The Phenomenon of Religious Tolerance of the Emperor Julian: Philosophical and Theological Grounds
The article deals with the phenomenon of religious tolerance in the religious policy of Emperor Julian. Our hypothesis is that the explanation of this phenomenon should be sought not in the peculiarities of Julian’s personality, but in the originality of his Neoplatonism. A study of Julian’s texts shows that he shares the teachings of Plotinus in the interpretation of the Neoplatonists of the Pergamon school. He argues that the gods as principles are part of the universe and obey the law of its unfolding like any other part of the universe. This means that any way of interacting with the gods is not an act of God’s free will, but is reduced to the functioning of the universe as a whole. The status of the emperor makes it necessary to concretize the metaphysical concepts of Neoplatonism; metaphysical principles should become the theoretical foundation for justifying the cultural construction of the Empire. Julian presents the original concept of the national gods in his Against the Galileans. This concept explains ethnic, cultural and religious diversity as a necessary and natural consequence of the “demiurgy” of the cosmos. To oppose diversity and affirm universalism means to oppose the fundamental laws of the functioning of the universe asa whole. Christians are people who are deprived of a national god, they do not havetheir own nature and their place in the cosmos. This outlook justifies measures aimed at limiting the influence of Christianity as a priority religion, and explains the religious tolerance of Julian.