Editing Apokatastasis

{{short description|Restoration to the original or primordial condition}}
In theology, '''apokatastasis''' ({{langx|el|ἀποκατάστασις|apokatástasis}}, also spelled '''apocatastasis''') is the restoration of creation to a condition of perfection.<ref>John Bowker (ed.), "Apocatastasis", ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions'' (Oxford University Press, 2000).</ref><ref>[[Ilaria Ramelli|Ramelli]], ''The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis'', 1-24.</ref> In Christianity, the term refers to a form of [[Christian universalism]], often associated with [[Origen]], that includes the ultimate salvation of everyone, including the [[Damnation|damned]] and the [[Devil]].<ref>{{Citation | quote = Apocatastasis. The Greek name (ἀποκατάστασις) for the doctrine that ultimately all free moral creatures—angels, men, and devils—will share in the grace of salvation |author=Morwenna Ludlow | title = Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 2005 | isbn = 978-0-19-280290-3 | contribution = Apocatastasis}}; cf. article "Universalism".</ref><ref name=ETT>{{Citation | quote = [T]heories of the apocatastasis usually involve the expectation that in the end all, including the devil, will be saved.| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DU6RNDrfd-0C&pg=PA12 | first = Justo L | last = González | title = Essential Theological Terms | publisher = Presbyterian | year = 2005 | isbn = 978-0-664-22810-1 | page = 12}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | quote= [Apocatastasis is] the idea that all things will be ultimately reconciled to God through Christ—including the damned in hell and even Satan and his demons. |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=elzlVK5c3dQC&q=Daniel+L.+Akin,+ | first = Daniel L | last = Akin | title = A Theology for the Church | publisher = B&H | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-0-8054-2640-3 | page = 878}}</ref> The [[New Testament]] ([[Acts 3]]:21), speaks of the "apokatastasis of all things".<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|3:21}}</ref> The dogmatic status of apokatastasis is disputed,<ref>See, for instance, Fr. A.F. Kimel, [https://afkimel.wordpress.com/2020/05/31/did-the-fifth-ecumenical-council-condemn-universal-salvation/ "Did the Fifth Ecumenical Council Condemn Universal Salvation?"]</ref> and some orthodox fathers such as [[Gregory of Nyssa]] taught apokatastasis and were never condemned.<ref>Ludlow, [https://academic.oup.com/book/25942 ''Universal Salvation: Eschatology in the Thought of Gregory of Nyssa and Karl Rahner'']</ref>

Apokatastasis was definitely condemned as a [[heresy]] by the [[Synod of Constantinople (543)|Synod of Constantinople of 543]].<ref>[[Latin language|Latin quote]]: "Si quis dicit aut sentit, ad tempus esse daemonum et impiorum hominum supplicium, eiusque finem aliquando futurum, sive restitutionem et redintegrationem esse (fore) daemonum aut impiorum hominum, an. s." As quoted in [[Enchiridion symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum|DS]] [http://catho.org/9.php?d=bxp#bfa 211, can. 9].See [https://patristica.net/denzinger/#n200 English translation]: "If anyone says or holds that the punishment of [[demon]]s or [[Impiety|impious]] men is temporary, and it will have an end at some time, that is to say, there will be a complete restoration of the demons or of impious men, let him be [[anathema]]."</ref>

==Etymology and definition==
While apokatastasis is derived from the Greek verb ''apokathistemi'', which means "to restore", it first emerged as a doctrine in [[Zoroastrianism]] where it is the third time of creation.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The New Encyclopedia of Islam|last1=Glassé|first1=Cyril|last2=Smith|first2=Huston|date=2003|publisher=Rowman Altamira|isbn=0-7591-0190-6|location=Walnut Creek, California|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newencyclopediao0000glas/page/53 53]|url=https://archive.org/details/newencyclopediao0000glas/page/53}}</ref> This period was referred to as ''wizarishn'' or the end of history—the time of separation and resolution<ref>{{Cite book|title=Zoroastrianism: An Introduction|last=Rose|first=Jenny|date=2014|publisher=I.B. Tauris|isbn=978-1-84885-087-3|location=London|page=111}}</ref> when evil is destroyed and the world is restored to its original state.<ref name=":0" /> The idea of apokatastasis may have been derived from the ancient concept of cosmic cycle, which involves the notion of celestial bodies returning to their original positions after a period of time.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Poetry of Weldon Kees: Vanishing as Presence|last=Irwin|first=John|date=2017|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-1-4214-2261-9|location=Baltimore, Maryland|page=40}}</ref>

The entry in ''[[A Greek–English Lexicon]]'' (i.e. ''Liddell–Scott–Jones'', with expansion of definitions and references), gives the following examples of usage:

