The formation of the idea of infernal state in Medieval Western Christianity
Abstract
The article presents a study of the genesis and formation of the idea of infernal state in religious discourse of the Medieval West. The development of concept of infernal state is reconstructed in the first part. The article analyzes a number of mythological and religious beliefs that constitute the main part of the concept of the infernal state: Christ's descent into hell and his struggle with the forces of evil; Devil’s trial against God; the principle of inverse symmetry of the divine and the demonic; the doctrine, according to which, as a result of original sin, Satan gained the power over the humanity. The author examines the correlation between image of the Devil and some soteriological theories. In the second part of the article the author develops a thesis that some forms of religious dualism are the ideological basis for the origin and formation of the concept of the infernal state. Some theoretical constructions of Augustine, which had a significant influence on the formation of infernological beliefs of Christianity, are considered. The author also reveals that the dualistic heresy that spread in Europe in XII cent., contributed to the strengthening of the idea of the existence of Devil’s kingdom, which was identified with hell.
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