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SYNAXIS the Symposium Journal SYNAXIS the symposium journal n. a periodical gathering published by eighth day institute Theophany 2019 Vol. 6, No. 1 U.S. $15 EROS AND THE MYSTERY OF GOD On the Body, Sex & Asceticism EROS & THE MYSTERY OF GOD ON THE BODY, SEX & ASCETICISM EDITED BY Erin Doom EIGHTH DAY INSTITUTE WICHITA, KS 2019 SENIOR EDITOR & DESIGNER Erin Doom BOOK REVIEW EDITORS The Eighth Day Books Crew SYNAXIS is published to promote the renewal of culture through faith and learning. Published by Eighth Day Institute, 2836 E. Douglas, Wichita, KS, 67214, Synaxis is a tri-annual publication, published in conjunction with the annual Eighth Day Symposium in January, the annual Florovsky Week in July, and the annual Eighth Day Books Anniversary celebration at the Inklings Oktoberfest in October. Subscriptions are automatically included with all levels above the “Donor” level of Eighth Day Memberships (see inside back cover for details). Theophany 2019, Volume 6, Number 1. Copyright © 2019 by Eighth Day Institute, a nonprofit corporation. All contributions above the cost of subscription are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. To subscribe, send check or money order to: Eighth Day Institute, 2836 E. Douglas, Wichita, KS, 67214. For credit card subscriptions, visit us online at www.eighthdayinstitute.org or call 316-573-8413. Financial contributions, back issue orders, letters to the editor, manuscript submissions, and inquiries should be directed to our editorial office at Eighth Day Institute, 2836 E. Douglas, Wichita, KS, 67214, or by email to [email protected]. Although Eighth Day Institute and Eighth Day Books have no formal affiliation or financial relationship, our support for each other is mutual and enthusiastic. Our mission of “renewing culture through faith and learning” is carried out through not-for-profit educational endeavors that seek to accomplish what Eighth Day Books does as a for-profit business through book sales: connect people to classics which shed light on ultimate questions and expose people to the teachings of the Holy Fathers. WRITE THE EDITOR We welcome letters of all sorts: encouragement, critique, thoughtful reflections on the renewal of culture, or any other sort of letter you may compose. Length should be limited to 300 words and may be edited for clarity and length. E-MAIL US: [email protected] WRITE US: 2836 E. Douglas, Wichita, KS, 67214 CALL US: 316.573.8413 ADVERTISE WITH US: [email protected] With tears Abba Zosimas said, “O mother, filled with the spirit, by your mode of life it is evident that you live with God and have died to the world. The Grace granted to you is apparent—for you have called me by name and recognized that I am a priest, though you have never seen me before. Grace is not recognized by one’s orders, but by gifts of the Spirit, so give me your blessing, for I need your prayers.” ~The Life of St. Mary of Egypt TABLE of CONTENTS the LETTERS et alia A Unique Community of Inquiry & Fellowship by Hans Boersma 2 The Past, the Present & the Future by Joshua Sturgill 2 A Statement on Cultural Renewal by Ralph Wood 3 the DIRECTOR’S DESK Renewing Language: Eros, Body, Sex & Asceticism as Glorious Words by Erin M. Doom 6 Neo-Patristic Synthesis: A New Theological Mission by Erin M. Doom 8 Neo-Patristic Synthesis: An Ascetic & PhiloKalic Endeavor by Erin M. Doom 14 Veronica by Joshua Sturgill 17 the ESSAYS The Hatred of Purity by Frederica Mathewes-Green 20 The Ascetics of Authenticity by Ben T. Davis 22 God Is Agape & Eros: Benedict XVI’s Message for a Made World by Matthew Umbarger 25 Deus Caritas Est: God Is Love by Pope Benedict XVI 27 Notes Towards a DeOinition of Patriarchy by Joshua Sturgill 32 Christianity & Sex by Christopher Dawson 34 Same-Sex Eroticism: A Scriptural Perspective by Edith M. Humphrey 41 The Mystery of Love by Alexander Schmemann 46 the REVIEWS Christianity & Eros Revisited: MaKing Love as Sacramental Act by Hans Boersma 54 The Mysteries of Attraction by Christopher Lasch 56 Theosis & Eros, Celibacy & Marriage by Adam Cooper 59 Figural Reading: A Disruptive Christian Practice by Geoffrey R. Boyle 62 Solomon’s Erotic Imagination by Scott Cairns 63 TABLE of CONTENTS the INKLINGS and friends Marriage & the Modern Mind by G. K. Chesterton 66 Romantic Theology by Charles Williams 69 The Erotic Hero by W. H. Auden 72 Going to Church by Coventry Patmore 73 the FATHERS The First Homily on the Song of Songs by Origen 76 Exposition of the Song of Songs by St. Gregory the Great 77 Homily One: Song of Songs 1:1-4 by St. Gregory of Nyssa 80 A Compendium on the Song of Songs by Alcuin of York 85 