Patristic Teaching Research Articles

Концепция души христианских учителей Ранней Церкви

The article is devoted to the teachings about the soul, which were developed in the early Christian tradition before the 4th century. There is no shortage of research on this topic, how-ever, in this article, firstly, no attempt is made to develop a uni-versal patristic teaching, but, on the contrary, an overview of the entire variety of ideas that were formed in the Early Church is give; secondly, the observation is made that the opinion ac-cepted among scientists about the unconditional adherence of Christian authors to one or the other philosophical schools are not supported by the sources. Christian writers argue with their contemporary philosophy, and at the same time rely more on the authority of St. Scriptures and the church tradition, creative-ly reworking the philosophical heritage. Christians use only the general idea of the soul, which was developed by the Greek philosophical schools. Idealistic teaching was spread among the Hellenized Jews of the Diaspora. Christian church teachers used both the «Platonic» immaterial concept of the soul, as well as the «Aristotelian» materialistic one. The author of the article concludes that the choice in favor of one or another model de-pended more on regional specifics. In those provinces of the West and East where the degree of Hellenization was higher, there is a greater attraction to Platonic idealism. On the contra-ry, in Roman North Africa, where Hellenistic culture did not spread, and as the local population as a whole tended to reli-gious literalism and materialism, typical for Punic culture, the materialistic doctrine of the soul also spread. Since it is in Ro-man Africa that Latin Christianity was born, it is in it that Christian materialism would develop. It is precisely caused by cultural specifics of the Mediterranean regions, and not by the difference in Greek and Latin languages, that is usually esti-mated as a core factor of the split between teachings of the soul in the Eastern and Western Christian thought.

After Kigali: The Future of Orthodox Anglicanism

The Kigali Commitment dedication to the authority of Scripture should be cheered. But if left to itself, it is easily forgotten that Scripture’s birthplace and guardian are the Church and her tradition. As Paul wrote, “the Church of the living God is the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). Without attention to that pillar and foundation, the edifice called Christian orthodoxy starts to weaken and will eventually collapse. The Church’s tradition in creeds and liturgies and patristic teaching is indispensable for interpreting Scripture rightly.

The Antinomic Method of Gregory Palamas : Between Transcendence and Immanence, God’s Essence and Energy, Single and Multiple Trinity

The article examines the theological method of antinomy and the conceptual solution to the problem of the ontological “gap” between transcendence and immanence of the Holy Trinity in the theological thought of the outstanding Byzantine theologian of the 14th century Gregory Palamas. The article analyzes how Palamas, in his patristic teaching on the distinction between the essence and energy of the Holy Trinity, substantiates the unity, trinity, and multiplicity of divine action in the world, and how he interprets this distinction in God’s nature. Particular attention is paid to biblical and patristic analysis and the significance of Palama’s methodological “triangle”: apophatic, cataphatic, antinomy; his understanding of the personal dimension of the energies of the hypostases of the Trinity, and the problem of the “simplicity” of the Triune God.

Влияние виртуальной реальности на сознание человека с позиций христианской антропологии и современной психологии

The relevance of this article is determined by the penetration of information technologies into all spheres of human life, the impact on his consciousness and personality. The purpose of the article is to show the differences in the assessment of the influence of virtual reality on human consciousness in modern psychology and from the point of view of Christian anthropology. The hypothesis is proved that the reason for these differences lies in the different understanding of the essence, structure and mechanisms of consciousness in science and patristic teaching. The key approaches to understanding consciousness in the neurosciences, in domestic and foreign psychology are described. The Christian approach to human consciousness, the connection with the concepts of "freedom", "conscience", "shame", "duty", "responsibility", "mind", "reason", the patristic teaching about the 3-level structure of the mind, about purification and keeping the mind, about asceticism and the practice of hesychasm as an experience of increasing consciousness. It is concluded that in science, human consciousness is associated with the activity of the brain as a substratum of the psyche, which leads to its excessive simplification and reduction to the psyche of an animal. In contrast to this, in Christian anthropology, a person is not only a rational being, but also a moral one, so he needs to be aware of the meaning of his being. The definition of the concept of "virtual environment" and the results of scientific research on the influence of the virtual environment on human consciousness are given. The negative consequences of the uncontrolled use of virtual reality are described: 1) from the point of view of science, these are, in particular, screen addiction, cognitive impairment, dehumanization of human consciousness and transhumanism; 2) from the point of view of Christian anthropology: deprivation of unity, orderliness, integrity and freedom of the inner world of man; food for the emergence of passionate thoughts, obscuration of the mind, spiritual devastation. It is concluded that the development of virtual technologies and their practical use should be the subject of special attention from scientists, psychologists, physicians, and it is necessary to consider the influence of virtual reality on human consciousness not only from the standpoint of modern science, but also in the coordinate system of the Christian worldview.

