The holy places of Palestine in the light of early Christian ascetic teachings: the “Letter to Virgins” by Athanasius of Alexandria (CPG 2146)

This paper explores the theological thought on the Holy Places of Palestine which is present in the “Letter to Virgins Who Went and Prayed in Jerusalem and Returned” attributed to St. Athanasius of Alexandria (CPG 2146). Among the early Christian ascetic writings, it is, according to the prevailing opinion, the earliest patristic monument containing pastoral and ascetic teachings on those sites. This paper analyses Athanasius’s terminology in relation to the Holy Places, and the themes of their holiness and grace, the latter being implicit and inferred from its manifestations in joy, consolation and sorrow. It examines praise woven of biblical quotations and allusions, the biblical image of the courts of the Lord (Psalm 84:2) as typos of the Holy Places, and the Gospel prefigurations of a pilgrim. New parallels with the Holy Scripture are revealed, illustrating the author’s methods of working with biblical texts, such as a combination of allusions to Acts 1:12 and Luke 24:51 with those to Matthew 9:15 and John 16:5–6, both of which contradict Luke 24:52. Insight is also offered into the theme of Christ’s presence at the Holy Places that is perceived with the help of one’s physical sight and develops into the theme of the ascetic acquisition of Christ in the temple of one’s heart through purification, enlightenment and communion with God, which aligns the “Letter to Virgins” with the ascetic instructions of Gregory of Nyssa, Evagrius Ponticus and St. Jerome. The potential of the Holy Places as an incentive for ascetic praxis is also being considered. Thus, it is shown that for Athanasius of Alexandria the phenomenon of the Holy Places has a religious significance of its own, which is expressed in theological categories and revealed through Christology, soteriology, moral and ascetic teaching, as well as biblical exegesis. The author’s contribution to the formation of the early Christian patristic tradition of theology of the Holy Places of Palestine is uncovered. A conclusion is made about the influence of the previous tradition, of his personal spiritual experience and theological intuitions, as well as of his attentive and creative approach to biblical texts on his views. In addition, this paper suggests and substantiates possible interpretations of the expression about the “renewal” of the Second Adam in Bethlehem (Ep. virg. syr. 1, Lebon 170, 10). The text of this Letter preserved in Syriac is translated into Russian for the first time.