Patriarch Of Jerusalem Research Articles

The Holy Land of Saints: The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Life Story of St. Marie Alphonsine

Utilizing the lens of new historicism, this study examines how hagiographers Stolz, Duvignau, and Khoury, from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, have constructed and modified the narrative identity of St. Marie Alphonsine through different periods—1936, 1989, and 2012–2015. This approach illuminates the complex relationship between religious storytelling, cultural identity formation, and perceptions of “otherness”. The chronological dissection of St. Marie Alphonsine’s portrayal uncovers the hagiographers’ efforts to recalibrate her image in response to the changing cultural, spiritual, and communal demands within the Patriarchate’s jurisdiction and among the faithful. Highlighting the hagiographers’ instrumental role on behalf of the Patriarchate in molding religious and cultural discourses, the article explores the profound impact of saintly veneration on shaping the religious identity and cultural narratives of the Catholic community in the Holy Land. It underscores the essential function of the Patriarchate in steering the Catholic community through the complexities of the evolving socio-religious landscape.

LITERARY LEGACY OF STEFAN ZYZANIY IN THE UKRAINIAN POLEMICAL TRADITION OF THE 16TH–17TH CENTURIES

The paper explores an integral component of the Ukrainian polemical tradition of the 16th–17th centuries – the literary legacy of the bourgeois-fraternal preacher-tribune, Stefan Zyzaniy, brother of the renowned lexicographer Lavrentiy Zyzaniy. Literary works considered a continuation of preaching activities became exceptionally significant prior to the Brest Church Union, during a period of escalating national and religious tensions. Rumors of Orthodox bishops' betrayal and the adoption of the union with the Vatican, particularly by Metropolitan M. Rohoza, contributed to the exacerbation of national and religious oppressions among the Ukrainian population. As a polemicist, Stefan Zyzaniy authored several books, including "Catechism," published in Vilnius in 1595, "Exposition on the Orthodox Faith," and "Sermon of St. Cyril, Patriarch of Jerusalem, on the Antichrist and His Signs with the Expansion of Doctrine against Various Heresies" (Vilnius, 1596). "Catechism," along with numerous sermons where he opposed Jesuits and Orthodox bishops inclined towards the Union, have not survived to this day. In the work "Sermon of St. Cyril, Patriarch of Jerusalem, on the Antichrist and His Signs with the Expansion of Doctrine against Various Heresies" (1596), Stefan Zyzaniy presents the literary image of the pope as the Antichrist. In this sermon, Zyzaniy lists eleven signs of the Antichrist's approach and connects them with the realities of contemporary life. The signs of the Antichrist's reign closely align with the events in Ukrainian society at the end of the 16th century. Therefore, this work is not merely a translation of Cyril of Jerusalem's work but an original and independent work by the polemicist writer. The paper attempts to determine the place and role of "Sermon of St. Cyril, Patriarch of Jerusalem, on the Antichrist and His Signs with the Expansion of Doctrine against Various Heresies" within the literary-religious image of the era and its impact on the societal discourse of the time through an analysis of its structure, style, and content. Analyzing this work in the context of contemporary realities contributes to a deeper understanding of the dynamics of religious and cultural processes within Ukrainian society.

Stylistic Analysis of the Holy Icons from Saint George Church in Yenikoy, Istanbul

The main subject of the research is to analyse the multi-themed sacred proskynetarion icons in Yeniköy Ayios Yeoryios (St. George) Metochion Church, one of the three metochion churches of the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul. Although it is known that the icons found in the metochion churches in Istanbul have not been studied before, the icons belonging to the church in Yeniköy from these structures were included in the research. Due to the limitations of the article, which prevented the evaluation of all the icons in the church, the research focused solely on the technical and stylistic features of the multi-themed proskynetarion icons. Proskynetarions, also known as the pilgrim icons, contain depictions of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem due to their characteristics. The presence of proskynetarions in this place is directly related to the fact that Yeniköy Ayios Yeoryios Church is a Metochion affiliated to the Jerusalem Patriarchate. Icons are accepted as important works of art in the frame of art history, as well as their liturgical role as manifestation and visual representations of the sacred. It is important to reveal such previously unpublished works, to evaluate them iconographically and to bring them to the art history literature with their semantic context. In the study, a brief historical overview of the status of the Jerusalem Orthodox Patriarchate and the relations between the two patriarchates is presented. At the same time, the location of the building, the architectural plan type, the periodical features in the exterior and interior decoration are mentioned.