{{quote|'''ἀποκατάστᾰσις''', εως, ἡ, restoration, re-establishment;
* "τοῦ ἐνδεοῦς" [[Aristotle]] ''[[Magna Moralia|MM]]'', 1205a4; into its nature εἰς φύσιν id. 1204b 36, 1205b 11;
* return to a position, [[Epicurus]], ''Epistolae'', 1, p.8 U.;
* especially of military formations, reversal of a movement, [[Asclepiodotus (philosopher)|Asclepiodotus]], ''Tacticus'', 10.1, 10:6, etc.; generally
* of all things "πάντων" ''[[Acts of the Apostles]]'', 3.21;
* of souls, [[Proclus]], ''Institutio Theologica'', 199.
* of the body back into its old form "τῆς φύσιος ἐς τὸ ἀρχαῖον" [[Aretaeus of Cappadocia]] CD 1.5;  recovery from sickness, SA 1.10;
* "τῶν ὁμήρων εἰς τὰς πατρίδας" [[Polybius]] 3.99.6;  εἰς ἀ. ἐλθεῖν, into the restoration of the affairs of a city, 4.23.1;
Astrological uses:
* ἀ. ἄστρων return of the stars to the same place in the heavens as in the former year, [[Plutarch]] 2.937f, [[Diodorus Siculus]] 12.36, etc., particularly the restoration of the wandering [[Egyptian calendar|Egyptian New Year]] to the [[heliacal rising]] of [[Sirius]] at the completion of the [[Sothic cycle]];<ref>{{citation |last=Gautschy |first=Rita |title=The Star Sirius in Ancient Egypt and Babylonia |url=http://www.gautschy.ch/~rita/archast/sirius/siriuseng.htm |year=2012 }}.</ref>
* periodic return of the cosmic cycle, [[Stoicorum Veterum Fragmenta]] 2.184,190; that is, completion of the c. 26,000 year cycle of the precession of the equinoxes, the so called "Great Year";
* of a planet, return to a place in the heavens occupied at a former epoch, [[Antiochus of Athens]] ap. Cat.Cod.Astr. 7.120,121; but, zodiacal revolution, [[Paulus Alexandrinus]] Paul.Al.T.1; opposite: '''antapocatastasis''' ἀνταπ. (q. v.), [[Dorotheus of Sidon]] Doroth. ap. Cat.Cod.Astr.2.196.9;
* restoration of sun and moon after eclipse, [[Plato]] ''[[Axiochus (dialogue)|Axiochus]]'' 370b.}}

The word is reasonably common in [[papyri]].<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/wordfreq?lang=greek&lookup=a%29pokata%2Fstasis Perseus database entries for ''apokatastasis''] listing as follows:{{poemquote|
1 [[Friedrich Preisigke]], ''Sammelbuch griechischer Urkunden aus Aegypten'';
7 P.Oxy., The [[Oxyrhynchus Papyri]];
7 [[Polybius]], Histories;
2 [[Josephus]], [[Antiquities of the Jews]];
2 [[Diodorus Siculus]], Library;
3 Stud.Pal., ''Studien zur Palaeographie und Papyruskunde'';
1 Acts 3:21 [[New Testament]];
1 PSI, ''Papiri greci e latini'';
1 [[Diogenes Laërtius]], ''[[Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers]]'';
2 P.Cair.Masp., ''Papyrus grecs d'époque byzantine'', Catalogue général des antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire;
3 P.Ryl, [[Rylands Papyri]];
1 P.Col., Columbia Papyri;
2 P.Flor., Papiri greco-egizii, ''[[Papiri Fiorentini]]'';
3 [[Aretaeus of Cappadocia]], The Extant Works of Aretaeus, The Cappadocian;
1 UPZ, ''Urkunden der Ptolemäerzeit'' (ältere Funde);
1 P.Ross.Georg., Papyri russischer und georgischer Sammlungen;
1 P.Cair.Isid., The [[Archive of Aurelius Isidorus]] in the [[Egyptian Museum]], Cairo, and the University of Michigan;
1 P.Abinn., The [[Abinnaeus Archive]]: Papers of a Roman Officer in the Reign of Constantius II;
1 Pap.Choix, Choix de papyrus grecs: Essai de traitement automatique;
1 P.Athen.Xyla, P.Sta.Xyla: The Byzantine Papyri of the Greek Papyrological Society,;
1 O.Joach., Die Prinz-Joachim-Ostraka}}</ref>

==Concepts==

===Stoicism<!--linked from 'Chrysippus'-->===
According to Edward Moore, ''apokatastasis'' was first properly conceptualized in early [[Stoicism|Stoic thought]], particularly by [[Chrysippus]]. The return (''apokatastasis'') of the planets and stars to their proper ''celestial signs'', namely their original positions, would spark a conflagration of the universe (''[[ekpyrosis]]''). The original position was believed to consist of an alignment of celestial bodies with [[Cancer (astrology)|Cancer]].  Thereafter, from fire, rebirth would commence, and this cycle of alternate destruction and recreation was correlated with a divine [[Logos]]. ''Antapokatastasis'' is a counter-recurrence when the stars and planets align with [[Capricorn (astrology)|Capricorn]], which would mark destruction by a universal flood.<ref>{{Citation | first = Edward | last = Moore | title = Origen of Alexandria and St. Maximus the Confessor | publisher = Universal-Publishers | year = 2005 | pages = 25–27}}.</ref>

