Chapter Six. Angelomorphic Pneumatology In Aphrahat

Abstract

This chapter pursues the occurrence of the angelic spirit in the writings of Aphrahat the Persian Sage, a literature representing Christianity in its most semitic form, still largely free from Greek cultural and theological influences. It takes its cue from a critique of Aphrahats pneumatology contained in a seventh-century letter addressed by George, the monophysite bishop of the Arabs, to a certain hieromonk Iso. The chapter expands upon a remark in bishop Georges letter, and argues that Aphrahat offers a valuable witness to the early Christian phenomenon in reference to Clement of Alexandria, namely the exegesis of Zechariah 3:9, Isaiah 11:23, and Matthew 18:10 in support of an angelomorphic pneumatology. Finally, it integrates Aphrahats angelomorphic pneumatology within the larger theological framework described by earlier scholarship, that is, in relation to spirit christology, and within a theological framework of marked binitarian character.Keywords: angelomorphic pneumatology; Aphrahat; Isaiah 11:23; Matthew 18:10; spirit christology; Zechariah 3:9