The Mixed Council in the History of Antioch patriarchate. The facts and their interpretation

The Mixed Council is an especial form of political interaction of Christians with ofϐicials and diplomats of Ottoman and Russian Empires. The Council was formed in equal numbers form the representatives of hierarchs and seculars. The Council existed in all regions of Ottoman empire inhabited by Christian population. The sources show that the Mixed Council created in order and control all school Institutions as also the schools process was ϐirstly created in the Antioch patriarchy under the pressure of famous diplomat N.P. Ignatieff who was Russian ambassador in Constantinople in 1864–1877 years. The Mixed Council was considered also as a possibility to diminish or even to avoid the inner conϐlicts of Christian population in Syria and Palestine. The active participation of Russian empire in the inner problems of Christian patriarchates may easily be explained by the volume of ϐinancial investments of Russian Empire/ 80% of budget of Jerusalem patriarchate and 30% of Antiochene patriarchy was composed from the money of Russian origin.

The Convent Camp: Sacred Places in Palestinian Refugee History

Abstract In 1948, thousands of Palestinians fled to the Old City of Jerusalem, where many Orthodox Christians were housed by the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. This article asks how Jerusalem refugee histories change when we consider the patriarchate’s characteristics as an informal camp. The religious dimensions of camps are often overlooked, and the article suggests that recognizing them affords a better understanding of the forms of historical consciousness that refugee camps foster. Drawing on memoirs of Palestinian Orthodox refugees and ethnography from contemporary Jerusalem, the article highlights the powerful role sacred sites have played in the preservation of refugee history since the war, and the effect they have on the political dynamics of the church and the Old City of Jerusalem.

A lineage in land: the transmission of Palestinian Christianity

AbstractThis article examines a Christian tradition defined by descent, but a descent that extends beyond family lineages to include relatedness with saints and sacred land. This tradition emerges from the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, one of the oldest churches in the world, composed of a Palestinian laity and a Greek monastic hierarchy. Through an ethnography of the Orthodox feast of St George and the ritual use of olive oil from Palestinian villages, the article frames discussion of indigeneity, land, and rootedness around the concept of descent. Putting Palestinian Orthodoxy in conversation with kinship theory and the critique of social structure, it argues against sequestering divine and human forms of relatedness in separate social domains. It suggests the concept of descent can be a powerful tool for integrating them when expanded to include all ‘forces that bring forth life’.

Letter from the Editor

Letter from the Editor DN. Christopher Sheklian, PHD (bio) It is a pleasure and an honor to introduce this new issue of the St. Nersess Theological Review (SNTR) as the Editor. Fifteen years have passed since the last issue was published, a special number collecting many of the most important pieces by Professor Emeritus Abraham Terian, who also served as a former editor of SNTR. Since 2008 when that issue was released, St. Nersess Armenian Seminary itself has undergone many changes, not the least of which is the move to a beautiful new complex in Armonk, NY. Under the direction of Dean Fr. Mardiros Chevian, the Seminary has had a continuous stream of students living and studying on the new premises. Today, the graduates of St. Nersess Seminary serve as ordained clergy (including four bishops), lay leaders, and Diocesan staff across multiple dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church. As the only Armenian seminary in the Western Hemisphere, all of this activity already positions St. Nersess as one of the premier locations of learning for the worldwide Armenian Church. With the reintroduction of SNTR, now being published by the Catholic University of America Press, the Seminary bolsters its role not only in the educational development of Armenian Christian leaders, but as a center for intellectual activity and discovery related to the deep and rich tradition of Armenian Christianity. These conversations have already been taking place on campus in the last decade: St. Nersess has slowly become an important site for PhD students, postdoctoral scholars, and visiting faculty to pursue their academic research regarding Armenian theology and Christianity broadly. This role, the support of intellectual conversations and research into Armenian Christianity, is symbiotic with, but not reducible to, the educational role of St. Nersess. Just as the Armenian monasteries of old were both sites to train Christian shepherds and engines of Armenian theological development, today St. Nersess Armenian Seminary can and does provide the support for these mutually reinforcing activities. SNTR offers a platform for these conversations to again reach a wider audience. This first “new” issue includes contributions from several [End Page 1] scholars who have been central to both the educational and broader intellectual life of the Seminary in the past decade. First and foremost among those is Dr. Roberta Ervine, who, in addition to serving as Professor of Armenian Christian Studies since 2001, has also been a profound gravitational force, drawing several young scholars and PhD students to the Seminary. Dr. Ervine, who has also previously served as Editor of SNTR, continues her service as Associate Editor. Alongside her as another Associate Editor is Julia Hintlian, a PhD Candidate at Harvard University’s Committee on the Study of Religion, who has often been in residence at St. Nersess. Dr. Jesse Arlen, the inaugural holder of the joint position of Director of the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center/Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Armenian Christian Studies at the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham University and a regular instructor on St. Nersess’ campus the past two years, also has an article in this first revived issue. Other contributors and members of the Editorial Board, including myself, have taught or lectured on St. Nersess’ campus. Our goal with SNTR is to bring the dynamic intellectual life of the Seminary into conversation with broader currents in the study of Armenian Christianity. It is, in fact, a dynamic and exciting time for the study of Armenian Christianity around the world. Today, the study of Armenian Christianity encompasses theological discourse undertaken at the traditional sites of Armenian Christian education—the seminaries of the Holy Sees: the Gevorkian Theological Seminary in Etchmiadzin, the Theological Seminary at Antelias, and The Seminary of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, as well as the Vaskenian Theological Academy and the Harichavank Turpanjian Theological High School in the Republic of Armenia—the academic study of Armenian theology at universities around the world, and various historical, social scientific, and humanistic research into the world of Armenian Christianity. Vardapets—the learned monks of the Armenian Apostolic Church—and scholars at universities from Los Angeles to Vienna make use of the vast treasury of Armenian theological discourse, shedding new light on its historical and...

