Were slavery and social injustice leading to dire poverty in antiquity and late antiquity only regarded as normal, ''natural'' (Aristotle), or at best something morally ''indifferent'' (the Stoics), or, in the Christian milieu, a sad but inevitable consequence of the Fall, or even an expression of God''s unquestionable will? Social Justice and the Legitimacy of Slavery shows that there were also definitive condemnations of slavery and social injustice asiniquitous and even impious, and that these came especially from ascetics, both in Judaism and in Christianity, and occasionally also in Greco-Roman (''pagan'') philosophy. Ilaria L. E. Ramelli argues that this depends on a link not only between asceticism and renunciation, but also between asceticism and justice, atleast in ancient and late antique philosophical asceticism.Ramelli provides a careful investigation through all of Ancient Philosophy (not only Aristotle and the Stoics, but also the Sophists, Socrates, Plato, the Neoplatonists, and much more), Ancient to Rabbinic Judaism, Hellenistic Jewish ascetic groups such as the Essenes and the Therapeutae, all of the New Testament, with special focus on Paul and Jesus, and Greek, Latin, and Syriac Patristic, from Clement and Origen to the Cappadocians, from John Chrysostom to Theodoret to Byzantine monastics,from Ambrose to Augustine, from Bardaisan to Aphrahat, without neglecting the Christianized Sentences of Sextus. In particular, Ramelli considers Gregory of Nyssa and the interrelation between theory and practice in all of these ancient and patristic philosophers, as well as to the parallels thatemerge in their arguments against slavery and against social injustice.

Were slavery and social injustice leading to dire poverty in antiquity and late antiquity only regarded as normal, ''natural'' (Aristotle), or at best something morally ''indifferent'' (the Stoics), or, in the Christian milieu, a sad but inevitable consequence of the Fall, or even an expression of God''s unquestionable will? Social Justice and the Legitimacy of Slavery shows that there were also definitive condemnations of slavery and social injustice asiniquitous and even impious, and that these came especially from ascetics, both in Judaism and in Christianity, and occasionally also in Greco-Roman (''pagan'') philosophy. Ilaria L. E. Ramelli argues that this depends on a link not only between asceticism and renunciation, but also between asceticism and justice, atleast in ancient and late antique philosophical asceticism.Ramelli provides a careful investigation through all of Ancient Philosophy (not only Aristotle and the Stoics, but also the Sophists, Socrates, Plato, the Neoplatonists, and much more), Ancient to Rabbinic Judaism, Hellenistic Jewish ascetic groups such as the Essenes and the Therapeutae, all of the New Testament, with special focus on Paul and Jesus, and Greek, Latin, and Syriac Patristic, from Clement and Origen to the Cappadocians, from John Chrysostom to Theodoret to Byzantine monastics,from Ambrose to Augustine, from Bardaisan to Aphrahat, without neglecting the Christianized Sentences of Sextus. In particular, Ramelli considers Gregory of Nyssa and the interrelation between theory and practice in all of these ancient and patristic philosophers, as well as to the parallels thatemerge in their arguments against slavery and against social injustice.

This authoritative collection brings together the latest thinking on women''s leadership in early Christianity. Patterns of Women''s Leadership in Early Christianity considers the evidence for ways in which women exercised leadership in churches from the 1st to the 9th centuries CE. This rich and diverse volume breaks new ground in the study of women in early Christianity. This is not about working with one method, based on one type of feminist theory, but overall there is nevertheless a feminist or egalitarian agenda in considering the full equality of women with men in religious spheres a positive goal, with the assumption that this full equality has yet to be attained. The chapters revisit both older studies and offers new and unpublished research, exploring the many ways in which ancient Christian women''s leadership could function.

This authoritative collection brings together the latest thinking on women''s leadership in early Christianity. Patterns of Women''s Leadership in Early Christianity considers the evidence for ways in which women exercised leadership in churches from the 1st to the 9th centuries CE. This rich and diverse volume breaks new ground in the study of women in early Christianity. This is not about working with one method, based on one type of feminist theory, but overall there is nevertheless a feminist or egalitarian agenda in considering the full equality of women with men in religious spheres a positive goal, with the assumption that this full equality has yet to be attained. The chapters revisit both older studies and offers new and unpublished research, exploring the many ways in which ancient Christian women''s leadership could function.

This authoritative collection brings together the latest thinking on women's leadership in early Christianity. Patterns of Women's Leadership in Early Christianity considers the evidence for ways in which women exercised leadership in churches from the 1st to the 9th centuries CE. This rich and diverse volume breaks new ground in the study of women in early Christianity. This is not about working with one method, based on one type of feminist theory, but overall there is nevertheless a feminist or egalitarian agenda in considering the full equality of women with men in religious spheres a positive goal, with the assumption that this full equality has yet to be attained. The chapters revisit both older studies and offers new and unpublished research, exploring the many ways in which ancient Christian women's leadership could function.

