The teaching of the neo-pythagoreans and the comparison of their ethical teaching with the ethics of saint apostle Paul

The author of this article introduces the reader to some textual parallels in the writings of the apostle Paul and the neo-Pythagorean philosophers (namely, Apollonius of Tyana as the most significant representative of this philosophical school), giving his own analysis of the similarities and differences between the ethical teaching expressed in the Epistles of the apostle and the letters of Apollonius, based on the original (i.e. ancient Greek) texts of the holy apostle and the ancient thinker. It is important to note that the author does not start this analysis from scratch, but due to the fact that, for example, both of them - the apostle and the philosopher - grew up and studied in the same region (Asia Minor), i.e. their education and upbringing took place in the same philosophical context. That is why this work will provide a brief excursus into the history of the neo-Pythagorean tradition (based on the works of such authoritative scientists as Archpriest V. Mustafin, B. Metzger, Diogenes Laertius, etc.), after which the author of this study will move on to its main part - the analysis of the written heritage of the apostle Paul and Apollonius of Tyana in the light of their ethics. The theme proposed for consideration is currently highly relevant, because it has not been sufficiently developed by either Russian or foreign researchers. This is the reason for the novelty of the theme being developed, because in various research materials, textbooks, etc., if there is a comparison of the ethical teaching of the apostle Paul and Apollonius of Tyana, then only in general terms: without analyzing the original texts of the Epistles of the apostle and the letters of the philosopher.