TRANSLATION OF THE WORK OF ATHINAGORAS THE ATHENIAN "EMBASSY FOR CHRISTIANS" (SECOND PART)

The purpose of the publication is to introduce into the scientific space of Ukraine a translation from the ancient Greek of one of the works of the most eloquent among the early Christian apologists, Athenagoras of Athens – "Embassy for the Christians". The style of his works and the way of expressing his thoughts reveal his prominent knowledge of ancient philosophy and rhetoric: he often quotes ancient authors, aptly using philosophical expressions. The Apology dates back to the last quarter of the second century and is addressed to the emperors Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. In it Athenagoras skillfully refutes the accusations against Christians and succinctly outlines the foundations of the new outlook. The work has repeatedly attracted the attention of theologians, philosophers, literary critics, linguists and other specialists – researchers of the early Christian literary heritage. In the first part of the Apology, a translation of which was published in the previous issue of this Bulletin, Athenagoras defends Christians from accusations of "godlessness", citing as examples numerous ancient poets and philosophers who professed monotheism. This publication contains the second part of the Apology.