The relationship between the soul and the body was a point of contentious debate among philosophers and theologians in late antiquity. Modern scholarship has inherited this legacy, but split the study of the relation of body and soul between the disciplines of philosophy and religion. Lovers of the Soul, Lovers of the Body integrates, with Plato and Aristotle in the background, philosophical and religious perspectives on the concepts of soul and body in the transformative period of the first six centuries CE, from Philo to Olympiodorus. The polyphonic—but not dissonant—philosophical and theological dialogue is recreated and rethought by an international group of leading experts and up-and-coming scholars in ancient philosophy, theology, and religion.The synthetic approach of the volume presents the understanding of human psychology in late antiquity, without labels and borders. It invites both experts and enthusiasts to crisscross the pathways of philosophy and religion in pursuit of new crossroads and greater common ground.

This comprehensive study offers a critical, comparative analysis of the sources available on Bardaisan and a reinterpretation of his thought. The study highlights the profound points of contact between Bardaisan, Origen, and their schools; the role of Plato's Timaeus and Middle Platonism in Bardaisan's thought, and Stoicism. Bardaisan's thought emerges as a deeply Christian one, depending on the exegesis of Scripture read in the light of Greek philosophy. Positive ancient sources present him as a deacon or even a presbyter, as an author of refutations of Marcionism and Gnosticism, and as a confessor of the faith during persecution.

The Teaching of Addai is a Syriac document convincingly dated by some scholars in the fourth or fifth century AD. I agree with this dating, but I think that there may be some points containing possible historical traces that go back even to the first century AD, such as the letters exchanged by king Abgar and Tiberius. Some elements in them point to the real historical context of the reign of Abgar 'the Black' in the first century. The author of the Doctrina might have known the tradition of some historical letters written by Abgar and Tiberius.

In the minds of some, universal salvation is a heretical idea that was imported into Christianity from pagan philosophies by Origen (c.185-253/4). Ilaria Ramelli argues that this picture is completely mistaken. She maintains that Christian theologians were the first people to proclaim that all will be saved and that their reasons for doing so were rooted in their faith in Christ. She demonstrates that, in fact, the idea of the final restoration of all creation (apokatastasis) was grounded upon the teachings of the Bible and the church's beliefs about Jesus' total triumph over sin, death, and evil through his incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. Ramelli traces the Christian roots of Origen's teaching on apokatastasis. She argues that he was drawing on texts from Scripture and from various Christians who preceded him, theologians such as Bardaisan, Irenaeus, and Clement. She outlines Origen's often-misunderstood theology in some detail and then follows the legacy of his Christian universalism through the centuries that followed. We are treated to explorations of Origenian universal salvation in a host of Christian disciples, including Athanasius, Didymus the Blind, the Cappadocian fathers, Evagrius, Maximus the Confessor, John Scotus Eriugena, and Julian of Norwich.

Ramelli undertakes for the first time a systematic investigation of the possible knowledge of Christianity in a group of novels, all dated between the first and third century CE, and belonging to geographical areas in which Christianity was present at that time. She endeavors to point out the meaning that possible allusions had for the public addressed by those novels. . . . The results of her research are, in my opinion, of the highest interest. . . . Her work seems to me to be most helpful and rich in outstanding results. --Marta Sordi, in Aevum 76 (2002)The book has important qualities. First of all, the author offers a very full synthesis of the results of earlier partial studies, including those by herself. A lot of work must have been invested in its preparation, which entailed studying a variety of areas, literary, historical, and theological . . . Secondly, she always takes a careful stand, and never allows herself to declare certain what is no more than plausible or even most probable; Lucian is the only author about whose direct knowledge of Christianity she is absolutely sure. And finally, the work includes a wealth of bibliographical references, both in the footnotes and in the sixty-eight pages of the bibliography. The book is a mine of information . . . Nowadays, both the literature of the novels and the early Church as an element of society are in the spotlight of scholarly interest. Those wishing to work on the points of contact between the two are well advised to use Ramelli as a guide. They will find the facts, well-balanced discussions, and an exhaustive bibliography. --Anton Hilhorst, in Ancient Narrative 3 (2003)The authors of the classical novels shared their world with Christians--some may have been Christians themselves--and one might expect to find references to Christianity in their works. In this learned and pioneering study, Ilaria Ramelli, an expert in both classical literature and early Christianity, brings to bear her profound knowledge of ancient history and a subtle feel for literary values, and identifies a wide range of possible allusions. Her book is a contribution not only to the study of the ancient novel but also to our understanding of the cross influences between religious cultures in the ancient world. --David KonstanProfessor of ClassicsNew York UniversityRamelli demonstrates enormous meticulousness, learning, and a critical approach to the sources and bibliography . . . The documentation with which the author of this monograph corroborates all of her statements concerning possible parallels (between the ancient novels and Christianity) with respect to the contents or form . . . is absolutely exhaustive. We must also highlight the huge carefulness, erudition, and critical use of literature. --Antonio Artes Hernandez, in Myrtia 19 (2004)

