Theological Views Research Articles

In Light of Another’s Word: European Ethnography in the Middle Ages by Shirin A. Khanmohamadi (review)

Reviewed by: In Light of Another’s Word: European Ethnography in the Middle Ages by Shirin A. Khanmohamadi Jason Stoessel Khanmohamadi, Shirin A., In Light of Another’s Word: European Ethnography in the Middle Ages (Middle Ages), Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014; cloth; pp. 216; 1 b/w illustration; R.R.P. US$47.50, £31.00; ISBN 9780812245622. Shirin A. Khanmohamodi’s first book is a major reworking of her PhD dissertation (Columbia University, 2005). The book improves upon her dissertation, notably in the omission of a slightly awkward chapter on Marie de France’s Lais in favour of a new chapter on Jean de Joinville’s La vie de Saint Louis. The result is a tighter series of reworked essays that also examine the Descriptio Kambriae of Gerard of Wales, the Iterarium of William of Rubruck, and the Travels of John of Mandeville, thus focusing on a genre of medieval writing from the end of the twelfth up to the mid-fourteenth century that some still refer to as ‘travel literature’. The inclusion of Rubruck nonetheless uncomfortably expands the book into realms that cry out for consideration of other authors like the extraordinary Odoric of Pordenone or John of Montecorvino, but such gaps have been recently and admirably filled, for example, by Kim M. Phillips’s Before Orientalism: Asian Peoples and Cultures in European Travel Writing, 1245–1510 (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013). Khanmohamadi adopts a recent critical position, styling these examples of medieval travel literature as ‘medieval ethnography’, which she also classes as a genre of anthropological writing. She is not alone in doing so, joined by notables like Robert Bartlett and Joan-Pau Rubiés. Some readers might object, however, to her rudimentary definitions of ethnography as ‘discourse on observed manners and customs’, and anthropology as ‘the set of ideas and theories attempting to account for cultural diversity of the unity of the “human”’ (p. 11). Whether medieval theologies, cosmologies, and other systems of thought (especially experiential scholasticism in the mode of Roger Bacon) can be subsumed into a theory of discourses is beside the point: the modern terms ‘ethnography’ and ‘anthropology’ evoke a teleology [End Page 317] that risks refashioning the past in the image of the present. While all history tends in this direction, these sorts of terminological impasses thwart the historiographical dialogue of the past and present. In this same vein, there is a strongly secularising thread running through Khanmohamadi’s book. Khanmohamadi overplays the influence of ‘pagan’ classical literature upon late medieval travel literature while conversely ignoring the thread of scholastic theology in the writings of Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas. Perhaps the most notable omission is St Augustine, who was well known for his position in his City of God that even monsters were God’s people. Similar theological views permeate the thinking of Roger Bacon. It is difficult to understand Khanmohamadi’s reasons for adopting such an approach, but the results are sometimes problematic, as, for example, in the chapter on William of Rubruck’s account of his travels to the Mongol Khan. Saliently, she emphasises the place of self-reflection and self-visualisation in the mendicant art of preaching. Aron Gurevich has already noted how this practice had transformed preaching in European contexts. It permits Khanmohamadi to identify several instances of conscious self-representation and reflective engagement with Mongol hosts in William’s account. Yet, one cannot help noting that it is William writing about William in his Iterarium: sometimes more critical space needed to be placed between what William portrayed and the reality of a man that was initially seen as an odd ascetic who, for example, to the amusement of his Mongol hosts, chose not to wear shoes in the biting frost and, as A. J. Watson pointed out in the Journal of Medieval History 37 (2011), did not understand Mongol gift culture. For Franciscans like William, the exemplary life of their founder, especially his travelling to Egypt to preach before the Sultan, provided a model for the order’s interaction with the world’s peoples. Franciscans like Ramon Lull recognised the centrality of language in this experience, although this is one of the weakest aspects...

Acceptance and Resistance in a Theology of Death

There is a tension in facing death between acceptance and resistance. According to the Judaeo-Christian tradition, this ambiguity in experience is rooted in human psychosomatic unity and in a theological view of death which combines elements of death as enemy and as natural boundary to life. The tension experienced between acceptance and resistance matches a theology in which the dead person is understood as existing ‘in’ the triune God so that God ‘represents’ the person until an event described metaphorically as resurrection. This sustains a theology of grief coherent with the interplay between protest and acceptance observed in the face of death.

