Corpus Areopagiticum Research Articles

Basic philosophical texts in Medieval Serbia

Medieval Serbian philosophy took shape mostly through the process of translating Byzantine texts and revising the Slavic translations. Apart from the Aristotelian terminological tradition, introduced via the translation of Damascene?s Dialectic, there also was, under the influence of the Corpus Areopagiticum and ascetic literature, notably of John Climacus? Ladder, another strain of thought originating from Christian Platonism. Damascene?s philosophical chapters, or Dialectic, translated into medieval Serbian in the third quarter of the fourteenth century, not only shows the high standards of translation technique developed in Serbian monastic scriptoria, but testifies to a highly educated readership interested in such a complex theologico-philosophical text with its nuanced terminology. A new theological debate about the impossibility of knowing God led to Gregory Palamas? complex text, The Exposition of the Orthodox Faith. Philosophical texts were frequently copied and much worked on in medieval Serbia, but it is difficult to infer about the actual scope of their influence on the formation and articulation of the worldview of medieval society. As a result of their demanding theoretical complexity, the study of philosophy was restricted to quite narrow monastic, court and urban circles. However, the strongest aspect of the influence of Byzantine thought on medieval society was the liturgy as the central social event of the community. It was through the liturgy that the wording of the translated texts influenced the life of medieval Serbian society.

Paradoxe Formulierungen bei Dionysios Areopagites mit speziellem Bezug auf Gregor von Nyssa

AbstractThe unknown writer of the Corpus Areopagiticum is one of the most important thinkers of the Eastern Church whose theology exercised an enormous influence on the so-called mystical tradition of the mediaeval West. His writings are characterised by a great theological depth and reveal a significant familiarity with neo-platonic philosophy, in particular with that of Proclus. Nevertheless, his dependence on Cappadocian thought and above all on Gregory of Nyssa is not to be neglected. One of the points of correspondence between the two thinkers is a remarkably frequent use of antithetic terminology, as another way of expressing deep meanings. The antithesis becomes the means by which the theological paradox is brought to light and revealed and signifies the tendency of the writer to pinpoint mystical experiences. It would thus appear self-evident that a study is needed of "Pseudo-Dionysius", use of this terminology, in the form of collecting the contradictory expressions and elucidating their meaning and importance for his thought.

Hij die ons allen zonder dwaling verlichtte

This article offers an overview of the book epigrams in the manuscripts of Ps.-Dionysiusthe Areopagite. lt explores which epigrams regularly occur in these manuscripts andwhich ones are rather exceptional, with special attention to the relationship between thepoems and the main texts of the Corpus Areopagiticum. Equally, it argues for the importanceof studying the epigrams within their manuscript context. As such, the findings areconnected to and supported by the methodology of the so-called New or Material Philology.Lastly, the article offers incentives to study the reception of Ps.-Dionysius throughthe book epigrams preserved next to the very texts.