PROSPECTS OF THE PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONCEPTS OF THE NEOPATRIST DIRECTION OF THERAPEUTIC THEOLOGY IN THE UKRAINIAN MEDICAL CHAPLAINCY

Structurally, the topic of scientific intelligence is revealed in three parts. First of all, the patristic teaching on salvation, the attainment of spiritual perfection, holiness was reproduced in the spiritual and therapeutic connotations of the basic concepts of neopatristic theology. The basic neopatristic approaches to their interpretation and practical social demand are revealed. In the second part of the study, the educational prospects of applied application of the ideas of the neopatristic direction of Christian therapeutic theology in the field of Ukrainian medical chaplaincy (an important initial stage before its implementation) are analyzed. In the third part of the work, clear recommendations and proposals for the organizational content of the prospects for the gradual introduction of clinical pastoral care in Ukraine are offered.

A Response to the Responses

A Response to the Responses John T. Pawlikowski (bio) At the outset, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to those who offered their incisive reflections on my article. They have written from the experience of many years of work on the issues raised by the long history of antisemitism in Christianity as well as in civil society. Each respondent brought vital questions and issues to the forefront in this complex discussion of the history and continued presence of antisemitism across the globe. They have added in different ways to an understanding of the wide contextual setting for this profound social disease, which has often reduced Jews to spiritual skeletons. All have constructively expanded our discussion of antisemitism. Let me make one important point at the beginning of this response. My original article was never intended to serve as a comprehensive introduction to the topic of antisemitism. Hence, my colleagues have expanded the parameters of my own article in important ways. My principal goal in writing my essay was to ask whether antisemitism has been successfully removed from Christian self-understanding in the almost 60 years that have passed since the issuance of Nostra Aetate at Vatican II. My personal answer is no, and I appreciate that all of the contributors to this forum, many of them with extensive experience in Christian-Jewish dialogue, [End Page 394] confirm my basic judgment and agree that considerable work still awaits the Christian community if antisemitism is finally to be removed from its basic proclamation. Readers will hopefully see that the cleansing process cannot be completed without a clear repudiation by Christian churches of the biblical texts and the widespread patristic teaching that laid the foundation for the theological gutting of the Jewish religious tradition and the social marginalization of Jews as a people throughout history. While today's patristic and biblical teachings about Jews and Judaism may not be overtly taught and preached as they were for centuries, the influence of this historic denigration on the consciousness of the Christian community will not be fully extricated without a clear repudiation of these texts. As I indicate in my article, the late Raymond Brown began such a process by unequivocally asserting that the passages in the Gospel of John in which Jews are described as under satanic influence can no longer be used in catechesis or liturgical celebration. Several contributors to this forum have rightly acknowledged certain Catholic documents, such as the statement on the Holocaust issued by the Holy See's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews titled We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah1 and the controversial text released by the then Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI) titled Dominus Iesus,2 caused dismay both within segments of the Catholic community as well as its ecumenical and interreligious partners, including Jews. Both documents created ambiguity regarding the Vatican's supposed new commitment to ecumenical and interreligious dialogue after centuries of promoting the notion of Catholic superiority. With regard to Dominus Iesus, several prominent Catholic leaders, such as Cardinals Walter Kasper and William Keeler, argued that the document did not pertain to the Jews but rather to certain situations in Asia. The logic of the document seems to include all who do not identify with Catholicism as their basic belief system. We Remember clearly refers to the Catholic-Jewish relationship. This document falsely claims that antisemitism was a marginal [End Page 395] Catholic outlook perpetuated by fringe and rogue elements in the Church. It also maintained that during the Shoah antisemitism was largely the work of pagans who attacked all religious belief, whether Christian or Jewish. Such statements are patently false in light of the historical record. There has been a persistent effort by some in the Church to say that antisemitism only took hold in deviant sectors of Catholicism. I recall a visit some years ago to Strasbourg, France, and its famous cathedral. The edifice is known for its face, which contains a depiction of the Christian-Jewish relationship through two women, one being young and vibrant representing Christianity and the other old and bedraggled holding a...

