Apokatastasis

In theology, apokatastasis (Greek: ἀποκατάστασις, /æpoʊkəˈtæstəsɪs/, also spelled apocatastasis) is the restoration of creation to a condition of perfection.^[1]^[2] In Christianity, the term refers to a form of Christian universalism, often associated with Origen, that includes the ultimate salvation of everyone—including the damned and the Devil.^[3]^[4]^[5] The New Testament (Acts 3:21) speaks of the "apokatastasis of all things," although this passage is not usually understood to teach universal salvation.^[6] The dogmatic status of apokatastasis is disputed,^[7] and some orthodox fathers such as Gregory of Nyssa taught apokatastasis and were never condemned.^[8]

While apokatastasis is derived from the Greek verb apokathistemi, which means "to restore", it first emerged as a doctrine in Zoroastrianism where it is the third time of creation.^[9] This period was referred to as wizarishn or the end of history—the time of separation and resolution^[10] when evil is destroyed and the world is restored to its original state.^[9] The idea of apokatastasis may have been derived from the ancient concept of cosmic cycle, which involves the notion of celestial bodies returning to their original positions after a period of time.^[11]

The entry in A Greek–English Lexicon (i.e. Liddell–Scott–Jones, with expansion of definitions and references), gives the following examples of usage:

ἀποκατάστᾰσις, εως, ἡ, restoration, re-establishment;

"τοῦ ἐνδεοῦς" Aristotle MM, 1205a4; into its nature εἰς φύσιν id. 1204b 36, 1205b 11;

return to a position, Epicurus, Epistolae, 1, p.8 U.;

especially of military formations, reversal of a movement, Asclepiodotus, Tacticus, 10.1, 10:6, etc.; generally

of all things "πάντων" Acts of the Apostles, 3.21;

of souls, Proclus, Institutio Theologica, 199.

of the body back into its old form "τῆς φύσιος ἐς τὸ ἀρχαῖον" Aretaeus of Cappadocia CD 1.5; recovery from sickness, SA 1.10;

"τῶν ὁμήρων εἰς τὰς πατρίδας" Polybius 3.99.6; εἰς ἀ. ἐλθεῖν, into the restoration of the affairs of a city, 4.23.1;

Astrological uses:

ἀ. ἄστρων return of the stars to the same place in the heavens as in the former year, Plutarch 2.937f, Diodorus Siculus 12.36, etc., particularly the restoration of the wandering Egyptian New Year to the heliacal rising of Sirius at the completion of the Sothic cycle;^[12]

periodic return of the cosmic cycle, Stoicorum Veterum Fragmenta 2.184,190;that is, completion of the c. 26,000 year cycle of the precession of the equinoxes, the so called "Great Year";

of a planet, return to a place in the heavens occupied at a former epoch, Antiochus of Athens ap. Cat.Cod.Astr. 7.120,121; but, zodiacal revolution, Paulus Alexandrinus Paul.Al.T.1; opposite: antapocatastasis ἀνταπ. (q. v.), Dorotheus of Sidon Doroth. ap. Cat.Cod.Astr.2.196.9;

restoration of sun and moon after eclipse, Plato Axiochus 370b.

The word is reasonably common in papyri.^[13]

Stoicism

According to Edward Moore, apokatastasis was first properly conceptualized in early Stoic thought, particularly by Chrysippus. The return (apokatastasis) of the planets and stars to their proper celestial signs, namely their original positions, would spark a conflagration of the universe (ekpyrosis). The original position was believed to consist of an alignment of celestial bodies with Cancer. Thereafter, from fire, rebirth would commence, and this cycle of alternate destruction and recreation was correlated with a divine Logos. Antapokatastasis is a counter-recurrence when the stars and planets align with Capricorn, which would mark destruction by a universal flood.^[14]

The Stoics identified Zeus with an alternately expanding and contracting fire constituting the universe. Its expansion was described as Zeus turning his thoughts outwards, resulting in the creation of the material cosmos, and its contraction, the apokatastasis, as Zeus returning to self-contemplation.^[15]^[16] Leibniz explored both Stoic and his understanding of Origen's philosophy in two essays written shortly before his death, Apokatastasis and Apokatastasis panton (1715).^[17]

Judaism

The concept of "restore" or "return" in the Hebrew Bible is the common Hebrew verb שוב,^[18] as used in Malachi 4:5,^[19] the only use of the verb form of apokatastasis in the Septuagint. This is used in the "restoring" of the fortunes of Job, and is also used in the sense of rescue or return of captives, and in the restoration of Jerusalem.

This is similar to the concept of tikkun olam in Hasidic Judaism.^[20]

New Testament

The word, apokatastasis, appears only once in the New Testament, in Acts 3:21.^[21] Peter healed a beggar with a disability and then addressed the astonished onlookers. His sermon set Jesus in the Jewish context, the fulfiller of the Abrahamic Covenant, and says:

[19] Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; [20] And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: [21] Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
— Acts 3:19–21 KJV

Grammatically, the relative pronoun "ὧν" ("of which", genitive plural), could refer either to "χρόνων" ("of times") or to "πάντων" ("of all" or "of all things"), which means that it is either the times of which God spoke or the all things of which God spoke.^[22]

The usual view taken of Peter's use of the "apokatastasis of all the things about which God spoke" is that it refers to the restoration of the Kingdom of Israel and/or the Garden of Eden and not "all things that ever existed".^[23]

The verbal form of apokatastasis is found in the Septuagint: Malachi 3:23 (i.e. Malachi 4:6); a prophecy of Elijah turning back the hearts of the children to their fathers; in Matthew 17:11 ("he will restore all things"), echoing Malachi, and in Hebrews 13:19 ("that I may be restored to you the sooner").