The Stoics identified Zeus with an alternately expanding and contracting fire constituting the universe. Its expansion was described as Zeus turning his thoughts outwards, resulting in the creation of the material [[cosmos]], and its contraction, the ''apokatastasis'', as Zeus returning to self-contemplation.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.iep.utm.edu/o/origen.htm | contribution = Origen of Alexandria (185–254) | title = The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy | access-date = September 20, 2006}}.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first1=Edward |last1=Moore |date=January 2003 |title=Origen of Alexandria and apokatastasis: Some Notes on the Development of a Noble Notion |journal=Quodlibet Journal |volume=5 |issue=1 |issn=1526-6575 |url=http://www.quodlibet.net/articles/moore-origen.shtml |access-date=2010-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100214114623/http://www.quodlibet.net/articles/moore-origen.shtml |archive-date=2010-02-14 }}</ref> [[Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz|Leibniz]] explored both Stoic and his understanding of Origen's philosophy in two essays written shortly before his death, ''Apokatastasis'' and ''Apokatastasis panton'' (1715).<ref>{{Citation | first = Allison | last = Coudert | title = Leibniz and the Kabbalah | page = 110 | year = 1995 | quote = Having initially accepted the idea of apocatastasis in the pre-Origen and primarily Stoic sense that this world and everything in it was bound to return again and again in endless cycles of repetition, Leibniz came to embrace Origen's wholly…}}</ref>

===Judaism===
The concept of "restore" or "return" in the [[Hebrew Bible]] is the common Hebrew verb {{lang|he|[[wikt:שוב|שוב]]}},<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H7725&t=KJV | contribution = shuwb | type = lexicon and Bible usage | title = Blue letter Bible}}.</ref> as used in {{Bibleverse|Malachi|4:6}},<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.septuagint.bible/-/malachias-kephalaio-4 | title=Μαλαχίας - Κεφάλαιο 4 - Malachi - the Septuagint: LXX }}</ref> the only use of the verb form of apokatastasis in the Septuagint. This is used in the "restoring" of the fortunes of Job, and is also used in the sense of rescue or return of captives, and in the restoration of Jerusalem.

This is similar to the concept of [[tikkun olam]] in [[Hasidic Judaism]].<ref>{{Citation | first = Michael | last = Löwy | title = Redemption and utopia: Jewish libertarian thought in Central Europe: a study in elective affinity | publisher = Stanford University Press | year = 1992 | page = 64}}.</ref>

===New Testament===
The word, ''apokatastasis'', appears only once in the New Testament, in Acts 3:21.<ref>Greek: ὃν δεῖ οὐρανὸν μὲν δέξασθαι ἄχρι χρόνων '''ἀποκαταστάσεως''' πάντων ὧν ἐλάλησεν ὁ θεὸς διὰ στόματος τῶν ἁγίων ἀπ᾿ αἰῶνος αὐτοῦ προφητῶν. <br />Vulgate: ''quem oportet caelum quidem suscipere usque in tempora '''restitutionis''' omnium quae locutus est Deus per os sanctorum suorum a saeculo prophetarum''.</ref>  Peter healed a beggar with a disability and then addressed the astonished onlookers. His sermon set Jesus in the Jewish context, the fulfiller of the [[Covenant (biblical)|Abrahamic Covenant]], and says:
{{quote|1={{small|[19]}} Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; {{small
|[20]}} And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: {{small
|[21]}} Whom the heaven must receive until the times of '''restitution''' of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.|2={{bibleverse||Acts|3:19–21|KJV}} KJV}}

Grammatically, the [[relative pronoun]] "ὧν" ("of which", [[Ancient Greek grammar|genitive plural]]), could refer either to "χρόνων" ("of times") or to "πάντων" ("of all" or "of all things"), which means that it is either the times of which God spoke or the all things of which God spoke.<ref>{{Citation | first = Darrell L | last = Bock | title = Acts | year = 2007 | quote = The relative pronoun ὧν (''hon'', of which) could refer back to "the seasons" of which God spoke (Bauernfeind 1980: 69) or to "all things" of which God spoke (so Conzelmann 1987: 29; Barrett 1994: 206, nearest referent).}}</ref>

The usual view taken of Peter's use of the "''apokatastasis'' of all the things about which God spoke" is that it refers to the restoration of the [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Kingdom of Israel]] and/or the [[Garden of Eden]] and not "all things that ever existed".<ref>{{Citation | last = Fitzmyer | title = The Acts of the Apostles | series = The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries | pages = 283–293}}.</ref>

The verbal form of ''apokatastasis'' is found in the [[Septuagint]]: [[Malachi]] 3:23 (i.e. {{bibleverse ||Malachi|4:6|ESV}}); a prophecy of [[Elijah]] ''turning back'' the hearts of the children to their fathers; in {{bibleverse ||Matthew|17:11|ESV}} ("he will ''restore'' all things"), echoing Malachi, and in {{bibleverse ||Hebrews|13:19|9}} ("that I may be ''restored'' to you the sooner").

Nineteenth-century German theologian [[Jakob Christoph Rudolf Eckermann|Jakob Eckermann]] interpreted "the 'apokatastasis of all things' to mean the universal emendation of religion by the doctrine of Christ, and the 'times of refreshing' to be the day of renewal, the times of the Messiah."<ref>{{Citation |title=Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, Volume 8 | first1 = John | last1 = McClintock | first2 = James | last2 = Strong |publisher=Harper |year=1879 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vTotAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1051 |page=1051 }}</ref>

