¿Identidad cristiana étnica? El caso de Diogn. 1.1

  1. Chapa, Juan 1
  1. 1 Universidad de Navarra
    info

    Universidad de Navarra

    Pamplona, España

    ROR https://ror.org/02rxc7m23

Journal:
Estudios eclesiásticos: Revista de investigación e información teológica y canónica

ISSN: 0210-1610

Year of publication: 2019

Volume: 94

Issue: 369

Pages: 309-338

Type: Article

DOI: 10.14422/EE.V94.I369.Y2019.004 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openOpen access editor

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Abstract

The ethnic character of early Christianity is a disputed subject. The reference to γένος at the beginning of the Letter to Diognetus is often mentioned in the debate to support a racial/ethnic understanding of Christian identity. For some scholars this interpretation would seem to be supported by the expression «third γένος/genus», which is found in Christian writers prior or contemporary to Diogn. The present paper advocates a non-ethnic interpretation of the term, by analysing the meaning of γένος in combination with ἐπιτήδευμα, the word that follows γένος and is united to it by ἢ. With examples taken from classical and Christian Greek literature, it is argued that for the author of Diogn. τοῦτο γένος ἢ ἐπιτήδευμα refers mainly to the way of life of Christians in the society in which they live, with no ethnic connotations.

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