Nineteenth-century German theologian Jakob Eckermann interpreted "the 'apokatastasis of all things' to mean the universal emendation of religion by the doctrine of Christ, and the 'times of refreshing' to be the day of renewal, the times of the Messiah."^[24]

Patristic Christianity

The significance of apokatastasis in early Christianity is currently somewhat of disputed question. In particular it is now questioned by some whether Origen, often listed as the most notable advocate of universal salvation, did in fact teach or believe in such a doctrine.^[25]^[26]^[27]

Frederick W. Norris argued that the positions that Origen took on the issue of universal salvation have often seemed to be contradictory."Apokatastasis", The Westminster Handbook to Origen, 2004 He then writes that Origen never decided to stress exclusive salvation or universal salvation, to the strict exclusion of either case, therefore concludes that Origen probably kept his view of salvation economically 'open' for a greater effectiveness.^[28]^[29]^[30] On the other hand, Brian E. Daley in his handbook of patristic eschatology argued that Origen strongly believed in the final salvation of all humans and sometimes referred to it as apokatastasis.^[31]

The Alexandrian school, the first Christian educational center,^[32] seems to have generally affirmed apokatastasis and adapted some Platonic terminology and ideas to Christianity while explaining and differentiating the new faith from all the others.^[33]^[34] A form of apokatastasis was also espoused by Gregory of Nyssa^[35] and possibly the Ambrosiaster, attributed to Ambrose of Milan. Gregory of Nazianzus discussed it without reaching a decision. With an analysis of the whole work of Gregory of Nyssa, it becomes clear that he spoke solely of universal resurrection and not of universal salvation.^[36]

Eventually, Origen started to be condemned throughout the early church in local councils, though not apokatastasis specifically.^[37] This changed definitively in the sixth century. A local Synod of Constantinople (543) condemned a form of apokatastasis as being Anathema, and the Anathema was formally submitted to the Fifth Ecumenical Council of Constantinople (553). The term apokatastasis is mentioned in the 14th of the 15 anathemas against Origen of 553: "If anyone shall say ... that in this pretended apokatastasis, spirits only will continue to exist, as it was in the feigned pre-existence: let him be anathema."^[38]

Konstantinovsky (2009)^[39] states that the uses of apokatastasis in Christian writings prior to the Synod of Constantinople (543) and the anathemas (553) pronounced against "Origenists" and Evagrius Ponticus were neutral and referred primarily to concepts similar to the general "restoration of all things spoken" (restitutio omnium quae locutus est Deus) of Peter in Acts 3:21 and not for example the universal reconciliation of all souls which had ever been.

More recently leading Patristic scholar Ilaria Ramelli has concluded that not only did Origen embrace the doctrine of apokatastasis, but that it was central to all his theological and philosophical thought. She remarks, "In Origen's thought, the doctrine of apokatastasis is interwoven with his anthropology, eschatology, theology, philosophy of history, theodicy, and exegesis; for anyone who takes Origen's thought seriously and with a deep grasp of it, it is impossible to separate the apokatastasis theory from all the rest, so as to reject it but accept the rest."^[40]

Gnosticism

The gnostic Gospel of Philip 180–350c contains the term itself but does not teach universal reconciliation:

There is a rebirth and an image of rebirth. It is certainly necessary to be born again through the image. Which one? Resurrection. The image must rise again through the image. The bridal chamber and the image must enter through the image into the truth: this is the restoration (apokatastasis). Not only must those who produce the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, do so, but have produced them for you. If one does not acquire them, the name ("Christian") will also be taken from him.^[41]

Early Christianity

Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 – c. 215) generally uses the term apokatastasis to refer to the "restoration" of the "gnostic" Christians, rather than that of the universe or of all Christians, but with universal implications.^[42] Origen's stance is disputed, with some works saying he taught apokatastasis would involve universal salvation.^[43]^[44] Gregory of Nyssa's notion of apokatastasis is also claimed to have involved universal salvation though in other respects it differed from Origen's.^[45]

In early Christian theological usage, apokatastasis was couched as God's eschatological victory over evil and believed to entail a purgatorial state.^[46] The word was still very flexible at that time, but in the mid-6th century, it became virtually a technical term, as it usually means today, to refer to a specifically Origenistic doctrine of universal salvation.^[47]

Maximus the Confessor outlined God's plan for "universal" salvation alongside warnings of final punishment for the wicked.^[48] He divided apokatastasis into three restorations: of the virtuous individual, of nature, and of the sinful powers of the soul. While the last of these meant that even sinners will be restored to a clear knowledge of God, Maximus seems to have believed that they will not attain to the same communion with God as the righteous and thus will in a sense be eternally punished.^[49]

Luther

The Vulgate translation of apokatastasis, "in tempora restitutionis omnium quae locutus est Deus" ("the restitution of all things of which God has spoken"), was taken up by Luther to mean the day of the restitution of the creation, but in Luther's theology the day of restitution was also the day of resurrection and judgment, not the restitution of the wicked.^[50] In Luther's Bible he rendered the Greek apokatastasis with the German herwiedergebracht werde; "will be brought back".^[51] This sense continued to be used in Lutheran sermons.^[52]

Luther explicitly disowned belief that the devils would ultimately reach blessedness.^[53]^[54]

19th-century Universalism

During the 19th and early 20th centuries several histories published by Universalists, including Hosea Ballou (1829), Thomas Whittemore (1830), John Wesley Hanson (1899) and George T. Knight (1911), argued that belief in universal reconciliation was found in early Christianity and in the Reformation, and ascribed Universalist beliefs to Origen, Clement of Alexandria, and others.

Recent works

In recent writing, apokatastasis is generally understood as involving some form of universal reconciliation, without necessarily attributing this understanding to Origen and other Fathers of the Church.

