Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TRANEX (Transcendent Nexus: Rethinking Mediatorial Christology and the Neoplatonic Doctrine of Pure Souls in Late Antiquity)
Reporting period: 2024-06-01 to 2026-05-31
Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project
TRANEX contends that in Late Antiquity (c. 300-500 AD) both the figure of Christ and those of Pythagoras and Socrates underwent a parallel process of metamorphosis facilitated not least through an intellectual exchange between Christian theologians and Neoplatonists, that is, pagan philosophers who drew on Plato’s thought to build a new philosophical and religious system. Rather than perceiving pagan Neoplatonism and Christianity as separate and detached entities, TRANEX emphasizes the need to understand them as dynamically intertwined and mutually influential realms.
From Iamblichus onwards (c. 245-325 AD), Neoplatonists reinterpreted figures like Pythagoras and Socrates as ‘pure souls’ sent to earth to save humankind. These saviour figures bear striking resemblances to Christologies that portray Christ as a subordinate divine mediator. I understand these parallels as the outcome of an interreligious exchange, which I intend to explore by focusing on the concept of the ‘soul’. The intermediate nature of the soul, positioned between humanity and divinity, holds a paramount significance as a converging point for Neoplatonic and Christian worldviews, fueling profound discussion on the intricate relationships between humanity and divinity.
Within this conceptual framework, I will study the most influential thinkers of the late third to the first half of the fifth century. By juxtaposing subordinationist Christologies with the Neoplatonic doctrine of pure souls, I aim to demonstrate that a comprehensive understanding of late antique Christological debates requires an appreciation of the broader Neoplatonic discourse surrounding figures like Pythagoras and Socrates, and vice versa. I will specifically examine three key aspects that are equally central to both subordinationist Christologies and Neoplatonic conceptions of ‘pure souls’: (1) ‘mediation’ towards humanity, (2) ‘similarity’, rather than ‘identity’, to God(s), and, consequently, (3) ‘subordination’ to God(s).
TRANEX thus not only challenges conventional perceptions on the uniqueness of Christ but also beckons us to embrace the interconnectedness of diverse spiritual traditions and to acknowledge its transformative role for Western civilization. The urgency of this investigation is particularly heightened in today’s pluralistic society, where a nuanced comprehension of historical intellectual encounters is essential for fostering interfaith understanding and facilitating meaningful dialogues across religious boundaries. TRANEX contends that the figures of Christ, Pythagoras, and Socrates embody the transformative power that emerges from vibrant cross-cultural encounters and the wisdom forged through centuries of interfaith engagement. This profound insight illuminates the interreligious dialogue we eagerly strive for today, unmasking it as not a mere modern invention but an intrinsic and timeless aspect of our shared heritage.
From Iamblichus onwards (c. 245-325 AD), Neoplatonists reinterpreted figures like Pythagoras and Socrates as ‘pure souls’ sent to earth to save humankind. These saviour figures bear striking resemblances to Christologies that portray Christ as a subordinate divine mediator. I understand these parallels as the outcome of an interreligious exchange, which I intend to explore by focusing on the concept of the ‘soul’. The intermediate nature of the soul, positioned between humanity and divinity, holds a paramount significance as a converging point for Neoplatonic and Christian worldviews, fueling profound discussion on the intricate relationships between humanity and divinity.
Within this conceptual framework, I will study the most influential thinkers of the late third to the first half of the fifth century. By juxtaposing subordinationist Christologies with the Neoplatonic doctrine of pure souls, I aim to demonstrate that a comprehensive understanding of late antique Christological debates requires an appreciation of the broader Neoplatonic discourse surrounding figures like Pythagoras and Socrates, and vice versa. I will specifically examine three key aspects that are equally central to both subordinationist Christologies and Neoplatonic conceptions of ‘pure souls’: (1) ‘mediation’ towards humanity, (2) ‘similarity’, rather than ‘identity’, to God(s), and, consequently, (3) ‘subordination’ to God(s).
