In essence, he argued that because God is, by definition, the being than which no greater can be conceived, and it is more perfect to exist than not to exist, God must exist. Multi-Version Concordance Hellenistic (2 Occurrences). Upon the Jews' return from exile in Babylon, they endeavored to protect their national identity by following the law closely. In essence, if God could be imagined, God existed. Because existence was more perfect than non-existence and God was, by definition, perfect, God existed by definition. It was not until the fusion of Platonic and Aristotelian theology with Christianity that the concepts of strict omnipotence, omniscience, or benevolence became commonplace. [18]  However, the “Orthodox Church is not as much given to making formal dogmatic definitions as the Roman Catholic Church.”[19], Consequently, expressions of its beliefs on such diverse matters as the Eucharist, the Sacraments, the afterlife, Mary, and a variety of other topics are found not primarily in confessions of faith but “in the prayers and hymns used at service.”[20] Indeed, “[t]hose who wish to know about Orthodoxy should not so much read books as…attend the Liturgy.”[21]. A common criticism of historic orthodox Christianity is the claim that early Christianity was corrupted by the intellectual forces of 'Hellenism.' [22] This is an example of how Orthodox liturgy cannot rightly be separated from Orthodox theology. [30] Ibid., 4; Bartholomew, 8; Payton, 33. Hellenistic Christianity represents one of the most ancient expressions of the Christian faith still in practice today. [13], This more positive view of humanity extends into the Church’s view of the Incarnation. Early Christianity engaged Hellenistic culture generally, and more specifically Greek philosophy, from the end of the first century on. [8] Ware, Orthodox Church, 250-52; Fairbairn, 12, 39; Bartholomew, 37. Martyr was an early apologist, explaining Christianity to this new Greek flock within their own system of philosophy. [33] Identification with the Church within the new Muslim empire allowed citizens of the former Greek-speaking Byzantine Empire to maintain a sense of cultural unity.[34]. What does HELLENISTIC JUDAISM mean? http://www.theaudiopedia.com What is HELLENISTIC JUDAISM? Icons and fasting periods are unique aspects of such communal worship. This was my final paper for the World Christianity class that I took my first semester at Yale. Ethnic divisions have made the establishment of a uniquely American Orthodox Church difficult. All animal products, oil, and wine are forbidden during these times. Alt. (Hellenism, of course, refers to the influence of ancient Greek philosophy and culture, which spread throughout the Mediterranean world after the conquests of Alexander the Great in the fourth century BC.) Christianity - Christianity - The early liturgy, the calendar, and the arts: St. Paul’s letters mention worship on the first day of the week. Hellenistic Christianity represents one of the most ancient expressions of the Christian faith still in practice today. Stoicism and, particularly, Platonism were readily incorporated into Christian ethics and Christian theology. [43], As a result, the Orthodox Church, particularly its “approaches to prayer and worship,” has begun to attract the attention of other Christian denominations. [29] The early separation from the Church of the East (in the old Assyrian lands) and the Oriental Orthodox Churches (in Egypt and much of Syria) restricted Orthodox territory on the east to mostly the Greek-speaking world. Orthodox territory then became officially isolated—after centuries of deteriorating relations—from the Latin West in 1054 with the Great Schism that separated the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches.[30]. The Hellenistic period begins formally with the arrival of Alex­ander the Great in the Near East in 334BCE, but this date is not the beginning of Greek influence in the region. Hellenic Christians and their medieval successors then applied this Form-based philosophy to the Christian God. The phrase "Hellenic polytheism" is actually, much like the word "Pagan," an umbrella term. Therefore, the ecumenical nature of a council can only be determined after the fact. But when I read those books of the Platonists I was taught by them to seek incorporeal truth, so I saw your 'invisible things, understood by the things that are made' (Confessions 7. While Lent is the West’s great time of fasting and prayer, there are four significant fasting periods in Orthodoxy (in addition to most Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year): (1) Lent; (2) the Fast of the Apostles from eight days after Pentecost until 28 June; (3) the Dormition Fast from 1 to 14 August; and (4) the Christmas Fast from 15 November to 24 December. Clement of Alexandria, demonstrated Greek thought in writing, .mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, "Philosophy has been given to the Greeks as their own kind of Covenant, their foundation for the philosophy of Christ ... the philosophy of the Greeks ... contains the basic elements of that genuine and perfect knowledge which is higher than human ... even upon those spiritual objects." [35] Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 95-96. [6] Ware, Orthodox Church, 14; Fairbairn, 31. In particular, Martyr used the Greek concept of internal and external thought to illustrate Jesus Christ'… The Christian propagandist will assure us that the main source of immorality in Rome was the wealthy class, one tenth, or less, of the population. Indeed, the Church “was too absorbed in bouts of theological hair-splitting to spare a thought for its neighbors.”