DOCSLIB.ORG

Deification According to Maximos the Confessor and the Transformation of Aristotelian Ethics

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Deification According to Maximos the Confessor and the Transformation of Aristotelian Ethics “THE SUBSTANCE OF THE VIRTUES”: DEIFICATION ACCORDING TO MAXIMOS THE CONFESSOR AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF ARISTOTELIAN ETHICS BY Luis Josué Salés BA, Wheaton College, 2010 MA, Wheaton College, 2010 MTS, Boston College, 2012 ThM, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, 2013 DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY AT FORDHAM UNIVERSITY NEW YORK DECEMBER, 2018 ProQuest Number:10744253 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ProQuest 10744253 Published by ProQuest LLC ( 2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346 A la memoria de mi padre, Sergio Salés Reyes (1952–2016) 2 CONTENTS Introduction . 4 Part One: Maximos’ Historical-Social and Personal Background . 13 Chapter One: Specters of Aristotle: Christian Intellectual Identity Formation and the Transformation of Aristotle’s Philosophy . 14 Chapter Two: Maximos of Alexandria: An Unread Life of Maximos the Confessor . 42 Part Two: Maximo’s Metaphysics, Ethics, and Doctrine of Deification . 70 Chapter Three: Aristotle, Maximos, and the Logic of Being . 71 Chapter Four: Becoming a Divine Human: The Confessor’s Moral Psychology and the Ethical Dialectics of Person and Nature . 101 Chapter Five: The Day after the Sabbath: Virtue, Active Passivity, and Deification. 145 Conclusion . 164 Bibliography . 171 Abstract Vita 3 INTRODUCTION This dissertation studies the relationship between virtue and deification in the thought of the ascetic intellectual Maximos the Confessor (580–662). It would be no exaggeration to note that Maximian studies enjoyed a renaissance in the twentieth century on which the twenty-first century built an impressive collection of outstanding monographs and articles. So, while I concur with Aidan Nichols that the (western European) modern study of Maximos the Confessor can be traced to 1857, when Karl Joseph Hefele published “Sophronius und Maximus über die zwei Willen in Christus” in the Theologische Quartalschrift and Klaus Oehler released his edition of the Confessor’s most important work, the Difficulties (or Ambigua), concerted intercontinental interest in his work only developed in earnest in the wake of the Second World War. For the following decades, the work of Maximos was studied from a wide variety of historical, theological, and philosophical subfields or for thematic threads, including Christology, spirituality, ecclesiology, anthropology, the essence-energies distinction, the politics of the seventh century in the Roman Empire, deification, and the perennial question regarding his relation to Classical and Hellenistic thought and, specifically, to so-called “Neoplatonism.”1 To date, however, no study extensively considers the interrelationship between his aretology (i.e., doctrine of virtue) and deification despite their prominence in his theological and philosophical system. Certainly, studies of one or the other theme, largely in isolation from each other, have been penned. For instance, Jean-Claude Larchet’s encyclopedic La divinisation de l’homme selon Saint Maxime le Confesseur (1996), a volume nearly eight hundred pages in length, remains a field-defining piece of Maximian scholarship, specifically with regard to deification. But even here, Larchet does not explore the relationship between virtue and deification in depth.2 Needless to say, far from being a shortcoming of his study, this absence bespeaks Larchet’s regard for a manageable scope. Regardless, the gap remains. Further, the methodological approaches to Maximos’ work have, with a few very recent exceptions, remained in the tradition of an exclusively historical-theological mode of analysis. This method certainly enjoys considerable explanatory power for some, but surely not all, aspects of the Confessor’s oeuvre. Thus, while