Augustin Gretillat, in Exposé de théologie systématique (1892), described apokatastasis as universal reconciliation.^[55]
Heinrich Köstlin's Realencyklopädie für protestantische Theologie (1896), translated in the Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, described apokatastasis as universal reconciliation.^[56]
The 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia defined apokatastasis as "a name given in the history of theology to the doctrine which teaches that a time will come when all free creatures shall share in the grace of salvation; in a special way, the devils and lost souls."^[57]
Maurice Canney, An Encyclopaedia of Religions (1921): "Apocatastasis became a theological term denoting the doctrine ... that all men would be converted and admitted to everlasting happiness".^[58]
Albrecht Oepke, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (1933): "Apokatastasis cannot denote the conversion of persons but only the reconstitution or establishment of things."^[59]
Professor Constantinos A. Patrides surveyed the history of apokatastasis in his Salvation of Satan.^[60]
G. C. Berkouwer, The Return of Christ (1972), devoted a whole chapter, under the heading "Apocatastasis?", to the topic of universal reconciliation, "sometimes technically known as apocatastasis".^[61]
John Meyendorff, Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes (1987) defined apokatastasis as "the idea that the whole of creation and all of humanity will ultimately be 'restored' to their original state of bliss".^[62]
Michael McGarry in A Dictionary of the Jewish-Christian Dialogue (1995) defined apokatastasis as "one particular Christian expression of a general theology of universalism ... the belief that at the end of time all creatures—believers and sinners alike—would be restored in Christ".^[63]
Peter Stravinskas, in the short article on apokatastasis in Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia (1998)^[64] and the still shorter entry in his Catholic Dictionary (1993),^[65] defines it as the belief "that all rational creatures are saved, including the fallen angels and unrepentant sinners".
Stravinskas identifies apokatastasis with universalism or universal reconciliation, and some of the older sources do so also. In addition, two recent works that do not discuss apokatastasis give the corresponding Greek word as the source from which "universalism" is derived.^[66]^[67] But most writers do not simply identify apokatastasis with universal reconciliation. González points out that a distinction exists, in that "it is possible to hold universalist views without believing that all of creation will return to its original state".^[4]
Both Ludlow^[47] and McGarry^[63] state that the word apokatastasis is today usually understood as referring to one specific doctrine of universal salvation, not to all versions of universalism.
A Concise Dictionary of Theology (2000) describes apokatastasis as "a theory ... that all angels and human beings, even the demons and the damned, will ultimately be saved".^[68]
Morwenna Ludlow (2001), in Universal Salvation: Eschatology in the Thought of Gregory of Nyssa and Karl Rahner, writes that, though the meaning was very flexible until the mid-6th century, "the word apokatastasis is now usually used to refer to a specifically Origenistic doctrine of universal salvation".^[47]
Peter L. Berger, in his book Questions of Faith (2003), calls apokatastasis "the conviction that, in the end, all will be saved and the entire creation will be reconciled with God".^[69]

