The sacerdotal officium as a paradigm of modernity in Giorgio Agamben: a modern wound

a modern wound

Abstract

In this article, we attempt to analyze – focusing on the term officium - the diagnosis of the modern subject as formulated by the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben. If the thinker dedicates himself to examine this concept in the texts and practices of Christianity from the first centuries of our era, that is, from monasticism to the late texts of priestly theology, it is because he understands that it is in the latter that the paradigms of being and modern action are found, in other words, the discovery of a profound transformation of the categories of ontology and praxis. We will start from the concept of forms-of-life and its relationship with Christian monasticism to understand how this experience was lost with the development of the duty of office of the priesthood. This innovative perspective will lead us to understand not only the importance, but the influence that the concept instills in Western culture in general. Finally, we will present a current example that, we propose, demonstrates the instrumentalization of the analyzed paradigm.