numerous other aspects and figures in early Christianity have been explored by means of critical-theoretical modes of analysis, these modes’ usefulness for illumining Maximos’ thought-world have yet to be substantively probed.3 Accordingly, in what follows I avail myself of a 1 For Christology see: Tollefsen, Christocentric Cosmology, Bathrellos, Byzantine Christ, García, “Seréis como dioses,” Zañartu, “Las naturalezas.” For spirituality, see: Völker, Maximus Confessor, Blowers, Exegesis, Dalmais, “L’anthropologie spirituelle,” “L’oeuvre spirituelle,” and “La doctrine ascétique,” Hausherr, Philautie, Montmasson, “La doctrine,” 36–41, Viller, “Aux sources,” 156–184, 239–68, 331–336. Wilken, “Maximus the Confessor,” in Wimbush and Valantasis, 412–423. For ecclesiology see: Riou, Le monde et l’église. For anthropology see: Prado, Voluntad y naturaleza, Renczes, Agir de Dieu, Thunberg, Microcosm and Mediator, De Angelis, Natura, persona, libertà, Mondin, L’uomo secondo il disegno di Dio, Kattan, Verleiblichung und Synergie. For the essence-energies distinction, see: Larchet, Le théologie des énergies divines, Karayiannis, Maxime le Confesseur. For his involvement in seventh-century politics, see: Lackner, “Der Amtstitel,” 63–65, Booth, Crisis of Empire, Pareti, “Verdi e azzurri,” 305–315, Olster, The Politics of Usurpation, Riedinger, “Die Lateran Synode,” in Heinzer and von Schönborn. For his doctrine of deification see: Savvidis, Die Lehre, Larchet, La divinisation, Perl, “Methexis,” Jili, “The Doctrine of Theosis.” For his relationship to “Neoplatonism”, see: Moore, “The Christian Neoplatonism,” Von Ivánka, Plato Christianus, Wolfson, Philosophy of the Church Fathers. 2 See e.g., Larchet, La divinisation, 482–488. 3 Paul Blower’s recent monograph, Maximus the Confessor (2016) is perhaps a pioneer in this regard in that he uses Jean- Luc Marion’s “saturated phenomenon” to illumine Maximos’ liturgical theology. 4 constellation of methods, including certain features of historical theology, critical and comparative philology, and literary analysis. But I will also adapt the critical angles of Hispanic post- and decolonial theory, as constructed, for example, by Leopoldo Zea, Ramón Grosfoguel, and Santiago Castro- Gómez, to expose an array of colonial assumptions and prejudices at work in the historiography of philosophy in late antiquity. I also turn to some of Michel Foucault’s and Michel de Certeau’s insights into “technologies” or “practices” of the self to elucidate Maximos’ ascetic doctrine and will combine this analysis with Derridean grammatology to explain the dynamic model of virtue as Maximos envisions it. The methodological salience of these choices requires some elucidation. Foucault and de Certeau investigated, in their own way, the various acts that the self can perform on the self to pattern the self on a certain desirable model. In this regard, Foucault’s idea of “technologies of the self” is especially important, because he believes that the human subject can “attain” certain states by means of these technologies.4 As we will see, that is true for some early Christians and late ancient non-Christian philosophers, but it does not aptly describe the constitutive dynamism of Maximos’ aretology. Rather, Michel de Certeau paints a somewhat different picture (though, admittedly, for a different context). In La invention du quotidien, de Certeau describes the scene of a tightrope balancing act where the appearance of stability can only be achieved by an incessant process of adjustments and interventions. Thus, stability is a paradoxically-formed illusion that relies on an incessant dynamism and process of recalibration to create the semblance of fixity.5 This image bears striking resemblances to Derridean grammatology and poststructuralist linguistics generally.6 On Derrida’s analysis, language does not signify by an ontological or necessary link between signifier and signified; rather, following de Saussure’s “first principle” articulated in his Cours de linguistique générale,7 Derrida held