Literary analysis of covenant themes in the book of Malachi

The category of is considered to be the dominant and cohesive idea in the theology of the OT. It is the means through which Israel conceptualise its relation with Yahweh. Although the term covenant is variously and even contradictorily defined, its applicability to Israel's conceptualisation of its relationship with Yahweh is pervasive and well-known. The relationship between Israel and Yahweh is considered to be its constitution, its vocation, and its salvation. From a theological view point, the essential components of Malachi's oracles are the person-hood of Yahweh - the God of Israel, Yahweh's relationship with Israel, and the all-pervasive message of unreserved and enthusiastic personal response of Israel to the truth assertions of the prophetic voice. This article thus demonstrates the significance of as the central and cohesive theological motif connecting and coordinatingseveral themes present in the book of Malachi as well as illuminating its message. In Malachi, one observes that certain religious fundamentals were compromised. In order to deal with the indifference and its adverse consequences in the gradual decline towards an unstructured existence and to hold together a society that upholds values and maintains an ancient faith, Malachi was skill-full and creative in his employment of the theme to the advantage of his ministerial context. The article presents precise background and historical information about the book of Malachi that are crucial to an understanding of its theme and message, the book's literary style, theme and structure, examines the various themes and then concludes by synthesising these themes with the overall message of the book's context.

Born idolaters: The limits of the philosophical implications of the cognitive science of religion

SummaryIn recent years, theoretical and empirical work done under the rubric of the cognitive science of religion (CSR) have led many to conclude that religion (or, at least, some aspects thereof) is “natural”. By this, it is meant that human beings are predisposed to believe in supernatural agents, and that their beliefs about these agents are constrained in various ways. The details about how and why these predispositions and cognitive constraints developed and evolved are still largely unknown, though there is enough of a theoretical consensus in CSR for philosophers to have begun reflecting on the implications of CSR for religious belief. In particular, much philosophical work has been done on the implications of CSR for theism, on both sides of the debate. On one hand, CSR might contribute to defeating particular arguments for theism, or indeed theism altogether; on the other hand, CSR might provide support for specific theological views. In this paper, we argue that the CSR is largely irrelevant for

Black tronies in seventeenth-century Flemish art and the African presence

In this article I examine the production of tronies or head studies of people of African origin made by the Flemish artists Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Jan I Brueghel, Jacob Jordaens and Gaspar de Crayer in an attempt to uncover their use of Africans1 as models. In order to contextualise the research, the actual presence of Africans in Flanders is investigated. Although no documentation exists to calculate even an approximate number of Africans living in Flanders at that time, travel accounts of foreigners visiting the commercial city of Antwerp testify to its cosmopolitan character. A general perception of black people in those days can be extrapolated from the notebooks of Rubens and contemporary theological views. The examination of black tronies starts with the studies of Rubens, made after live models first in Italy and then in his workshop in Antwerp. By comparing various African head studies and considering them in the context of contemporary studio practices involving assistants (Van Dyck) and collaborators (Brueghel), a historically more accurate picture emerges regarding the production of such studies. Jordaens and De Crayer also made black tronies for use in history paintings, and by tracing their appearance in a select number of works it is possible to distinguish their respective models. Assumptions regarding the extent of the influence of Rubens are thus put in perspective while giving credit to contributions made by Van Dyck, Jordaens and De Crayer to the study of African people.

Double Predestination, Augustinian Tradition and Carolingian Ecclesiastical Politics. The Debate that Started in the Northern Realm

This article is the first part of a study offering a historical overview of the debate on double predestination in the 9th-century Carolingian realm. It considers the personalities and the monasteries involved, the treatises written and the councils assembled on the issue of double predestination in order to clarify the theological positions of the various protagonists. The key issues for all of them were Augustine’s views on predestination, grace and merit, divine omnipotence and human free will, divine predilection and universal salvific will. They all purported to offer the ‘right’ interpretation of these theological views albeit from different angles. The study will thus present (in two separate articles) these differences as they are related both to various readings of Augustine in the Carolingian realm and to an unequal distribution of the manuscripts of Augustine’s works and also to other factors such as pastoral discourse, political interests and personal ambitions, which may have contributed to t...

