonist.
ISSN:1568-5276
Contains:In: Numen
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15685276-12341424