[1]
John Bowker (ed.), "Apocatastasis", The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (Oxford University Press, 2000).
[2]
Ramelli, The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis, 1-24.
[3]
Morwenna Ludlow (2005), "Apocatastasis", Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3, Apocatastasis. The Greek name (ἀποκατάστασις) for the doctrine that ultimately all free moral creatures—angels, men, and devils—will share in the grace of salvation; cf. article "Universalism".
[4]
González, Justo L (2005), Essential Theological Terms, Presbyterian, p. 12, ISBN 978-0-664-22810-1, [T]heories of the apocatastasis usually involve the expectation that in the end all, including the devil, will be saved.
[5]
Akin, Daniel L (2007), A Theology for the Church, B&H, p. 878, ISBN 978-0-8054-2640-3, [Apocatastasis is] the idea that all things will be ultimately reconciled to God through Christ—including the damned in hell and even Satan and his demons.
[6]
Timmerman, Christiane (2007), Faith-based Radicalism: Christianity, Islam and Judaism, p. 59, The usual view taken of Peter's use of the apokatastasis of "all things" is that it refers to the restoration of the Kingdom of Israel and/or the Garden of Eden and not "all things that ever existed."
[7]
See, for instance, Fr. A.F. Kimel, "Did the Fifth Ecumenical Council Condemn Universal Salvation?"
[8]
Ludlow, Universal Salvation: Eschatology in the Thought of Gregory of Nyssa and Karl Rahner
[9]
Glassé, Cyril; Smith, Huston (2003). The New Encyclopedia of Islam. Walnut Creek, California: Rowman Altamira. pp. 53. ISBN 0-7591-0190-6.
[10]
Rose, Jenny (2014). Zoroastrianism: An Introduction. London: I.B. Tauris. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-84885-087-3.
[11]
Irwin, John (2017). The Poetry of Weldon Kees: Vanishing as Presence. Baltimore, Maryland: JHU Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-4214-2261-9.
[12]
Gautschy, Rita (2012), The Star Sirius in Ancient Egypt and Babylonia.
[13]
Perseus database entries for apokatastasis listing as follows:
1 Friedrich Preisigke, Sammelbuch griechischer Urkunden aus Aegypten;
7 P.Oxy., The Oxyrhynchus Papyri;
7 Polybius, Histories;
2 Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews;
2 Diodorus Siculus, Library;
3 Stud.Pal., Studien zur Palaeographie und Papyruskunde;
1 Acts 3:21 New Testament;
1 PSI, Papiri greci e latini;
1 Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers;
2 P.Cair.Masp., Papyrus grecs d'époque byzantine, Catalogue général des antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire;
3 P.Ryl, Rylands Papyri;
1 P.Col., Columbia Papyri;
2 P.Flor., Papiri greco-egizii, Papiri Fiorentini;
3 Aretaeus of Cappadocia, The Extant Works of Aretaeus, The Cappadocian;
1 UPZ, Urkunden der Ptolemäerzeit (ältere Funde);
1 P.Ross.Georg., Papyri russischer und georgischer Sammlungen;
1 P.Cair.Isid., The Archive of Aurelius Isidorus in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, and the University of Michigan;
1 P.Abinn., The Abinnaeus Archive: Papers of a Roman Officer in the Reign of Constantius II;
1 Pap.Choix, Choix de papyrus grecs: Essai de traitement automatique;
1 P.Athen.Xyla, P.Sta.Xyla: The Byzantine Papyri of the Greek Papyrological Society,;
1 O.Joach., Die Prinz-Joachim-Ostraka
[14]
Moore, Edward (2005), Origen of Alexandria and St. Maximus the Confessor, Universal-Publishers, pp. 25–27.
[15]
"Origen of Alexandria (185–254)", The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, retrieved September 20, 2006.
[16]
Moore, Edward (January 2003). "Origen of Alexandria and apokatastasis: Some Notes on the Development of a Noble Notion". Quodlibet Journal. 5 (1). ISSN 1526-6575. Archived from the original on 2010-02-14. Retrieved 2010-04-16.
[17]
Coudert, Allison (1995), Leibniz and the Kabbalah, p. 110, Having initially accepted the idea of apocatastasis in the pre-Origen and primarily Stoic sense that this world and everything in it was bound to return again and again in endless cycles of repetition, Leibniz came to embrace Origen's wholly…
[18]
"shuwb", Blue letter Bible (lexicon and Bible usage).
[19]
"Μαλαχίας - Κεφάλαιο 4 - Malachi - the Septuagint: LXX".
[20]
Löwy, Michael (1992), Redemption and utopia: Jewish libertarian thought in Central Europe: a study in elective affinity, Stanford University Press, p. 64.
[21]
Greek: ὃν δεῖ οὐρανὸν μὲν δέξασθαι ἄχρι χρόνων ἀποκαταστάσεως πάντων ὧν ἐλάλησεν ὁ θεὸς διὰ στόματος τῶν ἁγίων ἀπ᾿ αἰῶνος αὐτοῦ προφητῶν.
Vulgate: quem oportet caelum quidem suscipere usque in tempora restitutionis omnium quae locutus est Deus per os sanctorum suorum a saeculo prophetarum.
[22]
Bock, Darrell L (2007), Acts, The relative pronoun ὧν (hon, of which) could refer back to "the seasons" of which God spoke (Bauernfeind 1980: 69) or to "all things" of which God spoke (so Conzelmann 1987: 29; Barrett 1994: 206, nearest referent).
[23]
Fitzmyer, The Acts of the Apostles, The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries, pp. 283–293.
[24]
McClintock, John; Strong, James (1879), Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, Volume 8, Harper, p. 1051
[25]
Crouzel, Henri (1990), Origen, p. 285.
[26]
Root, JR (2001), "Universalism", in Elwell, WA (ed.), EDT (2nd ed.), Grand Rapids: Baker.
[27]
Scott, Mark (2012), Journey Back to God: Origen on the Problem of Evil, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-984114-1.
[28]
McGuckin, John Anthony, ed. (2004), "Apokatastasis", The Westminster Handbook to Origen (article), Westminster: John Knox Press, pp. 59–62, ISBN 978-0-664-22472-1.
[29]
Lauro, Elisabeth Dively (2004), "Universalism", in McGuckin, John Anthony (ed.), The Westminster Handbook to Origen (article), Westminster: John Knox Press, ISBN 978-0-664-22472-1.
[30]
Demarest, Bruce, "On apokatastasis", The Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, TP, p. 67.
[31]
Brian E. Daley, The Hope of the Early Church: A Handbook of Patristic Eschatology (Cambridge University Press, 1991), p. 58.
[32]
Lawson. Pillars of Grace. p. 25.
[33]
"Origen of Alexandria", Catholic Encyclopedia, New advent, retrieved September 22, 2006.
[34]
"Clement of Alexandria", Catholic Encyclopedia, New advent, retrieved September 22, 2006.
[35]
Ludlow, Morwenna (2000). "Patristic Eschatology". Universal salvation: eschatology in the thought of Gregory of Nyssa and Karl Rahner. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 30–37. ISBN 978-0-19-827022-5.
[36]
Giulio Maspero [in Italian] (2004). "Lo schema dell'exitus-reditus e l'apocatastasi in Gregorio di Nissa". Annales Theologici (in Italian). 18 (1).
[37]
Hanson, J. W. (2007). Universalism. Lulu.com. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-935461-31-2. Methodius, who wrote A.D. 300; Pamphilus and Eusebius, A.D. 310; Eustathius, A.D. 380; Epiphanius, A.D. 376 and 394; Theophilus, A.D. 400–404, and Jerome, A.D. 400; all give lists of Origen's errors, but none name his Universalism among them (Ibid., p. 78).
[38]