St. Thomas Aquinas's Appeal to St. John the Baptist as a Benchmark of Spiritual Greatness

St. Thomas Aquinas's Appeal to St. John the Baptist as a Benchmark of Spiritual Greatness John Baptist Ku, O.P. When we think of sources of St. Thomas Aquinas's speculative theology, we rightly recall teachings given in Scripture—such as that sin came into the world through one man (Rom 5:12) or that all that the Father has belongs also to the Son (John 16:15)—as well as teachings, based on Scripture, imparted by Church councils or Fathers, such as that Christ is one person with two natures1 or that the human nature of Christ is an instrument of his divinity.2 In the project of faith seeking understanding, these teachings lead expeditiously to distinctions and clarifications concerning person and nature, habit and action, primary and instrumental causality, intellect and will, faith and reason, and the like. However, the saints themselves too serve as a source for Aquinas's speculative theological reflection. Though they admittedly constitute a less abundant source than scriptural, conciliar, or patristic teaching, the saints' contribution to Aquinas's theology merits our attention. For instance, in "Jean-Baptiste: figure du prêcheur chez Thomas d'Aquin," Jean-Pierre Torrell observes that Aquinas's research into the Fathers of the Church for the Catena aurea bore considerable influence on his subsequent works, and Torrell documents how Aquinas's treatment of John the Baptist is a precise case that shows this influence.3 More recent [End Page 1119] scholarship has, fortunately, taken note of the saints' contribution to Aquinas's theology—in the figures of St. Benedict and the virgin martyrs.4 This article will therefore examine St. John the Baptist as just such a source of Aquinas's speculative theology. Aquinas appeals to St. John as a benchmark of spiritual greatness against which to situate other figures: Christ, angels, Mary, apostles, prophets, evangelists, priests, and the people of God. By examining these cases, we will not only observe the Angelic Doctor's appreciation of the saints as our teachers, as examples to be imitated, and as proofs of God's love in transformative grace; we will also witness aspects of the Dominican master's theological method, that is, in his manner of interpreting Scripture and his application of reason to scriptural data to make arguments and draw conclusions.5 For instance, in his treatment of the least in the kingdom of heaven, Scripture will definitively confirm what theological reasoning can determine concerning the knowledge of those with the beatific vision. Furthermore, his exposition on the Blessed Virgin will reveal that he reads the Bible as a whole with one divine author, in support of traditional interpretations.6 However, he is not naive about diverse human authorship and the literal versus the spiritual senses [End Page 1120] of Scripture,7 and his methodology unveils his explicit conviction that Scripture must be the basis of theological claims.8 My presentation will unfold in five sections. After (1) a glance at some of Aquinas's comments on the authority of various sources of theology so as to situate our conversation about the saints as a source of theology, I will review Aquinas's enlistment of John the Baptist as a standard by which to establish: (2) three simple points about Christians and Christ—that all of the articles of faith must be accepted, that prepubescent children can enter religious life, and that Christ's baptism manifests divine power—(3) the superiority of angels to wayfarers, among whom John the Baptist is the greatest, followed by apostles, prophets, and evangelists; (4) the eminence of John the Baptist and a ranking, in order, of God, angels, John the Baptist, prophets, priests, and then God's people; and (5) the holiness of Mary the Mother of God. The Authority of Various Sources of Theology In just a few lines in the Summa theologiae, Aquinas identifies the roles of reason and authority in theology. On one hand, "it is most proper" to theology to offer "proofs from authority," since theology's "principles are known through revelation"—making theological arguments dependent on "the authority of those making the revelation." But on the other hand, theology "also uses human reason, not to...

