Full citation – Référence complète:
Тодоровска, М. “Падот на ангелите и потеклото на злото според Јустин Маченик и во Псевдо-Климентовите Хомилии”. Živa Antika / Antiquité Vivante 74.1-2 (2024), pp. 59–82.

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.47054/ZIVA24741-2059t

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Summary. – The goal of the text is to offer an overview of the approaches to the origin of evil as told by the story about the fallen Watchers from the Book of Enoch (1 Enoch) in Justin Martyr, and in the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies. Justin’s stances on the origin of evil as a result of the fall of the angels are shown, along with his innovative approach of equating the demonic sphere with the pagan religious culture (the Greek and the Roman pantheon, idolatry, and ritual sacrificial practices), as well as of his criticism of the Judaist rituality as susceptible to the same misconceptions, and as prone to the same types of sacrilege. Justin’s general position depicts the demons as zealously and nefariously opposed to the Christians, for whom they harbor feelings of resentment and hatred; and the Christians as vulnerable to the demonic influences, possession, and the subsequent problems, which is briefly shown through some of the ways that he claims the demons execute their attacks against the pious Christians (such as corrupting the hearts of the rulers, in order to wish to exterminate them etc.). The main points of the use of the story about the Watchers from the Homilies (in Homily 8) are given, showing that in this instance, the origin of evil does not include intentional transgression and sin on the part of the angels, but a desire to judge men justly, which in turn leads to their ontological shift, the new, giant race as the offspring of the angels and the women, and the destruction on the earth due to the toxic overall strife, the consumption of blood, and cannibalism. A brief comparison between the understanding of the divine law and the structure of the world in 1 Enoch and in the Homilies is offered, accentuating the importance of appropriate moral behaviour, and the belief that the problems of demonic influence arise only if people intentionally acknowledge the demons and forge social relationships with them, thus willingly exposing themselves to their harm. The stances of Justin about the wickedness of pagan mythology, which shrewdly anticipates religious events, in order to preemptively discredit them in its stories are shown, as well as his opinions on the Judaist disregard for the divine laws and ritual rules, thus showing that he maintains the same position towards the Jewish as towards the Greek and the Roman religious culture. In the next part of the text, a comparison is given of the Homilies’ treatment of the Jewish sacrificial rituals as paradigmatic piousness, and in Justin, where Judaist rituality is perceived as having the same demonic framework as other non-Christian religious endeavours. While Justin blames the fallen angels for the origin and proliferation of the evil in the world, the demons for constructing pagan mythology and religion, and for specifically targeting Christians, and non-Christian religious cultures (founded on and built in a demonic framework) for consorting with demons, the Homilies place no blame in any one person or angel, but rather on the inexperience of the humans in inconveniences and troubles, which makes them become ungrateful; and explain the deterioration and the evil in the world as a result of the righteous and kind intention of the angels, who want to discern which people to punish for their ungratefulness, for which they transform into human nature, thus losing their angelic powers of substance transformation and remaining bound on earth, which then produces lust, and because of it, gigantic, unsatiable, eventually cannibalistic offspring. Despite the difference in their approaches, both Justin and the Homilies place the utmost importance on the intentional self-deliberation and proper conduct of humans, underlining the importance of their awareness of the divine law, the dangers of the demonic threats, and the necessity for suitable moral-ritual behaviour.