Vladimir Baranov. Origenism of Leontius of Byzantium: State of research. Vol. 5. No. 1-2. 2020

Publication Details

Origenism of Leontius of Byzantium: State of research
Title in the language of publication: Оригенизм Леонтия Византийского: состояние исследований
Author:
Vladimir Baranov
PhD in Philosophy, Junior Researcher.
Kryachkov Novosibirsk State University of Architecture, Design and Arts.
Address: 38 Krasnyi Prospect, Novosibirsk 630099, Russia.
Issue:
P. 188–208.
Language: Russian
Document type: Research Article
Acknowledgments:  The reported study was funded by the RFBR, project number 19-011-00778 “Leontium of Byzantium and Patristics”
DOI https://doi.org/10.31119/essephts.2020.5.1-2.8
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Abstract

The article presents the history of research into Origenism in the Christological polemics of Leontius of Byzantium since the first studies to the most recent research along with the arguments in favor of this theory, proposed by D. Krausmüller and I. Perczel, and its criticism by various scholars. According to the analysis of D. Krausmüller, Leontius of Byzantium describes the soul in the human body as self-perfect, self-sufficient, self-moving, and in fact possessing an independent existence apart from the body in non-temporal aspect, which is compatible with the Origenist doctrine of the first creation of rational beings and subsequent transformation of intellect into soul during its connection with the body. In his two studies, based on a philological analysis with the involvement of a number of additional sources of the sixth century, I. Perczel develops D. Evans’ hypothesis that Leontius of Byzantine represents the Isochrist party of Origenist monks and sharply criticizes the doctrine of another party, the Protoctists, whose Christian Platonism was influenced by Dionysius the Areopagite and Theodore of Mopsuestia. I. Perczel comes to conclusion about incorrectness of using the term “Origenism” as applied to the movement of learned monks engaged in a philosophical search for the answers compatible with Christian doctrine, similar to Neoplatonic “schools” with differing philosophical and theological concepts. Such monastic “schools” could develop while the boundaries of Christian doctrine gave space for philosophical discourse, which became almost impossible after Church condemnation of the basic concepts of their metaphysical system, such as preexistence and apocatastasis, which ultimately led to marginalization of this intellectual movement.

Keywords

Leontius of Byzantium, Origenism, Neochalcedonism, anthropological paradigm, models of union, D. Evans, B. Daley, D. Krausmüller, I. Perczel.

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© Vladimir Baranov, 2020

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