Wednesday, July 14, 2010

agora, on freedom of faith and on women

Rachel Weisz who came into fame after "The Mummy" and "The Mummy Returns" played the role of Hypatia of Alexandria (ca. 360 AD - 415 AD) in this movie. Hypatia is a philosopher, astronomer and mathematician living in Alexandria at the time of the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. She might have been the last pagan philosopher in the west.

I was a bit disturbed after watching this movie, perhaps due to several facts which was depicted there. I came to know that the idea of heliocentrism has long existed before Copernicus. At that time, Ptolemaic model has widely been accepted as the universal model of the universe. However Hypatia found several difficulties reconciling the motion of the planet with the geocentric model of the universe. Hypatia then investigated the heliocentric model which was first proposed by Aristarchus of Samos in the 3rd century BC and found herself to be in opinion with him.

I'm interested in discussing two aspects which was shown in this movie, the first is on freedom of faith, and the second is on the role of women in the church. I shall start with the historical background of events happening around that time.


Historical Background


Alexandria, the city where Hypatia lived, was the capital of the Diocese of Egypt (
Dioecesis Aegypti) and ruled by a praefectus augustalis ("Augustal Prefect"). The Church of Alexandria was traditionally believed to have been established by Mark the Apostle in the year 42 AD. The Septuagint translation of the Old Testament was started in Alexandria. The Church of Alexandria was led by the Patriarch of Alexandria, at the time of Hypatia the Patriarch was Theophilus which was later succeeded by his nephew Cyril.

Christianity has become so widely spread within the Roman Empire. The last great prosecution against Christians happened at the time of Emperor Diocletian
which lasted from 303 AD to 311 AD. In 311 AD, Emperor Galerius who succeeded Diocletian as the Roman Emperor in 305 AD, issued an Edict of Toleration in 311 AD, ending the persecution. Two years later, Emperor Constantine I issued Edict of Milan (Edictum Mediolanense) which again asserted the religious toleration and the return of all confiscated church's property. Constantine was baptised before his death in 337 AD and Christianity became the Empire's preferred religion.


On Freedom of Faith

Hypatia lived at the time of the Emperor Theodosius I
. The Emperor was facing several conflicts with the pagans throughout the empire: Syria, Egypt, Greece, and even in Rome. Theodosius I asserted the ban on other religion other than Christianity:

"It is our desire that all the various nation which are subject to our clemency and moderation, should continue to the profession of that religion which was delivered to the Romans by the divine Apostle Peter, as it has been preserved by faithful tradition and which is now professed by the Pontiff Damasus and by Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic holiness. According to the apostolic teaching and the doctrine of the Gospel, let us believe in the one diety of the father, Son and Holy Spirit, in equal majesty and in a holy Trinity. We authorize the followers of this law to assume the title Catholic Christians; but as for the others, since in out judgment they are foolish madmen, we decree that the shall be branded with the ignominious name of heretics, and shall not presume to give their conventicles the name of churches. They will suffer in the first place the chastisement of divine condemnation an the second the punishment of out authority, in accordance with the will of heaven shall decide to inflict." (27 Feb 380 AD) -- Codex Theodosianus Liber XVI.1.2.

Theodosius I also banned the practice of blood sacrifice, visits to pagan temples and the worship of pagan images:
"No person shall pollute himself with sacrificial animals; no person shall slaughter an innocent victim; no person shall approach the shrines, shall wander through the temples, or revere the images formed by mortal labor, lest he become guilty by divine and human laws." (24 Feb 391 AD) -- Codex Theodosianus Liber XVI.10.10.

One disturbing scene in that movie is that when the Christians (Parabolani monks) started to attack the Jewish populace in a theater. The Jews didn't do anything to defend themselves because it was Sabbath. The Jews then took a revenge at the Christians by making a false rumor that the Church of St Alexander is on fire. The Christians came in and the Jews locked them inside the church and started to stone them. The crisis didn't end there as after this attack, Cyril set to take revenge against the Jewish populace. The movie depicted the Christians went into rampage in the city streets and slew all the Jews that they found. The rest of the Jewish populace who survived the massacre were ordered to leave Alexandria at once.

A historical account from Socrates of Constantinople didn't mention about the first event of the stoning of the Jews inside the theater. He also didn't mention about the massacre of the Jewish populace by the Christians after the crisis at St Alexander church:
"The Jewish populace on hearing these menaces, instead of suppressing their violence, only became more furious, and were led to form conspiracies for the destruction of the Christians; one of these was of so desperate a character as to cause their entire expulsion from Alexandria; this I shall now describe. Having agreed that each one of them should wear a ring on his finger made of the bark of a palm branch, for the sake of mutual recognition, they determined to make a nightly attack on the Christians. They therefore sent persons into the streets to raise an outcry that the church named after Alexander was on fire. Thus many Christians on hearing this ran out, some from one direction and some from another, in great anxiety to save their church. The Jews immediately fell upon and slew them; readily distinguishing each other by their rings. At daybreak the authors of this atrocity could not be concealed: and Cyril, accompanied by an immense crowd of people, going to their synagogues— for so they call their house of prayer— took them away from them, and drove the Jews out of the city, permitting the multitude to plunder their goods." -- Historia Ecclesiastica, Bk. VII Ch. 13.

