Morton Smith and the Carpocratians
Before the publication of Morton Smith’s scholarly and popular monographs on the Letter to Theodore ascribed to Clement of Alexandria, scholars generally summarized rather than critically interrogated the heresiological sources about the Carpocratians. Smith’s historical reconstruction of the belief...
| Published in: | Ephemerides theologicae Lovanienses |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Peeters
2021
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| In: |
Ephemerides theologicae Lovanienses
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Smith, Morton 1915-1991
/ Karpokratianer
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| RelBib Classification: | BF Gnosticism KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Before the publication of Morton Smith’s scholarly and popular monographs on the Letter to Theodore ascribed to Clement of Alexandria, scholars generally summarized rather than critically interrogated the heresiological sources about the Carpocratians. Smith’s historical reconstruction of the beliefs and praxis of Carpocrates, Epiphanes, and their followers, therefore, represented a significant advance in the academic study of the Carpocratians. Further, he added the Letter to Theodore to the database on the Carpocratians, though there is no consensus among scholars regarding the authenticity of this document. Nevertheless, Smith’s interpretations of the Patristic and Medieval testimonies about the Carpocratians have become outdated in the light of recent scholarship. More specifically, Smith undervalued the philosophical underpinnings of the Carpocratians’ worldview and overemphasised the antinomian and magical practices that were attributed to the Carpocratians by their Christian opponents. |
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| ISSN: | 1783-1423 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Ephemerides theologicae Lovanienses
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2143/ETL.97.4.3290078 |