TRANEX thus not only challenges conventional perceptions on the uniqueness of Christ but also beckons us to embrace the interconnectedness of diverse spiritual traditions and to acknowledge its transformative role for Western civilization. The urgency of this investigation is particularly heightened in today’s pluralistic society, where a nuanced comprehension of historical intellectual encounters is essential for fostering interfaith understanding and facilitating meaningful dialogues across religious boundaries. TRANEX contends that the figures of Christ, Pythagoras, and Socrates embody the transformative power that emerges from vibrant cross-cultural encounters and the wisdom forged through centuries of interfaith engagement. This profound insight illuminates the interreligious dialogue we eagerly strive for today, unmasking it as not a mere modern invention but an intrinsic and timeless aspect of our shared heritage.
Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far
To ensure that the research could benefit from the expertise of scholars specialising in early Christian thought, a research stay abroad at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Philosophische Fakultät (Institut für Religionswissenschaft) has been carried out (02-07.2025). During this period, the analysis of Eusebius' Christology has been refined, which led to the publication of a chapter volume (B. Neola, “Le anime pure nella metafisica di Giamblico e il Cristo mediatore di Eusebio: un confronto”, in A. Motta e C. Cappiello (a cura di), Platone e i platonismi (I). Fisica e metafisica in età imperiale e tardoantica, FedOA Federico II University Press, Napoli 2025, pp. 183-204. ISBN: 978-88-6887-363-9). Moreover, during the stay, a professor at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen has been invited to participate as a keynote speaker at the international conference I later organized at the University of Leiden. During the stay, I have also delivered an BA-MA course on Eusebius, titled "Christ in the Era of Constantine: Eusebius of Caesarea, His Christian Opponents, and His Platonic Sources."
The scholarly interest I sparkled in the relationship between pure souls and Christ has also led to the invitation, from the scholarly association Forum of Advanced Studies (FSA), to create an international research group, called "Patres," which, working from 2026 to 2029, will be devoted to analysing the relationship between Neoplatonism and Christianity: a recurrent panel at the annual FSA conference has been established.
I have also been invited to act as reviewer for major academic journals and books: International Society for Neoplatonic Studies series, Prometheus Trust (ed. I. Patsioti / S. Costero-Quiroga / G. Stamatellos); The Classical Quarterly; ISNS series, Prometheus Trust (ed. M. Griffin / S. Costero-Quiroga / B.A. Zibara); The International Journal of the Platonic Tradition. I have also become Member of the Scientific Committee of the journal Archai: The Origins of Western Thought.
One of the main achievements of the project has been the international conference "Neoplatonism in the Christological Debates of Late Antiquity: Influences, Interferences, and Contrasts," that I organized at the University of Leiden (with live-stream broadcast), lasting three days (24-26 March 2026). The number of participants was seventeen, among whom four acted as invited keynote speakers. The publication of the proceedings is underway. The conference established my research topic within the international scholarly panorama, gathering both young and established scholars working in the fields of Ancient Philosophy, Late Antique Philosophy, and Early Christian Studies.
Teaching activities have been held at Leiden University. I co-taught with my supervisor a MA course titled "Language & Philosophy: From Plato to Pseudo-Dionysius," tailored for students in Philosophy and Classics. Moreover, together with a colleague working in Classical Archeology, I have delivered a course on "Academic Integrity" (AI, fraud, plagiarism, academic ethics) for the PhD Students attached to the Faculty of Humanities of Leiden University.
I have also contributed to academic services by participating in the PhD jury, gathered on 11.09.2025 for the viva of a PhD candidate working on the Neoplatonist Iamblichus.
As for outreach activities, I have delivered, together with a colleague, a public lecture on the relationship between Neoplatonic metaphysics and Christian Theology at the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden, in the context of the “Week of Classics”, jointly organized by Leiden University and the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden. I have also taken part in the Radio Broadcast (with video recording available online) "Novità bibliografiche pasquali" organized by Radio Radicale, presenting to a wider audience a book I published in the context of my project, i.e.: Gregory of Nyssa’ De opificio hominis (Morcelliana, 2025).
Training has been carried out as well, in 2024 (Writing An Excellent Grant Proposal, Grant Development Office, Universiteit Leiden; Open Access Publishing, Open-Access-Publikationsfonds, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen; How to Write a Data Management Plan (DMP), The Centre for Digital Scholarship (CDS), Universiteit Leiden; Scientific Dissemination and Outreach; Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoc Programme (EU – MEDNIGHT (Mediterranean Researchers’ Night) Project).
