'As the catholic faith believes' (c. Sec. 5): Augustine's unigenitus as pro-Nicene and anti-Manichaean
This article explores the significance of the term unigenitus (only-begotten) in Augustine's anti-Manichaean writings. By examining his deployment of the term alongside language of substance or nature and in juxtaposition with the related christological title primogenitus (firstborn), I will sh...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
[2019]
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| In: |
The journal of theological studies
Year: 2019, Volume: 70, Issue: 1, Pages: 251-270 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Augustinus, Aurelius, Saint 354-430
/ Manichaeism
/ Symbolum Nicaenum
/ Jesus Christus
/ Latin
/ Adjective
/ unigenitus
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| RelBib Classification: | BF Gnosticism KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity NBF Christology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | This article explores the significance of the term unigenitus (only-begotten) in Augustine's anti-Manichaean writings. By examining his deployment of the term alongside language of substance or nature and in juxtaposition with the related christological title primogenitus (firstborn), I will show that Augustine's anti-Manichaean use of unigenitus draws upon a pro-Nicene reading of the word that he adopts from his Latin Catholic forebears, especially the anti-Homoian authors of the late 350?s and early 360?s. Awareness of this pro-Nicene, anti-Manichaean dynamic allows us to see how Augustine's growing awareness of and familiarity with the depth of the pro-Nicene tradition facilitated his construction of a 'Catholic self', as Jason BeDuhn has recently put it. Yet, I argue, to see how Augustine seeks to overwrite his prior religious identity, we must attend carefully to the christological and trinitarian polemics (eschewed by BeDuhn) that shaped the Catholic discourse he inherited, and to the way they provided the tools for the dismantling of the Manichaean mythos through the proclamation of an alternative, pro-Nicene view of God, Christ, and creation. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-4607 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The journal of theological studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jts/flz007 |