THE CONCEPT OF SIN IN “SINS”, A SHORT NOVEL (‘POVEST’) BY I. N. POTAPENKO

The article discusses the concept of sin in Sins, a short novel (povest') by I. N. Potapenko in the context of the patristic teaching on sinful passions and virtues. According to the Church Fathers, sin is the cause of all human misfortunes and evil, and the origin of sorrow and death. Exploring the phenomenon of sin, the writer examines various types of human vices, trying to understand the sources of the origin of sin, ways to overcome it and the possibility of salvation in the world. The work is written in the form of an adult’s memories of childhood. Through the prism of children’s perception, the attitudes of different types of people to faith, awareness of their own sinfulness, the desire for repentance and salvation of the soul are revealed. The short story presents the main sinful passions (gluttony, fornication, avarice, anger, sadness, despondency, vanity, pride) and the main sources of sin (human self, egoism, pride). The work has an edifying character. The tragic fate of some characters is a clear example of the destructive effect of sins. There is a clear link between a vicious life and incurable diseases, death without repentance, suicide. Through preaching the gospel truths, I. N. Potapenko tried to convey the idea that despite the ubiquity of sin, it is possible to be saved in the world. This requires faith in God, repentance, humility, following the commandments, and leading a virtuous Christian life.

Creatio Ex Nihilo through the Prism of Father Sergei Bulgakov’s Sophiology

Father Sergei Bulgakov (1871–1944), directly influenced by Vladimir Solovyov and especially by Father Pavel Florensky, developed his sophiological concept which takes a central place in his doctrine of Trinity and God's economy. The main failure of the Russian sophiology is that the question of God's Wisdom is not Christologically founded in the spirit of the New Testament and patristic teaching. Bulgakov neglects the theology of God's uncreated energies. He thinks that it does not sufficiently explain the creation of the world as well as the relationship between God and the world. According to him, the creation of the world and its unity with God can be explained only through a mediator who acts as an “ontological bridge” between the Creator and the creation. Bulgakov, using the ontological mediation paradigms that are characteristic for certain ancient philosophical systems, especially Neo-Platonism, develops his doctrine of Sophia. She is immanent to both the nature of God and the creation. This attitude leads Bulgakov to the position of pantheism. In order to avoid this danger, he modifies his teaching introducing two models of Sophia: “Divine Sophia” and “Created Sophia”. Unlike the patristic theology, Bulgakov’s sophiological essentialism does not tend the antinomy of apophatic-kataphatic theology, and thereby he puts into question the ontological difference between the Creator and the creation. It is a failed attempt to interpret the dogma of the creation of the world ex nihilo, through categories and concepts that are alien to the church tradition.

СВЯТООТЕЧЕСКОЕ УЧЕНИЕ В ПОЭЗИИ РАННЕГО Н. А. НЕКРАСОВА: ОТ РЕЛИГИОЗНОГО СЮЖЕТА К ЕВАНГЕЛЬСКОМУ ИДЕАЛУ

The originality of N. A. Nekrasov's early poems in «Dreams and Sounds» is based on patristic teaching. This collection revealed not only Nekrasov's discipleship as a poet, but also his «spiritual discipleship», his attempts to put his church experience into poetic form, his neophyte categorical nature as a spiritual person. Nekrasov was excused by his youth and purity of motives. But being a great poet, he soon realized that one should not write so bluntly and categorically about religious issues, that religiosity is important in art due to its hidden depth, rather than its open, almost journalistic expression of the dogmas and tenets of church life. Nevertheless, he managed to find forms of original poetic expres-sion. In each of his poems, Nekrasov not only follows church regulations, but also shows his own innovations. The po-ems «Death», «Conversation», «Doubt» and others are analyzed from this point of view. The content of these works shows that Nekrasov not only had an idea of the patristic Orthodox teaching, but also tried to wage «spiritual struggle», as far as it was possible at a very young age and in his life circumstances. After a short time he would find the strength to stop trying to present a scholastic «theory» of Christian doctrine, but would not lose the warmth of his faith, but bring its life-giving gospel spirit into his social poetry, filling it with the spirit of love, mercy, and holy impulses. The author raises the question of the links between the collection «Dreams and Sounds» and Nekrasov's later work.