How did Origen, one of the major Patristic thinkers, construct his philosophical theology? What are his main innovations in metaphysics, protology, Trinitarian Theology and Christology? How did he view the relation between philosophy and theology? This is a collection of over twenty essays, mostly from world-leading journals and books from outstanding publishers, besides two new ones, from Professor Ilaria L.E. Ramelli’s life-long, and always continuing, research on Origen. This coherent set　of studies is grouped around Origen’s metaphysics, protology, Trinitarian theology and Christology, and the relation between theology and philosophy, with reception aspects. The essays address Origen’s towering figure in Patristic philosophy, Christian Platonism, and the Platonic tradition, facets of his reception of Platonism, reflections concerning the Christianization of Hellenism (vs. the Hellenization of Christianity) and the relation between philosophy and theology and between ‘pagan’ and Christian Platonism; Origen’s philosophical theology and connections to Platonism; the question of Origen's conversion and his lexicon of　epistrophē; a comparison between the imperial Platonist Atticus’ and Origen’s theories on the soul of God the Creator; Alexander of Aphrodisias as a source of Origen’s philosophy and the birth of the eternity formula in reference to the Son; the problem of Origen’s "subordinationism", which must be nuanced; Origen’s major contribution to Trinitarian theology in the notion of hypostasis and its foundation in Scripture and philosophy; the reciprocal indwelling of the Father in the Son and its implications against Origen’s "subordinationism"; Origen’s influence on Augustine as paradoxical and a Christological case study; the divine as inaccessible object of knowledge in ancient and Patristic Platonism; the reception of Origen’s ideas in the West; the notion of divine power in Origen: sources and aftermath; Platonist exemplarism in Origen and Plotinus; Paul’s notion of nous in Origen and Evagrius; the reception of Origen in Ps.Dionysius, and Origen’s heritage in the concept of matter in the Dialogue of Adamantius. The volume is rounded off by theoretical reflections on philosophy of religion and philosophical theology. This book is very relevant to the study of Origen, the foundations of Christian thought, and ancient and late antique philosophy, theology and culture.

How did Origen, one of the major Patristic thinkers, construct his philosophical theology? What are his main innovations in metaphysics, protology, Trinitarian Theology and Christology? How did he view the relation between philosophy and theology? This is a collection of over twenty essays, mostly from world-leading journals and books from outstanding publishers, besides two new ones, from Professor Ilaria L.E. Ramelli’s life-long, and always continuing, research on Origen. This coherent set　of studies is grouped around Origen’s metaphysics, protology, Trinitarian theology and Christology, and the relation between theology and philosophy, with reception aspects.

The essays address Origen’s towering figure in Patristic philosophy, Christian Platonism, and the Platonic tradition, facets of his reception of Platonism, reflections concerning the Christianization of Hellenism (vs. the Hellenization of Christianity) and the relation between philosophy and theology and between ‘pagan’ and Christian Platonism; Origen’s philosophical theology and connections to Platonism; the question of Origen''s conversion and his lexicon of　epistrophē; a comparison between the imperial Platonist Atticus’ and Origen’s theories on the soul of God the Creator; Alexander of Aphrodisias as a source of Origen’s philosophy and the birth of the eternity formula in reference to the Son; the problem of Origen’s "subordinationism", which must be nuanced; Origen’s major contribution to Trinitarian theology in the notion of hypostasis and its foundation in Scripture and philosophy; the reciprocal indwelling of the Father in the Son and its implications against Origen’s "subordinationism"; Origen’s influence on Augustine as paradoxical and a Christological case study; the divine as inaccessible object of knowledge in ancient and Patristic Platonism; the reception of Origen’s ideas in the West; the notion of divine power in Origen: sources and aftermath; Platonist exemplarism in Origen and Plotinus; Paul’s notion of nous in Origen and Evagrius; the reception of Origen in Ps.Dionysius, and Origen’s heritage in the concept of matter in the Dialogue of Adamantius. The volume is rounded off by theoretical reflections on philosophy of religion and philosophical theology.

This book is very relevant to the study of Origen, the foundations of Christian thought, and ancient and late antique philosophy, theology and culture.

How did Origen, one of the major Patristic thinkers, construct his philosophical theology? What are his main innovations in metaphysics, protology, Trinitarian Theology and Christology? How did he view the relation between philosophy and theology? This is a collection of over twenty essays, mostly from world-leading journals and books from outstanding publishers, besides two new ones, from Professor Ilaria L.E. Ramelli’s life-long, and always continuing, research on Origen. This coherent set　of studies is grouped around Origen’s metaphysics, protology, Trinitarian theology and Christology, and the relation between theology and philosophy, with reception aspects.

