Ambrosiaster belongs to the Roman school of exegesis. He deserves the attention because of the relations between him and Marius Victorinus, his predecessor, as well as Pelagius and Augustine, his successors. The purpose of the article was to present Ambrosiaster’s anthropology on the basis of his writings. The conclusions have been presented in three parts: the elements of human nature, the rationality of knowledge and the scope of free will. The first part shows the process in which the elements of nature are integrated. The spirit plays the decisive role synchronizing both the body and the soul. This dynamic and ongoing process is inspired by the presence of the Holy Spirit. The second part reveals two conditions for gaining knowledge: accepting the limitations of the mind and expanding and developing the principle of analogy. The last part presents two ways the free will is practised: by increasing how much one owns, which may be associated with lust, or by strengthening one’s inner strength. The role of the cultural and the ecclesial environment constitutes important information for the reconstruction of the views of Ambrosiaster. This raises the question whether – alongside Antioch and Alexandria – one could also talk about the Roman school of exegesis (Marius Victorinus, Ambrosiaster, Pelagius).
It is true that the Fathers of the Church before Augustine did not use the term „original sin”. However, in the writings of very many of them, both in the East and in the West, we do find a belief in the solidarity of all people with Adam or even in the unity of entire humanity in Adam. Talking about the first sin the Fathers use the expression „our” sin; they claim that „we” offended God in Adam, they admit that „we all” were in Adam’s loins when he committed the sin, and finally they straightforwardly claim that „all people” sinned in Adam. Some of them feel personally responsible for the offence committed in Paradise. Most of the Fathers, and perhaps even all of them, were convinced of real unity of entire humanity and they considered participation of all people in Adam’s sin as one of the aspects of that unity. The fall of the first man separated not only himself, but also all people from the communion with God, because every man somehow participated in that fall. And that is, after all, the very essence of the original sin.
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