Дослідження християнського Сходу в науковій спадщині єпископа Порфирія (Успенського)

The study is devoted to the scientific heritage of Bishop Porphyry (Uspensky) (1804–1885), who found a significant number of written and material sources on church history in the Christian East. The bishop made three trips to the East during 1843–1846, 1848–1854 and 1865–1877. The main sources for this article were published documents, primarily the epistolary heritage of Porphyry, his publications in periodicals and in separate editions. Based on them, it was found that the bishop’s scientific activity in the East can be divided into three interrelated areas. The first was the description of ancient church buildings and monasteries, the second was the study of manuscripts found in monastery libraries, and the third was the study of early Christian painting. Porphyry visited a large number of monasteries, churches and other religious places in Constantinople, Jerusalem and around it, in Palestine, Athos and Sinai. For most of them, he compiled descriptions, drawings, revealed architectural features. As a result of his work in the libraries of the Sinai Monastery, the Holy Sepulcher Monastery in Jerusalem and the Jerusalem Patriarchate, the bishop found more than a thousand different church documents and manuscripts. Among them, the most controversial was the Sinai Code of Scripture. In studying ancient manuscripts and historical events, Porphyry was an uncompromising critic of the unverified facts that took place in the Christian history of the East. The manuscripts of the conversations of Patriarch Photius of Constantinople, edited by Porphyry, contain important information about the campaigns of Prince Askold of Kyiv, which is rather fragmentary in sources of domestic origin. Exploring ancient paintings, Porphyry noted that there were few such monuments in the East, and those that have survived have been carefully copied and described. In addition, the bishop made a comparative analysis of the pictorial style of the most important ancient icons. The scientific heritage of Porphyry (Uspensky) was a significant contribution to the study of the history of the Christian East.

Between Church and State: The Challenges of Reforming the Church Courts and Family Law in the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem

AbstractIn most Middle Eastern jurisdictions, the applicable family law is determined based on the religious affiliation of the parties involved. Whereas Jordanian Islamic family law has last been reformed in 2001, 2010, and 2019, and the law that regulates the shariʿa courts has been amended several times since 1972, the family laws of Christian communities and the church courts have largely been exempted from this reform dynamic. Based on semi-structured interviews as well as the review of written sources, this article investigates why it is difficult to reform the church courts and even more difficult to reform the family laws of Christian communities, using the Greek Orthodox community in Jordan as a case study. I argue that conflicts within the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the fact that the jurisdiction of the patriarchate over family law transcends Jordanian state boundaries have made state-led reform challenging and presented obstacles for Jordanian Christians lobbying for change.

Introduction: Margin Release

Introduction: Margin Release

From a monastery to a neighbourhood: Orphans and Armenian refugees in the Armenian quarter of Jerusalem (1916–1926), reflexions towards an Armenian museum in Jerusalem

ABSTRACT This study examines a fairly classic phenomenon of urban and social transformations resulting from political changes: the Armenian ‘neighbourhood’ of Jerusalem. The Monastery of St James, seat of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, was transformed after the First World War into a neighbourhood made up of a refugee population that survived the genocide of 1915. The activity of two orphanages set up around the Patriarchate illustrates these transformations.

