MAGIC AND THEOLOGY. THE BARBARIC UTTERANCES IN THE PISTIS SOPHIA AND THEIR DIFFERENT LEVELS OF INTEPRETATION

MARIANO TROIANO

ACTAS DEL II CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL DE ESTUDIOS PATRÍSTICOS

Brepols

Lugar: Turnhout; Año: 2021; p. 181 - 198

Magic and Theology. The barbaric utterances in the Pistis Sophia and their different levels of interpretation (abstract) Thus, the aim of this study is to show not only thediversity and complexity of the nomina barbara exposed in the Pistis Sophia, but also to support that the study of them is essential for the understanding oftheology, cosmogony and anthropology in Late Antiquity; where philosophy andreligion, patristics and gnosticism converge in the exegesis of new concepts.Concepts enunciated in different languages ​​and whose interpretation requiresdifferent levels that must be addressed to provide meaning to these statements.On the one hand, therefore, we will propose the studyof the co-text (both immediate and extended) surrounding these expressions and,on the other hand, we will present the investigation of philosophical sourcessuch as Plotinus Enneads; patristic ones, such as the news of Irenaeusof Lyon or Clement of Alexandria, of other Gnostic texts such as theValentinian texts of the Nag Hammadi Collection. These levels will allowdiverse but confluent paths, which will bring a new perspective to elucidatethe meaning of these barbaric utterances and to expose the ideas that theyconvey. [1] MarianoTroiano, ?Rituels eténoncés barbares dans la Pistis Sophia? in Langage des dieux, langage desdémons, langage des hommes dans l?Antiquité, ed. by Luciana Soares and Philippe Hoffmann, (Turhout: Brepols, 2017),pp. 61-76.