The essays address Origen’s towering figure in Patristic philosophy, Christian Platonism, and the Platonic tradition, facets of his reception of Platonism, reflections concerning the Christianization of Hellenism (vs. the Hellenization of Christianity) and the relation between philosophy and theology and between ‘pagan’ and Christian Platonism; Origen’s philosophical theology and connections to Platonism; the question of Origen''s conversion and his lexicon of　epistrophē; a comparison between the imperial Platonist Atticus’ and Origen’s theories on the soul of God the Creator; Alexander of Aphrodisias as a source of Origen’s philosophy and the birth of the eternity formula in reference to the Son; the problem of Origen’s "subordinationism", which must be nuanced; Origen’s major contribution to Trinitarian theology in the notion of hypostasis and its foundation in Scripture and philosophy; the reciprocal indwelling of the Father in the Son and its implications against Origen’s "subordinationism"; Origen’s influence on Augustine as paradoxical and a Christological case study; the divine as inaccessible object of knowledge in ancient and Patristic Platonism; the reception of Origen’s ideas in the West; the notion of divine power in Origen: sources and aftermath; Platonist exemplarism in Origen and Plotinus; Paul’s notion of nous in Origen and Evagrius; the reception of Origen in Ps.Dionysius, and Origen’s heritage in the concept of matter in the Dialogue of Adamantius. The volume is rounded off by theoretical reflections on philosophy of religion and philosophical theology.

This book is very relevant to the study of Origen, the foundations of Christian thought, and ancient and late antique philosophy, theology and culture.

How did Origen, one of the major Patristic thinkers, construct his philosophical theology? We have already addressed in the first volume of Kleine Schriften his metaphysics, protology, Trinitarian Theology and Christology, and the relation between philosophy and theology. The present volume asks what Origen’s main innovations are in anthropology, ethics, and partially cosmology, in a collection of over twenty essays, mostly from world-leading journals and books from outstanding publishers, besides two new ones, from Professor Ilaria L.E. Ramelli’s life-long, and always continuing, research on Origen. This coherent set of studies is divided into three parts: the first addresses important facets of Origen’s ethics, anthropology, and cosmology against the background of ancient philosophy; the second investigates Origen’s anthropology and its relation to Plotinus and Porphyry through some case studies; the third delves into some aspects of Origen’s anthropology and ethics and their impact on Origen’s followers.The essays address Origen’s rational, philosophical (and exegetical) foundation of Christianity of second-century apologetical debates between “Pagan” and Christian thinkers, each side defending their own use of rationality against mere habit; forgiveness in Patristic philosophy and its bases in repentance and divine race; the transformation of the Stoic doctrine of Oikeiosis in Origen and followers; the relation between human intellect, soul, and body and the negation of the pre-existence of disembodied souls; Origen’s constructions of gender; prophecy in Origen  between Scripture and philosophy; the Strategy and functions of philosophical exegesis in Origen; harmony between arkhē and telos in Origen and Patristic Platonism; Plotinus’ potential knowledge and criticism of Origen’s theory of the Form of the body; the debt of Porphyry’s d(a)emonology on Origen’s; continuity and polemics between Origen and Porphyry in psychology and eschatology; degrees of corporeality and comparative angelologies/d(a)emonologies in ‘Pagan’ and Christian Platonism; Socrates’ arguable construction of parallel portraits for the ascetic Christian Platonist Origen and the ascetic Neoplatonist Hypatia of Constantinople; Origen’s autobiographical self-fashioning; decadence denounced in the controversy over Origen: the fading of a direct reading of sources and counteractions; Origen on the unity of soul and body in the earthly Life and afterwards and his impact on Gregory Nyssen; Origen’s Legacy in Nyssen’s “Theology of Freedom”; Plato and Origen’s impact on Nyssen’s treatment on the soul and the restoration; Origen’s critical reception of Aristotle and aftermath in Christian Platonism; the relation between slavery, religion, asceticism, and justice in and the principle that excessive wealth is tantamount to theft; Origen’s theory of universal culpability and its relation to ethical intellectualism and Augustine’s doctrine of original sin; Origen’s probable impact on Martianus Capella as a Neglected aspect of late antique Platonism; the revisitation of Origen’s identity; Origen, the Stoic City of Zeus, the Heavenly Jerusalem, and Augustine’s City of God. The volume is rounded off by an investigation into Proclus’ reception of Origenian ideas, possibly including those related to apokatastasis and its relation to reversion (epistrophé).This book is very relevant to the study of Origen, the foundations of Christian thought, and ancient and late antique philosophy, theology and culture.

Die Autoren dieses Bandes erläutern die außergewöhnliche Funktion, die Religion bei der Bildung und Umformung von Erzählformen in der Antike und Spätantike auf verschiedene Weise einnimmt. Das wird vor allem in antiken jüdischen und christlichen Erzählungen deutlich, aber auch in einigen "heidnischen" Romanen wie dem Heliodors. Die Beiträge beleuchten aus verschiedenen Blickwinkeln das Wechselspiel zwischen Erzählung und Religion und zeigen, wie religiöse Anliegen und Agenden die Erzählformen in Judentum und frühem Christentum prägten. Diese innovativen Texte basieren alle auf der aktuellen Forschungsarbeit herausragender Wissenschaftler.