that the link between these two is entirely arbitrary. Accordingly, signification is made possible by an infinite network of differences that mark a language’s simultaneous sedimentation and correlative insufficiency. While repeated use of certain phrases and linguistic conventions creates the appearance of fixity by the sedimentation of linguistic practices, language is always liable to change and can thus be otherwise. In my study, I ask whether such a model of linguistics may also share a parallel with Maximos’ ethics that can by extension illumine the dynamics at play in “becoming virtuous.” In other words, what does it mean “to be” virtuous? Can one “attain” the “state,” as Foucault called it, of virtue? Or is it, rather, that one negotiates one’s ethical identity from step to step on an infinite, heavenward tightrope of moral discourse that is both the condition of and for an elusive virtue? The fluidity of language as described by poststructuralist linguists has great appeal for elucidating this dynamic model of ethics. After all, if virtue must be interstitially negotiated by means of certain practices of the self, the teleological
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Continuity and Tradition: the Prominent Role of Cyrillian Christology In
    Jacopo Gnisci Jacopo Gnisci CONTINUITY AND TRADITION: THE PROMINENT ROLE OF CYRILLIAN CHRISTOLOGY IN FIFTEENTH AND SIXTEENTH CENTURY ETHIOPIA The Ethiopian Tewahedo Church is one of the oldest in the world. Its clergy maintains that Christianity arrived in the country during the first century AD (Yesehaq 1997: 13), as a result of the conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch, narrated in the Acts of the Apostles (8:26-39). For most scholars, however, the history of Christianity in the region begins with the conversion of the Aksumite ruler Ezana, approximately during the first half of the fourth century AD.1 For historical and geographical reasons, throughout most of its long history the Ethiopian Church has shared strong ties with Egypt and, in particular, with the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. For instance, a conspicuous part of its literary corpus, both canonical and apocryphal, is drawn from Coptic sources (Cerulli 1961 67:70). Its liturgy and theology were also profoundly affected by the developments that took place in Alexandria (Mercer 1970).2 Furthermore, the writings of one of the most influential Alexandrian theologians, Cyril of Alexandria (c. 378-444), played a particularly significant role in shaping Ethiopian theology .3 The purpose of this paper is to highlight the enduring importance and influence of Cyril's thought on certain aspects of Ethiopian Christology from the early developments of Christianity in the country to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Its aim, therefore, is not to offer a detailed examination of Cyril’s work, or more generally of Ethiopian Christology. Rather, its purpose is to emphasize a substantial continuity in the traditional understanding of the nature of Christ amongst Christian 1 For a more detailed introduction to the history of Ethiopian Christianity, see Kaplan (1982); Munro-Hay (2003).
    [Show full text]
  • Origen of Alexandria and St. Maximus the Confessor: an Analysis and Critical Evaluation of Their Eschatological Doctrines
    Origen of Alexandria and St. Maximus the Confessor: An Analysis and Critical Evaluation of Their Eschatological Doctrines by Edward Moore ISBN: 1-58112-261-6 DISSERTATION.COM Boca Raton, Florida USA • 2005 Origen of Alexandria and St. Maximus the Confessor: An Analysis and Critical Evaluation of Their Eschatological Doctrines Copyright © 2004 Edward Moore All rights reserved. Dissertation.com Boca Raton, Florida USA • 2005 ISBN: 1-58112-261-6 Origen of Alexandria and St. Maximus the Confessor: An Analysis and Critical Evaluation of Their Eschatological Doctrines By Edward Moore, S.T.L., Ph.D. Table of Contents LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................VI ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................VII PREFACE.....................................................................................................................VIII INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 ORIGEN, MAXIMUS, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF ESCHATOLOGY ....................................... 