My main research activities have been devoted to the comparative analysis of late antique Neoplatonic and Christian texts, spanning from the third-fourth to the fifth-sixth century. Close reading of those texts, supplemented by the use of digital tools, has allowed me to bring to light, for the first time, overlooked connections between Neoplatonic metaphysics and doctrine of the (pure) soul, on the one hand, and Christian theology and Christological (subordinationist) models on the other. This reseach has led, in addition to several communication in international conferences and workshops, to a number of publication:
1. I. Tanaseanu-Döbler, B. Neola, et L. Soares Santoprete (eds.), Divine Presence in Late Antique Platonism: Theories, Practices, Contexts, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlag / De Gruyter Brill (“Beiträge zur Europäischen Religionsgeschichte”), forthcoming, September 2026.
2. B. Neola, “Note su Omero e la dottrina dell’anima nel tardo Platonismo”, «Athenaeum», 114, 1 (2026), pp. 83-97, forthcoming, June 2026.
3. B. Neola, Drunk the Potion, No Whit Charmed. The Doctrine of Pure and Perfect Souls from Iamblichus to Damascius, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlag / De Gruyter Brill (“Beiträge zur Europäischen Religionsgeschichte”), Göttingen 2026, 528 pp. ISSN 2198-1035; ISBN 978-3-525-50241-9.
4. B. Neola, “Soul and Intellect(s): On Human Weakness in Neoplatonism and Early Christianity”, in E. Anagnostou and G. Steiris (eds.), Long Platonism: The Routes of Plato’s Reception to the Italian Renaissance, De Gruyter (“Themen der antiken Philosophie”), Berlin 2026, pp. 95-120. Doi : 10.1515/9783111433226-005. ISBN: 9783111430980; ISSN: 9783111433226.
5. B. Neola, “The Concept of Passibility in Cyril’s Christology and Hermias’ Doctrine of Pure Souls: Some Remarks on a Shared Problem”, in S. Klitenic Wear and C. O’Brien (eds.), Platonic Principles. Essays in Honor of Lloyd Gerson, Franciscan University Press, Steubenville 2025, pp. 288-299. ISBN: 9798893721188.
6. B. Neola, “Le anime pure nella metafisica di Giamblico e il Cristo mediatore di Eusebio: un confronto”, in A. Motta e C. Cappiello (a cura di), Platone e i platonismi (I). Fisica e metafisica in età imperiale e tardoantica, FedOA Federico II University Press, Napoli 2025, pp. 183-204. ISBN: 978-88-6887-363-9.
7. B. Neola, Gregorio di Nissa. Sulla creazione dell’uomo. A cura di Benedetto Neola, Editrice Morcelliana (“Letteratura cristiana antica”), Brescia 2025, 240 pp. ISBN: 978-88-372-4071-4.
8. B. Neola, “From Oracle to Doctrine: Apollo’s Oracle on Plotinus and the Development of the Doctrine of the Soul in Later Neoplatonism”, «Chôra», 23 (2025), pp. 273-299. ISSN: 1583-8617.
9. B. Neola, “La triade dans le champ de l’âme : la structure triadique dans la psychologie de Jamblique et la réception de la tripartition platonicienne de l’âme humaine”, «Chôra», Triades et Trinités. Structures ontologiques et cognitives dans la pensée tardo-antique et médiévale. Numéro double coordonné par Anca Vasiliu, REAM, 21-22, 2023-2024, Polirom, pp. 129-150. ISSN: 1583-8617.
10. B. Neola, “Che cos’è la filosofia in età tardoantica? Alcune considerazioni”, «Koinonia», 48 (2024), pp. 381-403. ISSN: 0393-2230.
11. B. Neola, “Alla luce degli dèi intellettivi: alcune considerazioni sull’epistemologia del tardo Platonismo”, «Koinonia», 48 (2024), pp. 365-380. ISSN: 0393-2230.