Church and politics in Jerusalem: new evidence on the election of Patriarch Cyril II (1845)

ABSTRACT This paper follows the career of Cyril II as Patriarch of Jerusalem from his controversial election to the patriarchal throne (1845) until his deposition (1872) and death (1877) in the wider historical, ecclesiastical and political context, in a critical period for the Patriarchate of Jerusalem in particular and for the unity of the Orthodox Patriarchates in general. It examines the major events that marked his patriarchate, focusing on questions concerning his election (and subsequent deposition) by the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre; his response to the pressures of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the leaders of the Greek Community in Constantinople and Russia with relation to the schism with the Bulgarian Church; the demands of the Arab-speaking Orthodox flock in Palestine; the election of the abbot of the Monastery of St Catherine in Sinai; the Patriarchal estate property in Russia and Romania; and the claims by other Christian denominations of rights over the Holy Land. The paper closes with an assessment of Cyril II's legacy in the decades and centuries that followed, to the present day.

Medical Texts in Anglo-Saxon Literary Culture by Emily Kesling

Reviewed by: Medical Texts in Anglo-Saxon Literary Culture by Emily Kesling Stephanie Hollis Kesling, Emily, Medical Texts in Anglo-Saxon Literary Culture (Anglo-Saxon Studies, 38), Cambridge, D. S. Brewer, 2020; cloth; pp. xii, 223; R.R.P. £19.99; ISBN 9781843845492. The novelty of Emily Kesling's examination of the four Old English medical compilations lies in regarding them as literary translations made by skilled Latinists for readers interested in medicine as a liberal art. In other words, she is suggesting that the vernacular medical compilations were read by an educated elite engaged in the eclectic pursuit of knowledge of the nature of God and his [End Page 230] creation that is exemplified by the study of computus. Specifically, she argues that all four compilations were produced in major ecclesiastical centres, and that each of them consistently displays connections with an elite intellectual culture. Kesling's view flies in the face of a substantial body of scholarship that argues that Bald's Leechbook was compiled for the use of a specialist practitioner (or practitioners). She does not address this anomaly, nor does she mention Angus Cameron's study of its 'professionalism', particularly its repeated references to the specialist expertise and equipment employed by leeches. Her analysis of a few passages to illustrate the differing styles of translation is admirably clear, but scarcely necessary, given that the translators' handling of their Latin sources has already been demonstrated in painstaking and comprehensive detail by Cameron and others. Kesling is by no means the first to see a connection between the educational revival associated with King Alfred and Bald's Leechbook, copied at Winchester c. 950 from an exemplar dated c. 900. The connection is inescapable, in view of the Leechbook's account of medical advice and pharmacological ingredients sent to Alfred by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, also mentioned in Asser's biography of the king. Cumulatively, there is evidence of an interest in the practical application of medical knowledge at Alfred's court, which includes an echo of the Leechbook's entry on synovia in the compensation for injury clauses of Alfred's law-code. What needs to be addressed is whether the Leechbook reflects the encouragement given to the study of medical practice by the king's chronic illness, or whether it was actually part of the same educational project as the translation of Boethius's Consolation, Augustine's Soliloquies, Gregory's Pastoral Care, and the Tollemache Orosius. Kesling's discussion of the Old English Herbarium as a product of the Benedictine Reform draws chiefly on Maria D'Aronco, who argued that the translation may have originated at Winchester under the auspices of Bishop Athelwold. The three extant manuscript copies, however, appear to have been undertaken independently of one another, not disseminated from Winchester. It is worth recalling, moreover, that the number of reformed monasteries in the late Anglo-Saxon period, though small, exceeded the three that Kesling names, and Linda Voigts made a strong case for an East Anglian provenance for London, British Library, Cotton MS Vitellius C III. But book owners and readers in the late Anglo-Saxon period included high status lay men and women, and also, presumably, the male and female members of un-reformed communities. In her chapter on Lacnunga, Kesling pursues her overall thesis by arguing that it shows a learned interest in foreign languages, letters, and alphabets. This seems to me to confuse the eighth- and ninth-century translators of Lacnunga's sources with its eleventh-century readers, whose intellectual appreciation of these matters must have been severely limited by the copyists' garbled rendering of Irish and the three sacred languages. [End Page 231] The chapter on Leechbook III argues that learned persons must have created the remedies for illnesses attributed to elves because the cures employ medical expertise and ecclesiastical practices. Kesling, then, like Karen Jolly, and a number of others, regards the pagan elements in Leechbook III and Lacnunga as having been Christianized. She shows no sign of having considered the argument advanced by Valerie Flint in her landmark study of early medieval magic. Whereas Jolly described a process of Christian cultural imperialism, Flint envisaged a process of cultural negotiation...

