The Epistula fidei of Evagrius of Pontus: An Answer to Constantinople
The De fide or Epistula fidei by Evagrius is widely thought to have been written from Constantinople around 381 to Christians back home in Pontus. In this article, I revive and refine a thesis advanced in 1923 by Melcher, that the letter was written in fact to Constantinople, after Evagrius fled the...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Published: |
Johns Hopkins Univ. Press
2012
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| In: |
Journal of early Christian studies
Year: 2012, Volume: 20, Issue: 1, Pages: 113-139 |
| Online Access: |
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| Summary: | The De fide or Epistula fidei by Evagrius is widely thought to have been written from Constantinople around 381 to Christians back home in Pontus. In this article, I revive and refine a thesis advanced in 1923 by Melcher, that the letter was written in fact to Constantinople, after Evagrius fled the city in 382. Building on Melcher's insights, I argue that Evagrius wrote the letter from Jerusalem or Egypt, as a monk, sometime in 383 or later. Thus, the letter is not really a defense of his actions, even though he explains why he fled Constantinople. It is rather a pastoral letter, draped in the spiritual and intellectual mantle of Gregory of Nazianzus—an attack on the heresies in the city and a demonstration to the orthodox of a higher epistemology. Revising the date and audience of the Epistula fidei permits new insights into the development of Evagrius's theology, the state of Constantinople under Nectarius, and the contested inheritance of Gregory of Nazianzus. |
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| ISSN: | 1086-3184 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of early Christian studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/earl.2012.0007 |