Aphrahat on the role of Holy Spirit in the Christian life
This study examines Aphrahat’s Demonstrations regarding the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian from his Semitic and un-Hellenized point of view. This study shows that lay people were members of the church and ‘saved’ just as the bnay qyama, the ascetic elite....
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| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
2020
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| In: |
Orientalia christiana periodica
Year: 2020, Volume: 86, Issue: 2, Pages: 345-363 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Aphraates ca. -nach 345
/ Ecclesiology
/ Layman
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| IxTheo Classification: | CB Christian life; spirituality KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity KBK Europe (East) |
| Summary: | This study examines Aphrahat’s Demonstrations regarding the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian from his Semitic and un-Hellenized point of view. This study shows that lay people were members of the church and ‘saved’ just as the bnay qyama, the ascetic elite. This is supported by the Liber Graduum which also recognizes the Upright and the Perfect as members of the Church and saved. Thus, though Aphrahat focuses more on the bnay qyama than the lay people, as the Liber Graduum focuses more on the Perfect than the Upright, Aphrahat’s discussions of the Holy Spirit also apply not just to the spiritual elite, the bnay qyama, but more generally to all Christians. The earliest orthodox Syriac writer, Aphrahat writes things that may seem strange to western ears. For instance, he refers to the spirit figuratively as ‘mother’. Although he wrote from Persia in the mid fourth century, his writings reflect a more primitive period in Christian doctrine and practice than western writers. However, his profuse use of Scripture and scriptural imagery make him familiar and relevant today. |
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| ISSN: | 0030-5375 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Orientalia christiana periodica
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