Schaff, Philip; Wace, Henry; Percival, Henry R. (eds.). Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. XIV: The Seven Ecumenical Councils. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdman's Publishing Company. p. 319. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
[39]
Konstantinovsky (2009), Evagrius Ponticus: the making of a gnostic, p. 171.
[40]
Ramelli, Ilaria. "Origen, Eusebius, the Doctrine of Apokatastasis, and Its Relation to Christology". Center for Hellenic Studies Harvard University. Archived from the original on 2018-08-09. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
[41]
Gospel of Philip, Gnosis.
[42]
Itter, Andrew C (2009), Esoteric teaching in the Stromateis of Clement of Alexandria, p. 200, Clement uses the term apokatastasis and its cognates generally to refer to the gnostic elect rather than to an eschatological restoration of the universe, or to a restoration of the faithful as a whole. Where he does mention or imply a restoration of the whole it is through the medium of the restoration of the gnostic. …Hence, while some uses of apokatastasis appear to refer simply to the gnostic elect, by extension, they have universal implications.
[43]
Benedetto & Duke 2008, p. 37: "Origen (186–284) theorized the apokatastasis as a recovery of the prehistoric stasis, or rest, enjoyed by spiritual creatures before their fall and embodiment…. Gregory of Nyssa (335–395) shared Origen's faith of all creatures being saved but argued that the final restoration would be a return not to a prehistorical unity but to that ultimate perfection that God originally projected for humanity."
[44]
St. Jerome. Apology Against Rufinus (Book II). 12. paragraph: "I find among many bad things written by Origen the following most distinctly heretical: … that in the restitution of all things, when the fullness of forgiveness will have been reached, Cherubim and Seraphim, Thrones, Principalities, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Archangels and Angels, the devil, the demons and the souls of men whether Christians Jews or Heathen, will be of one condition and degree"
[45]
Benedetto & Duke 2008, p. 37c: "Origen (186–284) theorized the apokatastasis as a recovery of the prehistoric stasis, or rest, enjoyed by spiritual creatures before their fall and embodiment…. Gregory of Nyssa (335–395) shared Origen's faith of all creatures being saved but argued that the final restoration would be a return not to a prehistorical unity but to that ultimate perfection that God originally projected for humanity."
[46]
Benedetto & Duke 2008, p. 37b: 'Though often equated with universalism (the salvation of all beings), early exponents couched the apokatastasis in God's eschatological victory over evil, which would still entail a purgatorial state.'
[47]
Ludlow, Morwenna (2001), Universal Salvation: Eschatology in the Thought of Gregory of Nyssa and Karl Rahner, Oxford University Press, p. 38, ISBN 978-0-19-827022-5.
[48]
Benedetto & Duke 2008, p. 37d: "To the extent that Gregory of Nyssa heavily modified the notion of apokatastasis, while Maximus the Confessor (580–662) later outlined the divine plan for universal salvation alongside warnings of everlasting punishment for the wicked".
[49]
Hudson, Nancy J. (2007). Becoming God: The Doctrine of Theosis in Nicholas of Cusa. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press. pp. 33. ISBN 978-0-8132-1472-6.
[50]
Luther, Martin (1861), Exegetica opera latina (in Latin), Elsperger, p. 432, Si autem Pater est futurus perpetuo, ergo semper manet pater, semper generat filios usque ad diem illum restitutionis omnium…
[51]
Luther, Martin (1545), Die gantze Heilige Schrifft: Deudsch, Lutherbibel, archived from the original on 2008-12-04, retrieved 2011-03-14, welcher mus den Himel einnemen bis auff die zeit da er wider bracht werde alles was Gott geredt hat durch den mund aller seiner heiligen Propheten von der Welt an modernized as: "welcher muss den Himmel einnehmen bis auf die Zeit, da herwiedergebracht werde alles, was Gott geredet hat durch den Mund aller seiner heiligen Propheten von der Welt an".
[52]
Beste, Wilhelm (1886), Die bedeutendsten Kanzelredner, Der Herr Matthesius hat drei Stunden vor seinem seligen Abschiede eine ganze Predigt von diesem Wort gethan. Gottlob, der jüngste Tag ist dies restitutionis omnium. Da wird uns der Herr Jesus Alles wieder an die Seite setzen,…
[53]
Luther, Dr. Martin (1841), "Vom Abendmahl Christi Bekenntnis", Sämmtliche Werke, vol. 30, p. 372, Denn ichs (=ich es) nicht halte mit denen, so da lehren, daß die Teufel auch werden endlich zur Seligkeit kommen
[54]
Ellingsen, Mark (2000), Reclaiming Our Roots, Continuum International, p. 58, ISBN 978-1-56338-292-5, [Luther in a letter to Rechenberg] held out the hope of universal salvation.
[55]
Gretillat, Augustin (1892), Exposé de théologie systématique (in French)
[56]
Köstlin, Heinrich Adolf (1896), "Apokatastasis", Realencyklopädie für protestantische Theologie (in German), vol. I, Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs, p. 617
[57]
Batiffol, Pierre, "Apocatastasis", Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. I, pp. 599–600, archived from the original on 2011-07-08.
[58]
Canney, Maurice Arthur (1921), "apocatastasis", An Encyclopaedia of Religions, Routledge, p. 28.
[59]
Oepke, Albrecht (1933), "Apokatastasis", in Kittel (ed.), Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (article)
[60]
Patrides, Constantinos A. (October–December 1967), "The salvation of Satan", Journal of the History of Ideas, 28 (4): 467–478, doi:10.2307/2708524, JSTOR 2708524, reprinted in Patrides, Constantinos A. (1982) [1967]. "'A principle of infinite love': The salvation of Satan". Premises and motifs in Renaissance literature. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. JSTOR 2708524.
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Berkouwer, G. C. (1972), "13", The Return of Christ, Eerdmans, pp. 387–423, ISBN 978-0-8028-4812-3.
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Meyendorff, John (1987), Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes, Fordham University Press, p. 222, ISBN 978-0-8232-0967-5.
[63]
McGarry, Michael (1995), "Universalism", in Klenicki, Leon; Wigoder, Geoffrey (eds.), A Dictionary of the Jewish-Christian Dialogue, Stimulus Foundation, p. 228, ISBN 0-8091-3582-5
[64]
Stravinskas, Peter M. J. (1998), "apocastasis", Catholic Encyclopedia, Our Sunday Visitor, p. 86, ISBN 0-87973-669-0.
[65]
Stravinskas, Peter M. J. (1993), "apocastasis", Catholic Dictionary, Our Sunday Visitor, p. 76, ISBN 0-87973-390-X.
[66]
Walker, James K. (2007), The Concise Guide to Today's Religions and Spirituality, Harvest House Publishers, p. 330, ISBN 978-0-7369-2011-7.
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Chopra, Ramesh (2005), Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Religion, vol. Q–Z, Isha, p. 816, ISBN 81-8205-287-4
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Berger, Peter L. (2003), Questions of Faith, John Wiley & Sons, p. 154, ISBN 978-1-4051-0848-5.

