Формирование образа женской святости в раннехристианской антропологии

Abstract

The article is devoted to the formation of ideas about female holiness in early Christianity. The relevance of the problem stated in the article is due to the fact that the concept of holiness is one of the most important elements of Christian religion. The concept of female holiness in early Christianity allows us to get an idea of the principles on which the image of a holy woman was built in subsequent periods of Christian history. The purpose of this study is to study the phenomenon of holiness in the Old Testament and New Testa-ment understanding, in particular, to reveal the formation of the image of female holiness in early Christianity. Tasks: to analyze the features of the historical sources used; consider the factors that influenced the for-mation of the image of female holiness in the early Christian period and in subsequent periods in the history of the Christian Church; consider the relationship of canonical images and a description of their practical im-plementation. Methodology. In the process of working on the study, the principle of historicism was used, i.e. the image of female holiness was considered mainly in a historical perspective. Also, both general scientific methods (analysis and synthesis, analogy) and private ones (comparative historical method, hermeneutic method, chronological method) were used. The results of the research can be used in the course of the educational process when considering issues within the framework of various courses in anthropology, the history of philosophy, the history of the ancient world, ethics, sections of sociogender identity, etc. Conclusion. The New Testament concept of holiness is different from the Old Testament. In Christianity, the first saints are those who suffered martyrdom for Christ. Along with male martyrs who suffered for the Christian faith, there are quite a few women who voluntarily accepted suffering and martyrdom. Together with martyrdom in the first centuries, voluntary virginity and asceticism were widespread among Christians. Thus, women were not only active disseminators of the new teaching, but they could achieve holiness on an equal footing with men.