Miejsce chrześcijan w świecie w świetle Listu do Diogneta oraz w kontekście antycznej idei πόλις

Abstract

The place of Christians in the world is determined by their contribution in the state. It should be considered through the prism of antique idea of πόλις. Greek πόλις and connected with Roman civitas have got double dimension: the temporal, organizational – political, and the spiritual one, it means metaphysical with crucial for it religious aspect. Plato stresses its theological fundament connected with its reference to the highest Good. The learning of the idea of Good and bringing the Divine Order, visible in Good, into force is seen as the basic civil duty, although it leads to alienation towards the residents of πόλις. For Aristotle the city-state is the spiritual space as well, letting go out of human egoism, in order to be for the others. It is crucial to fnd there the refection to God, as the highest Being and the rule of everything which exists, so of πόλις as well. Varro claims, that it is not divinity, but religion which organizes the spiritual space of civitas. He claims the thesis with religious nature and state religion. The presence of Christians in the world of πόλις has got its temporal and spiritual dimension. The followers of Christ fulfll all civil duties, but they disagree with pagan customs and state cult. Their alienation towards society has got deeper roots which are temporality of existence, unfamiliarity towards worldliness and affliation to the homeland in heaven. The idea of engenderment shows, that the place appropriate for Christians is not designed either by geography, or even by sociology or axiology, but mainly by genealogy. It determines the core of being the Christian and its difference from being “only” human, and enables the difference on the level of customs, cult and reference to basic good for πόλις. Christians can be the soul and power of world, which keeps it in unity, and a proper place for them is existence in the world, but not from the world. Epistle to Diognetus is not opposition to the idea of the city-state, but it shows Christianity as a proper πόλις, but the followers of Christ as real citizens.