Where the Long Way Ends: Descriptions of the Mediterranean Sea and Holy Land and the Criticism of Crusading at the Court of Henry II of England (1154-1189)

The purpose of this essay is to explore Gerald of Wales’s Topographia Hibernica and Walter Map’s De Nugis Curialium, to assess how the authors treated and described the Mediterranean space, with particular reference to the Holy Land. The selected texts are often cited as typical of the style of literary production that took place at the court of Henry II of England (1154-1189) and of the strong correspondence that existed between the policies of the English king and the works of his courtiers. The first version of the Topographia Hibernica was written between 1186-1188 and is the first treatise on Ireland composed by a non-Irish author. The De Nugis Curialium, a collection of satirical invectives, folktales, and personal experiences, was written during the latter half of the twelfth century. In their respective texts, Gerald of Wales and Walter Map focus primarily on topics regarding the British Isles. Noticeably, however, both writers make relevant digressions in order to report information about Sicily, Greece and the Holy Land, and that both authors witnessed the arrival of the patriarch of Jerusalem in London. The present article has two goals: first, bearing in mind Henry II’s reluctance as a response to possible crusade, the aim of this analysis is to see if and how the descriptions of the Mediterranean space coincided with Henry II’s reluctance to travel to Jerusalem. The second aim is to show how such descriptions accorded with the structure of both works and, in particular, how they might serve the authors’ specific interests beyond their adherence to Henry II’s policies.

The Greek Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Taganrog Russia of the Exarchia of the Holy Sepulchre of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem (19th — Early 20th Century)

The Greek Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Taganrog Russia of the Exarchia of the Holy Sepulchre of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem (19th — Early 20th Century)

Переписка Б.П. Мансурова с некоторыми деятелями Императорского православного палестинского общества в 1882–1885 годах

We analyze the activities of B.P. Mansurov to establish contacts with Russian dignitaries and clerics interested in the implementation of the Palestinian project. It is shown that the greatest impact was caused by the need to implement large projects, such as the acquisition of land or the construction of churches. At the same time, support for the urgent needs of pilgrims (arrangement of hotels and hospices, food supply, treatment) became secondary and was not solved by B.P. Mansurov. As a result, dissatisfaction with his activities and opposition to both the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, with which the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society competed for the flow of budget funds and donations, and with secular officials dissatisfied with the ineffective Russian policy in the region, grew. We describe the tension in relations between the Russian authorities and the Jerusalem Patriarchate due to the interference of the Russian Empire in the income of the Patriarch from the Bessarabian estates. Information is given about the support of the local Arab population, part of which traditionally belonged to Christian (including Orthodox) churches. It is indicated that public support for pilgrimage and missionary activities was more effective than that carried out through state (or close to dignitaries) organizations.

Mehrheit und Minderheit in den Anfängen des monenergetisch-monotheletischen Streites

Abstract The protest of a single monk, the Jerusalem Abbot Sophronios against the union agreed in 633 between Patriarch Kyros of Alexandria and the opponents of the Council of Chalcedon is usually regarded as the beginning of the so-called monenergist-monothelete controversy. This protest against the formulation that, albeit in in two natures, it is one and the same Christ and Son who effects the divine and the human through one divine-human energy led to the so-called Ekthesis, a law composed by Patriarch Sergios of Constantinople and signed by the emperor Herakleios. With this law a supposedly heretical majority, holding the reins of power, wished by means of a prohibition to silence the orthodox minority and their confession of two modes of action and two wills in Christ. In contrast, this paper makes clear that, with the consent of this very minority – including Sophronios –, already in 633 a synodically secured agreement was made to refrain in future from numerical statements about action in Christ. Because Sophronios, since 634 Patriarch of Jerusalem, challenged this agreement, there ensued in 636 a synod on Cyprus with almost ecumenical representation, which was later consigned to silence and has been known only since 1973. Even though the majority at this council rejected the position of Sophronios and Maximos the Confessor on action in Christ, there was a general agreement to appeal to the emperor as arbitrator, who then promulgated the Ekthesis, which was approved by all the churches represented at the Synod, including those of Pope Honorius and Sophronios! An in-depth analysis will show how these facts were reinterpreted or concealed by Maximos in the 640s; for they told against the campaign he initiated in 641 for the anathematization of the Ekthesis and of the patriarchs Sergios and Kyros, which was then brought to accomplishment at the Lateran Synod of 649.