===Patristic Christianity===
The significance of ''apokatastasis'' in early Christianity is currently something of a disputed question. In particular, some question whether [[Origen]], often listed as the most notable advocate of [[universal salvation]], did in fact teach or believe in such a doctrine.<ref>{{Citation | last = Crouzel | first = Henri | title = Origen | year = 1990 | page = 285}}.</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Root |first=JR | contribution = Universalism |title=EDT | editor-first = WA | editor-last = Elwell | edition=2nd |location=Grand Rapids | publisher= Baker |year=2001}}.</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Scott |first=Mark |title=Journey Back to God: Origen on the Problem of Evil |place=Oxford |publisher= Oxford University Press |year= 2012|isbn=978-0-19-984114-1 }}.</ref>

{{Origenism}}

Frederick W. Norris argues that the positions that Origen took on the issue of universal salvation have often seemed contradictory.<ref>{{Citation | contribution = Apokatastasis | title = The Westminster Handbook to Origen | year = 2004}}</ref> He then writes that Origen never decided to stress exclusive salvation or universal salvation, to the strict exclusion of either case, therefore concludes that Origen probably kept his view of salvation economically 'open' for a greater effectiveness.<ref>{{Citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=riEdrWEDFq0C&pg=PA59 | editor-first = John Anthony | editor-last = McGuckin | title = The Westminster Handbook to Origen | place = Westminster | publisher = John Knox Press | year = 2004 | isbn = 978-0-664-22472-1 | type = article | contribution = Apokatastasis | pages = 59–62}}.</ref><ref>{{Citation | first = Elisabeth Dively | last = Lauro | type = article | contribution = [[Universalism]] | editor-first = John Anthony | editor-last = McGuckin | title = The Westminster Handbook to Origen | place = Westminster | publisher = John Knox Press | year = 2004 | isbn = 978-0-664-22472-1}}.</ref><ref>{{Citation | first = Bruce | last = Demarest | contribution = On apokatastasis | title = [[The Evangelical Dictionary of Theology]] | page = 67 | publisher = TP}}.</ref> On the other hand, [[Brian E. Daley]] in his handbook of patristic eschatology argued that Origen strongly believed in the final salvation of all humans and sometimes referred to it as ''apokatastasis''.<ref>Brian E. Daley, ''The Hope of the Early Church: A Handbook of Patristic Eschatology'' (Cambridge University Press, 1991), p. 58.</ref> More recently, leading Patristic scholar Ilaria Ramelli has concluded that not only did Origen embrace the doctrine of apokatastasis, but that it was central to all his theological and philosophical thought. She remarks, "In Origen's thought, the doctrine of apokatastasis is interwoven with his anthropology, eschatology, theology, philosophy of history, theodicy, and exegesis; for anyone who takes Origen's thought seriously and with a deep grasp of it, it is impossible to separate the apokatastasis theory from all the rest, so as to reject it but accept the rest."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ramelli |first1=Ilaria |title=Origen, Eusebius, the Doctrine of Apokatastasis, and Its Relation to Christology |url=https://chs.harvard.edu/CHS/article/display/5881.15-origen-eusebius-the-doctrine-of-apokatastasis-and-its-relation-to-christology-ilaria-ramelli |website=Center for Hellenic Studies Harvard University |access-date=2020-12-25 |archive-date=2018-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809152801/https://chs.harvard.edu/CHS/article/display/5881.15-origen-eusebius-the-doctrine-of-apokatastasis-and-its-relation-to-christology-ilaria-ramelli }}</ref>

The [[Alexandrian school]], the first Christian educational center,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lawson |title=Pillars of Grace |page=25}}</ref> seems to have generally affirmed apokatastasis and adapted some Platonic terminology and ideas to Christianity while explaining and differentiating the new faith from all the others.<ref name="origen">{{Citation | publisher = New advent | url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11306b.htm | title = Catholic Encyclopedia | contribution = Origen of Alexandria | access-date = September 22, 2006}}.</ref><ref>{{Citation | publisher = New advent | url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04045a.htm | title = Catholic Encyclopedia | contribution = Clement of Alexandria | access-date = September 22, 2006}}.</ref> [[Gregory of Nyssa]] is also understood to have espoused a universally salvific ''apokatastasis'',<ref>{{cite book | first = Morwenna | last = Ludlow |chapter=Patristic Eschatology |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=U32mir3alW8C&pg=PA30 | title = Universal salvation: eschatology in the thought of Gregory of Nyssa and Karl Rahner | publisher = Oxford University Press | location= Oxford |year= 2000 |pages= 30–37 | isbn= 978-0-19-827022-5}}</ref><ref>[[Hans Boersma]]: Embodiment and Virtue (Oxford 2013)</ref><ref>J.A. McGuckin: "Eschatological Horizons in the Cappadocian Fathers" in Apocalyptic Thought in Early Christianity (Grand Rapids 2009)</ref><ref>Constantine Tsirpanlis: "The Concept of Universal Salvation in Gregory of Nyssa" in Greek Patristic Theology I (New York 1979)</ref> though Maspero argues that Gregory spoke solely of [[resurrection of the flesh|universal resurrection]] and not of universal salvation.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.annalestheologici.it/article/view/3210|journal=[[Annales Theologici]]|language=it|title=Lo schema dell'exitus-reditus e l'apocatastasi in Gregorio di Nissa|author=Giulio Maspero |author-link=:it:Giulio Maspero |volume=18|issue=1|year=2004}}</ref> Universal salvation in the form of apokatastasis is also seen in the [[Ambrosiaster]], attributed to [[Ambrose of Milan]]. [[Gregory of Nazianzus]] discussed it without reaching a decision.