Islamic Theological Texts and Contexts in Banjarese Society: An Overview of the Existing Studies

According to the statistics compiled for the year 2000 on ethnic identities, the Banjarese ranked 10th among the largest ethnic groups in Indonesia (Suryadinata et al. 2003, 31-68) .u Most Banjarese live in South Kalimantan, and many of them live in Central and East Kalimantan, as well as in Sumatra, especially in Bangka Belitung, Riau, Jambi, and North Sumatra.1 2' The Banjarese are generally identified as Muslims. Starting around the sixteenth century, the Banjarese Kingdom was converted to Islam by the Javanese Sultanate, Demak, as a compensation for the latter's military aid.3) The process oflslamization apparently became more intense by the eighteenth century after the return of Muhammad Arsyad al-Banjari from his study in the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina. During the Banjar war (1859-1905), and the revolutionary war in the first half of the twentieth century, the Islamic leaders and organizations also played an important role. Presently, Muslims constitute 97.3% in South Kalimantan.Islamization is a continuing process, and probably would never end. One of the ways to see the development and dynamics of Islam among the Banjarese is to study Islamic theological texts written and taught by the ulama in the region. During the last three decades, there has been a number of studies on the subject, undertaken by Banjarese scholars, and most of whom are of the State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN), Antasari, Banjarmasin. Given the fact that most of these studies are largely unknown, unpublished, and simply sitting on the library shelves gathering dust, I am interested in investigating these texts, hoping that, through my own interpretation and analysis, we can find a general picture of change and continuity in Islamic theological thought in Banjarese society.Muhammad Arsyad al-Banjari's Theological Text and ContextThere is no doubt that Muhammad Arsyad al-Banjari (1710-1812) is a figure in the Islamization of Banjarese society. At the age of 30, he was sent to Mecca by Sultan Tamjidillah (1734-59) to perform hajj and to study all branches of Islamic knowledge with the prominent ulama in Mecca and then Madina. After more than 30 years of study, he came back home, and then became the advisor to the Banjarese sultanate.4)As an Islamic scholar, Arsyad al-Banjari wrote a number of works on Islamic teachings, including Islamic theology.5) There are at least two works of al-Banjari discussing the Islamic theological doctrines, namely al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi 'alâmât al-Imâm al-Mahdi al-Muntazhar (A short explanation on the signs of the expected Imam al-Mahdi), and Tu?fat al-Râghibin fi Bayâni Haqiqat Imân al-Mu'minin wa Mâ Yufsiduh min Riddat al-Murtaddin (A gift to the seekers, explaining the essence of faith of the believers and its damages due to the apostasy of the apostates). The former is academically less studied than the latter.6) It is probably because al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar is only concerned with eschatological doctrines, while Tu?fat al-Râghibin, besides describing basic Islamic theological doctrines, also attacks certain existing traditional rituals. In addition, its authorship also triggers a scholarly controversy.Therefore, this section will only analyze the studies of the Tu?fat al-Râghibin. The treatise was written in 1774, two years after al-Banjari's return to the Banjarese Sultanate (1772). Like most works of the ulama of the archipelago in that period, this work by alBanjari was written in the Malay language using Arabic script or the so-called Jawi script. The earliest print edition known to a researcher is the one published in 1887 by alMathba'ah al-Haj Muharram Affandi, Istambul (Hasan 2007, 71). The transliteration of the book into Latin script was carried out by Abu Daudi (2000) and M. Asywadie Syukur (2009). The existing research on this treatise raises the following questions: Is Tu?fat al-Râghibin the work of al-Palimbani or al-Banjari? What are the theological views presented in the work? …

Melacak Eksistensi Kosakata Mesir Kuno dalam Al-Qur'an

There has been a shift of paradigm between the classical Muslim scholars and the modern Muslim scholars in analyzing the Qur’an. The classical scholars preferred theological paradigm, while the modern scholars prefer academic and critical studies. In analyzing the Arabicity of Qur’anic language, the classical scholars argued that all language of the Qur’an are pure Arabic language. They based their argument on the verses of the Qur’an, and also on the theological view on the origin of Qur’anic language. The modern scholars, on the other hand, argue for the existence of foreign words in the Qur’an. This view is based on the fact that the Qur’anic language is historical and cultural language, eventhough they do not deny its divine origin. In this article, the writer analyzes the view of Sa’d ‘Abd al-Mutallib al-‘Adl in his al-Hiruglifiyah Tufassir Al-Qur'an Sharh ma Yusamma bi al-Huruf al-Muqatta’ah which seeks to find the historical root of the Qur’an in Old Egyptian civilization to prove the use of Old Egyptian terms in the Qur’an.