[36], A Greek-centric worldview and insistence on “complete agreement in belief as a rule for Christian unity” poisoned any potential deep permeation into a pragmatic nomadic Arab population more concerned with the practical implementation of faith than distinctly Greek philosophizing. James Beilby and Paul R. Eddy (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006); Gregory A. Boyd, Satan and the Problem of Evil: Constructing a Trinitarian Warfare Theodicy (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2011), 36. Google Scholar With reference to Hahn he further writes: ‘To be sure, Hellenistic Jewish Christianity was a mediating element between the Aramaic-speaking Jewish Christianity of Palestine and Hellenistic Gentile Christianity. Egypt was the last important survivor of the political system which had developed as a consequence both of the victories of Alexander and of his premature death. [18] In recent years, however, the Church has discussed the possibility of calling a new council to address contemporary issues it faces. Almost 200 years later, Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologiae, article 3, wrote succinctly: "By 'God', however, we mean some infinite good". [31] Ware, Orthodox Church, 77; Fairbairn, 145. Is Christianity a predominantly Near Eastern or Hellenistic religion? Despite its heritage, however, Hellenistic Christianity is not limited to the territories of the former Greek Byzantine Empire. In this post in my series “God and Man at Yale Divinity,” I share my paper on Hellenistic Christianity, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodoxy. Hellenistic Paganism Join the Unexplained Mysteries community today! Fasting also occupies an integral part of the Church’s communal liturgical cycle with a degree of rigor and asceticism generally lacking in the West. [11] Ware, Orthodox Church, 21; Payton, 132, 37-38; Fairbairn, 68-73. Christian engagement with Hellenistic philosophy is reported in the New Testament in Acts 17:18 describing the Apostle Paul's discussions with Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. Many schools of thought made up Hellenism. Just look at Christianity. 2 (1999). [26] Fortescue, Orthodox Church, 420; Ware, Orthodox Church, 275, 277, 283. While other churches with a strong global presence—notably the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches—can make up for losses in Europe with gains elsewhere, the Orthodox Church lacks such a firewall. Hellenistic Christianity could also arguably include some of the Uniate Churches, which are churches with heritages in the old Patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem that are today in communion with the Pope. I Read more…, Spread the loveIn this post in my series “God and Man at Yale Divinity,” I share my paper on the Council of Chalcedon. Learn how and when to remove these template messages, "Christianity and Hellenistic philosophy", Learn how and when to remove this template message, A Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation, Christianity spread throughout the Hellenic world, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, Hebrew, Early Judaic, and Early Christian Thought, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christianity_and_Hellenistic_philosophy&oldid=989280406, Articles needing additional references from December 2018, All articles needing additional references, Articles that may contain original research from October 2017, All articles that may contain original research, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. [23] Fairbairn, 43; Ware, Orthodox Church, 300; Fortescue, Orthodox Church, 426; see Bartholomew, 81-84. "Hellenistic" is a modern word and a 19th-century concept; the idea of a Hellenistic period did not exist in ancient Greece.Although words related in form or meaning, e.g. Elaine Ruth Fletcher, “Orthodox Leaders Closer to Unity,”. For all its faults, it has persevered in the faith of its ancestors, both as an established church—as in Greece today—and as a persecuted church—as in the Soviet Union. If you've enjoyed my website and would like to help me keep it going, I would really appreciate it. Hellenistic Christianity sees in the crucifixion a great triumph for Christ, rejecting the emphasis on the cross “as an act of satisfaction or substitution to propitiate the wrath of an angry Father” that became predominant in the West after Anselm of Canterbury in the eleventh century. We set out to find out what the ancient Church was really like, and in doing so we discovered Orthodoxy.”[49]. The Incarnation was “part of the eternal purpose of God, and not simply…an answer to the fall.”[14], It is unsurprising, therefore, that the Orthodox Church presents the crucifixion in a unique light as well. [7] Ware, Orthodox Church, 15; see also Garvey, 32. [39], Such nationalistic tendencies have played out in particularly obvious ways in the United States. As a previous Roman Catholic critic has pointed out, “Their sumptuous ritual, gorgeous vestments, and exact rubrics all represent, not the first age, but the palmy days of the Byzantine Roman Empire.” Fortescue, Orthodox Church, 392-93. Christianity and Hellenistic philosophies experienced complex interactions during the first to the fourth centuries. Since God was perfect, any change would make him less than perfect, so they asserted that God was unchanging, or immutable. ), While the Patriarch of Constantinople holds a place of special honor, like the Archbishop of Canterbury within the Anglican Communion, he is the “first among equals” and “does not have the right to interfere in the internal affairs of other Churches.”