Eventually, Origen started to be condemned throughout the early church in local councils, though not apokatastasis specifically.<ref>{{cite book |title=Universalism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s8CgWlhQgcIC&pg=PA78|date=2007|page=78 |isbn = 978-0-935461-31-2|quote=Methodius, who wrote A.D. 300; Pamphilus and Eusebius, A.D. 310; Eustathius, A.D. 380; Epiphanius, A.D. 376 and 394; Theophilus, A.D. 400–404, and Jerome, A.D. 400; all give lists of Origen's errors, but none name his Universalism among them (Ibid., p. 78).|last1 = Hanson|first1 = J. W.| publisher=Lulu.com }}</ref> This changed definitively in the sixth century. A local [[Synod of Constantinople (543)]] condemned a form of apokatastasis as being [[Anathema]], and the Anathema was formally submitted to the [[Second Council of Constantinople|Fifth Ecumenical Council of Constantinople]] (553). The term ''apokatastasis'' is mentioned in the 14th of the 15 anathemas against Origen of 553: "If anyone shall say ... that in this pretended apokatastasis, spirits only will continue to exist, as it was in the feigned pre-existence: let him be anathema."<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Schaff|editor1-first=Philip|editor2-last=Wace|editor2-first=Henry|editor3-last=Percival|editor3-first=Henry R.|editor1-link=Philip Schaff|editor2-link=Henry Wace (priest)|title=Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. XIV: The Seven Ecumenical Councils|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdman's Publishing Company|location=Grand Rapids|page=319|url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.xii.ix.html|access-date=29 August 2017}}</ref>

Konstantinovsky (2009)<ref>{{Citation | last = Konstantinovsky | title = Evagrius Ponticus: the making of a gnostic | year = 2009 | page = 171}}.</ref> states that the uses of ''apokatastasis'' in Christian writings prior to the [[Synod of Constantinople (543)]] and the [[anathema]]s (553) pronounced against "[[Origenist]]s" and [[Evagrius Ponticus]] were neutral and referred primarily to concepts similar to the general "restoration of all things spoken" (''restitutio omnium quae locutus est Deus'') of Peter in Acts 3:21 and not for example the [[universal reconciliation]] of all souls which had ever been.

===Gnosticism===
The [[gnostic]] [[Gospel of Philip]] ''180–350c'' contains the term itself but does not teach universal reconciliation:
{{quote |There is a rebirth and an image of rebirth. It is certainly necessary to be born again through the image. Which one? Resurrection. The image must rise again through the image. The bridal chamber and the image must enter through the image into the truth: this is the restoration (apokatastasis).  Not only must those who produce the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, do so, but have produced them for you. If one does not acquire them, the name ("Christian") will also be taken from him.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/gop.html | title = Gospel of Philip | publisher = Gnosis}}.</ref>}}

==In Christian theology==
===Early Christianity===
[[Clement of Alexandria]] (c. 150 – c. 215) generally uses the term ''apokatastasis'' to refer to the "restoration" of the "gnostic" Christians, rather than that of the universe or of all Christians, but with universal implications.<ref>{{Citation | first = Andrew C | last = Itter | title = Esoteric teaching in the Stromateis of Clement of Alexandria | year = 2009 | page = 200 | quote = Clement uses the term ''apokatastasis'' and its cognates generally to refer to the gnostic elect rather than to an eschatological restoration of the universe, or to a restoration of the faithful as a whole. Where he does mention or imply a restoration of the whole it is through the medium of the restoration of the gnostic.  …Hence, while some uses of ''apokatastasis'' appear to refer simply to the gnostic elect, by extension, they have universal implications.}}</ref> Origen's stance is disputed, with some works saying he taught apokatastasis would involve [[universal salvation]],{{Sfn | Benedetto | Duke | 2008 | p = 37 | ps =: "Origen (186–284) theorized the ''apokatastasis'' as a recovery of the prehistoric ''stasis'', or rest, enjoyed by spiritual creatures before their fall and embodiment…. Gregory of Nyssa (335–395) shared Origen's faith of all creatures being saved but argued that the final restoration would be a return not to a prehistorical unity but to that ultimate perfection that God originally projected for humanity."}} even the absolute equality of all souls and spirits.<ref>{{cite book|author=St. [[Jerome]]|title=Apology Against Rufinus (Book II)|url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/27102.htm}} 12. paragraph: "I find among many bad things written by Origen the following most distinctly heretical: … that in the restitution of all things, when the fullness of forgiveness will have been reached, Cherubim and Seraphim, Thrones, Principalities, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Archangels and Angels, the devil, the demons and the souls of men whether Christians Jews or Heathen, will be of one condition and degree"</ref> [[Gregory of Nyssa]]'s notion of ''apokatastasis'' is also claimed to have involved universal salvation though in other respects it differed from Origen's.{{Sfn | Benedetto | Duke | 2008 | p = 37c | ps =: "Origen (186–284) theorized the ''apokatastasis'' as a recovery of the prehistoric ''stasis'', or rest, enjoyed by spiritual creatures before their fall and embodiment…. Gregory of Nyssa (335–395) shared Origen's faith of all creatures being saved but argued that the final restoration would be a return not to a prehistorical unity but to that ultimate perfection that God originally projected for humanity."}}

