*** Welcome to piglix ***

Pleroma


Pleroma (Greek πλήρωμα) generally refers to the totality of divine powers. The word means fullness from πληρόω ("I fill") comparable to which means "full", and is used in Christian theological contexts: both in Gnosticism generally, and by St. Paul the Apostle in (the word is used 17 times in the NT).

Pleroma is also used in the general Greek language and is used by the Greek Orthodox Church in this general form since the word appears in the book of Colossians. Proponents of the view that Paul was actually a Gnostic, such as Elaine Pagels of Princeton University, view the reference in Colossians as something that was to be interpreted in the Gnostic sense.

The word itself is a relative term, capable of many shades of meaning, according to the subject with which it is joined and the antithesis to which it is contrasted. It denotes the result of the action of the verb pleroun; but pleroun is either

and the verbal substantive in -ma may express either

It may emphasize totality in contrast to its constituent parts; or fulness in contrast to emptiness (kenoma); or completeness in contrast to incompleteness or deficiency (hysterema Colossians 1:24, 2 Corinthians 11:9, hettema Romans 11:12).

A further ambiguity arises when it is joined with a genitive, which may be either subjective or objective, the fulness which one thing gives to another, or that which it receives from another.

In its semi-technical application it is applied primarily to the perfection of God, the fulness of His Being, 'the aggregate of the Divine attributes, virtues, energies': this is used quite absolutely in Colossians 1:19 (oti en auto eudokesen pan to pleroma katoikesai), but further defined


...
Wikipedia

...