1 THE HISTORY AND IMPORTANCE OF ESCHATOLOGY IN CHRISTIAN THOUGHT – SOME BRIEF REMARKS. ............................................................................................................. 3 CHAPTER 1: ORIGEN’S INTELLECTUAL BACKGROUND................................... 15 BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH......................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Gnomic Will’ (Θέλημα Γνωμικόν, Or Just Γνώμη)
    OUP UNCORRECTED PROOF – FIRSTPROOFS, Tue Nov 11 2014, NEWGEN chapter 26 The Theology of the Will ian A. mcfarland There are few things more valued in the modern world than freedom. Political dis- course is shaped by it, as shown by the degree to which political campaigns and pub- lic policy are framed in terms of the need to counter threats to freedom on both the national and international levels. Economic theory is also defined by it, as seen both in the resources devoted to securing ‘free trade’ agreements among nations and in the way that advertisements appeal to the consumer to exercise—and thereby confirm—her freedom in selecting one product over another. Within this increasingly globalized cul- tural matrix, to be a person is to be free, and to be free is to be able to choose—whether among actual items visible on a shelf or possible futures envisioned in the mind. Freedom is understood as a matter of radical self-determination, and on every side we are encouraged to think that exercising such freedom is our most fundamental calling— the proper fulfilment of our humanity. Freedom was also very important for early Christians. The Graeco-Roman cul- tural context within which Christianity emerged was deeply shaped by different types of fatalism. Human life was understood to be subject to an array of forces beyond the individual’s control, and a variety of means were used to cope with them, ranging from the popular use of amulets and spells to philosophers’ efforts to secure a spirit of indif- ference in the face of fortune’s slings and arrows.
    [Show full text]
  • OCTOBER 2019 for His Name Alone Is Exalted! Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church Rev
    Let them praise the Name of the LORD! OCTOBER 2019 For His Name alone is exalted! Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church Rev. Father John Beal Sunday Services 8:50 AM Matins – 10:00 AM Divine Liturgy 43404 30th St. W, Lancaster, California 93536 Website: www.stsch.org – Church Phone: 661-945-1212 For confirmation on any event, please phone or text Sylva Robinson at 661-794-8307 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 Great Vespers 7 PM 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 3RD Sunday of Luke Luke 7:11-16 Church School Classes Start Festival Celebration Luncheon 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Holy Fathers Great 7TH Synod Vespers Luke 8:5-15 7 PM 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 6TH Sunday of Luke Feed the Luke 8:26-39 Hungry 8:30-10:30AM Parish Council 27 28 29 30 31 TH 7 Sunday of Luke Holy Luke 8:41-56 Protection of the Theotokos CHURCH CALENDAR FOR OCTOBER 20191 Fast Wednesdays and Fridays this month. See fasting guideline below. Tue 1 Holy Protection of the Most-Holy Theotokos (Greece celebrates on Oct 28th) St. Romanos the Melodist. Apostle Ananias of the 70. St. John Cucuzelis Hieromartyr Cyprian, the former Sorcerer, and Virgin martyr Justina. St. Damaris of Athens. St. Theodore Gabra, the soldier. Thu 3 Hieromartyr Dionysios the Areopagite, 1st Bishop of Athens. Hieromartyr Hierotheos, Bishop of Athens. St. Ammon of Egypt, disciple of St. Paul. Martyr Domnina Sat 5 Martyr Charitina. Righteous Methodia of Cimolos.
