The influence of Manicheism on St. Augustine’s exegesis

Manichaeism was a fascinating religious movement that originated in the Persian Empire in the third century CE and spread as far as North Africa and China. Manicheans considered themselves the followers of Christ, but in contrast to Christians, they denied the divine authority of the Old Testament and revered the texts authored by Mani, their spiritual leader. St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the most influential Christian thinkers of all time, came to Christianity after having spent nine years as a member of the Manichaean Church. Following his conversion, Augustine tirelessly defended the Old Testament from the Manichaean attacks. The strong anti-Manichaean sentiment of his works prevented scholars from considering Manichaeism among the possible sources of Augustines exegesis. In my research, I will investigate the impact of Manichaeism on Augustines exegesis on the basis of a thorough analysis of the Manichaean attitude towards the Pentateuch. The years spent in the Manichaean community, active participation in religious debates on both sides of the Christian Manichaean divide, as well as the reading of the Manichean texts he aimed to refute left a profound mark on Augustines thought. I expect that Manichaean concepts, images, and vocabulary influenced Augustines exegesis despite his explicit rejection of Manis teaching. A thorough study of a large body of Augustines texts written during more than fifteen years of his anti-Manichaean polemics will reveal possible Manichaean influences on Augustines exegesis in its making. I expect my research to make significant progress both in Manichaean and Augustinian studies, and to contribute to a better understanding of the role of the Old Testament in the development of the Catholic identity. 1

The project was devoted to the influence of the Manichaean approach to the Old Testament on St. Augustine's exegesis thereof. Manichaeism is known for its critical attitude towards the Old Testament. This criticism initially attracted Augustine to the Manichaean Church, but later became one of the main reasons for Augustine's rapture with Manichaeism. The project was built on the hypothesis that Manichaean concepts, images, and vocabulary may have influenced Augustine's exegesis despite his conversion to Christianity. The project was conceived as consisting of two consecutive stages. In the first part of the study, I planned a thorough analysis of the Manichaean views towards the Pentateuch. This analysis was based, on the one hand, on the extant fragments of Mani's original works, and, on the other hand, on the works of Mani's followers in the Roman Empire, with the focus on the texts Augustine was familiar with. The second stage was devoted to the impact that the Manichaean exegesis produced on Saint Augustine's thought, based on a large corpus of Augustine's exegetical texts (written between 398 and 404). The study was conceived as historical and non-confessional. I found, contrary to an entrenched notion that Manicheans rejected the Old Testament outright, ample evidence of the Manichaean use and interpretation of the OT in the works of Mani and his followers. The reinterpretation of the OT coexisted with the textual criticism of the Old Testament that emerged in the post-Mani Manichaeism in the Roman Empire in the course of polemics with Christians. Although many Christian authors, including Saint Augustine, were familiar with both traditions, for polemical needs, they represented Manichaean views as an outright rejection of the OT. In order to evaluate properly the impact of Manichaean approach to the Old Testament, I differed what Augustine discovered during his youth from what he learned later in his life. It was shown that Augustine the Manichean gained an extensive knowledge of the Manichaean biblical criticism, arguments and strategies. The young Augustine learned not only about Manichaean attacks on first three chapters of Genesis, but also their criticism of God, scandalous behavior of patriarchs, and origin of the evil. We can clearly see that Augustine's development as an exegete of the OT started from him being a Manichaean exegete. Yet, talking about the influence of the Manichaean biblical criticism on Augustine's exegesis appears a simplification. The question of the Manichaean influence should not be reduced to what Augustine may have borrowed from Manichaeism. Rather, this question should be viewed through the lens of the religious competition and interaction between two branches of Christianity.