РАЗБОЈНИШТВО У ЈАШУЊСКОМ МАНАСТИРУ 1782. ГОДИНЕ

The Ottoman archival material kept in the practically inaccessible Archive of the Jerusalem Patriarchate includes a very important document which testifies to an act of banditry against the “Jašunja monastery” in 1782. The outcome was one lethally wounded monk. The most reasonable explanation for the document ending up in the Archive of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem is that it was found among the effects of monk Gavril who had obviously set out on a pilgrimage, but then died in Jerusalem. The analysis of the document is instructive of the legal procedure followed by the Ottoman authorities and their conduct towards the monasteries in the case of robberies. The document also substantiates the view that the Ottoman Empire’s impoverished European provinces saw an increasing crime rate in the second half of the 18th century.

The relationship of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Jerusalem Patriarchate in 1948-1953 in the context of Soviet-Israeli relations.

The subject of this article is the problem of the relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Jerusalem Patriarchate in 1948-1953 in the context of Soviet-Israeli relations. The specified chronological framework was not chosen by chance, since it was during these years that significant events took place in the development of bilateral relations: the formation of the State of Israel, the establishment of diplomatic relations, the drafting of the statute on Jerusalem, and the severance of diplomatic relations. The ROC was involved in the Soviet Middle East policy, the purpose of which was to strengthen ties between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Eastern Patriarchates. The methodological basis of the research is the principle of historicism, which assumes taking into account the specific historical conditions and events in which the development of the process of interest to us took place. The scientific novelty consists in the fact that the previously unexplored process of the relationship between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Jerusalem Orthodox Church during this period has been studied. The source base of the research is unpublished documents of the Foundation of the Council for Religious Affairs under the Council of Ministers of the USSR of the State Archive of the Russian Federation. Based on the analysis of archival materials introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, it is concluded that, on the one hand, contacts between the ROC and the Jerusalem Patriarchate were maintained through the Soviet diplomatic mission in the State of Israel. Therefore, the state of bilateral relations influenced the relationship between the Churches. On the other hand, after the rupture of diplomatic relations in February 1953, the situation of the RDM in Jerusalem worsened, but contacts between the Moscow and Jerusalem Patriarchies were not interrupted. Representatives of the Jerusalem Church had the right to freely cross the border, as a result, they could visit the Mission despite the state of Soviet-Israeli relations.

Development in Theological Method and Argument in John of Damascus

Terminological confusion exacerbated by councils divided the church in late antiquity. John of Damascus addressed the resultant terminological impasse by providing the re-established Jerusalem patriarchate with theological polemic that reemphasized the preeminence of the Council of Nicaea. John’s early works relied on scripture and patristic argument, but after his philosophical works, his theological method couched scripture and patristic argument in terms of a new philosophical acumen. Building on this change in theological method, I argue that John’s theological argument also underwent development using the term “perichōrēsis” as a case study, resulting in a provisional date-list of John’s polemical works. I then argue that development in John appears to have an ecumenical motivation by analyzing his redeployment of the theological technical term “perichōrēsis” from his Christology to his Trinitarianism. I argue that John subordinates his Christology to a terminologically clarified Nicene Trinitarianism in order to address concerns of his local inter-locutors by re-casting local christological debate in three ways: 1) he couched his Christology in terms of a specifically Nicene heresiology shifting fifth- and sixth-century theologians off-stage, whether Cyril of Alexandria, Severus of Antioch, or Maximus the Confessor, pushing Gregory of Nazianzus to the fore as universal authority; 2) he avoided the critique of Aristotelianism by couching his Christology in terms of the Nicene locus classicus, John 10.30; and finally, 3) he adroitly granted but restated the theological premise of his interlocutors turning their argument on its head. Thus, John grounds his innovative theological polemic in the tradition while providing his bishop and the newly re-established patriarchate with a more progressive and ecumenical theological method, argument, and polemic.