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Title: Asceticism and Exegetical Authority in John Cassian's Conference 23
Author(s): VILLEGAS MARÍN, Raúl
Journal: Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses
Volume: 93    Issue: 4   Date: 2017   
Pages: 671-684
DOI: 10.2143/ETL.93.4.3256945

Abstract :
Behind the anti-Pelagian appearance of John Cassian’s Conference 23 lies an apology for Evagrius Ponticus’ teaching on the ascetic apatheia, formerly equated by Jerome with the views on sinlessness that he – also improperly – attributed to Pelagius in Letter 133, Commentary on Jeremiah, and Dialogus aduersus Pelagianos. Furthermore, Cassian’s emphasis on the ascetical experience as being a prerequisite for getting acces to the mystical sense of the Scriptures aims at undermining the exegetical authority of the 'unexperienced' Jerome. When Cassian came to take part in the current debates about the exegesis of Paul, he did not appeal to Augustine or Jerome. The ascetic experientia of the Fathers of the Egyptian Desert was to be his sole source of authority.

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