CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Texas A&M University THE RHETORIC OF HOMILETICS: PREACHING, PERSUASION, AND THE CAPPADOCIAN FATHERS A Dissertation by CATHERINE LORELEI RILEY Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Chair of Committee, Kristan Poirot Co-Chair of Committee, Jennifer Jones Barbour Committee Members, Martin J. Medhurst Daniel L. Schwartz Head of Department, J. Kevin Barge December 2015 Major Subject: Communication Copyright 2015 Catherine L. Riley ABSTRACT This dissertation investigates the rhetoric of preaching. The project entails understanding and overcoming pejorative perspectives of rhetoric and limited perspectives of preaching that imbue public discourse, scholarship on homiletics, and historical accounts of preaching and preachers. This dissertation focuses on the fourth- century homilies of the Cappadocian Fathers (Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa). The argument is made that preaching is profoundly rhetorical in nature, both practically and theoretically. Three internal chapters support this argument and construct this dissertation as both a rhetorical history and a rhetorical criticism research project. Chapter One introduces the aims, perspectives, and approaches of the project. Chapter Two presents broad and specific historical context necessary for understanding the rhetorical insights, arguments, and theories advanced in the subsequent chapters. Chapter Three illustrates in fine detail some of the practical implications of acknowledging the rhetorical nature of preaching and preachers. Chapter Four further pursues the theoretical corollary of the argument by establishing the deeply rhetorical origins of the preaching role and form. Chapter Five summarizes the findings, contributions, and limitations of this dissertation and outlines directions for future research. Combined, these chapters comprise a dissertation that is intended to enrich scholars’ and practitioners’ knowledge of the relationship between rhetoric and homiletics. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This completed dissertation serves as a visual representation of the love of many people. Behind each chapter, each page, and each word are individuals who led me to the ideas and helped me to convey them. My parents first introduced me to church and ensured I heard a homily each and every Sunday. My elementary teachers taught me to recognize Bible verses and see their applications. My high school teachers helped me to see religion broadly, from a catholic perspective. My professors at Wake Forest University showed me how to integrate my personal interests into rhetorical research. My department at Texas A&M University gave me the thoughtful guidance and extra resources necessary to conduct religious rhetorical research. My husband, my sisters, my family, and my friends showered me with listening ears, support, and cheers at all the most-needed times. For all these individuals I am forever grateful. Above all, though, I give my thanks to God. Through this dissertation, He has taught me invaluable lessons in hope, patience, and faith. iii “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 iv NOMENCLATURE For the purpose of brevity, the in-text citations of homilies within this study follow the pattern of citing an abbreviation of the source name, followed by a homily identification and page number. To identify homilies and avoid confusion, I use the label they are given in the volume cited, which most often is a number but occasionally is a name only. Because only some volumes include sectional numeration of homilies, I have opted to refer to pagination. This allows for all homily citations to be both clear and consistent. B Gregory of Nyssa. Homilies on the Beatitudes. Trans. George Stuart Hall. Ed. Hubertus R. Drobner and Albert Viciano. London: Brill, 2000. Print. CDP Basil. On Christian Doctrine and Practice. Trans. Mark DelCogliano. Popular Patristics Series, No. 47. Yonkers, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2012. Print. E Gregory of Nyssa. Homilies on Ecclesiastes. Trans. Stuart George Hall and Rachel Moriarty. New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1993. Print. EH Basil. Exegetic Homilies. Trans. Sister Agnes Clare Way. The Fathers of the Church Series, Vol. 46. Washington DC: Catholic University of America, 2003. Print. FF Basil. On Fasting and Feasts. Trans. Susan R. Holman and Mark DelCogliano. Popular Patristics Series, No. 50. Yonkers, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2013. Print. HC Basil. On the Human Condition. Trans. Nonna Verna Harrison. Popular Patristics Series, No. 30. Crestwood, NY: St, Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2005. Print. v LP Gregory of Nyssa. The Lord’s Prayer, The Beatitudes. Trans. Hilda C. Graef. Ancient Christian Writers Series of Catholic University of America, No. 18. New York, NY: Paulist Press, 1954. Print. SJ Basil. On Social Justice. Trans. C. Paul Schroeder. Popular Patristics Series, No. 38. Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2009. Print. SO Gregory of Nazianzus. Select Orations. Trans. Martha Vinson. The Fathers of the Church Series, Vol. 107. Washington DC: Catholic University of America, 2003. Print. SOG Gregory of Nazianzus. Select Orations of Gregory Nazianzen. Trans. Charles Gordon Browne and James Edward Swallow. In A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Ser. 2, Vol. 7. Ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. New York: Cosimo Classics, 2007. Print. SS Gregory of Nyssa. Homilies on the Song of Songs. Trans. Richard A. Norris. Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2012. Print. WL Gregory of Nyssa. Select Writings and Letters of Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa. Trans. William Moore and Henry Austin Wilson. In A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Ser. 2, Vol. 5. Ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979. Print. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. iii DEDICATION...................................................................................................................iv NOMENCLATURE ........................................................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. vii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 Rhetoric and Christianity ............................................................................................ 7 Methodology ............................................................................................................ 13 Contributions ............................................................................................................ 21 Arrangement of the Dissertation .............................................................................. 23 CHAPTER II CHRISTIANITY, CAPPADOCIA, AND THE CAPPADOCIAN FATHERS ........................................................................................................................ 26 Early Christianity ..................................................................................................... 28 Cappadocia ............................................................................................................... 41 The Cappadocian Fathers ......................................................................................... 49 CHAPTER III OF PEER PERSONAS: RHETORICAL SELF- REPRESENTATIONS OF PREACHERS ....................................................................... 65 The Preacher Persona ............................................................................................... 70 The Cappadocians’ Personas .................................................................................... 83 Rhetorical Implications .......................................................................................... 151 CHAPTER IV WHEN PROPHETS BECOME PREACHERS: SAINT BASIL AND THE EVOLUTION OF A CHRISTIAN JEREMIAD ................................................... 171 Converging Rhetorical Traditions .......................................................................... 175 The Ethos of a (Prophetic) Presbyter ..................................................................... 182 Prophetic Form in a Christian Homily ................................................................... 189 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 202 CHAPTER V CONCLUSION ....................................................................................... 207 vii WORKS CITED ............................................................................................................. 214 APPENDIX A HOMILIES INCLUDED IN DISSERTATION .................................... 241 APPENDIX B LISTS OF TRANSLATIONS ............................................................... 246 viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Along the coast of California lie twenty-one Catholic missions, nearly all of which my family