Origen of Alexandria and St. Maximus the Confessor

Origen of Alexandria and St. Maximus the Confessor PDF Author: Edward Moore
Publisher: Universal-Publishers
ISBN: 1581122616
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
The revision of Origen's philosophical theology by St. Maximus the Confessor resulted in an eschatology involving the replacement of the human ego by the divine presence. In this study, I will examine the theological developments that led to this loss of a sense of human freedom and creativity in the face of the divine, tracing the influence of Origen's eschatology through the Cappadocian Fathers, Evagrius Ponticus and others, up to Maximus. This will allow me to show the manner in which Origen's humanistic theology was misunderstood and misinterpreted throughout the Patristic era, culminating in the anti-personalistic system of Maximus. Special attention will be paid to the development of Christian Neoplatonism, and how Christian contacts with the pagan philosophical schools came to have a profound effect on Eastern Patristic theology and philosophy. The final section of this study will suggest some ways in which the history of Patristic eschatology - especially Origen and Maximus - may serve as a fruitful source for contemporary theologians who are concerned with issues of personhood, creativity, and existential authenticity.

Origen of Alexandria and St. Maximus the Confessor

Origen of Alexandria and St. Maximus the Confessor PDF Author: Edward Moore
Publisher: Universal-Publishers
ISBN: 1581122616
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
The revision of Origen's philosophical theology by St. Maximus the Confessor resulted in an eschatology involving the replacement of the human ego by the divine presence. In this study, I will examine the theological developments that led to this loss of a sense of human freedom and creativity in the face of the divine, tracing the influence of Origen's eschatology through the Cappadocian Fathers, Evagrius Ponticus and others, up to Maximus. This will allow me to show the manner in which Origen's humanistic theology was misunderstood and misinterpreted throughout the Patristic era, culminating in the anti-personalistic system of Maximus. Special attention will be paid to the development of Christian Neoplatonism, and how Christian contacts with the pagan philosophical schools came to have a profound effect on Eastern Patristic theology and philosophy. The final section of this study will suggest some ways in which the history of Patristic eschatology - especially Origen and Maximus - may serve as a fruitful source for contemporary theologians who are concerned with issues of personhood, creativity, and existential authenticity.

St. Maximus the Confessor's "Questions and Doubts"

St. Maximus the Confessor's Author: Saint Maximus the Confessor
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 150175534X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 175

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Book Description
Despina D. Prassas's translation of the Quaestiones et Dubia presents for the first time in English one of the Confessor's most significant contributions to early Christian biblical interpretation. Maximus the Confessor (580–662) was a monk whose writings focused on ascetical interpretations of biblical and patristic works. For his refusal to accept the Monothelite position supported by Emperor Constans II, he was tried as a heretic, his right hand was cut off, and his tongue was cut out. In his work, Maximus the Confessor brings together the patristic exegetical aporiai tradition and the spiritual-pedagogical tradition of monastic questions and responses. The overarching theme is the importance of the ascetical life. For Maximus, askesis is a lifelong endeavor that consists of the struggle and discipline to maintain control over the passions. One engages in the ascetical life by taking part in both theoria (contemplation) and praxis (action). To convey this teaching, Maximus uses a number of pedagogical tools including allegory, etymology, number symbolism, and military terminology. Prassas provides a rich historical and contextual background in her introduction to help ground and familiarize the reader with this work.

Maximus the Confessor

Maximus the Confessor PDF Author: Andrew Louth
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134814917
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
St Maximus the Confessor, the greatest of Byzantine theologians, lived through the most catastrophic period the Byzantine Empire was to experience before the Crusades. This book introduces the reader to the times and upheavals during which Maximus lived. It discusses his cosmic vision of humanity and the role of the church. The study makes available a selection of Maximus' theological treaties many of them translated for the first time. The translations are accompanied by a lucid and informed introduction.

Origen of Alexandria

Origen of Alexandria PDF Author: John Anthony McGuckin
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1978708440
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 185

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Book Description
Origen of Alexandria is the most influential thinker and writer of the Christian church after John the Evangelist and Paul the Apostle. This book charts his momentous impact on the structures, mindset, and doctrines of Christianity, from the third century when he wrote to the twenty-first century when his work has been enthusiastically revisited. It has been a long and enduring influence that has seen his star rise and wane many times over past centuries, but at each critical juncture of Christian reflection over the ages, he has been rediscovered and invariably offered important insights to contemporary issues.

On First Principles

On First Principles PDF Author: Origen
Publisher: Ave Maria Press
ISBN: 0870612808
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 576

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Book Description
Origen’s On First Principles is a foundational work in the development of Christian thought and doctrine: it is the first attempt in history at a systematic Christian theology. For over a decade it has been out of print with only expensive used copies available; now it is available at an affordable price and in a more accessible format. On First Principles is the most important surviving text written by third-century Church father, Origen. Origen wrote in a time when fundamental doctrines had not yet been fully articulated by the Church, and contributed to the very formation of Christianity. Readers see Origen grappling with the mysteries of salvation and brainstorming how they can be understood. This edition presents G. W. Butterworth’s trusted translation in a new, more readable format, retains the introduction by Henri de Lubac, and includes a new foreword by John C. Cavadini. As St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Doctor of the Church, wrote: “Origen is the stone on which all of us were sharpened.”