Homily Two: Song of Songs 2:4-7 by Origen 87 Theology of the Body: On the Song of Songs by Pope St. John Paul II 89 On Charity by St. Maximus the Confessor 92 Hymn 16 by St. Symeon the New Theologian 94 the TRADITION Song of Songs 1:1-7 by Solomon 96 The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony: Orthodox Christian Services 96 The Life of St. Mary of Egypt by St. Sophronius of Jerusalem 101 The Synodical Letter: Christological Profession by St. Sophronius of Jerusalem 106 the ECUMENICAL WORD Thoughts After Lambeth: Ecumenism & Cultural Renewal by T. S. Eliot 110 Listen & Translate: Two Gifts to Ecumenism by W. H. Auden 111 A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say. --Italo Calvino JOIN THE CONVERSATION... ONLINE: www.eighthdaybooks.com eighth day REQUEST OUR CATALOG: 1.800.841.2541 or 316.683.9446 BOOKS VISIT OUR STORE: classics in religion, philosophy, 2838 East Douglas / Wichita, KS 67214 history and literature the LETTERS et alia Letter writing is the only device for combining solitude with good company. ~Lord Byron 2 SYNAXIS 6.1 WINTER CAMPAIGN LETTER No sense beating around the bush: you need to become a donor! When you support the Eighth A Unique Community Day Institute, you’re taken up into a unique of Inquiry & Fellowship community of inquiry and fellowship. Not yet convinced? Go and visit Wichita! When you d attend one of the Eighth Day events you’ll never Hans Boersma want to leave. Why not? The Eighth Day folks A. D. 2018 don’t just talk about sacramental ontology. They practice it. NOT TOO long ago, a friend asked me, “What’s your favorite place to go to for a conference?” I didn’t have to think about the answer. “Wichita, Kansas,” I immediately responded. Anyone who has ever attended one of the events put on by the Eighth Day Institute will straightaway nod in agreement. Of course, the answer would be WINTER CAMPAIGN LETTER Wichita, Kansas. The reason? Wichita is the place where The Past, the Present & the Future contemporary saints mingle with the saints of d old. It’s an absolutely lovely place, where the line Joshua Sturgill between heaven and earth becomes strangely A. D. 2018 thin. Whenever I listen to Erin Doom hold forth on Georges Florovsky or when I browse the OUR FIRST tasks were stripping old carpet stacks of Warren Farha’s Eighth Day Books, I feel and tile off the floors and hanging a ladder from like the Unicorn: “I have come home at last! This the ceiling to prepare the space we'd already is my real country! I belong here.” decided would be called The Ladder. Back then, You’ll know what I mean when you attend an our working title was The St. John of Damascus Eighth Day Symposium. Unfeigned hospitality Institute, which would have The Ladder as its and genuine friendship, depth of genuine headquarters and primary gathering place. Now, theological conversation across traditions, beer of course, the walls are flush with icons, and meals, sacred icons and otherworldly chants photographs, and paper copies of famous —it’s all part of what makes a Symposium in heroes. But when we held our first Hall of Men, Kansas unlike any other get-together. In other the walls were bare, and our few icons (still there!) words, it’s not just the things they officially sat expectantly on the mantle, waiting to be organize; it’s rather the unfailing intuition of joined by a cloud of witnesses. Before the Eighth what truly matters—theologically, culturally, Day Symposium, before the Sisters of Sophia or aesthetically, and socially. the Inklings Festival, and before a website chock- And, lest I be misunderstood, let me spell it full of content, we were just a few friends out: the importance of the Eighth Day Institute discussing Erin Doom’s vision of cultural renewal isn’t just that it gives visitors a taste of heaven on starting locally and bringing like-minded folks earth. No, the activities, events, and publications into a timeless conversation. give our culture a glimpse of what life together can To have continued in this vision, despite all be like. That’s why, when you visit the Eighth Day the cultural and financial obstacles, is a testament Institute, you don’t just thank God for a great both to Erin’s tenacity and to the courage of the event; you end up praying that the Eighth Day EDI community. The surrounding culture is, if Institute may reach numerous hearts and minds. anything, more chaotic and distorted than it was a decade ago. Yet the work of renewal continues. EIGHTH DAY INSTITUTE visit us at www.eighthdayinstitute.org THEOPHANY 2019 3 Just as at the beginning, Eighth Day Institute is turned into a ‘cult’ in the bad sense.
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