Parousia, the Last Judgment and the Resurrected Bodies according to "Prognosticum Futuri Saeculi" by Julian of Toledo
Dariusz Antoni Kasprzak
Pontifical University of John Paul II in Kraków , Polandhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0137-3514
Abstract
The third book of Julian of Toledo's Prognosticum futuri saeculi focuses on the Second Coming, the Last Judgment, and the resurrection of the body, presenting 62 theses divided by topic. Julian draws on the works of Augustine and Gregory the Great, but does not share their apocalyptic pessimism, which stems from the different historical conditions of the era. Julian presents his teaching in an optimistic tone, without dramatization, referring primarily to the theological authority of Augustine of Hippo. In his concept, purgatory is a metahistorical dimension of purification, and salvation is available to all believers, as well as to those going to the Last Judgment justified by their acts of mercy and goodness. The structure of the book is based on concise theses that form an eschatological compendium on final matters. Julian's eschatological order assumes the transformation of the world, not its destruction, and clearly distinguishes between the fate of the saved (believers and the righteous through acts of mercy) and the damned (unbelievers and the unrighteous through acts of mercy). The saved receive eternal reward, freedom, and harmony, while the damned have no free will or access to the new world. The entire treatise is characterized by a dogmatic and ascetic nature, creating a coherent synthesis of 7th-century Visigothic catechesis.
Keywords:
Julian of Toledo, Prognosticum futuri saeculi, parousia, Last Judgment, resurrection of the bodyReferences
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Pontifical University of John Paul II in Kraków https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0137-3514
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