Were slavery and social injustice leading to dire poverty in antiquity and late antiquity only regarded as normal, ''natural'' (Aristotle), or at best something morally ''indifferent'' (the Stoics), or, in the Christian milieu, a sad but inevitable consequence of the Fall, or even an expression of God''s unquestionable will? Social Justice and the Legitimacy of Slavery shows that there were also definitive condemnations of slavery and social injustice asiniquitous and even impious, and that these came especially from ascetics, both in Judaism and in Christianity, and occasionally also in Greco-Roman (''pagan'') philosophy. Ilaria L. E. Ramelli argues that this depends on a link not only between asceticism and renunciation, but also between asceticism and justice, atleast in ancient and late antique philosophical asceticism.Ramelli provides a careful investigation through all of Ancient Philosophy (not only Aristotle and the Stoics, but also the Sophists, Socrates, Plato, the Neoplatonists, and much more), Ancient to Rabbinic Judaism, Hellenistic Jewish ascetic groups such as the Essenes and the Therapeutae, all of the New Testament, with special focus on Paul and Jesus, and Greek, Latin, and Syriac Patristic, from Clement and Origen to the Cappadocians, from John Chrysostom to Theodoret to Byzantine monastics,from Ambrose to Augustine, from Bardaisan to Aphrahat, without neglecting the Christianized Sentences of Sextus. In particular, Ramelli considers Gregory of Nyssa and the interrelation between theory and practice in all of these ancient and patristic philosophers, as well as to the parallels thatemerge in their arguments against slavery and against social injustice.

Were slavery and social injustice leading to dire poverty in antiquity and late antiquity only regarded as normal, ''natural'' (Aristotle), or at best something morally ''indifferent'' (the Stoics), or, in the Christian milieu, a sad but inevitable consequence of the Fall, or even an expression of God''s unquestionable will? Social Justice and the Legitimacy of Slavery shows that there were also definitive condemnations of slavery and social injustice asiniquitous and even impious, and that these came especially from ascetics, both in Judaism and in Christianity, and occasionally also in Greco-Roman (''pagan'') philosophy. Ilaria L. E. Ramelli argues that this depends on a link not only between asceticism and renunciation, but also between asceticism and justice, atleast in ancient and late antique philosophical asceticism.Ramelli provides a careful investigation through all of Ancient Philosophy (not only Aristotle and the Stoics, but also the Sophists, Socrates, Plato, the Neoplatonists, and much more), Ancient to Rabbinic Judaism, Hellenistic Jewish ascetic groups such as the Essenes and the Therapeutae, all of the New Testament, with special focus on Paul and Jesus, and Greek, Latin, and Syriac Patristic, from Clement and Origen to the Cappadocians, from John Chrysostom to Theodoret to Byzantine monastics,from Ambrose to Augustine, from Bardaisan to Aphrahat, without neglecting the Christianized Sentences of Sextus. In particular, Ramelli considers Gregory of Nyssa and the interrelation between theory and practice in all of these ancient and patristic philosophers, as well as to the parallels thatemerge in their arguments against slavery and against social injustice.

This authoritative collection brings together the latest thinking on women''s leadership in early Christianity. Patterns of Women''s Leadership in Early Christianity considers the evidence for ways in which women exercised leadership in churches from the 1st to the 9th centuries CE. This rich and diverse volume breaks new ground in the study of women in early Christianity. This is not about working with one method, based on one type of feminist theory, but overall there is nevertheless a feminist or egalitarian agenda in considering the full equality of women with men in religious spheres a positive goal, with the assumption that this full equality has yet to be attained. The chapters revisit both older studies and offers new and unpublished research, exploring the many ways in which ancient Christian women''s leadership could function.

This authoritative collection brings together the latest thinking on women''s leadership in early Christianity. Patterns of Women''s Leadership in Early Christianity considers the evidence for ways in which women exercised leadership in churches from the 1st to the 9th centuries CE. This rich and diverse volume breaks new ground in the study of women in early Christianity. This is not about working with one method, based on one type of feminist theory, but overall there is nevertheless a feminist or egalitarian agenda in considering the full equality of women with men in religious spheres a positive goal, with the assumption that this full equality has yet to be attained. The chapters revisit both older studies and offers new and unpublished research, exploring the many ways in which ancient Christian women''s leadership could function.

This authoritative collection brings together the latest thinking on women's leadership in early Christianity. Patterns of Women's Leadership in Early Christianity considers the evidence for ways in which women exercised leadership in churches from the 1st to the 9th centuries CE. This rich and diverse volume breaks new ground in the study of women in early Christianity. This is not about working with one method, based on one type of feminist theory, but overall there is nevertheless a feminist or egalitarian agenda in considering the full equality of women with men in religious spheres a positive goal, with the assumption that this full equality has yet to be attained. The chapters revisit both older studies and offers new and unpublished research, exploring the many ways in which ancient Christian women's leadership could function.

