Conference
Neoplatonism in the Christological Debates of Late Antiquity: Influences, Interferences, and Contrasts
- Date
- Tuesday 24 March 2026 - Thursday 26 March 2026
- Address
-
Lipsius
Cleveringaplaats 1
2311 BD Leiden - Room
- 1.48
“A mere antagonism or a profound common ground?” This was the question famously posed 40 years ago by Cornelia J. de Vogel in an influential study published in Vigiliae Christianae (“Platonism and Christianity: A Mere Antagonism or a Profound Common Ground?”, VChr 39 [1985], pp. 1-62), as she grappled with the legacy of Heinrich Dörrie concerning the complex relationship between Platonism and Christianity. Despite decades of scholarly debate both before and after de Vogel, that question still hasn’t lost its edge. The discussion continues to evolve because this tension between conflict and convergence speaks volumes about how ancient philosophy and early Christian theology together shaped the intellectual and spiritual worlds we continue to live in today.
This conference picks up the thread of that long-running debate by zooming in on one of its most fascinating flashpoints: Christology. In the third-fourth century, Christian thinkers grappled with questions that were not only theologically urgent but also deeply ethical, touching on the very nature of divinity, humanity, and salvation. Who was Christ, really? A “divine man,” like many others known in the ancient world? God-made-man? Or perhaps an intermediary being, neither fully divine nor fully human, but something in between, with a nature distinct from both the Father and creation? The Council of Nicaea in 325 CE attempted to settle the matter with the affirmation of the homoousios, but, as is well known, that was far from the end of the story: Reflections on the nature of Christ continued well into the fifth and sixth centuries.
As the shift from the Christology of Origen to that of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite makes clear, the fervent debates about the nature of Christ were far from insulated from influences external to Christianity. On the contrary, they were deeply entangled, often in ways that are difficult to trace precisely, with another major intellectual force of the time: Neoplatonism. From Plotinus and Porphyry to Iamblichus, Proclus, and Damascius, Neoplatonism evolved into a rich and complex system of thought that posed both a challenge and a resource for Christian theologians. Whether absorbed, rejected, or subtly reworked, Neoplatonic ideas became part of the fabric of early Christian thought.
This conference is built on a working assumption—one that is open to being tested—that Neoplatonic influence on Christianity is especially significant when it comes to defining the nature of Christ. Therefore, the aim is to bring together established scholars, early-career researchers, and PhD candidates to examine how various strands of Neoplatonic thought—including, but not limited to, metaphysics, physics, psychology, epistemology, ritual—informed Christological debates from Origen to Pseudo-Dionysius, and to assemble as comprehensive a dossier as possible on the Neoplatonic dimension of Christological discourse in Late Antiquity. Proposals are invited that examine both direct influences, such as explicit references to Neoplatonic texts or thinkers, and more indirect resonances, such as shared conceptual structures or metaphysical assumptions.
Registration
The conference is open to external participants who wish to attend the sessions without presenting a paper. As seating is limited, those interested are kindly requested to register by sending an email to b.neola@hum.leidenuniv.nl no later than 6 March 2026.
Keynote speakers
- Prof. Marie-Odile Boulnois (École Pratique des Hautes Études)
- Prof. George van Kooten (University of Cambridge)
- Prof. Ilinca Tanaseanu-Döbler (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)
- Prof. Gerd Van Riel (KU Leuven)
Programme
Tuesday: 24 March
12:00-13:45: Registration and Small Lunch.
13:45-14:00: Introduction: Benedetto Neola and Robbert van den Berg (Universiteit Leiden).
14:00-15:00: George van Kooten (University of Cambridge): “The Origin and Dynamics of the God-Man in the Gospel of John and its Challenge for Platonists such as Celsus and Amelius”.
15:00-15:45: Daniele Iezzi (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele): “Has a Christian (Neo)Platonism Ever Existed? The Question of the Greek Concept of Being (ousia) in Early Patristic Christology – A Theoretical Reflection”.
15:45-16:00: Coffee Break.
16:00-16:45: Izabela Jurasz (Centre Léon Robin / Sorbonne Université): “A la recherche de l’Âme du monde dans le platonisme chrétien : Origène et son héritage dans le débat christologique”.
16:45-17:30: Matthew Schaper (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven): “The One in Action: Marius Victorinus’ Transformation of Neoplatonic Metaphysics into Nicene Christology”.
17:30-18:15: Camille Guigon (Université Bourgogne Europe): “In quo autem vita, est Christus (Adversus Arium, I, 47, 1077b1). The Plotinian Origin of the Christ Logos in Marius Victorinus’ Adversus Arium”.
Wednesday: 25 March
9:30-10:30: Ilinca Tanaseanu-Döbler (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen): “The ‘God Over All’ as Father of the Triad: Porphyry’s Theology and Christological Discourse”.
10:30-11:15: Benedetto Neola (Universiteit Leiden): “Eusebius’ Christology and Late Platonic Metaphysics”.
11:15-11:30: Coffee Break.
11:30-12:15: Dimitrios Vasilakis (University of Ioannina): “Dionysius’ Christ versus Proclus’ Socrates: How to Provide (or Polemicize) in an Unmixed Way”.
12:15-13:00: Clelia Attanasio (Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn): “The Theurgical Role of Christ in the Dionysian Corpus”.
13:00-13:45: Lunch.
13:45-14:45: Gerd Van Riel (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven): “Do Not Go Outside, Come Back Into Yourself’: Augustine’s Neoplatonic Sources in Confessions VII”.
14:45-15:30: Marin Tessier (Université d’Aix Marseille): “Le « tournant linguistique » de la christologie augustinienne : des impasses néoplatoniciennes au réinvestissement massif de catégories stoïciennes”.
15:30-15:45: Coffee Break.
15:45-16:30: Alfonso Ganem (Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena): “Who Do You Say I Am? Philoponus on Homonymous Proper Names and Its Christological Implications”.
16:30-17:15: Christina Anagnostidou (École Pratique des Hautes Études): “John Philoponus on the Active Intellect and the Unity of the Rational Soul: Philosophical Reflections with Christological Implications”.
19:00: Dinner
Thursday: 26 March
9:30-10:30: Marie-Odile Boulnois (École Pratique des Hautes Études): “The Paradigm of the Union of Soul and Body in Christological Controversies and Its Links with Neoplatonism”.
10:30-11:15: Ernesto Fuentes Padgett (University of Notre Dame): “Thick as Christ: ‘Thickness’ in the Greek Church Fathers’ Christology and Its Interrelation with Plato and Neoplatonism”.
11:15-11:30: Coffee Break.
11:30-12:15: Zaharia-Sebastian Mateiescu (Universität Bern): “Metaphysics and Christology in Maximus the Confessor”.
12:15-13:00: Vardan Aslanyan (Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg): “The Neoplatonic Approach of Pseudo-Dionysius and the Christological Position of the Armenian Church in the 6th-7th Centuries”.
13:00: End of the Conference
Organisation
This conference is organised by Dr. Benedetto Neola (Leiden University) and funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (Project number: 101148944; Project acronym: TRANEX; Call: HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01; Topic: HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01-01).