The scholarly interest I sparkled in the relationship between pure souls and Christ has also led to the invitation, from the scholarly association Forum of Advanced Studies (FSA), to create an international research group, called "Patres," which, working from 2026 to 2029, will be devoted to analysing the relationship between Neoplatonism and Christianity: a recurrent panel at the annual FSA conference has been established.
I have also been invited to act as reviewer for major academic journals and books: International Society for Neoplatonic Studies series, Prometheus Trust (ed. I. Patsioti / S. Costero-Quiroga / G. Stamatellos); The Classical Quarterly; ISNS series, Prometheus Trust (ed. M. Griffin / S. Costero-Quiroga / B.A. Zibara); The International Journal of the Platonic Tradition. I have also become Member of the Scientific Committee of the journal Archai: The Origins of Western Thought.
One of the main achievements of the project has been the international conference "Neoplatonism in the Christological Debates of Late Antiquity: Influences, Interferences, and Contrasts," that I organized at the University of Leiden (with live-stream broadcast), lasting three days (24-26 March 2026). The number of participants was seventeen, among whom four acted as invited keynote speakers. The publication of the proceedings is underway. The conference established my research topic within the international scholarly panorama, gathering both young and established scholars working in the fields of Ancient Philosophy, Late Antique Philosophy, and Early Christian Studies.
Teaching activities have been held at Leiden University. I co-taught with my supervisor a MA course titled "Language & Philosophy: From Plato to Pseudo-Dionysius," tailored for students in Philosophy and Classics. Moreover, together with a colleague working in Classical Archeology, I have delivered a course on "Academic Integrity" (AI, fraud, plagiarism, academic ethics) for the PhD Students attached to the Faculty of Humanities of Leiden University.
I have also contributed to academic services by participating in the PhD jury, gathered on 11.09.2025 for the viva of a PhD candidate working on the Neoplatonist Iamblichus.
As for outreach activities, I have delivered, together with a colleague, a public lecture on the relationship between Neoplatonic metaphysics and Christian Theology at the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden, in the context of the “Week of Classics”, jointly organized by Leiden University and the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden. I have also taken part in the Radio Broadcast (with video recording available online) "Novità bibliografiche pasquali" organized by Radio Radicale, presenting to a wider audience a book I published in the context of my project, i.e.: Gregory of Nyssa’ De opificio hominis (Morcelliana, 2025).
Training has been carried out as well, in 2024 (Writing An Excellent Grant Proposal, Grant Development Office, Universiteit Leiden; Open Access Publishing, Open-Access-Publikationsfonds, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen; How to Write a Data Management Plan (DMP), The Centre for Digital Scholarship (CDS), Universiteit Leiden; Scientific Dissemination and Outreach; Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoc Programme (EU – MEDNIGHT (Mediterranean Researchers’ Night) Project).
My main research activities have been devoted to the comparative analysis of late antique Neoplatonic and Christian texts, spanning from the third-fourth to the fifth-sixth century. Close reading of those texts, supplemented by the use of digital tools, has allowed me to bring to light, for the first time, overlooked connections between Neoplatonic metaphysics and doctrine of the (pure) soul, on the one hand, and Christian theology and Christological (subordinationist) models on the other. This reseach has led, in addition to several communication in international conferences and workshops, to a number of publication:
1. I. Tanaseanu-Döbler, B. Neola, et L. Soares Santoprete (eds.), Divine Presence in Late Antique Platonism: Theories, Practices, Contexts, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlag / De Gruyter Brill (“Beiträge zur Europäischen Religionsgeschichte”), forthcoming, September 2026.
2. B. Neola, “Note su Omero e la dottrina dell’anima nel tardo Platonismo”, «Athenaeum», 114, 1 (2026), pp. 83-97, forthcoming, June 2026.
3. B. Neola, Drunk the Potion, No Whit Charmed. The Doctrine of Pure and Perfect Souls from Iamblichus to Damascius, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlag / De Gruyter Brill (“Beiträge zur Europäischen Religionsgeschichte”), Göttingen 2026, 528 pp. ISSN 2198-1035; ISBN 978-3-525-50241-9.
