Folia Theologica 17. (2006)

László Perendy: A Christian Platonist

174

L. PERENDY

In fact, there are three pseudoepigraphic works with the following titles: Oratio ad Gentiles, Cohortatio ad Graecos, and De monarchia, but scholars have known for a long time that they were not written by him.

The diversity of the topics in his works proves that he worked in several fields of scholarly work. The TcíXtt} must have been an exegetical work. The topic discussed in his EkoXlkóv TTgpi ijmx'ns' is treated also in his Dialogue. Actually, the fact that he was attributed to have written several works with an important theological topic shows that he was regarded as an authority also in theology, and not only in the field of apologetics.

Jerome informs us that Justin wrote a work on the Apocalypse of Saint John, in which he most probably introduced his readers to his chiliastic views. Damascene in the Sacra Parallela quotes a work by Justin against the Jews. Maximus Confessor knows about a work titled TTpàç Eúcjpáaioi' aocjuaTrp' -népi Trpoeoiaç Kai margins. It is also interesting to note that Photinus knew a work written against the Physics of Aristotle.

Justin's importance in the development of Christian literature and theology is also shown by the fact that the titles and topics treated by him and mentioned above will appear during the following decades as titles used by several ecclesiastical writers. We should think about Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus of Antioch, Irenaeus, or even Tertullian.

As Justin's work, TTgpi 0eoO povapyias got lost, we can only try to reconstruct his ideas about God's monarchy.

It is a remarkable fact that in his three extant works especially the parts referring to creation are connected with his doctrine of God. Let us closely examine them now. The English translation is mostly taken from A. Roberts - J. Donaldson (eds.), The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. I.) Grand Rapids/Mich., 1979. Inserted in the English text we will find some passages with the key expressions in Greek. The Greek texts of the two Apologies are quoted from: M. Marcovich, Iustini martyris Apológiáé pro Christianis, Berlin-New York, 1994. The Dialogue with Trypho the Jew is quoted from the text edition of G. Archambault, Justin, Dialogue avec Tryphon, Paris, 1909.