[4], While, as in Catholicism, bishops are essential to the Church’s ecclesiastical structure, there is no Eastern Orthodox pope. Rather, according to Orthodox belief, the icons in the sanctuary remind the congregants, through the divine liturgy, that they are with Christ and the saints worshiping together in God’s presence. It is what Plato expressed in the longing to escape the shadows of the cave and enter the sunshine of the intelligible world. Of these, Stoicism and particularly Platonism were readily incorporated into Christian ethics and theology. [14] Ware, Orthodox Church, 225; see also Payton, 122-24. Daniel W. Graham and James L. Siebach, "Philosophy and Early Christianity," 210-220. Philosophical realism was the dominant philosophical school of Anselm's day, and stemmed from Platonism. It has expanded over the centuries into other lands and encompasses all churches in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. These churches together make up the modern Eastern Orthodox Church. [35], Such nationalistic missteps are rooted deep in its early history as an established church of empire. Philosophers took all the things that they considered good, Power, Love, Knowledge and Size, and posited that God was "infinite" in all these respects. By Tradition, the Church means “the faith and practice which Jesus Christ imparted to the Apostles, and which since the Apostles’ time has been handed down from generation to generation in the Church.”[9], Tradition includes particularly the Bible, the Nicene Creed, and the seven ecumenical councils. Cook, "How Deep the Platonism," 269-286 in Farms Review of Books, vol. Because church lines have generally been synonymous with state lines, church membership was often as much a cultural marker as an expression of religious belief. [10] Ibid., 197; James R. Payton, Light from the Christian East: An Introduction to the Orthodox Tradition (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2007), 199. HELLENISM, term generally used by historians to refer to the period from the death of Alexander the Great (323 B.C.E.) Much of the Church’s uniformity stems from early Greek cultural hegemony resulting from two early schisms: the separation from the Church of the East in 431 and the separation from the Oriental Orthodox Church in 451.[28]. 1. [3] Donald Fairbairn, Eastern Orthodoxy through Western Eyes (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 25-26. Augustine of Hippo, who ultimately systematized Christian philosophy, wrote in the 4th and early 5th century. Some of these churches remained in communion with Rome at the time of the Great Schism, while others entered back into communion at a later date. What is more intelligent is more perfect as regards intelligence, what is more beautiful is more perfect as regards beauty, and so forth. Prof. Jerry Dell Ehrlich in his book Plato's Gift to Christianity also lays out the importance of the Septuagint upon the Hellenistic world and upon Christianity. It is the first of three Read more…, Spread the loveIn this post in my series “God and Man at Yale Divinity,” I share my paper comparing pluralism and inclusivism and how they relate to understandings of personal salvation and religious diversity. The Septuagint was created three hundred years before Christ. [39] Lamin Sanneh, Translating the Message: The Missionary Impact on Culture, 2nd ed. The book of Acts does not mention anything about a similar Christian presence in Alexandria, Egypt even though the city had a large population of Hellenistic Jews. Fortescue, Orthodox Church, 152-54; Fairbairn, 15-16. There is an emphasis on mystery within Orthodoxy that is often lacking in the West. The Orthodox Church, for example, denies the Augustinian idea of inherited guilt and the related Calvinist tenant of total depravity. Remaining currents of Hellenistic Judaism in all probability, as would be expected, merged into gnostic movements in the early centuries CE. [15], Instead, “Christ is the victor over death.”[16] Therefore, in Orthodox theology, there is no salvation apart from the resurrection. [5] While some bishops may hold special honor, all bishops are nonetheless equal.[6]. Nonetheless, the nationalism persisted beyond its usefulness, and Orthodoxy has struggled to expand beyond its early strongholds in Eastern Europe. Interestingly, the Orthodox Church holds that this “first among equals” position rightly belongs to the Pope. Bartholomew, 6, 20-21, 25; Payton, 175, 78-79; Ware. Hellenistic philosophy and Christianity refers to the complex interaction between Hellenistic philosophy and early Christianity during the first to fourth centuries.. (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2009), 75. Icons are not merely decorative art. [11] As Saint Athanasius wrote, “For, [Christ] was made man, that we might be made gods.”[12], As a result, the anthropology of Hellenistic Christianity differs from prevailing Western views. [47], The Church has likewise attracted converts in the United States from a variety of backgrounds who found the Church on their own. [33] Fortescue, Orthodox Church, 229-32; Fairbairn, 146. The ontological argument reflected the classical concept of "perfections". Icons hold a prominent place in the life and worship of the Orthodox Church. 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