Authority as a Criterion of Truth: Ethics, Expertise and Power in the Theological Discourse of the Late Antique East

Abstract

This article examines the primacy of ethical parameters in the evaluation of truth and falsehood in the theological discourse of late antiquity. It will be argued that the Greek church fathers availed themselves of classical notions of expertise to define priesthood as a moral expertise superior to any lay knowledge. The sceptic critique of reason, issues of scientific credibility and aspects of the medicalisation of authority will also be explored in the writings of Theodoret, Chrysostom and Basil of Casearea in order to gain a better understanding of the emergence of the notion of charismatic priesthood.

Keywords:

• truth
• ethics
• expertise
• stoics
• sceptics
• Chrysostom