Elucidation of the term “energy” in the “Philosophy of the name” of A. F. Losev

The subject of this research is the interpretation of the term “energy” in the “Philosophy of the Name” of A. F. Losev. An attempt of philosophical comprehension of the nature of the name and word is one of the primary topics in the works of the prominent Russian philosopher. Particular interest to this topic is substantiated by Loves’s commitment to philosophically explain such perspective on the nature of the Name of God, which was introduced by the adherers of imyaslavie (onomatodoxy) during the imyaslavic disputes of the first quarter of the XX century. Using the philosophical methods, A. F. Losev attempted to reveal the exceptional and precise sense the Orthodox doctrine on the Name of God, one of paramount components of which is the Palamite theology about the energies of God. The task is set to determine the extent to which Losev's philosophical concept of onomatodoxy, and namey the understanding of the term “energy”, corresponds to the teaching of the Holy Fathers on the energy of God. The scientific novelty of this research lies in contribution to the comprehensive analysis of Losev's interpretation of the term “energy” in the context of patristic theology. This is especially relevant due to the fact that the appeal to Palamism (teaching on the energies of God) is one of the key arguments in the apologia of imyaslavie. The conclusion is drawn that proposed by Losev scheme of the Name of God, and his understanding of the term “energy” in particular, not just formally, but essentially is based on the philosophical provisions of Neo-Platonism. This is why the such system is not quite accurate interpretation of the patristic teaching on the energies of God and the Name of God.

Incurrunt in excommunicationem: brief history of canonic punishment of abortion

According to the 1983 Code of Canon Right, the person guilty of abortion, followed by the effect, automatically falls into the excommunication latae sententiae given to the bishop. This article sets out the penalties for this crime, which the Second Vatican Council called an “abominable crime” (GS 51). The punishments based on the Holy Scripture are reviewed, then those provided by the councils of the first millennium and those proposed by the patristic teaching, and then, to analyze the penitential manuals and Byzantine right, following the presentation of abortion punishments in medieval jurisprudence and pontifical teaching until the codification of canon right. At the end, the text shows the punishments prescribed by the codes of canon right – that of 1917, that of 1983 and that of the Eastern Churches –, ending with an incursion into Orthodox law.

Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Animal Suffering: Ancient Voices in Modern Theology by Christina Nellist

