Preliminary communication
Jerome between pelagianism and origenism of Evagrius Ponticus
Josip Knežević
orcid.org/0000-0001-9819-463X
; University of Sarajevo - Catholic Theological Faculty in Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Abstract
The primary aim of this article is to present Jerome’s view of the origins of Pelagianism, and to describe the way in which he fought against this heresy characterizing it as the “offspring of Origenism” in his Epistula ad Ctestiphontem (Ep. 133: “Doctrina tua Origenis ramusculus est.”) We should not be surprised by this characterization. For the Fathers of the Church, connecting dubious teaching with
already condemned heresies had the function of accelerating the condemnation of such teaching. In this case, Jerome after the first Origenist controversy, intended to connect Pelagianism to the already condemned Origensim. For greater clarity, the introduction explains what Jerome is referring to when he equates Pelagianism with the Origenism of Evagrius Ponticus. There is a brief survey
of Pelagianism, focusing on the term impeccantia, the contention that man, if he wishes, can be without sin. This is followed by a brief presentation of the Origenism of Evagrius Ponticus, focusing on the first Origenist controversy. There is a definition of the terms impeccantia and ἀπάθεια, the possibility of man achieving a complete separation from the passion and pleasures that surround him. Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and especially Evagrius Ponticus studied this term, which is why it is necessary to return to the first Origenist controversy in order to identify the relationship between Pelagianism and Origenism. Relating Origenism and Pelagianism, the article introduces some writings that had a significant impact on Pelagius’s thought, and examines the term ἀπάθεια in a way that may provide a clear answer to the question: Was Jerome correct when he equated the terms impeccantia and ἀπάθεια?
Keywords
Jerome; Pelagius; Evagrius Ponticus; origenism; impeccantia; ἀπάθεια.
Hrčak ID:
260569
URI
Publication date:
1.7.2017.
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