In early Christian theological usage, ''apokatastasis'' was couched as God's eschatological victory over evil and believed to entail a purgatorial state.{{Sfn | Benedetto | Duke | 2008 | p = 37b | ps =: 'Though often equated with universalism (the salvation of all beings), early exponents couched the ''apokatastasis'' in God's eschatological victory over evil, which would still entail a purgatorial state.'}} The word was still very flexible at that time, but in the mid-6th century, it became virtually a technical term, as it usually means today, to refer to a specifically Origenistic doctrine of universal salvation.<ref name =ML>{{Citation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=D_U1887kuFgC&pg=PA38 | first = Morwenna | last = Ludlow | title = Universal Salvation: Eschatology in the Thought of Gregory of Nyssa and Karl Rahner | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 2001 | isbn = 978-0-19-827022-5 | page = 38}}.</ref>

[[Maximus the Confessor]] outlined God's plan for "universal" salvation alongside warnings of final punishment for the wicked.{{Sfn | Benedetto | Duke | 2008 | p = 37d | ps =: "To the extent that Gregory of Nyssa heavily modified the notion of apokatastasis, while Maximus the Confessor (580–662) later outlined the divine plan for universal salvation alongside warnings of everlasting punishment for the wicked".}}
He divided apokatastasis into three restorations: of the virtuous individual, of nature, and of the sinful powers of the soul. While the last of these meant that even sinners will be restored to a clear knowledge of God, Maximus seems to have believed that they will not attain to the same communion with God as the righteous and thus will in a sense be eternally punished.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Becoming God: The Doctrine of Theosis in Nicholas of Cusa|url=https://archive.org/details/becominggoddoctr00huds|url-access=limited|last=Hudson|first=Nancy J.|date=2007|publisher=The Catholic University of America Press|isbn=978-0-8132-1472-6|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/becominggoddoctr00huds/page/n47 33]}}</ref>

===Luther===
The Vulgate translation of ''apokatastasis'', {{Lang|la|"in tempora restitutionis omnium quae locutus est Deus"}} ("the restitution of all things of which God has spoken"), was taken up by Luther to mean the day of the restitution of the creation, but in Luther's theology the day of restitution was also the day of resurrection and judgment, not the restitution of the wicked.<ref>{{Citation | last = Luther | first = Martin | title = Exegetica opera latina | publisher = Elsperger | year = 1861 | page = 432 | quote = Si autem Pater est futurus perpetuo, ergo semper manet pater, semper generat filios usque ad diem illum restitutionis omnium… | language = la}}</ref> In Luther's Bible he rendered the Greek ''apokatastasis'' with the German {{Lang|de|herwiedergebracht werde}}; "will be brought back".<ref>{{Citation | quote = welcher mus den Himel einnemen bis auff die zeit da er wider bracht werde alles was Gott geredt hat durch den mund aller seiner heiligen Propheten von der Welt an | first = Martin | url = http://lutherbibel.net/ | last = Luther | year = 1545 | publisher = Lutherbibel | title = Die gantze Heilige Schrifft: Deudsch | access-date = 2011-03-14 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081204110153/http://lutherbibel.net/ | archive-date = 2008-12-04 }} modernized as: "welcher muss den Himmel einnehmen bis auf die Zeit, da herwiedergebracht werde alles, was Gott geredet hat durch den Mund aller seiner heiligen Propheten von der Welt an".</ref> This sense continued to be used in Lutheran sermons.<ref>{{Citation | first = Wilhelm | last = Beste | title = Die bedeutendsten Kanzelredner | year = 1886 | quote = Der Herr Matthesius hat drei Stunden vor seinem seligen Abschiede eine ganze Predigt von diesem Wort gethan. Gottlob, der jüngste Tag ist dies restitutionis omnium. Da wird uns der Herr Jesus Alles wieder an die Seite setzen,…}}</ref>

Luther explicitly disowned belief that the devils would ultimately reach blessedness.<ref>{{Citation | quote = Denn ichs (=ich es) nicht halte mit denen, so da lehren, daß die Teufel auch werden endlich zur Seligkeit kommen | contribution = Vom Abendmahl Christi Bekenntnis | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NQIRAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA372 | first = Dr. Martin | last = Luther | title = Sämmtliche Werke | year = 1841 | volume = 30 | page = 372}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | first = Mark | last = Ellingsen | quote = [Luther in a letter to Rechenberg] held out the hope of universal salvation | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SodSn6hgHnIC&pg=PA58 | title = Reclaiming Our Roots | publisher = Continuum International | year = 2000 | isbn = 978-1-56338-292-5 | page = 58}}.</ref>

===19th-century Universalism===
During the 19th and early 20th centuries several histories published by [[Universalist]]s, including [[Hosea Ballou]] (1829), [[Thomas Whittemore (Universalist)|Thomas Whittemore]] (1830), [[John Wesley Hanson]] (1899) and [[George T. Knight (Universalist)|George T. Knight]] (1911), argued that belief in universal reconciliation was found in [[early Christianity]] and in the [[Reformation]], and ascribed Universalist beliefs to Origen, Clement of Alexandria, and others.

