Praeparatio evangelica
Praeparatio evangelica ("Preparation for the Gospel"; Greek Εὐαγγελικὴ προπαρασκευή ) is the title of a fully preserved, fifteen- volume work by the Christian church historian and Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea , which was written at the beginning of the fourth century. Together with the twenty-volume Demonstratio Evangelica (“The Revelation of the Gospel”) , only half of which has survived, it forms a large apologetic work on Christianity . Eusebius dedicated both works to Bishop Theodotos of Laodikeia in Syria.
Tradition, editions and date of creation
The first five books of the Praeparatio evangelica have survived twice, the last ten only through more recent manuscripts, the best of which often only offer mutually complementary excerpts. To the extent not satisfactory editions of the work were obtained from Charles Mras meantime text critical revised and partially corrected by the sources, so after an assessment of Folker Siegert the output of the Praeparatio evangelica by Karl Mras as "significantly applies" and the output Benedict Nieses as obsolete to look is.
Eusebius began to write the Praeparatio evangelica , the date of which is not directly stated in the work, soon after the last great persecution of Christians , which began in 303 under Emperor Diocletian and ended in 311. The allusion to the unmasking of the pagan fanatic Theoteknos (late 313 or early 314) allows the establishment of a secure term post quem for the work. It was probably only ended about ten years later around 323. The consciousness of victory of the previously persecuted Christian church is expressed, which is allowed to practice its cult again, and the imperial peace is celebrated. The work was supposed to demonstrate the superiority of Christianity over paganism and probably also represent a defense against further attacks.
content
Superiority of Christianity
In a longer introduction, Eusebius first describes the gospel as true worship of the one God, which the divine Logos who appeared in Jesus Christ proclaimed, and then formulates the most essential reproaches and objections of the Gentiles and Jews against the new religion. The Jews accused the Christians of the inconsistency of claiming the promises made to the people of Yahweh , but at the same time rejecting the Jewish rites and customs. The 15 volumes of the Praeparatio evangelica serve to refute the pagan objections , while the Demonstratio evangelica seeks to refute the allegations of the Jews. In dealing with the pagan critics, Eusebius deals in particular with their most learned representative, the Neo-Platonic philosopher Porphyrios , who died shortly after 300 years and who was an intellectually feared opponent of the Christians and a (lost) 15-volume work Against the Christians with polemical attacks on the Wrote the Old and New Testaments. Eusebius' method is not so much to convince with one's own argument as to refute the Gentiles by oneself by means of numerous excerpts from pagan literature. This makes his work a treasure trove for excerpts from otherwise unpredictable writings of ancient philosophy and other disciplines.
Eusebius sees the divine origin of Christianity as proven, among other things, in the fact that the Christian Church, as prophesied by Jesus, has firmly established itself in a universal and invincible manner. Likewise, Jesus' appearance and his commission to convert the Gentiles had already been proclaimed by prophets of the Old Testament . In addition, at the same time as Jesus appeared, the Pax Augusta began, which brought an end to the endless military conflicts between the various states and the emergence of a time of peace in the Roman Empire. In contrast to the licentiousness of polytheism , Christian ethics, for example through the prohibition of incest or the equality of the sick and the weak, positively promoted the development of culture.
In the first six books of the Praeparatio evangelica , Eusebius goes into various aspects of pagan religion, such as its oracles in great detail . He alternately depicts the gods questioned as either non-existent or as evil demons. In a later part of the work, Eusebios proposes that Hebrew theology is much older than Hellenic mythology and philosophy. This is followed by the further theory that Plato , whose doctrine compared with those of other Greek philosophers comes closest to Christian views, borrowed his wisdom from Moses and Jewish prophets, even if he did not dare to shake off polytheism.
Historical and philosophical-theological sources
The most important fragments from lost works by ancient authors that Eusebius brings in his Praeparatio evangelica include excerpts from Diodor , the Middle Platonist Attikos , the work of Alexander Polyhistor on the Jews, and the Chronicle of Julius Africanus . An important excerpt from the Phoenician religion, such as that presented by Sanchuniathon , is passed on by Eusebius, as are events in ancient Egyptian history.
Eusebius also used sources from Flavius Josephus , for example On the Originality of Judaism , as they contained valuable references to the history of the Hebrews in his judgment . The Praeparatio evangelica is therefore the most important secondary source for the work and texts of Flavius Josephus.
The epitome Manethos ( Aegyptiaca ), although part of the texts by Flavius Josephus, is not dealt with in the Praeparatio evangelica , but in detail in his work Chronology 1 .
literature
- Folker Siegert: Flavius Josephus: About the originality of Judaism (Contra Apionem) . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-54206-4
- Vol. 1: First collation of the entire tradition (Greek, Latin, Armenian), literary-critical analysis and German translation (writings of the Institutum Judaicum Delitzschianum 6.1) .
- Vol. 2: Additions, notes, Greek text (writings of the Institutum Judaicum Delitzschianum 6.2) .
- Karl Mras : Eusebius works. Vol. 8.1: The Praeparatio evangelica: Introduction, the books I - X. Hinrichs, Leipzig 1954.
- Karl Mras: Eusebius works. Vol. 8.2: The Praeparatio evangelica, Books XI - XV. Hinrichs, Leipzig 1956.
- Eduard Schwartz : Eusebios 24). In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume VI, 1, Stuttgart 1907, Sp. 1370-1439.
Remarks
- ^ Eduard Schwartz : Eusebios 24). In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume VI, 1, Stuttgart 1907, column 1392.
- ↑ Praeparatio evangelica 4, 2, 10ff.
- ^ Eduard Schwartz: Eusebios 24). In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume VI, 1, Stuttgart 1907, Sp. 1390.
- ↑ Praeparatio evangelica 1, 3f.
- ^ Praeparatio evangelica , Books 11-13.