Benedetto, Robert; Duke, James O (2008), The New Westminster Dictionary of Church History, vol. 1.
Itter, Andrew C (2009), Esoteric teaching in the Stromateis of Clement of Alexandria.

[1] [1]
John Bowker (ed.), "Apocatastasis", The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (Oxford University Press, 2000).

[2] [2]
Ramelli, The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis, 1-24.

[3] [3]
Morwenna Ludlow (2005), "Apocatastasis", Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-280290-3, Apocatastasis. The Greek name (ἀποκατάστασις) for the doctrine that ultimately all free moral creatures—angels, men, and devils—will share in the grace of salvation; cf. article "Universalism".

[ETT-4] [4]
González, Justo L (2005), Essential Theological Terms, Presbyterian, p. 12, ISBN 978-0-664-22810-1, [T]heories of the apocatastasis usually involve the expectation that in the end all, including the devil, will be saved.

[5] [5]
Akin, Daniel L (2007), A Theology for the Church, B&H, p. 878, ISBN 978-0-8054-2640-3, [Apocatastasis is] the idea that all things will be ultimately reconciled to God through Christ—including the damned in hell and even Satan and his demons.

[6] [6]
Timmerman, Christiane (2007), Faith-based Radicalism: Christianity, Islam and Judaism, p. 59, The usual view taken of Peter's use of the apokatastasis of "all things" is that it refers to the restoration of the Kingdom of Israel and/or the Garden of Eden and not "all things that ever existed."

[7] [7]
See, for instance, Fr. A.F. Kimel, "Did the Fifth Ecumenical Council Condemn Universal Salvation?"

[8] [8]
Ludlow, Universal Salvation: Eschatology in the Thought of Gregory of Nyssa and Karl Rahner

[:0-9] [9]
Glassé, Cyril; Smith, Huston (2003). The New Encyclopedia of Islam. Walnut Creek, California: Rowman Altamira. pp. 53. ISBN 0-7591-0190-6.

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Rose, Jenny (2014). Zoroastrianism: An Introduction. London: I.B. Tauris. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-84885-087-3.

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Irwin, John (2017). The Poetry of Weldon Kees: Vanishing as Presence. Baltimore, Maryland: JHU Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-4214-2261-9.

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Gautschy, Rita (2012), The Star Sirius in Ancient Egypt and Babylonia.

[13] [13]
Perseus database entries for apokatastasis listing as follows:
1 Friedrich Preisigke, Sammelbuch griechischer Urkunden aus Aegypten;
7 P.Oxy., The Oxyrhynchus Papyri;
7 Polybius, Histories;
2 Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews;
2 Diodorus Siculus, Library;
3 Stud.Pal., Studien zur Palaeographie und Papyruskunde;
1 Acts 3:21 New Testament;
1 PSI, Papiri greci e latini;
1 Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers;
2 P.Cair.Masp., Papyrus grecs d'époque byzantine, Catalogue général des antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire;
3 P.Ryl, Rylands Papyri;
1 P.Col., Columbia Papyri;
2 P.Flor., Papiri greco-egizii, Papiri Fiorentini;
3 Aretaeus of Cappadocia, The Extant Works of Aretaeus, The Cappadocian;
1 UPZ, Urkunden der Ptolemäerzeit (ältere Funde);
1 P.Ross.Georg., Papyri russischer und georgischer Sammlungen;
1 P.Cair.Isid., The Archive of Aurelius Isidorus in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, and the University of Michigan;
1 P.Abinn., The Abinnaeus Archive: Papers of a Roman Officer in the Reign of Constantius II;
1 Pap.Choix, Choix de papyrus grecs: Essai de traitement automatique;
1 P.Athen.Xyla, P.Sta.Xyla: The Byzantine Papyri of the Greek Papyrological Society,;
1 O.Joach., Die Prinz-Joachim-Ostraka

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Moore, Edward (2005), Origen of Alexandria and St. Maximus the Confessor, Universal-Publishers, pp. 25–27.

[15] [15]
"Origen of Alexandria (185–254)", The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, retrieved September 20, 2006.

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Moore, Edward (January 2003). "Origen of Alexandria and apokatastasis: Some Notes on the Development of a Noble Notion". Quodlibet Journal. 5 (1). ISSN 1526-6575. Archived from the original on 2010-02-14. Retrieved 2010-04-16.

[17] [17]
Coudert, Allison (1995), Leibniz and the Kabbalah, p. 110, Having initially accepted the idea of apocatastasis in the pre-Origen and primarily Stoic sense that this world and everything in it was bound to return again and again in endless cycles of repetition, Leibniz came to embrace Origen's wholly…

[18] [18]
"shuwb", Blue letter Bible (lexicon and Bible usage).

[19] [19]
"Μαλαχίας - Κεφάλαιο 4 - Malachi - the Septuagint: LXX".

[20] [20]
Löwy, Michael (1992), Redemption and utopia: Jewish libertarian thought in Central Europe: a study in elective affinity, Stanford University Press, p. 64.