===Recent works===
{{Example farm|section|date=October 2014|reason=1.Too many examples; 2.How recent? (previous section goes to 1911, but this section has some 1911 and earlier); 3.Can this list be converted to prose, like the previous secton?}}

In recent writing, apokatastasis is generally understood as involving some form of [[universal reconciliation]], without necessarily attributing this understanding to Origen and other Fathers of the Church.
* Augustin Gretillat, in {{lang|fr|Exposé de théologie systématique}} (1892), described ''apokatastasis'' as universal reconciliation.<ref>{{cite book |mode=cs2 | first = Augustin | last = Gretillat | title = Exposé de théologie systématique | year = 1892 | language = fr}}</ref>
* Heinrich Köstlin's {{lang|de|Realencyklopädie für protestantische Theologie}} (1896), translated in the ''[[Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge]]'', described ''apokatastasis'' as universal reconciliation.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |mode=cs2 | first = Heinrich Adolf | last = Köstlin |encyclopedia= Realencyklopädie für protestantische Theologie |location=Leipzig |publisher=J. C. Hinrichs| year = 1896 | volume = I | page = 617 | title = Apokatastasis | language = de}}</ref>
* The 1911 ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' defined apokatastasis as "a name given in the history of theology to the doctrine which teaches that a time will come when all free creatures shall share in the grace of salvation; in a special way, the devils and lost souls."<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |mode=cs2 |url=http://oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Apocatastasis |encyclopedia=Catholic Encyclopedia |first=Pierre |last=Batiffol |author-link=Pierre Batiffol |title=Apocatastasis |volume=I |pages=599–600 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708123721/http://oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Apocatastasis |archive-date=2011-07-08 }}.</ref>
* Maurice Canney, ''An Encyclopaedia of Religions'' (1921): "Apocatastasis became a theological term denoting the doctrine&nbsp;... that all men would be converted and admitted to everlasting happiness".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |mode=cs2 |url=https://archive.org/details/anencyclopaedia00canngoog |title=apocatastasis | first = Maurice Arthur | last = Canney |encyclopedia=An Encyclopaedia of Religions | publisher = Routledge | year = 1921 | page = 28}}.</ref>
* Albrecht Oepke, ''Theological Dictionary of the New Testament'' (1933): "Apokatastasis cannot denote the conversion of persons but only the reconstitution or establishment of things."<ref>{{cite dictionary |mode=cs2 | first = Albrecht | last = Oepke | year = 1933 | type = article | title = Apokatastasis | editor-last = Kittel | editor-link = Kittel | dictionary = Theological Dictionary of the New Testament}}</ref>
* Professor [[Constantinos Patrides|Constantinos A. Patrides]] surveyed the history of apokatastasis in his ''Salvation of Satan''.<ref name="CAP" >{{cite journal |mode=cs2 |title= The salvation of Satan | first = Constantinos A. | last = Patrides| author-link = Constantinos Patrides| journal = Journal of the History of Ideas | volume= 28 | number = 4 |date=October–December 1967|pages= 467–478| doi = 10.2307/2708524 |jstor= 2708524}}, reprinted in {{cite book | chapter = 'A principle of infinite love': The salvation of Satan |title = Premises and motifs in Renaissance literature |first=Constantinos A. |last=Patrides |author-link= Constantinos Patrides | orig-date= 1967 | year = 1982 | jstor= 2708524 |publisher= Princeton University Press | location = Princeton, New Jersey}}</ref>
* G. C. Berkouwer, ''The Return of Christ'' (1972), devoted a whole chapter, under the heading "Apocatastasis?", to the topic of universal reconciliation, "sometimes technically known as apocatastasis".<ref>{{cite book |mode=cs2 | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=8FWcNG5U4t8C&pg=PA402 | first = G. C. | last = Berkouwer | title = The Return of Christ | publisher = Eerdmans | year = 1972 | isbn = 978-0-8028-4812-3 | chapter = 13 | pages = 387–423}}.</ref>
* John Meyendorff, ''Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes'' (1987) defined apokatastasis as "the idea that the whole of creation and all of humanity will ultimately be 'restored' to their original state of bliss".<ref>{{cite book |mode=cs2 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GoVeDXMvY-8C&pg=PA222 | first = John | last = Meyendorff | title = Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes | publisher = Fordham University Press | year = 1987 | isbn = 978-0-8232-0967-5 | page = 222}}.</ref><!--
Needs a quotation: * [[Hans Urs von Balthasar]], ''Dare We Hope That All Men Be Saved? With a Short Discourse on Hell'' (1988).<ref>{{cite book |mode=cs2 |last=Balthasar, Hans Urs von|title=Dare we hope: 'that all men be saved'?; with, A short discourse on hell|date=1988|publisher=Ignatius Press|isbn={{Format ISBN|0898702070}}|location=San Francisco|oclc=25408859}}</ref>-->
* Michael McGarry in ''A Dictionary of the Jewish-Christian Dialogue'' (1995) defined apokatastasis as "one particular Christian expression of a general theology of universalism&nbsp;... the belief that at the end of time all creatures—believers and sinners alike—would be restored in Christ".<ref name="DJCD">{{cite dictionary |mode=cs2 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GsDNhImlaXgC&pg=PA229 |first=Michael |last=McGarry |editor-first1 = Leon | editor-last1 = Klenicki | editor-first2 = Geoffrey | editor-last2 = Wigoder | title = Universalism |dictionary=A Dictionary of the Jewish-Christian Dialogue | publisher = Stimulus Foundation | year = 1995 | isbn = 0-8091-3582-5 | page = 228}}</ref>
