Julius Africanus, Origen, and the Politics of Intellectual Life under the Severans

Bibliographic Data

ID3474607
AuthorsJim Secord (0000-0003-0418-6634, corresponding author), Jared Secord
Year2017
Volume110
Issue2
Pages211-235
Publication date2017-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Classical World (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0009-8418 • E-ISSN: 1558-9234
PublisherProject MUSE (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1353/clw.2017.0002
OpenAlexW2587106323
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited17

The prominence gained by two Christian scholars, Julius Africanus and Origen, under the Severan dynasty and the connections to the imperial household that they enjoyed cannot be explained simply as a consequence of newfound imperial interest in Christianity, contrary to the prevailing scholarly consensus. The successes of Africanus and Origen were instead a result of their ability to gain mainstream legitimacy among the empire’s intellectual elite, something that no earlier Christian scholars had achieved. Unlike earlier Christian scholars, Africanus and Origen were able to gain legitimate status because they had ready access to money to support their education and research. They were also basically indistinguishable from non-Christian scholars in their ability to serve and interact with the imperial household

Ancient history · Christianity · Early Christianity · Elite · Empire · Legitimacy · Mainstream · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classics · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies

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