    [Show full text]
  • Saint Maximus the Confessor and His Defense of Papal Primacy
    Love that unites and vanishes: Saint Maximus the Confessor and his defense of papal primacy Author: Jason C. LaLonde Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:108614 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. Boston College Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, 2019 Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. Love that Unites and Vanishes: Saint Maximus the Confessor and his Defense of Papal Primacy Thesis for the Completion of the Licentiate in Sacred Theology Boston College School of Theology and Ministry Fr. Jason C. LaLonde, S.J. Readers: Fr. Brian Dunkle, S.J., BC-STM Dr. Adrian Walker, Catholic University of America May 3, 2019 2 Introduction 3 Chapter One: Maximus’s Palestinian Provenance: Overcoming the Myth of the Greek Life 10 Chapter Two: From Monoenergism to Monotheletism: The Role of Honorius 32 Chapter Three: Maximus on Roman Primacy and his Defense of Honorius 48 Conclusion 80 Appendix – Translation of Opusculum 20 85 Bibliography 100 3 Introduction The current research project stems from my work in the course “Latin West, Greek East,” taught by Fr. Brian Dunkle, S.J., at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry in the fall semester of 2016. For that course, I translated a letter of Saint Maximus the Confessor (580- 662) that is found among his works known collectively as the Opuscula theologica et polemica.1 My immediate interest in the text was Maximus’s treatment of the twin heresies of monoenergism and monotheletism. As I made progress
    [Show full text]
  • Maximus the Confessor and a Deeper Actualization of the Apostolic Dimensions of Pentecostal Movements
    Digital Commons @ George Fox University Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary Portland Seminary 2014 Maximus the Confessor and a Deeper Actualization of the Apostolic Dimensions of Pentecostal Movements Steve Overman Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/gfes Part of the History of Christianity Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons BLOOD CRIES OUT Pentecostals, Ecology, and the Groans of Creation EDITED BY A. J. SWOBODA �PICKWICK Publications • Eugene, Oregon 6 Maximus the Confessor and a Deeper Actualization of the Apostolic Dimensions of Pentecostal Movements Steve Overman In his now famous and controversial 1967 lecture, “The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis,” medieval historian and Presbyterian layman Lynn White, Jr. suggested that many of the unhealthy and unsustainable attitudes toward and treatment of nature found in modern times were to a great extent made possible by the dogmas of especially medieval and modern western Christianity. In contrast to older pagan systems, which viewed humankind as one part of a much larger and animated whole, from the perspective of these dogmas human beings could be seen as separate from and superior to nature and free to objectify and exploit it for their own ends. In light of this, White challenged the churches to “rethink” how their faith might lead them to view their relationship with nature, calling them to move beyond exploitation, and even notions of “stewardship,” to a deeper mutuality he termed “a spiritual democracy of all God’s crea- tures.” As possible alternative Christian resources for this reform, White 98 maximus the confessor 99 called attention especially to St.
    [Show full text]
  • What Do We Owe to the Reformation?’ J C Ryle ‘Why Protestant Truth Still Matters’ Garry Williams
    PROTESTANT TRUTH September–October 2017 • Vol 23, No 5 What we owe to the Is the Son of God eternally subordinate Would we invite Luther to Reformation Page 81 to the Father? Page 87 our church? Page A96 Head Office 184 Fleet Street London EC4A 2HJ Tel: 020 7405 4960 [email protected] www.protestanttruth.com All subscriptions, changes of address and circulation queries should be addressed to the Head Office Honorary Editor Edward Malcolm 96 Price Martin Luther £1.75 per copy (bi-monthly) Subscription (per annum including postage) UK £14.00 81 What we owe to the Reformation Non-UK (Air) £18.00 83 In the News Non-UK (Surface) £15.00 85 Comfort in Christ’s leaving Advertising 87 Is the Son of God eternally subordinate to Approved advertisements welcomed the Father? Full page £80.00 91 Wickliffe Preacher engagements Half page £55.00 Quarter page £40.00 92 Children’s Page 94 Thomas Cranmer and the Bankers Bank of Scotland authority of Scripture London Chief Office 96 Protestant Perspectives PO Box 1000 BX2 1LB 97 Book Review Sort Code 12–01–03 Account Number 00652676 Registered Charity Number 248505 Cover photograph © 2011 Roland Fischer What we owe to the Reformation The Editor ow important is the Protestant Refor- John. Even these parts are not complete, due to mation to you? Five hundred years have the ravages of age. Beza gave the manuscript be- H passed since Martin Luther published cause religious wars in Europe posed a real dan- his 95 Theses. Our modern age considers events ger to the survival of much of the source material that old to be of no relevance; we have a very for the Reformation.
