CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2024
| Author | Kok, Mustafa |
|---|---|
| Title | Antichrist in Purple: Ecclesiastical Invectives against Constantius II |
| Summary | The thesis analyzes the association between Christian Roman Emperor Constantius II and the Antichrist in the invectives written by Athanasius of Alexandria, Hilary of Poitiers, and Lucifer of Cagliari. In their criticism of the emperor, the three Nicene bishops jointly call Constantius the precursor to or the Antichrist himself. In the present study, I explore the biblical and exegetical source for such an allegation and the ways in which the Antichrist typology is employed against Constantius’ non-Nicene ecclesiastical policies during the mid-fourth century. I argue that such accusations are more than “empty rhetoric.” By using biblical imagery, the Nicene bishops deliberately present Constantius and his “Arian” supporters as fulfilling the eschatological prophecies of persecution of God’s people, the “Orthodox” Nicene community. Even more, the thesis puts the use of the Antichrist typology in the broader literary context of the fourth century alongside the panegyrical discourses where eschatological rhetoric is used. I assert that as a response to the changing historical circumstances in roughly the first half of the fourth century, eschatological discourses became a rhetorical tool both to praise or vilify certain individuals and groups. |
| Supervisor | Menze, Volker; Perczel István |
| Department | Medieval Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2024/kok_mustafa.pdf |
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