[21] [21]
Greek: ὃν δεῖ οὐρανὸν μὲν δέξασθαι ἄχρι χρόνων ἀποκαταστάσεως πάντων ὧν ἐλάλησεν ὁ θεὸς διὰ στόματος τῶν ἁγίων ἀπ᾿ αἰῶνος αὐτοῦ προφητῶν.
Vulgate: quem oportet caelum quidem suscipere usque in tempora restitutionis omnium quae locutus est Deus per os sanctorum suorum a saeculo prophetarum.

[22] [22]
Bock, Darrell L (2007), Acts, The relative pronoun ὧν (hon, of which) could refer back to "the seasons" of which God spoke (Bauernfeind 1980: 69) or to "all things" of which God spoke (so Conzelmann 1987: 29; Barrett 1994: 206, nearest referent).

[23] [23]
Fitzmyer, The Acts of the Apostles, The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries, pp. 283–293.

[24] [24]
McClintock, John; Strong, James (1879), Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, Volume 8, Harper, p. 1051

[25] [25]
Crouzel, Henri (1990), Origen, p. 285.

[26] [26]
Root, JR (2001), "Universalism", in Elwell, WA (ed.), EDT (2nd ed.), Grand Rapids: Baker.

[27] [27]
Scott, Mark (2012), Journey Back to God: Origen on the Problem of Evil, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-984114-1.

[28] [28]
McGuckin, John Anthony, ed. (2004), "Apokatastasis", The Westminster Handbook to Origen (article), Westminster: John Knox Press, pp. 59–62, ISBN 978-0-664-22472-1.

[29] [29]
Lauro, Elisabeth Dively (2004), "Universalism", in McGuckin, John Anthony (ed.), The Westminster Handbook to Origen (article), Westminster: John Knox Press, ISBN 978-0-664-22472-1.

[30] [30]
Demarest, Bruce, "On apokatastasis", The Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, TP, p. 67.

[31] [31]
Brian E. Daley, The Hope of the Early Church: A Handbook of Patristic Eschatology (Cambridge University Press, 1991), p. 58.

[32] [32]
Lawson. Pillars of Grace. p. 25.

[origen-33] [33]
"Origen of Alexandria", Catholic Encyclopedia, New advent, retrieved September 22, 2006.

[34] [34]
"Clement of Alexandria", Catholic Encyclopedia, New advent, retrieved September 22, 2006.

[35] [35]
Ludlow, Morwenna (2000). "Patristic Eschatology". Universal salvation: eschatology in the thought of Gregory of Nyssa and Karl Rahner. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 30–37. ISBN 978-0-19-827022-5.

[36] [36]
Giulio Maspero [in Italian] (2004). "Lo schema dell'exitus-reditus e l'apocatastasi in Gregorio di Nissa". Annales Theologici (in Italian). 18 (1).

[37] [37]
Hanson, J. W. (2007). Universalism. Lulu.com. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-935461-31-2. Methodius, who wrote A.D. 300; Pamphilus and Eusebius, A.D. 310; Eustathius, A.D. 380; Epiphanius, A.D. 376 and 394; Theophilus, A.D. 400–404, and Jerome, A.D. 400; all give lists of Origen's errors, but none name his Universalism among them (Ibid., p. 78).

[38] [38]
Schaff, Philip; Wace, Henry; Percival, Henry R. (eds.). Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. XIV: The Seven Ecumenical Councils. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdman's Publishing Company. p. 319. Retrieved 29 August 2017.

[39] [39]
Konstantinovsky (2009), Evagrius Ponticus: the making of a gnostic, p. 171.

[40] [40]
Ramelli, Ilaria. "Origen, Eusebius, the Doctrine of Apokatastasis, and Its Relation to Christology". Center for Hellenic Studies Harvard University. Archived from the original on 2018-08-09. Retrieved 2020-12-25.

[41] [41]
Gospel of Philip, Gnosis.

[42] [42]
Itter, Andrew C (2009), Esoteric teaching in the Stromateis of Clement of Alexandria, p. 200, Clement uses the term apokatastasis and its cognates generally to refer to the gnostic elect rather than to an eschatological restoration of the universe, or to a restoration of the faithful as a whole. Where he does mention or imply a restoration of the whole it is through the medium of the restoration of the gnostic. …Hence, while some uses of apokatastasis appear to refer simply to the gnostic elect, by extension, they have universal implications.

[FOOTNOTEBenedettoDuke200837-43] [43]
Benedetto & Duke 2008, p. 37: "Origen (186–284) theorized the apokatastasis as a recovery of the prehistoric stasis, or rest, enjoyed by spiritual creatures before their fall and embodiment…. Gregory of Nyssa (335–395) shared Origen's faith of all creatures being saved but argued that the final restoration would be a return not to a prehistorical unity but to that ultimate perfection that God originally projected for humanity."

[44] [44]
St. Jerome. Apology Against Rufinus (Book II). 12. paragraph: "I find among many bad things written by Origen the following most distinctly heretical: … that in the restitution of all things, when the fullness of forgiveness will have been reached, Cherubim and Seraphim, Thrones, Principalities, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Archangels and Angels, the devil, the demons and the souls of men whether Christians Jews or Heathen, will be of one condition and degree"

[FOOTNOTEBenedettoDuke200837c-45] [45]
Benedetto & Duke 2008, p. 37c: "Origen (186–284) theorized the apokatastasis as a recovery of the prehistoric stasis, or rest, enjoyed by spiritual creatures before their fall and embodiment…. Gregory of Nyssa (335–395) shared Origen's faith of all creatures being saved but argued that the final restoration would be a return not to a prehistorical unity but to that ultimate perfection that God originally projected for humanity."