The relationship between the soul and the body was a point of contentious debate among philosophers and theologians in late antiquity. Modern scholarship has inherited this legacy, but split the study of the relation of body and soul between the disciplines of philosophy and religion. Lovers of the Soul, Lovers of the Body integrates, with Plato and Aristotle in the background, philosophical and religious perspectives on the concepts of soul and body in the transformative period of the first six centuries CE, from Philo to Olympiodorus. The polyphonic—but not dissonant—philosophical and theological dialogue is recreated and rethought by an international group of leading experts and up-and-coming scholars in ancient philosophy, theology, and religion.The synthetic approach of the volume presents the understanding of human psychology in late antiquity, without labels and borders. It invites both experts and enthusiasts to crisscross the pathways of philosophy and religion in pursuit of new crossroads and greater common ground.

This comprehensive study offers a critical, comparative analysis of the sources available on Bardaisan and a reinterpretation of his thought. The study highlights the profound points of contact between Bardaisan, Origen, and their schools; the role of Plato's Timaeus and Middle Platonism in Bardaisan's thought, and Stoicism. Bardaisan's thought emerges as a deeply Christian one, depending on the exegesis of Scripture read in the light of Greek philosophy. Positive ancient sources present him as a deacon or even a presbyter, as an author of refutations of Marcionism and Gnosticism, and as a confessor of the faith during persecution.

The Teaching of Addai is a Syriac document convincingly dated by some scholars in the fourth or fifth century AD. I agree with this dating, but I think that there may be some points containing possible historical traces that go back even to the first century AD, such as the letters exchanged by king Abgar and Tiberius. Some elements in them point to the real historical context of the reign of Abgar 'the Black' in the first century. The author of the Doctrina might have known the tradition of some historical letters written by Abgar and Tiberius.

In the minds of some, universal salvation is a heretical idea that was imported into Christianity from pagan philosophies by Origen (c.185-253/4). Ilaria Ramelli argues that this picture is completely mistaken. She maintains that Christian theologians were the first people to proclaim that all will be saved and that their reasons for doing so were rooted in their faith in Christ. She demonstrates that, in fact, the idea of the final restoration of all creation (apokatastasis) was grounded upon the teachings of the Bible and the church's beliefs about Jesus' total triumph over sin, death, and evil through his incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. Ramelli traces the Christian roots of Origen's teaching on apokatastasis. She argues that he was drawing on texts from Scripture and from various Christians who preceded him, theologians such as Bardaisan, Irenaeus, and Clement. She outlines Origen's often-misunderstood theology in some detail and then follows the legacy of his Christian universalism through the centuries that followed. We are treated to explorations of Origenian universal salvation in a host of Christian disciples, including Athanasius, Didymus the Blind, the Cappadocian fathers, Evagrius, Maximus the Confessor, John Scotus Eriugena, and Julian of Norwich.

Ramelli undertakes for the first time a systematic investigation of the possible knowledge of Christianity in a group of novels, all dated between the first and third century CE, and belonging to geographical areas in which Christianity was present at that time. She endeavors to point out the meaning that possible allusions had for the public addressed by those novels. . . . The results of her research are, in my opinion, of the highest interest. . . . Her work seems to me to be most helpful and rich in outstanding results. --Marta Sordi, in Aevum 76 (2002)The book has important qualities. First of all, the author offers a very full synthesis of the results of earlier partial studies, including those by herself. A lot of work must have been invested in its preparation, which entailed studying a variety of areas, literary, historical, and theological . . . Secondly, she always takes a careful stand, and never allows herself to declare certain what is no more than plausible or even most probable; Lucian is the only author about whose direct knowledge of Christianity she is absolutely sure. And finally, the work includes a wealth of bibliographical references, both in the footnotes and in the sixty-eight pages of the bibliography. The book is a mine of information . . . Nowadays, both the literature of the novels and the early Church as an element of society are in the spotlight of scholarly interest. Those wishing to work on the points of contact between the two are well advised to use Ramelli as a guide. They will find the facts, well-balanced discussions, and an exhaustive bibliography. --Anton Hilhorst, in Ancient Narrative 3 (2003)The authors of the classical novels shared their world with Christians--some may have been Christians themselves--and one might expect to find references to Christianity in their works. In this learned and pioneering study, Ilaria Ramelli, an expert in both classical literature and early Christianity, brings to bear her profound knowledge of ancient history and a subtle feel for literary values, and identifies a wide range of possible allusions. Her book is a contribution not only to the study of the ancient novel but also to our understanding of the cross influences between religious cultures in the ancient world. --David KonstanProfessor of ClassicsNew York UniversityRamelli demonstrates enormous meticulousness, learning, and a critical approach to the sources and bibliography . . . The documentation with which the author of this monograph corroborates all of her statements concerning possible parallels (between the ancient novels and Christianity) with respect to the contents or form . . . is absolutely exhaustive. We must also highlight the huge carefulness, erudition, and critical use of literature. --Antonio Artes Hernandez, in Myrtia 19 (2004)

