Astral Ensoulment and Astral Signifiers in Sixth-Century Readings of Origen and Evagrius: Justinian’s Anathemas, Sergius of Reš‘aynā, John PhiloponusVigiliae ChristianaeSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/AZVFTN4Z/tei
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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.Adrian C.PirteaAstral Ensoulment and Astral Signifiers in Sixth-Century Readings of Origen and Evagrius: Justinian’s Anathemas, Sergius of Reš‘aynā, John Philoponushttp://syriaca.org/cbss/AZVFTN4Zhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/AZVFTN4Zhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/AZVFTN4ZVigiliae Christianae75:52021483-523In 543 and 553, two church councils initiated by Justinian condemned Origen’s belief that stars possess rational souls. In this article, I place Justinian’s anathemas in the wider context of sixth-century debates on Biblical cosmology and on the validity of astral sciences. In the first part, I review the arguments for and against astral ensoulment and astral signification in Origen, Evagrius, and other Christian and Neoplatonic authors. The second part consists of an in-depth reading of two sixth-century Christian authors who reacted differently to Origen’s ideas: Sergius of Rešʿaynā (d. 536) and John Philoponus (d. ca. 570). While Sergius endorses and expands on the Origenian view by integrating Evagrian and Neoplatonic elements, I argue that John Philoponus constructs his arguments not only in opposition to Origen, but specifically as a reaction to the Origenist-Evagrian line of interpretation represented by Sergius. Finally, I offer a few examples of how Sergius’ and Philoponus’ divergent readings of Origen can contribute to a better understanding of later debates on similar issues in Byzantium and the Islamic world.
Pirtea, Adrian C. “Astral Ensoulment and Astral Signifiers in Sixth-Century Readings of Origen and Evagrius: Justinian’s Anathemas, Sergius of Reš‘aynā, John Philoponus.” Vigiliae Christianae 75:5 (2021): 483–523. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-12341477.
Adrian C. Pirtea, Astral Ensoulment and Astral Signifiers in Sixth-Century Readings of Origen and Evagrius: Justinian’s Anathemas, Sergius of Reš‘aynā, John Philoponus,Vigiliae Christianae 75:5 (2021): 483–523, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1163/15700720-12341477.EvagriusGreek philosophyIV-VII CEJacobitesNeoplatonismOrigenismSergius of ReshainaVI CEcosmologyheterodoxypolemicsoulstars