4. B. Neola, “Soul and Intellect(s): On Human Weakness in Neoplatonism and Early Christianity”, in E. Anagnostou and G. Steiris (eds.), Long Platonism: The Routes of Plato’s Reception to the Italian Renaissance, De Gruyter (“Themen der antiken Philosophie”), Berlin 2026, pp. 95-120. Doi : 10.1515/9783111433226-005. ISBN: 9783111430980; ISSN: 9783111433226.
5. B. Neola, “The Concept of Passibility in Cyril’s Christology and Hermias’ Doctrine of Pure Souls: Some Remarks on a Shared Problem”, in S. Klitenic Wear and C. O’Brien (eds.), Platonic Principles. Essays in Honor of Lloyd Gerson, Franciscan University Press, Steubenville 2025, pp. 288-299. ISBN: 9798893721188.
6. B. Neola, “Le anime pure nella metafisica di Giamblico e il Cristo mediatore di Eusebio: un confronto”, in A. Motta e C. Cappiello (a cura di), Platone e i platonismi (I). Fisica e metafisica in età imperiale e tardoantica, FedOA Federico II University Press, Napoli 2025, pp. 183-204. ISBN: 978-88-6887-363-9.
7. B. Neola, Gregorio di Nissa. Sulla creazione dell’uomo. A cura di Benedetto Neola, Editrice Morcelliana (“Letteratura cristiana antica”), Brescia 2025, 240 pp. ISBN: 978-88-372-4071-4.
8. B. Neola, “From Oracle to Doctrine: Apollo’s Oracle on Plotinus and the Development of the Doctrine of the Soul in Later Neoplatonism”, «Chôra», 23 (2025), pp. 273-299. ISSN: 1583-8617.
9. B. Neola, “La triade dans le champ de l’âme : la structure triadique dans la psychologie de Jamblique et la réception de la tripartition platonicienne de l’âme humaine”, «Chôra», Triades et Trinités. Structures ontologiques et cognitives dans la pensée tardo-antique et médiévale. Numéro double coordonné par Anca Vasiliu, REAM, 21-22, 2023-2024, Polirom, pp. 129-150. ISSN: 1583-8617.
10. B. Neola, “Che cos’è la filosofia in età tardoantica? Alcune considerazioni”, «Koinonia», 48 (2024), pp. 381-403. ISSN: 0393-2230.
11. B. Neola, “Alla luce degli dèi intellettivi: alcune considerazioni sull’epistemologia del tardo Platonismo”, «Koinonia», 48 (2024), pp. 365-380. ISSN: 0393-2230.
Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)
The project has advanced our current knowledge of the late antique intellectual landscape by establishing that the emergence and development of the first foundational doctrines on the nature of Christ are unthinkable without the parallel development of pagan, Neoplatonic doctrines on the divine and the soul. The Christian reflection on the relationiship between the God the Father and God the Son, between the first divine principle and the its Logos, the relationship between passibility and impassibility in Christ, doctrines that were established for the first time during Late Antiquity mainly through ecumenical councils such the the Council of Nicaea (325 CE), is the result of a constant and complex engagement with pagan philosophy. Pagan Neoplatonists, i.e. pagan philosophers who built upon Plato's thought in order to forge a new philosophical and religious system, developed, concurrently with Christian theologians, elaborate doctrines on the relationship between the First Principle and creation, between the First Cause and Second Cause (Intellect), as well as on the relationiship between passibility and impassibility of some special beings they called "pure and perfect souls," i.e. the souls of philosophers of the past such as Pythagoras and Plato. My project shows that the figure of Christ and that of, for instance, Pythagoras were built in parallel to serve a soteriological purpose, and that Christians and Neoplatonists were well aware of each other. My publications and the international conference I organized in Leiden have brought to the light, for the first time in a systematic fashion, this Christian-pagan cross-pollination in Late Antiquity.
My research focused on specific authors, especially Iamblichus and Proclus in Neoplatonism, Eusebius and Cyril in Christianity. Now that the foundations have been laid, the inquiry can, and must, be enlarged to include other authors and topics.
My research focused on specific authors, especially Iamblichus and Proclus in Neoplatonism, Eusebius and Cyril in Christianity. Now that the foundations have been laid, the inquiry can, and must, be enlarged to include other authors and topics.