Oh well, this depiction pictures an image that the Christians at that time are no better than the pagan Romans who once did the same bloody persecution against the Christians from the first to the third century. At the time Christianity was venerated as the state religion in the Roman Empire, many men rushed to get themselves baptized, and one of the reason is to ease their path into public offices in the Empire. In the Bible itself, we see that the idea of religious freedom is already inherent because faith is a God's given grace on His chosen people on earth. We mus
t go and spread the Good News to all the nations on earth, but it doesn't mean that the whole world will turn to Him after hearing the Good News. In the parable of weeds (Matthew 13:24-30), God allows weeds to grow in the field of wheat and let both of them grow together until the harvest (v. 29).

Perhaps it's better for the Christians to stay as a minority or prosecuted rather than being venerated as the state religion and a majority because it promotes corruptions rather than real growth in faith. We have seen instances when the church grew so powerful and corrupted, the day which we now remember as the Dark Ages. Indeed, an absolute power corrupts absolutely.


On Women

Another disturbing scene is when Cyril confronted praefectus augustalis Orestes with a passage from the Bible. It was from 1 Timothy 2. Orestes was heavily influenced by Hypatia, and Cyril saw Hypatia as a dangerous force which create tension between him and Orestes and Cyril wanted to have this influence eliminated.

"I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety." -- 1 Timothy 2: 9-16.

Specifically Cyril asserted that "women are not permitted to teach and to have authority over a man," which directly cornered Hypatia and Orestes. I was quiet surprised to find this (well, I haven't read the entire New Testament) and was looking for why did Paul write this way to Timothy. I found a similar words from Paul in the 1 Corinthians 14:
"women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church." -- 1 Corinthians 14: 34-35.

Does it really mean literally that all women are prohibited from the office of teachings? If yes, how could we then explain that today many women became evangelists, give sermons and teachings? However in the earlier part of this epistle, which is in 1 Corinthians 11: 5, Paul stated that "every woman who prays and prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head," which seems to be different from what is written in 1 Corinthians 14.

αἱ γυναῖκες ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις σιγάτωσαν, οὐ γὰρ ἐπιτρέπεται αὐταῖς λαλεῖν: ἀλλὰ ὑποτασσέσθωσαν, καθὼς καὶ ὁ νόμος λέγει. εἰ δέ τι μαθεῖν θέλουσιν, ἐν οἴκῳ τοὺς ἰδίους ἄνδρας ἐπερωτάτωσαν, αἰσχρὸν γάρ ἐστιν γυναικὶ λαλεῖν ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ -- 1 Corinthians 14: 34-35.
γυνὴ ἐν ἡσυχίᾳ μανθανέτω ἐν πάσῃ ὑποταγῇ: διδάσκειν δὲ γυναικὶ οὐκ ἐπιτρέπω, οὐδὲ αὐθεντεῖν ἀνδρός, ἀλλ' εἶναι ἐν ἡσυχίᾳ. -- 1 Timothy 2: 9-16.

Paul addressed not only the Corinthian church but the churches in the sense of the "assembly of believers" as he used "ekklesiais" a plural of "ekklesia." The word "silent" in 1 Cor 14 is "sigao" which mean "silence or no sound" as opposed to "lalein" which means "to utter a voice or emit a sound", and in 1 Tim 2, the word "silent" which Paul used is "esuchia" which better to be translated as "quiteness," or "a condition of one's life who stays at home doing his own work, and does not officiously meddle with the affairs of others." The word "teach" in 1 Tim 2 is "didaskein" which means "to give a didactic discourses or teaching."

Perhaps Paul wanted to stress the role of man and woman, as in the relation of husband and wife, which is like the relationship between Jesus Christ and the Church as His bride. However the word "andros (plural) / aner (singular)" and "gunaikes (plural) / gune (singular)" may refer to husband and wife, but may also refer to the generic male and female. Well, anybody out there has any opinions?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the historical perspective. I saw Agora when it first came out in NYC and loved Weisz' performance as Hypatia. As you point out, Amenabar played a little fast and loose with history. The Great Library of Alexandria didn’t end as he depicted and Synesius wasn’t such a jerk. However, that’s what artists do. I don’t go to movies for accurate history. For people who want to know more about the historical Hypatia, I highly recommend a very readable biography by Maria Dzielska called Hypatia of Alexandria (Harvard Press, 1995.) I also have a series of posts on my blog on the events and characters from the film - not a movie review, just a “reel vs. real” discussion.

Johannes Ardiant Harlie said...

hi Faith! thanks for visiting! yeah actually I don't really know what was happening during that period when I watched this movie, but some parts of the movie intrigue me and I did some research bout that and yup as you said the real history doesn't go 100% like what was depicted there. It's a movie anyway, it's an art. And I found you blog really interesting! Thanks for the link! And you're a writer as well? Wow that's kinda cool, I'm looking forward to read it!