* Peter Stravinskas, in the short article on apokatastasis in ''Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia'' (1998)<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |mode=cs2 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vJ78Vd4O9d4C&pg=PA86 | first = Peter M. J. | last = Stravinskas | title = apocastasis | encyclopedia = Catholic Encyclopedia | publisher = Our Sunday Visitor | year = 1998 | isbn = 0-87973-669-0 | page = 86}}.</ref> and the still shorter entry in his ''Catholic Dictionary'' (1993),<ref>{{cite dictionary |mode=cs2 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7fSv9cV0M18C | first = Peter M. J. | last = Stravinskas | title = apocastasis| dictionary=Catholic Dictionary | publisher = Our Sunday Visitor | year = 1993 | isbn = 0-87973-390-X | page = 76}}.</ref> defines it as the belief "that all rational creatures are saved, including the fallen angels and unrepentant sinners".
* Stravinskas identifies apokatastasis with universalism or universal reconciliation, and some of the older sources do so also. In addition, two recent works that do not discuss apokatastasis give the corresponding Greek word as the source from which "universalism" is derived.<ref>{{cite book |mode=cs2 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=AMUpn_AK8iQC&pg=PA330 | first = James K. | last = Walker | title = The Concise Guide to Today's Religions and Spirituality | publisher = Harvest House Publishers | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-0-7369-2011-7 | page = 330}}.</ref><ref>{{cite book |mode=cs2 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KakgvDxdbXwC&pg=PA816 | first = Ramesh | last = Chopra | title = Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Religion | volume = Q–Z | publisher = Isha | year = 2005 | isbn = 81-8205-287-4 | page = 816}}</ref> But most writers do not simply identify apokatastasis with [[universal reconciliation]]. González points out that a distinction exists, in that "it is possible to hold universalist views without believing that all of creation will return to its original state".<ref name= ETT />
* Both Ludlow<ref name = ML /> and McGarry<ref name = DJCD /> state that the word {{lang|grc-Latn|apokatastasis}} is today usually understood as referring to one specific doctrine of universal salvation, not to all versions of universalism.
* ''A Concise Dictionary of Theology'' (2000) describes apokatastasis as "a theory&nbsp;... that all angels and human beings, even the demons and the damned, will ultimately be saved".<ref>{{cite book |mode=cs2 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=jQooODXx-2wC&pg=PA183 | first1 = Gerald | last1 = O'Collins | first2 = Edward G. | last2 = Farrugia | title = A Concise Dictionary of Theology | publisher = Paulist Press | year = 2000 | isbn = 0-567-08354-3 | pages = 14–15}}.</ref>
* [[Morwenna Ludlow]] (2001), in ''Universal Salvation: Eschatology in the Thought of Gregory of Nyssa and Karl Rahner'', writes that, though the meaning was very flexible until the mid-6th century, "the word {{lang|grc-Latn|apokatastasis}} is now usually used to refer to a specifically Origenistic doctrine of universal salvation".<ref name=ML />
* Peter L. Berger, in his book ''Questions of Faith'' (2003), calls apokatastasis "the conviction that, in the end, all will be saved and the entire creation will be reconciled with God".<ref>{{cite book |mode=cs2 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mcvaNLPo4HYC&pg=PA154 | first = Peter L. | last = Berger | title = Questions of Faith | publisher = John Wiley & Sons | year = 2003 | isbn = 978-1-4051-0848-5 | page = 154}}.</ref><!--
Needs a quotation: * [[David Bentley Hart]], ''That All Shall Be Saved'' (2019).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hart |first=David Bentley|title=That all shall be saved: heaven, hell, and universal salvation|year= 2019|isbn={{Format ISBN|978-0300246223}}|location=New Haven, Connecticut|oclc=1089571251}}</ref>--><!--
Need quotations: * [[Ilaria Ramelli]] et al, ''A Larger Hope?'', Volume 1: ''Universal Salvation from Christian Beginnings to Julian of Norwich'' (2019),<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Ramelli |first1=Ilaria|title=A larger hope?: universal salvation from Christian beginnings to Julian of Norwich |last2=Bauckham |first2=Richard |last3=Parry |first3=Robin A. |year=2019 |isbn={{Format ISBN|978-1498287982}}|location=Eugene, Oregon |oclc=1011517393}}</ref> and Volume 2: ''Universal Salvation from the Reformation to the Nineteenth Century'' (2019).<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Parry |first1=Robin A. |title=A larger hope?: universal salvation from the Reformation to the nineteenth century |last2=Ramelli |first2=Ilaria |year=2019 |isbn={{Format ISBN|978-1498200400}} |location=Eugene, Oregon |oclc=1100427565}}</ref>-->

== See also ==
* [[Catastasis]]
* [[Christian Universalism]]
* [[Monad (philosophy)]]
* [[Panentheism]]
* [[Problem of evil]]
* [[Restorationism]]
* [[Tikkun Olam|Repairing the World (Judaism)]]
* [[Trinitarian Universalism]]
* [[Universal reconciliation]]
* [[World to Come]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
* {{Citation | first1 = Robert | last1 = Benedetto | first2 = James O | last2 = Duke | title = The New Westminster Dictionary of Church History | volume = 1 | year = 2008}}.
* {{Citation | first = Andrew C | last = Itter | title = Esoteric teaching in the Stromateis of Clement of Alexandria | year = 2009}}.

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