How did Origen, one of the major Patristic thinkers, construct his philosophical theology? What are his main innovations in metaphysics, protology, Trinitarian Theology and Christology? How did he view the relation between philosophy and theology? This is a collection of over twenty essays, mostly from world-leading journals and books from outstanding publishers, besides two new ones, from Professor Ilaria L.E. Ramelli’s life-long, and always continuing, research on Origen. This coherent set　of studies is grouped around Origen’s metaphysics, protology, Trinitarian theology and Christology, and the relation between theology and philosophy, with reception aspects. The essays address Origen’s towering figure in Patristic philosophy, Christian Platonism, and the Platonic tradition, facets of his reception of Platonism, reflections concerning the Christianization of Hellenism (vs. the Hellenization of Christianity) and the relation between philosophy and theology and between ‘pagan’ and Christian Platonism; Origen’s philosophical theology and connections to Platonism; the question of Origen's conversion and his lexicon of　epistrophē; a comparison between the imperial Platonist Atticus’ and Origen’s theories on the soul of God the Creator; Alexander of Aphrodisias as a source of Origen’s philosophy and the birth of the eternity formula in reference to the Son; the problem of Origen’s "subordinationism", which must be nuanced; Origen’s major contribution to Trinitarian theology in the notion of hypostasis and its foundation in Scripture and philosophy; the reciprocal indwelling of the Father in the Son and its implications against Origen’s "subordinationism"; Origen’s influence on Augustine as paradoxical and a Christological case study; the divine as inaccessible object of knowledge in ancient and Patristic Platonism; the reception of Origen’s ideas in the West; the notion of divine power in Origen: sources and aftermath; Platonist exemplarism in Origen and Plotinus; Paul’s notion of nous in Origen and Evagrius; the reception of Origen in Ps.Dionysius, and Origen’s heritage in the concept of matter in the Dialogue of Adamantius. The volume is rounded off by theoretical reflections on philosophy of religion and philosophical theology. This book is very relevant to the study of Origen, the foundations of Christian thought, and ancient and late antique philosophy, theology and culture.

How did Origen, one of the major Patristic thinkers, construct his philosophical theology? What are his main innovations in metaphysics, protology, Trinitarian Theology and Christology? How did he view the relation between philosophy and theology? This is a collection of over twenty essays, mostly from world-leading journals and books from outstanding publishers, besides two new ones, from Professor Ilaria L.E. Ramelli’s life-long, and always continuing, research on Origen. This coherent set　of studies is grouped around Origen’s metaphysics, protology, Trinitarian theology and Christology, and the relation between theology and philosophy, with reception aspects.

The essays address Origen’s towering figure in Patristic philosophy, Christian Platonism, and the Platonic tradition, facets of his reception of Platonism, reflections concerning the Christianization of Hellenism (vs. the Hellenization of Christianity) and the relation between philosophy and theology and between ‘pagan’ and Christian Platonism; Origen’s philosophical theology and connections to Platonism; the question of Origen''s conversion and his lexicon of　epistrophē; a comparison between the imperial Platonist Atticus’ and Origen’s theories on the soul of God the Creator; Alexander of Aphrodisias as a source of Origen’s philosophy and the birth of the eternity formula in reference to the Son; the problem of Origen’s "subordinationism", which must be nuanced; Origen’s major contribution to Trinitarian theology in the notion of hypostasis and its foundation in Scripture and philosophy; the reciprocal indwelling of the Father in the Son and its implications against Origen’s "subordinationism"; Origen’s influence on Augustine as paradoxical and a Christological case study; the divine as inaccessible object of knowledge in ancient and Patristic Platonism; the reception of Origen’s ideas in the West; the notion of divine power in Origen: sources and aftermath; Platonist exemplarism in Origen and Plotinus; Paul’s notion of nous in Origen and Evagrius; the reception of Origen in Ps.Dionysius, and Origen’s heritage in the concept of matter in the Dialogue of Adamantius. The volume is rounded off by theoretical reflections on philosophy of religion and philosophical theology.

This book is very relevant to the study of Origen, the foundations of Christian thought, and ancient and late antique philosophy, theology and culture.

How did Origen, one of the major Patristic thinkers, construct his philosophical theology? What are his main innovations in metaphysics, protology, Trinitarian Theology and Christology? How did he view the relation between philosophy and theology? This is a collection of over twenty essays, mostly from world-leading journals and books from outstanding publishers, besides two new ones, from Professor Ilaria L.E. Ramelli’s life-long, and always continuing, research on Origen. This coherent set　of studies is grouped around Origen’s metaphysics, protology, Trinitarian theology and Christology, and the relation between theology and philosophy, with reception aspects.

