The concept of "religio" according to Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius

Abstract

The article deals with the concept of “religio” as interpreted by the early Christian writer Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius (c. 250 – c. 325). The author shows that Lactantius proposed an interpretation of this concept, which was novel compared to the one that ex­isted in the Greek and Roman Antiquity. This novelty consists primarily in the introduction of a special intellectual dimension of religion – wisdom (sapientia). In addition, Lactantius renounced the Ciceronian etymology of the word “religio” and proposed a new interpreta­tion of the opposition “religio – superstitio”. Also, Lactantius preserved and adapted Ro­man (Ciceronian) ideas concerning the connection of religio with piety (pietas) and justice (iustitia). It can also be noted, that, in Lactanius’s writings, one can find an original concep­tion of the religious nature of man, according to which even pagan religions, described as imperfect and irrelevant, could still fulfill the “highest duty (officium)” of a human being.