Mythological Aspects of Supreme Power Concept by Eusebius Pamphilus

PDF
Published: Jun 30, 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/cjp.33960
Keywords:
myth power reign priesthood rationality history image Logos
Marina Savelieva
National Academy of Sciences, Ukraine
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9522-0644
Abstract

The article deals with one of the earliest Christian interpretations of the supreme secular power created by Eusebius Pamphilus, Bishop of Caesarea, during the life of the first Christian emperor Constantine the Great. It is proved that the concept by Eusebius contains mythological ideas transformed in a Christian context. In particular, the main focus of the interpretation of the Lord is the recognition of Him as Pantocrator [Παντοκράτωρ – the Lord of all] endowed with infinite power and authority over the Universe. Such an interpretation reconstructs archaic ideas about the deity as the centre of power and says nothing about his mercy and justice. This concept became the basis for the argumentation of the absolute nature of the Christian emperor’s supreme power – Basileus. The Lord, communicating with Basileus through His Son, Christ the Logos, gives him the sacred right to reign and thus makes him godlike [Friend of God – Θεóς, divinely favoured] – an icon of the Lord of all. Another mythological feature of Eusebius’ interpretation of supreme power is the solution to the problematic relationship between the reign and the priesthood. Eusebius believed that the Lord’s endowment of Basileus with the right to reign obliges him to perform priestly functions at the same time. The purpose of Basileus’ priesthood was to enlighten his flock about the essence of the Word of God, and not to observe religious rituals. In this way, the role of the basileus-priest differed from the Patriarch. Thus, the mythological nature of the concept by Eusebius of Caesarea is the fact that he unconsciously replaced various semantic connections. This happened because he could not explain the essence of supreme power and its value to society in a different way. The foundation of Eusebius’ mythological thinking is the beginning of the synthesized rationality (historical understanding of the real past) and myth (substitution of history by religious tradition) of the history of the Byzantine Empire.

Article Details
  • Section
  • Articles
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (preferably in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.

Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Allen, James Peter. Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
Comnena, Anna. The Alexiad. Translated by Elizabeth A. S. Dawes. Cambridge and Ontario: Byzantine Series, 2000.
Constantine Porphyrogenitus. De administrando imperio. Edited by Gy. Moravscik. Translated by R. J. H. Jenkins. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 1967.
Dagron, Gilbert. Emperor and Priest. The Imperial Office in Byzantium. Translated by Jean Birrell. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Eusebius. “Church History from A. D. 1-324.” In Eusebius Pamphilius: Church History, Life of Constantine, Oration in Praise of Constantine, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Series II, vol. 1, edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, 151-666. New York: The Christian Literature Company, 1890-1900.
Eusebius. Eusebius: Church History, Life of Constantine the Great, Oration in Praise of Constantine, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Series II, vol. 1. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. New York: The Christian Literature Company; Oxford and London: Parker and Company, 1890.
Fowden, Garth. “The Last Days of Constantine: Oppositional Versions and Their Influence.” The Journal of Roman Studies 84 (1994): 146-170. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/300874.
Grigora, Nikifor. Istoriya romeev [Byzantine History], vol. I. Translated by R. V. Yashunsky. Saint Petersburg: Svoe izdatel’stvo, 2013.
Leo VI. The Taktika of Leo VI. Edited and translated by George T. Dennis. Washington, D. C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 2010.
Litavrin, Gennadiy Grigor’yevich. Kak zhili vizantijcy [How Did the Byzantines Live?]. Moskva: Nauka, 1974.
Litavrin, Gennadiy Grigor’yevich. Vizantiyskoe obshchestvo i gosudarstvo v X-XI vv [Byzantine Society and State in the X-XI Centuries]. Moskva: Nauka, 1977.
Luttwak, Edward N. The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire. Cambridge, MA, and London: The Belknap Press, 2009.
Maurice’s Stratégikon: Handbook of Byzantine Military Strategy. Translated by George T. Dennis. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1984.
Ostrogorsky, Georg. History of the Byzantine State. Translated by J. Hussey. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1968.
Philostorgius. Church History. Translated by Philip R. Amidon. Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2007.
Sapronov, Petr Aleksandrovich. Vlast’ kak metafizicheskaja i istoricheskaja real’nost’ [Power as a Metaphysical and Historical Reality]. Saint Petersburg: Cerkov’ i kul’tura, 2001.
Sarris, Peter, ed. The Novels of Justinian. A Complete Annotated English Translation. Translated by David J. D. Miller. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
Vasil’evskiy, Vasiliy Grigor’yevich. “Vizantiya i pechenegi” [Byzantium and Pechenegs]. In Trudy [Works], vol. I, edited by Vasiliy Grigor’yevich Vasil’evskiy, 1-175. Saint Petersburg: Tipografiya Imperatorskoy Akademii Nauk, 1908.