Žitije i pasija jednog antičkog eks-hrišćanina: Lukijan, kako je završio Peregrin

Abstract

Among many works written by famous Greek satirist Lucian of Samosata (cca 120-180), which tend to deride contemporaneous religious phenomena, the epistle On the End of Peregerinus is an outstanding one. Besides, it is unique in ancient literature because at the time when Greek pagan writers are almost totally silent about Christianity and the Roman ones mention only some details about it, Lucian gives detailed description of a new religious movement. But the problem with this text is whether it can be an objective source about ancient Christianity. For as a parody of aretalogy and cynic-stoic diatribe enriched with many rhetorical conventions and stereotype of vituperation (licentious youth, parricide) and with an aim of second-sophistic declamations to amuse, it shows Lucian’s typical shallowness and subjectivity in treating the facts. The main idea of this paper is that in spite of defectiveness of Lucian’s statements, considering the peculiarity of his literary management, i.e. purifying his story from all rhetorical common places directed to present Proteus Peregrinus only as a man insatiably desirous of glory, this text offers a lot of relevant information of religious atmosphere in Roman Empire in second century A.D. Moreover, setting Peregrinus’ unstable and curious figure in the context of a complex and divergent situation of Christianity of that time, it becomes clear that Lucian’s story gives good illustration of processes within and on the periphery of ancient Christianity in the century decisive for its intellectual evolution and wider penetration into the Greek-Roman world. (ch. 1 Peregrinus and Pseudo-Peregrinus, ch. 2 Lucian and Christianity) Peregrinus was a heretic from the very beginning of his successful Christian career (he was the bishop, then he was imprisoned for his Christian faith and in the end he became traveling Christian missionary). His baptism which took place somewhere near Palestine and his excommunication due to some dietary taboos show that in the first period of his Christian activity Peregrinus belonged to a Judeo-Christian society. Lucian’s inconsistent definition of Peregrinus’ biblicistic work (both commenting and writing of Sacred Books) probably does not mean that Peregrinus composed apocrypha, but rather suggests that he was among those of Christian theologians of that time who tried to form the canon of the Scripture, like Marcion of Sinope, his contemporary with a very similar biography. Peregrinus’ acceptation of cynical image, typical for radical elements in early Christianity, and his arrival in Egypt for the reason of ascesis are logical consequences of his primary heretical orientation. Lucian uses standard exempla for parody of cynical ideals (masturbation and flogging the buttocks) and it is not surprising that behind his literary interpretation lies the fact of Peregrinus’ membership in some of Alexandrian immoral gnostic sects such as the Carpocratians or phibionits. (ch. 3 Christian and Cynic, ch. 4 Orthodoxy or Heresy, ch. 5 Ascetics or Perverts) Lucian’s mention of Brahmanic influence on Peregrinus’ self-burning is also not only a rhetorical cliché characteristic for many of his writings where he attacks belief and asceticism of Indian "gymnosophistae" for their insincerity and senselessness. The striking similarity between Peregrinus’ ritual acts before his self-burning and some Brahamanic - waiting the Moon to come out turning to the South, invoking the spirits of dead people - shows that in his religious evolution Peregrinus was under the influence of Neopithagoreans, who were traditionally interested in Brahmanism. On the other hand, ritual turning to the South could have a gnostic-Christian background; so the mediation of Christian intellectual contacts with India (Pantaenus) could be one of the sources of Peregrinus’ interest in the Brahmans. More precisely, an amalgam of Christianity, cynicism neopithagoreism and an inclination to Oriental wisdom such as was Brahmanic one, makes Peregrinus’ spiritual physionomy closer to that of his younger contemporary Numenius of Apameia. (ch. 6 Brahmanism or Neopythagoreism) What underlies Peregrinus’ decision to depart from life is not only the suicidal tradition of Cynics and other philosophers (dating back to his most ardent Christian days, when he was nicknamed New Socrates), but also the current Christian zeal for martyrdom. Peregrinus was familiar with the most striking literary expression of that zeal in parting epistles of Ignatius of Antioch, and he even imitated them, as can be seen from some characteristic Ignatius’ ideas and formulations in that Peregrinus’ epistles noted by Lucian. Moreover, there are some more significant parallels between the authentic story about martyrdom of Polycarpus of Smyrna and Lucian’s description of Peregrinus’ suicide. They could hardly be Lucian’s literary constructions but rather a result of Peregrinus’ imitation of the famous bishop. Exciting details of Polycarpus’ death inspired the dramaturgy of Peregrinus’ theatrical end in the same way as did Hercules’ cult - under the impulse of Hellenistic-Roman trend of stylizing one’s own life according to the myths. (ch. 7 Philosophers and Suicide, ch. 8 Polycarpus and Peregrinus) Some lesser reminiscences of early Christian phenomena from the time when Peregrinus had been long before excommunicated as well as after his death, when his disciples continued to express the same religious views - Phoenix myth, the falsification of Sibylline prophecies the accusation of atheism, keeping the robe of a dead teacher - also indicate that Peregrinus’ Christianity was not an episode, a passing phase in his life, but that it lastingly marked his acts, including his unquotidiant self-immolation. (ch. 9 Christian Renegade or ex-Christian).