Sara Contini

Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Philologisches Seminar, Post-Doc

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PhD in Classics 2022 - University of Bristol; MA in Classical Philology 2017 - "Sapienza" University of Rome

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Books by Sara Contini

Le fonti antiche sul Concilio di Nicea

Il Concilio di Nicea (325) è un evento cardine nella formazione della teologia cristiana e della ... more Il Concilio di Nicea (325) è un evento cardine nella formazione della teologia cristiana e della cultura occidentale. Questo volume raccoglie lettere, canoni, credo, documenti imperiali e dichiarazioni sinodali circa le questioni teologiche, istituzionali e disciplinari discusse al Concilio di Nicea, non solo la controversia “ariana”. Il libro comprende testi scritti tra l’inizio della crisi meliziana (304 circa) e la morte di Costantino (337). Questi testi sono stati tramandati in greco, latino e siriaco, e sono qui accompagnati da traduzione italiana e note. Uno strumento imprescindibile per tutti gli studiosi di storia della Chiesa antica.

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Human Dignity in the Latin Reception of Origen

Sara Contini examines a crucial junction in the history of the idea of universal human dignity. S... more Sara Contini examines a crucial junction in the history of the idea of universal human dignity. She argues that a key role was played by Latin authors of the 4th century who mediated between the traditional Roman notion of dignitas and Greek Christian views on the human being made in the image of God.

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Papers by Sara Contini

Made by the Hands of God: Human Dignity in Hilary of Poitiers’s Exegesis of Ps 118:73a LXX (OPEN ACCESS)

Vigiliae Christianae, 2024

In his commentary on Psalm 118(LXX):73a, “Your hands made me and fashioned me” (Tract.118Ps. 10.1... more In his commentary on Psalm 118(LXX):73a, “Your hands made me and fashioned me” (Tract.118Ps. 10.1–8), Hilary of Poitiers provides a unique perspective on the creation of humanity and on its exceptional dignity. I will examine key aspects of Hilary’s exegesis of this verse, namely, the identification of the hands of God, the interpretation of the two verbs “made” and “fashioned”, and the connections with Genesis 1:26 and 2:7. I will also compare Hilary’s interpretation of Ps 118:73a to the views expressed by other authors such as Theophilus, Irenaeus, Origen, Tertullian, Ambrose, and Didymus, with the purpose of contextualising Hilary’s novel understanding of human dignity within the larger framework of Early Christian interpretations of Genesis.

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Jerome on Human Dignity: A Comparison with Eusebius and Didymus

Annali di Storia dell'Esegesi, 2024

This article examines two of the several passages by Jerome concerning the “dignity” (dignitas) b... more This article examines two of the several passages by Jerome concerning the “dignity” (dignitas) bestowed on human souls upon creation, with the aim of assessing the degree to which Jerome’s way of dealing with his Greek exegetical predecessors is reflected in his understanding of human dignity. Jerome’s exegesis of Isaiah 51:12–13 and Ecclesiastes 3:18–21 will be compared to the interpretation of the same biblical verses offered by Eusebius of Caesarea and Didymus the Blind, respectively. This comparison will shed light on the theological motivations of Jerome’s discourse on human dignity.

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’Humans humans’ and ‘humans beasts’: Ezekiel 14 between Origen and Jerome

Pages 7–18 in Vincenzo Lomiento; Giuseppe Solaro (eds.), Gli antichi e il cosmo. Pensiero classico e tradizione cristiana. Biblioteca Tardoantica 16. Bari: Edipuglia (ISBN 979-12-5995-068-0), 2024

This study seeks to contribute to a definition of ‘human being’ according to Early Christian auth... more This study seeks to contribute to a definition of ‘human being’ according to Early Christian authors, particularly Jerome. This article addresses this inquiry by examining the interpretations provided by Jerome of passages in Scripture where human sinners are likened to animals, such as Ps 48LXX:13 («Human beings, when they were in honour, did not understand; they were compared to mindless mules, and have become like them»). Jerome discusses these biblical verses in the context of the exegesis of the expression «human human» in Ezekiel 14: in order to shed light on Jerome’s thought on how to achieve the desirable status of «human human», his interpretation will be compared to the closest exegetical predecessor, namely Origen, whose exegesis of Ezekiel survives mainly in the Latin translation of the Homilies on Ezekiel, made by Jerome approximately three decades before he wrote his own Commentary on Ezekiel. After going through the interpretation of the «human human» conveyed by Jerome and comparing it with his translation of Origen, the article delves into the broader Early Christian perspectives on the contrast between humans created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26–27) and biblical portrayals of humans as various animals. This overview serves the purpose of placing Origen’s and Jerome’s respective views on «humans humans» and ‘humans beasts’, as they emerge from their interpretation of Ezek 14:4–7, within the framework of 2nd to 4th century ideas on the true nature of humanity created according to the image of God.

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Judging the Judges. Exaltation and Humiliation in Origen’s Homilies on Judges

Pages 81–100 in Alfons Fürst (ed.), Perspectives on Origen and the History of his Reception. Adamantiana 21. Münster: Aschendorff (ISBN 978-3-402-13752-9), 2021

In his Homilies on Judges, Origen deals with the biblical narrative of the cyclical abandonment a... more In his Homilies on Judges, Origen deals with the biblical narrative of the cyclical abandonment and renewal of the covenant between God and his people: the Israelites neglect their pact (διαθήκη, Judg. 2:1) with God, and God hands them over to their enemies; this punishment serves an educational purpose, as it prompts the Israelites to pray to God to raise a new leader amongst them. The heroes of the Book of Judges, such as Ehud or Gideon, are interpreted by Origen as mediators between humanity and heaven, in light of his notion of the journey of the human soul from the slavery of sin back to the triumph in Christ. This paper intends to investigate passages from the homilies where Origen, in Rufinus’ translation, reflects on the relationship between God and his children, and on the role of these coercive mediators who facilitate this connection, by employing an effective communication style based on powerful oppositions as a form of “hard power.”

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‘You Are Gods’ (Ps 81:6): Jerome and the Legacy of Origen’s Anthropology

Open Theology, 2021

The paper discusses Jerome’s attack against the belief that human beings share the same substance... more The paper discusses Jerome’s attack against the belief that human beings share the same substance as the heavenly powers and even as the Trinity, according to the dignity (dignitas) of the soul: in polemical texts such as Ep. 124.14, Jerome attributes this belief to Origen. Jerome’s intent clearly to demarcate the difference in nature between human and divine beings is also reflected in his exegetical writings, especially when dealing with Psalm 81, where human beings are addressed as “gods.” The paper investigates Jerome’s understanding of the dignitas of humanity as it emerges from his Homily on Psalm 81: the comparison with Origen’s own passages on Psalm 81 reveals that Jerome closely follows Origen’s exegetical argument. However, through a careful definition of human dignitas Jerome intentionally distances himself from Origen when it comes to associating human beings with immortal beings, most notably Christ.

Available at https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/opth-2020-0158/html

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Sara Contini

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