Western Patristics: Representatives, Basic Teachings and Content

In the development of Christian theology and philosophy, a major role was played by such a direction as patristicism. Representatives of this layer of religious thinking are often called Fathers of the Church, hence the name from the Latin word Pater, that is, the father. In the time of the birth of Christian philosophy, these people often turned out to be leaders of opinions in Christian communities. They also influenced the folding of dogmatics on many very important issues. Historians date the period of patristic from early Christianity to the seventh century AD. The study of this era, as well as its main achievements is engaged in special science.

Periodization

Traditionally, this trend of Christian thought is divided into western and eastern. In other words, we are talking about the Roman (Latin) and Greek patristic. This division is based on the language in which the main works of this era are written. Although some of the Church Fathers are revered in the same way as in Orthodoxy, and in Catholicism. Chronologically, the patristic, whose representatives are described in this article, is divided into three major periods. The initial period lasted until the Council of Nicaea in 325 years. Its heyday falls on the times to 451, and the decline continued until the seventh century.

The period before the Council of Nicaea - the initial

Tradition also says that in the earliest times patristicism already existed. Representatives of her wrote the first liturgical texts and precepts of church life. It is customary to refer to the Fathers of the Church and the Apostles, but there is very little historical evidence of this. It is possible to perceive in this capacity unless Paul, Peter, James and other disciples of Christ. The first representatives of the patrist are called the Apostolic Fathers. Among them you can recall Clement of Rome, Tertullian, Cyprian, Lactance and Novatian. Thanks to them, a western patristic was formed. Ideas and representatives of this trend are mainly associated with the apology of Christianity. That is, these thinkers tried to prove that their faith and philosophy are no worse, but much better than the Gentiles.

Tertullian

This passionate and uncompromising man was a fighter with Gnosticism. Although he was engaged in apologetics all his life, he can be given the palm of first place in the formation of the dogmatics of the early church. He did not present his thoughts systematically - in the works of this theologian, one can find mixed arguments about ethics, cosmology and psychology. We can say that this is a unique representative of patristics. Not without reason, despite his desire for orthodoxy, at the end of his life he joined the dissident trend within Christianity - the Montanists. Tertullian was such a fierce enemy of pagans and Gnostics that he attacked the whole of ancient philosophy as a whole. For him, she was the mother of all heresies and deviations. Greek and Roman culture, from his point of view, is separated from Christianity by an abyss that can not be overcome. Therefore, the famous paradoxes of Tertullian are opposed to such a phenomenon as patristicism in philosophy. Representatives of the same late period went a completely different way.

The Epoch after the Council of Nicaea - the heyday

This time is considered the golden age of patristy. It is on him that the bulk of the literature written by the Fathers of the Church falls. The main problem of the classical period is the discussion on the nature of the Trinity, as well as polemics with the Manichaeans. Western patristic, whose representatives defended the Nicene Creed, can boast of such minds as Hilarius, Martin Victorinus and Ambrose of Milan. The latter was elected bishop of Milan, and his works rather resemble sermons. He was an outstanding spiritual authority of his time. He, like his other colleagues, was strongly influenced by the ideas of Neoplatonism and was a supporter of the allegorical interpretation of the Bible.

Augustine

This outstanding representative of patristic in his youth was fond of Manichaeism. To return to the bosom of Christianity he was helped by the sermons of Ambrose. Subsequently, he received the priesthood and until his death was the bishop of the city of Gippon. The writings of Augustine can be considered the apogee of the Latin patristic. His main works - "Confession", "On the Trinity" and "On the City of God." For Augustine, God is the highest essence and at the same time the form, good and cause of all being. He continues to create the world, and this is reflected in the history of mankind. God is both an object, and the cause of all knowledge and action. In the world there is a hierarchy of creations, and the order in it, as the theologian believed, supports eternal ideas such as the Platonic. Augustine believed that knowledge is possible, but at the same time he was sure that neither feelings nor reason can lead to truth. Only faith can do this.

The ascent of man to God and free will according to Augustine

To some extent, the novelty introduced into Christian theology by this patristic representative is a continuation of Tertullian's paradoxes, but in a slightly different form. Augustine agreed with his predecessor that the human soul is by nature a Christian. Therefore, the ascent to God must be happiness for her. Moreover, the human soul is a microcosm. This means that the soul by nature is close to God and all knowledge for her is the way to it, that is, faith. Its essence is freedom of will. It is twofold - it can be evil and kind. Everything bad happens exclusively from the person, for which the latter is responsible. And all good is done only by the grace of God. Without it you can not do anything, even if a person thinks that he does it all himself. Evil God allows for the existence of harmony. Augustine was a supporter of the doctrine of transstinatium. From his point of view, God determines in advance whether the soul is destined to hell or paradise. But this happens because he knows how people manage their will.

Augustine of the time

Man, as this Christian philosopher believed, is powerful over the present. God is the master of the future. Before the creation of the world, there was no time. And now it is rather a psychological concept. We learn it by attention, linking the past with memory, and the future with hope. History, according to Augustine, is the path from a curse and a fall to salvation and a new life in God. With the doctrine of time, his theory of the two kingdoms-earthly and God-is also connected. The relationship between them is very ambivalent - it is coexistence and struggle at the same time. The earthly world is in blossom and decline, and Adam's sin was not only that he denied God obedience, but also that he chose things, not spiritual perfection. The only representative of the kingdom of God on earth, which must come after the end of time, is the church, the mediator between man and the higher world. But as the theologian admitted, there is also a lot of chaff. Therefore, if a person is destined to achieve bliss, he can eventually do this without the church. After all, this is what God intended him to do. Evaluation of Augustine's theology is very ambiguous, because his ideas served the formulation of Christian dogmas, which lasted a thousand years, and prepared the Reformation.

Decline period

Like any historical phenomenon, patristic has also changed. Its representatives began to engage more and more in political, not theological, problems. Especially when the beginning of the formation of the Roman papacy, claiming secular power. Among the interesting philosophers of this time can be called Marciana Capella, Pseudo-Dionysius, Boethius, Isidore of Seville. Standing apart is Pope Gregory the Great, who is considered the last great writer of the patristic era. However, he is valued not so much for theological reflections, as for the letters in which he codified the charter of the clergy, and for organizational abilities.

The main problems of patristics

Fathers of the church thought about God's saving plan for humanity and the place of Christianity among the surrounding cultures (Judaism, Hellenism, Eastern traditions). They came to the conclusion that it is impossible to know the highest truth in a natural way. This is available only through revelation. They agreed that the world was created by God out of nothing, it has a beginning and an end. They gave rise to a rather difficult theodicy, according to which the main culprit of evil is a person who used his free will badly. The struggle with the dissident currents that appeared inside and outside the church, as well as the development of rhetoric, sharpened the pen of theologians and made their works a model of the heyday of Christian thought. Patricia, the main ideas and representatives of which are characterized above, has become the subject of imitation for many centuries in both the Eastern and the Western ecclesiastical tradition.