Byzantine Gospel

Byzantine Gospel PDF Author: Aidan Nichols
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532659822
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
Maximus the Confessor (580–662), giant among early Byzantine theologians, stands at the summit of the Greek patristic tradition. He is spokesman of the Greek-speaking “East” in something of the way Thomas Aquinas came to speak for the Latin “West.” His extreme importance as a spiritual writer is evidenced by the huge space assigned to him in the Philokalia. Believing in the intimate link between dogma and prayer, Maximus opposed the heresies of his day with his own unmatched synthesis of Christian truth. For this, he was persecuted and mutilated, and died in exile. The modern rediscovery of Maximus, begun by Western Christian scholars such as Vittorio Croce, Pierre Piret, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Lars Thunberg, and Juan-Miguel Garrigues, has led to an ever-increasing use of his theology and insights by Orthodox and Catholic theologians throughout Europe and North America. Maximus has also become a central point of reference in Catholic-Orthodox dialogue. Aidan Nichols has provided the English-speaking reader with a reliable guide to the major studies on Maximus done in Europe in the past twenty-five years: the period of “rediscovery.” He reads Maximus through the eyes of those who have studied him in depth, and builds up a multi-faceted portrait of this prince among theologians, and a comprehensive overview of his theology, his “Byzantine Gospel.” Along with a brief biography, and an account of the history of the relevant scholarship, sufficient primary texts have been included to convey a sense of Maximus’ powers both as a summarizer of the previous tradition, and as an original theologian in his own right.

The Oxford Handbook of Maximus the Confessor

The Oxford Handbook of Maximus the Confessor PDF Author: Pauline Allen
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199673837
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 641

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Book Description
Maximus the Confessor (c. 580-662) has become one of the most discussed figures in contemporary studies of Byzantine theology and philosophy. This book integrates for the first time Maximus' works and thought into the history of his life in the politically troubled times of seventh-century Byzantium.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: The Christological Controversy

St. Cyril of Alexandria: The Christological Controversy PDF Author: John A. McGuckin
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004312900
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
St. Cyril of Alexandria: The Christological Controversy describes the turmoil of 5th century Christianity seeking to articulate its beliefs on the person of Christ. The policies of the Theodosian dynasty and the conflicting interests of the patriarchal sees are set as the context of the controversy between Nestorius of Constantinople and Cyril of Alexandria, a bitter dispute that racked the entire oecumene. The historical analysis expounds the arguments of both sides, particularly the Christology of Cyril which was adopted as a standard. Many major texts are presented in new translations, some of which have never before appeared in English. These writings are essential reading in the history of doctrine. The work will be an indispensable resource for all students of the period: theologians and Byzantinists.

Maximus the Confessor

Maximus the Confessor PDF Author: Paul M. Blowers
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199673942
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
This study contextualizes the achievement of a strategically crucial figure in Byzantium's turbulent seventh century, the monk and theologian Maximus the Confessor (580-662). Building on newer biographical research and a growing international body of scholarship, as well as on fresh examination of his diverse literary corpus, Paul Blowers develops a profile integrating the two principal initiatives of Maximus's career: first, his reinterpretation of the christocentric economy of creation and salvation as a framework for expounding the spiritual and ascetical life of monastic and non-monastic Christians; and second, his intensifying public involvement in the last phase of the ancient christological debates, the monothelete controversy, wherein Maximus helped lead an East-West coalition against Byzantine imperial attempts doctrinally to limit Jesus Christ to a single (divine) activity and will devoid of properly human volition. Blowers identifies what he terms Maximus's "cosmo-politeian" worldview, a contemplative and ascetical vision of the participation of all created beings in the novel politeia, or reordered existence, inaugurated by Christ's "new theandric energy". Maximus ultimately insinuated his teaching on the christoformity and cruciformity of the human vocation with his rigorous explication of the precise constitution of Christ's own composite person. In outlining this cosmo-politeian theory, Blowers additionally sets forth a "theo-dramatic" reading of Maximus, inspired by Hans Urs von Balthasar, which depicts the motion of creation and history according to the christocentric "plot" or interplay of divine and creaturely freedoms. Blowers also amplifies how Maximus's cumulative achievement challenged imperial ideology in the seventh century--the repercussions of which cost him his life-and how it generated multiple recontextualizations in the later history of theology.

Apatheia in the Christian Tradition

Apatheia in the Christian Tradition PDF Author: Joseph H. Nguyen SJ
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 153264518X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 94

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Book Description
To many modern people, apatheia (being "without suffering"/"without passion") sounds like cold-heartedness and indifference to others, a condition to be avoided. However, in the classical world and for many in the historic Christian church it was a spiritual state to aspire to. What exactly is apatheia? What is its origin? How has it been used in spiritual writings throughout the centuries of Christian practice? And how may it help us today to articulate a Christian understanding of the soul's spiritual well-being? The central aim of the book is twofold: to rediscover the meaning and function of the Greek term apatheia as it was understood and employed by the Stoics in their philosophical and religious writings, and to explore how the theologians of the church--Origen, Evagrius, John Cassian, Maximus, and Ignatius of Loyola--interpreted apatheia for their spiritual practice. Nguyen argues that the concept of apatheia in the Christian spiritual tradition connotes the state of "spiritual peace" or "well-being" of the human soul wherein excessive and negative emotions--such as lust, excessive desire for food and drink, anger, envy, resentment, self-love, and pride--are replaced by reasonable desires, love, and humility.