The essays address Origen’s towering figure in Patristic philosophy, Christian Platonism, and the Platonic tradition, facets of his reception of Platonism, reflections concerning the Christianization of Hellenism (vs. the Hellenization of Christianity) and the relation between philosophy and theology and between ‘pagan’ and Christian Platonism; Origen’s philosophical theology and connections to Platonism; the question of Origen''s conversion and his lexicon of　epistrophē; a comparison between the imperial Platonist Atticus’ and Origen’s theories on the soul of God the Creator; Alexander of Aphrodisias as a source of Origen’s philosophy and the birth of the eternity formula in reference to the Son; the problem of Origen’s "subordinationism", which must be nuanced; Origen’s major contribution to Trinitarian theology in the notion of hypostasis and its foundation in Scripture and philosophy; the reciprocal indwelling of the Father in the Son and its implications against Origen’s "subordinationism"; Origen’s influence on Augustine as paradoxical and a Christological case study; the divine as inaccessible object of knowledge in ancient and Patristic Platonism; the reception of Origen’s ideas in the West; the notion of divine power in Origen: sources and aftermath; Platonist exemplarism in Origen and Plotinus; Paul’s notion of nous in Origen and Evagrius; the reception of Origen in Ps.Dionysius, and Origen’s heritage in the concept of matter in the Dialogue of Adamantius. The volume is rounded off by theoretical reflections on philosophy of religion and philosophical theology.

This book is very relevant to the study of Origen, the foundations of Christian thought, and ancient and late antique philosophy, theology and culture.

How did Origen, one of the major Patristic thinkers, construct his philosophical theology? We have already addressed in the first volume of Kleine Schriften his metaphysics, protology, Trinitarian Theology and Christology, and the relation between philosophy and theology. The present volume asks what Origen’s main innovations are in anthropology, ethics, and partially cosmology, in a collection of over twenty essays, mostly from world-leading journals and books from outstanding publishers, besides two new ones, from Professor Ilaria L.E. Ramelli’s life-long, and always continuing, research on Origen. This coherent set of studies is divided into three parts: the first addresses important facets of Origen’s ethics, anthropology, and cosmology against the background of ancient philosophy; the second investigates Origen’s anthropology and its relation to Plotinus and Porphyry through some case studies; the third delves into some aspects of Origen’s anthropology and ethics and their impact on Origen’s followers.The essays address Origen’s rational, philosophical (and exegetical) foundation of Christianity of second-century apologetical debates between “Pagan” and Christian thinkers, each side defending their own use of rationality against mere habit; forgiveness in Patristic philosophy and its bases in repentance and divine race; the transformation of the Stoic doctrine of Oikeiosis in Origen and followers; the relation between human intellect, soul, and body and the negation of the pre-existence of disembodied souls; Origen’s constructions of gender; prophecy in Origen  between Scripture and philosophy; the Strategy and functions of philosophical exegesis in Origen; harmony between arkhē and telos in Origen and Patristic Platonism; Plotinus’ potential knowledge and criticism of Origen’s theory of the Form of the body; the debt of Porphyry’s d(a)emonology on Origen’s; continuity and polemics between Origen and Porphyry in psychology and eschatology; degrees of corporeality and comparative angelologies/d(a)emonologies in ‘Pagan’ and Christian Platonism; Socrates’ arguable construction of parallel portraits for the ascetic Christian Platonist Origen and the ascetic Neoplatonist Hypatia of Constantinople; Origen’s autobiographical self-fashioning; decadence denounced in the controversy over Origen: the fading of a direct reading of sources and counteractions; Origen on the unity of soul and body in the earthly Life and afterwards and his impact on Gregory Nyssen; Origen’s Legacy in Nyssen’s “Theology of Freedom”; Plato and Origen’s impact on Nyssen’s treatment on the soul and the restoration; Origen’s critical reception of Aristotle and aftermath in Christian Platonism; the relation between slavery, religion, asceticism, and justice in and the principle that excessive wealth is tantamount to theft; Origen’s theory of universal culpability and its relation to ethical intellectualism and Augustine’s doctrine of original sin; Origen’s probable impact on Martianus Capella as a Neglected aspect of late antique Platonism; the revisitation of Origen’s identity; Origen, the Stoic City of Zeus, the Heavenly Jerusalem, and Augustine’s City of God. The volume is rounded off by an investigation into Proclus’ reception of Origenian ideas, possibly including those related to apokatastasis and its relation to reversion (epistrophé).This book is very relevant to the study of Origen, the foundations of Christian thought, and ancient and late antique philosophy, theology and culture.

Die Autoren dieses Bandes erläutern die außergewöhnliche Funktion, die Religion bei der Bildung und Umformung von Erzählformen in der Antike und Spätantike auf verschiedene Weise einnimmt. Das wird vor allem in antiken jüdischen und christlichen Erzählungen deutlich, aber auch in einigen "heidnischen" Romanen wie dem Heliodors. Die Beiträge beleuchten aus verschiedenen Blickwinkeln das Wechselspiel zwischen Erzählung und Religion und zeigen, wie religiöse Anliegen und Agenden die Erzählformen in Judentum und frühem Christentum prägten. Diese innovativen Texte basieren alle auf der aktuellen Forschungsarbeit herausragender Wissenschaftler.