[FOOTNOTEBenedettoDuke200837b-46] [46]
Benedetto & Duke 2008, p. 37b: 'Though often equated with universalism (the salvation of all beings), early exponents couched the apokatastasis in God's eschatological victory over evil, which would still entail a purgatorial state.'

[ML-47] [47]
Ludlow, Morwenna (2001), Universal Salvation: Eschatology in the Thought of Gregory of Nyssa and Karl Rahner, Oxford University Press, p. 38, ISBN 978-0-19-827022-5.

[FOOTNOTEBenedettoDuke200837d-48] [48]
Benedetto & Duke 2008, p. 37d: "To the extent that Gregory of Nyssa heavily modified the notion of apokatastasis, while Maximus the Confessor (580–662) later outlined the divine plan for universal salvation alongside warnings of everlasting punishment for the wicked".

[49] [49]
Hudson, Nancy J. (2007). Becoming God: The Doctrine of Theosis in Nicholas of Cusa. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press. pp. 33. ISBN 978-0-8132-1472-6.

[50] [50]
Luther, Martin (1861), Exegetica opera latina (in Latin), Elsperger, p. 432, Si autem Pater est futurus perpetuo, ergo semper manet pater, semper generat filios usque ad diem illum restitutionis omnium…

[51] [51]
Luther, Martin (1545), Die gantze Heilige Schrifft: Deudsch, Lutherbibel, archived from the original on 2008-12-04, retrieved 2011-03-14, welcher mus den Himel einnemen bis auff die zeit da er wider bracht werde alles was Gott geredt hat durch den mund aller seiner heiligen Propheten von der Welt an modernized as: "welcher muss den Himmel einnehmen bis auf die Zeit, da herwiedergebracht werde alles, was Gott geredet hat durch den Mund aller seiner heiligen Propheten von der Welt an".

[52] [52]
Beste, Wilhelm (1886), Die bedeutendsten Kanzelredner, Der Herr Matthesius hat drei Stunden vor seinem seligen Abschiede eine ganze Predigt von diesem Wort gethan. Gottlob, der jüngste Tag ist dies restitutionis omnium. Da wird uns der Herr Jesus Alles wieder an die Seite setzen,…

[53] [53]
Luther, Dr. Martin (1841), "Vom Abendmahl Christi Bekenntnis", Sämmtliche Werke, vol. 30, p. 372, Denn ichs (=ich es) nicht halte mit denen, so da lehren, daß die Teufel auch werden endlich zur Seligkeit kommen

[54] [54]
Ellingsen, Mark (2000), Reclaiming Our Roots, Continuum International, p. 58, ISBN 978-1-56338-292-5, [Luther in a letter to Rechenberg] held out the hope of universal salvation.

[55] [55]
Gretillat, Augustin (1892), Exposé de théologie systématique (in French)

[56] [56]
Köstlin, Heinrich Adolf (1896), "Apokatastasis", Realencyklopädie für protestantische Theologie (in German), vol. I, Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs, p. 617

[57] [57]
Batiffol, Pierre, "Apocatastasis", Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. I, pp. 599–600, archived from the original on 2011-07-08.

[58] [58]
Canney, Maurice Arthur (1921), "apocatastasis", An Encyclopaedia of Religions, Routledge, p. 28.

[59] [59]
Oepke, Albrecht (1933), "Apokatastasis", in Kittel (ed.), Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (article)

[CAP-60] [60]
Patrides, Constantinos A. (October–December 1967), "The salvation of Satan", Journal of the History of Ideas, 28 (4): 467–478, doi:10.2307/2708524, JSTOR 2708524, reprinted in Patrides, Constantinos A. (1982) [1967]. "'A principle of infinite love': The salvation of Satan". Premises and motifs in Renaissance literature. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. JSTOR 2708524.

[61] [61]
Berkouwer, G. C. (1972), "13", The Return of Christ, Eerdmans, pp. 387–423, ISBN 978-0-8028-4812-3.

[62] [62]
Meyendorff, John (1987), Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes, Fordham University Press, p. 222, ISBN 978-0-8232-0967-5.

[DJCD-63] [63]
McGarry, Michael (1995), "Universalism", in Klenicki, Leon; Wigoder, Geoffrey (eds.), A Dictionary of the Jewish-Christian Dialogue, Stimulus Foundation, p. 228, ISBN 0-8091-3582-5

[64] [64]
Stravinskas, Peter M. J. (1998), "apocastasis", Catholic Encyclopedia, Our Sunday Visitor, p. 86, ISBN 0-87973-669-0.

[65] [65]
Stravinskas, Peter M. J. (1993), "apocastasis", Catholic Dictionary, Our Sunday Visitor, p. 76, ISBN 0-87973-390-X.

[66] [66]
Walker, James K. (2007), The Concise Guide to Today's Religions and Spirituality, Harvest House Publishers, p. 330, ISBN 978-0-7369-2011-7.

[67] [67]
Chopra, Ramesh (2005), Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Religion, vol. Q–Z, Isha, p. 816, ISBN 81-8205-287-4

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O'Collins, Gerald; Farrugia, Edward G. (2000), A Concise Dictionary of Theology, Paulist Press, pp. 14–15, ISBN 0-567-08354-3.

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Berger, Peter L. (2003), Questions of Faith, John Wiley & Sons, p. 154, ISBN 978-1-4051-0848-5.

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Apokatastasis

Stoicism

Judaism

New Testament

Patristic Christianity

Gnosticism

Early Christianity

Luther

19th-century Universalism

Recent works

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Apokatastasis

Stoicism

Judaism

New Testament

Patristic Christianity

Gnosticism

Early Christianity

Luther

19th-century Universalism

Recent works

Wikiwand in your browser!

Etymology and definition

Concepts

In Christian theology

See also

References

Bibliography