Reviewed by: Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Animal Suffering: Ancient Voices in Modern Theology by Christina Nellist Brother Christopher Christina Nellist. Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Animal Suffering: Ancient Voices in Modern Theology. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2018. 414 pp. The common perception of Orthodox Christianity is that it is primarily concerned with humanity’s relationship with God and how that expresses itself in the individual lives of believers. Most Christians recognize that Orthodoxy offers a rich tradition, especially in the realm of spirituality—prayer and liturgy most particularly, and how they help humanity reach the spiritual purpose for which we were created. Orthodoxy is very strong in articulating a vision of faith rooted in its passage down through the ages: the writings of the Church fathers and how they relate to deepening our relationship with God. However, less visible is Orthodoxy’s response to contemporary social and moral issues. Notwithstanding the important work of Patriarch Bartholomew regarding the environment, most Christians do not associate Orthodoxy as a whole with cutting-edge thinking on the spiritual and moral crises facing humanity today: global poverty, human rights, global warming, and working for peace between nations, for example. It is refreshing whenever contemporary Orthodox theologians make serious contributions in these areas, because it starts to change the perception that Orthodoxy is all about spirit. Christina Nellist is an Orthodox theologian who has written an ambitious study on the topic of animal suffering and its relationship to our moral life. She deals with what a proper response from Eastern Orthodox Christianity should be on this important topic. Her belief is that a proper understanding of how Orthodox tradition approaches creation will invariably lead to a broader respect for all of God’s creatures and create the conditions necessary to lessen animal suffering, which, as she asserts, is undeniably widespread. Her hope is [End Page 108] to raise consciousness primarily within Orthodoxy by helping us understand how the suffering of animals impacts our moral life. In the course of her study she argues persuasively that animals are sentient beings, each with a proper “animal soul,” and while their level of “thinking” and “mental processing” will vary according to the species, we cannot pretend that animals do not suffer from inhumane treatment. They do, and to help readers understand the seriousness of the issue, in the first chapter she presents graphic images of the abuse and mistreatment of animals in a variety of contexts. To defend such abuse on the pretext that animals are soulless or don’t feel the suffering imposed on them in such circumstances is disingenuous and very difficult to justify in the face of current ethological and behavioral studies on animals. For myself, living as I do with a large number of German Shepherds and working with dogs of all breeds each day, the reduction of dogs to soulless creatures that are solely for human use and pleasure borders on the preposterous. From an evolutionary point of view, dogs have prospered, in part, by choosing to associate with human beings as much as we have chosen to associate with and breed them. They possess unique personalities in which the canine “principle of life” is clearly on display. Granted, dogs are only one species, but they demonstrate that animal consciousness cannot be summarily dismissed as absurd. That said, regardless whether one views animals as having souls or not, as living creatures they deserve to be treated with respect and reverence. Nellist makes that point convincingly. To present her position that an Eastern Orthodox environmental ethic is consistent with scriptural and patristic teaching that includes the treatment of animals, she surveys the evidence from the Hebrew scriptures, the New Testament, and the witness of the saints. For example, she cites any number of saints who manifested a deep love for animals (e.g., Sts. Gerasimos, Modestos, Macarius, Mamas, and Seraphim of Sarov). At many points in her study she brings in the views of His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew to reinforce her position. While the Patriarch writes more directly about the environment and our abuse of it, Nellist believes this implicitly includes animals as well. Part of her aim in this study is to...

“From the visible to the trans­cen­dental”. Review of: Buseva-Davydova, I. L. (2019). Russkaia ikonopis’ ot Oruzheinoi palaty do moderna: poiski sakral’nogo obraza [Russian Icon Painting: From the Armoury Chamber to Art Nouveau. The Search of the Sacred Image]. Moscow: BooksMArt Publ. 476 p.

This review analyses Russian Icon Painting: From the Armoury Chamber to Art Nouveau: The Search of the Sacred Image (2019), a fundamental research monograph by I. L. Buseva-Davydova published by BooksMArt (Moscow) with the support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project 19-112-00032). The author carries out a comprehensive examination of the evolution of Russian icon painting of the modern period, from the second half of the seventeenth century to the present. The work covers a wide range of issues that have not been discussed previously. The most important of them are the establishment and evolution of the patristic teaching on the icon, the role of legal acts of the Russian Empire and Russian icon painting in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as well as the evolution of the sacred image in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and the icon painting controversy of the second half of the nineteenth century. Of particular value is the development of Russian icon painting in contemporary history.

Godmanhood vs Mangodhood: An Eastern Orthodox Response to Transhumanism

This article distances the classic Patristic teaching of Eastern Orthodoxy on theosis from the pseudo-religious ideology of transhumanism. By appealing to the Silver Age of Russian theologians a century ago, today’s transhumanist vision is dubbed Mangodhood, an idolatrous construction of a technological Tower of Babel. In contrast, the classical Orthodox teaching of deification or theosis relies on the spiritual grace of the true God, rendering the true goal of religion to be Godmanhood.

Trójca Święta w refleksji teologicznej Włodzimierza Łosskiego

Vladimir Lossky (1903-1958) was one of the greatest theologians of the twentieth century. Drawing from the wisdom of the Greek Fathers of the Church, he tried to help in the understanding of the Trinitarian dogma. He considered using the apophatic and cataphatic predicating of God as essential in theological reflection on the Holy Trinity. The mystery of God, Who is the Trinity and the One, is an irreconcilable difficulty (gr. aporia) for human reason. In the presentation of the truth about God, the danger of modalism and the danger of tritheism must be avoided. Relating to the patristic teaching, Lossky showed God the Father as the only basis (Gr. arche), the only source (Gr. pege), and the only cause (Gr. aitia) of the Holy Trinity. It is characteristic for his theology indicating two saving economies, namely, the economy of the Son and the economy of the Spirit. Their common goal is the realization the work of salvation in the Church.