    [Show full text]
  • Durham E-Theses
    Durham E-Theses Methodios I patriarch of Constantinople: churchman, politician and confessor for the faith Bithos, George P. How to cite: Bithos, George P. (2001) Methodios I patriarch of Constantinople: churchman, politician and confessor for the faith, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/4239/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 METHODIOS I PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE Churchman, Politician and Confessor for the Faith Submitted by George P. Bithos BS DDS University of Durham Department of Theology A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Orthodox Theology and Byzantine History 2001 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published in any form, including' Electronic and the Internet, without the author's prior written consent All information derived from this thesis must be acknowledged appropriately.
    [Show full text]
  • Retrieval and the Doing of Theology
    Volume 23 · Number 2 Summer 2019 Retrieval and the Doing of Theology Vol. 23 • Num. 2 Retrieval and the Doing of Theology Stephen J. Wellum 3 Editorial: Reflections on Retrieval and the Doing of Theology Kevin J. Vanhoozer 7 Staurology, Ontology, and the Travail of Biblical Narrative: Once More unto the Biblical Theological Breach Stephen J. Wellum 35 Retrieval, Christology, and Sola Scriptura Gregg R. Allison 61 The Prospects for a “Mere Ecclesiology” Matthew Barrett 85 Will the Son Rise on a Fourth Horizon? The Heresy of Contemporaneity within Evangelical Biblicism and the Return of the Hermeneutical Boomerang for Dogmatic Exegesis Peter J. Gentry 105 A Preliminary Evaluation and Critique of Prosopological Exegesis Pierre Constant 123 Promise, Law, and the Gospel: Reading the Biblical Narrative with Paul SBJT Forum 137 Gregg R. Allison 157 Four Theses Concerning Human Embodiment Book Reviews 181 Editor-in-Chief: R. Albert Mohler, Jr. • Editor: Stephen J. Wellum • Associate Editor: Brian Vickers • Book Review Editor: John D. Wilsey • Assistant Editor: Brent E. Parker • Editorial Board: Matthew J. Hall, Hershael York, Paul Akin, Timothy Paul Jones, Kody C. Gibson • Typographer: Benjamin Aho • Editorial Office: SBTS Box 832, 2825 Lexington Rd., Louisville, KY 40280, (800) 626-5525, x 4413 • Editorial E-Mail: [email protected] Editorial: Reflections on Retrieval and the Doing of Theology Stephen J. Wellum Stephen J. Wellum is Professor of Christian Theology at The Southern Baptist Theo- logical Seminary and editor of Southern Baptist
    [Show full text]
  • The Second Church Schism
    The Second Church Schism Outline h Review: First Schism h Chalcedonian Orthodox Churches h Second Schism h Eastern Orthodox Churches h Unity Between the 2 Orthodox Families The First Schism h Eutychus’ heresy: > One divine nature (monophysitism) h St. Dioscorus; (St. Cyril’s teachings): > “One nature of God the Word incarnate” (miaphysitism) > “Divine nature and Human nature are united (μία, mia - "one" or "unity") in a compound nature ("physis"), the two being united without separation, without mixture, without confusion, and without alteration.” h Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.) > Non-Chalcedonian (East): Alexandria, Jerusalem, Antioch > Chalcedonian (West): Rome and Constantinople Non-Chalcedonian Orthodox Churches h Coptic Orthodox h Syrian Orthodox h Armenian Orthodox h Indian Orthodox h Ethiopian Orthodox h Eritrean Church h All these churches are one family, one in faith, and in the communion of the mysteries. Chalcedonian Orthodox Churches h Group of Churches, which recognize the council of Chalcedon and its canons. >2 Major Sees: Rome, Constantinople >Adopts the formula "in two natures" (dyophysitism) in expressing its faith in the Lord Christ. >Remained united until the eleventh century AD. Chalcedonian Orthodox Churches h They held four additional major councils which they consider ecumenical. >Chalcedonian Orthodox consider seven ecumenical councils as authoritative teaching concerning faith and practice: • Nicea, 325 AD; • Constantinople, 381 AD; • Ephesus, 431 AD; • Chalcedon, 451 AD; • 2nd Constantinople, 553 AD; • 3rd Constantinople, 68O-681 AD; • 2nd Nicea, 787AD. Council in Trullo (Quinisext) in 692 h Held under Byzantine auspices, excluded Rome >Took the practices of the Church of Constantinople as “Orthodox”, condemned Western practices: • using wine unmixed with water for the Eucharist (canon 32), • choosing children of clergy for appointment as clergy (canon 33), • eating eggs and cheese on Saturdays and Sundays of Lent (canon 56) • fasting on Saturdays of Lent (canon 55).
