Folia Theologica 18. (2007)

László Perendy: The Outlines of Systematic Theology in the Ad Autolycum of Theophilus of Antioch

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L. PERENDY

God has been active in the created world also through his Sophia. "His Sophia is most powerful: God by Sophia founded the earth; he prepared the heavens by intelligence; by knowledge the abysses were broken up and the clouds poured forth dews [Prov. 3: 19 f.]."17 In Theophilus' mind God's Wisdom has been named in different ways in the Scriptures and was active especially inspiring the prophets, revealing them the secrets of creation: "It was he, Spirit of God [Gen. 1: 2] and Beginning [Gen. 1: 1] and Sophia [Prov. 8: 22] and Power High [Luke 1: 35], who came down into the prophets and spoke through them about the creation of the world and all the rest [cf. II. 9.]. For the prophets did not exist when the world came into existence; there were the Sophia of God which is in him and his holy Logos who is always present with him."18

Until recently, there have been relatively few publications on Theophilus, especially in comparison with the large number of contributions about his contemporaries. Although not enough attention has been devoted to every aspect of his manifold activities, nevertheless it is worth summing up the views of some scholars about various aspects of his doctrine of God and other disciplines of theology.

It is obvious from the passages quoted above that God's absolute monarchy is in the centre of his doctrine of God. His God is dvapxoç and dyevr)Tos. He is perfect, almighty, immutable, and possesses high intelligence.

We cannot but agree with D. W. Palmer that Theophilus approves of a kind of negative definition, or rather description of the deity, used by Middle Platonist philosophers.19 But Robert McQueen Grant is also right when he reminds us that in Theophilus' mind the divine attributes do not describe the essence of God.20 Ludwig Paul points out that it is exactly God's absolute sovereingty that requires ïva èf oûk ővtwv TToifj, őcra ßoüXeTcu.21 1

17 1.7.

18 2.10.

19 D. W. PALMER, Atheism, Apologetic, and Negative Theology in the Greek Apologists of the Second Century, in Vigiliae Christianae 37 (1983) 234-259, 251.

20 R. M. GRANT, Gods and the One God, London, 1986, 88-89.

21 L. PAUL, Die Interpretation der Schöpfungsgeschichte bei dem Apologeten Theophilus, in Jahrbuch für protestantische Theologie 6 (1880) 717-744, 720.