Theological Anthropology for the World of Today: 1 Gaudium et Spes 22

Theological Anthropology for the World of Today: 1 Gaudium et Spes 22

Incorruptible Bodies: Christology, Society, and Authority in Late Antiquity. By Yonatan Moss

Dr Moss has written a learned book (152 pages of text, 87 of notes and bibliography), thoughtful with an intriguing idea. His theme is the controversy between Severus and Julian of Halicarnassus, the point at issue being the incorruptibility of Christ’s body. For Julian it was the incorruptibility of paradisal man constituted as such from the moment of divine incarnation; for Severus that of the crucified, resurrected, and ascended Lord. The controversy was conducted intemperately at least on Severus’ part. Julian’s words have largely to be deduced from Severus’ repetition of them. Here Dr Moss does a convincing job and I am willing to follow him for the most part when he inevitably fills in the gaps. His intriguing idea is to treat the notion of Christ’s body under three aspects: as church, as eucharistic, and as inspired patristic teaching. As church, for Severus, the body of Christ is the imperial church, now infected by heresy it is true, but still in principle Catholic. Departure from its canonical discipline is error. Dr Moss makes the point well and is surely right in emphasizing that Severus had no intention of instituting a separate body. Christ’s ecclesial body is corruptible but capable of cure. Julian seems (there is only faint evidence) to have belonged to the group who were pressing for separation from Chalcedon and its accursed and contaminating falsehood, the pseudo-body of Christ. The church for Severus as interpreted by Dr Moss is a mixed body, the faithfulness of the anti-Chalcedonians somehow more than compensating for presence of the Chalcedonians. As for the eucharistic body of Christ, its incorruptibility is not compromised (so Severus believes) by diptychs commemorating heretics. Julian believed the opposite. If it is a novelty here to describe the corpus of patristic teaching as ‘Christ’s body’ tout court, the metaphor of ‘body’ as applied to the Fathers’ teaching conceived of as a unified whole is a commonplace of the period and the inspiration of its textual embodiment a thing unquestioned. Dr Moss finds different approaches here. You would have expected Julian, by Dr Moss’s scheme, to assert the inspiration of the Fathers ad litteram but instead he is found to have been more ‘liberal’ (if that is the right word), allowing for variation in their wording.

Man and Cosmos from the Christian Theology Perspective

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the theological reflection on the relationship between man and cosmos. The origin of the world and man is connected to God; God is the Creator and consequently the Author of them both. Unlike dualistic materialistic thinking, according to the Christian conception the whole cosmos is created by God. In search for the cosmos an important chapter was granted for man, considered to be a synthesis of the world. Man, from the theological perspective, is the personal, rational, free, and speaking being that has – through the image of God according to which he has been created –, the tension after perfection. But it pertains exclusively to the relationship with Christ in the light of Whom he really knows himself, and by knowing himself he recognizes the infinite beauty of the Archetype. This is the existential-theological truth, which the content of this paper emphasizes, according to the Bible and patristic teaching.

Man and Cosmos from the Christian Theology perspective

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the theological reflection on the relationship between man and cosmos. The origin of the world and man is connected to God; God is the Creator and consequently the Author of them both. Unlike dualistic materialistic thinking, according to the Christian conception the whole cosmos is created by God. In search for the cosmos an important chapter was granted for man, considered to be a synthesis of the world. Man, from the theological perspective, is the personal, rational, free, and speaking being that has – through the image of God according to which he has been created –, the tension after perfection. But it pertains exclusively to the relationship with Christ in the light of Whom he really knows himself, and by knowing himself he recognizes the infinite beauty of the Archetype. This is the existential-theological truth, which the content of this paper emphasizes, according to the Bible and patristic teaching.