    [Show full text]
  • Revisiting the Franciscan Doctrine of Christ
    Theological Studies 64 (2003) REVISITING THE FRANCISCAN DOCTRINE OF CHRIST ILIA DELIO, O.S.F. [Franciscan theologians posit an integral relation between Incarna- tion and Creation whereby the Incarnation is grounded in the Trin- ity of love. The primacy of Christ as the fundamental reason for the Incarnation underscores a theocentric understanding of Incarnation that widens the meaning of salvation and places it in a cosmic con- tent. The author explores the primacy of Christ both in its historical context and with a contemporary view toward ecology, world reli- gions, and extraterrestrial life, emphasizing the fullness of the mys- tery of Christ.] ARL RAHNER, in his remarkable essay “Christology within an Evolu- K tionary View of the World,” noted that the Scotistic doctrine of Christ has never been objected to by the Church’s magisterium,1 although one might add, it has never been embraced by the Church either. Accord- ing to this doctrine, the basic motive for the Incarnation was, in Rahner’s words, “not the blotting-out of sin but was already the goal of divine freedom even apart from any divine fore-knowledge of freely incurred guilt.”2 Although the doctrine came to full fruition in the writings of the late 13th-century philosopher/theologian John Duns Scotus, the origins of the doctrine in the West can be traced back at least to the 12th century and to the writings of Rupert of Deutz. THE PRIMACY OF CHRIST TRADITION The reason for the Incarnation occupied the minds of medieval thinkers, especially with the rise of Anselm of Canterbury and his satisfaction theory.
    [Show full text]
  • A Chalcedonian Argument Against Cartesian Dualism R
    A Chalcedonian Argument Against Cartesian Dualism R. Lucas Stamps R. Lucas Stamps is assistant professor of Christian Studies in the Online and Professional Studies division at California Baptist University in Riverside, California. He earned his Ph.D. in systematic theology from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Stamps is the author of several forthcoming articles and essays, including a contribution to the forthcoming volume emerging from the 2015 Los Angeles Theology Conference to be published by Zondervan. Introduction Determinations about the constitution of human persons are notoriously difficult. Christian theologians and philosophers who investigate this issue are faced with a host of complicated biblical, theological, philosophical, historical, scientific, and practical questions. One of the most pressing of these questions concerns the precise relation between the body and the mind. Are human persons essentially spiritual beings, material beings, or some combination of the two? Contemporary opinions on this question typically fall into one of two broad categories: dualism and physicalism in their various manifestations.1 Among dualisms, Caretesian dualism seems to enjoy a certain pride of place. Cartesians sometimes consider their view not only the most common position in Christian history but also the most intuitive position across human cultures.2 According to Cartesian dualism, a human person “just is” a human soul. The person is identifiable with the immaterial, substantially simple soul. While the soul and body may inter- act with one another in important and reciprocal ways, the body is not the person, nor even a constitutive part of the person, but merely a contingently possessed tool or instrument of the person.3 As some have put it, “You do SBJT 19.1 (2015): 53-66 53 The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 19.1 (2015) not have a soul.
    [Show full text]