PENDEKATAN EPISTEMOLOGI DAN INTERSUBJEKTIF ATAS HADIS-HADIS NIKAH MUT’AH

This article offers an alternative perspective at the difference views in the Sunni and Shi’ite hadiths for Mut'ah marriage. Related to the differences both treat and apply that these hadits universally believed to be one of the fundamental sources of Islam. Eventhough, both Sunny and Shi’ite agree to put hadits as a second source of doctrine, but they often actually produce a different formulation of the law and contradictory. The difference of theological view is a fundamental problem that implies on their thought dealing with being accepted or rejected for hadits transmition of Mut’ah merriage. Intersubjectivity approach has roled to positionize these groups as an objective opinion, subjective as well. Both objectivities are located on the seriousness of their respective efforts to obtain the authenticity of the hadith, in which expectations will be both objectivity when hadith of mut’ah marriages take placed purely as historical information. In this position, the awareness together to build the Islamic civilization in the theological differences, are values that should be a priority

Neo-Naturphilosophie: A Review of Michael Ruse's Gaia: Science on a Pagan Planet

Neo-<i>Naturphilosophie</i>: A Review of Michael Ruse's <i>Gaia: Science on a Pagan Planet</i>

Istota posługi głoszenia Słowa Bożego w świetle "Mów" św. Leona Wielkiego

St. Leo the Great’s theological view is characterized by a deep sense of the liturgy as an actualization of the saving mystery of Christ. This belief has its resemblance in tasks which are performed by pope’s Sermons. They are – first of all – uncovering this mystery’s presence in “here and now” of the liturgical cele­bration, leading into its essence, and indicating in which way this celebration can be prolonged in everyday live by the believers. In this way sermons help them in deeper participation in the Holy Mass and extracting life-giving strength from the mystery which is celebrated. Therefore the preaching ministry is regarded by St. Leo as a grave responsibility, from which a priest who presides over the liturgy should not dispense with. Considering a sermon as a part of the liturgy Pope re­gards it as an instrument of God’s grace, and a space to praise the God for what He has made in the history of salvation.

Comparative Christian Hermeneutical Approaches to the Land Promises to Abraham

Comparative Christian Hermeneutical Approaches to the Land Promises to Abraham Adam Gregerman While formerly inflammatory topics such as the deicide charge have waned in Jewish–Christian relations, disputes over the land and State of Israel provoke intense controversy and disagreement. Decades ago, in the Christian world, this topic was already widely said to be especially divisive, and today, it remains so. It is not surprising that an issue that provokes intense geopolitical interest and touches on territory of nearly unsurpassed religious significance would be so provocative. The nexus of politics and religion is especially volatile. Among Christians, church organizations and individual theologians in the west (North America, Europe) join diverse religious claims and biblical interpretations to their foreign policy statements and arguments. Sometimes, it seems that the political views trump the religious. For example, Christian disputes over the State of Israel often can be mapped onto existing deep divisions in the American churches over domestic policies or military action, with left and right presenting predictable arguments. It is understandably tempting to see appeals to Scripture and theology as tools to buttress pre‐existing political views. However, a sympathetic reader should also recognize the presence of serious theological reflections on this contested and fraught sacred space. Christians who grapple with the land and State of Israel do so in the wake of highly complex millennia‐old Christian theological traditions about Jews and Judaism, sacred space generally, and the land of Israel in particular. There are profound religious issues at stake that go beyond politics, for the State of Israel as a “Jewish state” inevitably raises religious questions for Christians, especially for those rethinking largely negative historical views of Jews and Judaism. For many centuries, nearly all Christians believed that Jewish powerlessness and exile were divine punishment for Jews’ refusal to believe in and/or murder of Jesus. The ejection of many Jews from the biblical land of Israel and the end to Jewish sovereignty there were proofs of the truth of Christianity. Not surprisingly, then, in the wake of the 1948 creation of the State of Israel, the ingathering of (some) Jews to the land, and the (partial) end of Jewish subordination to Gentile rulers, many Christians struggled to make sense of this event not just politically but theologically. The difficult theological questions raised by this event, and for some subsequent events, such as the Israeli capture of all of Jerusalem in 1967, include as follows: Does the creation of the state—though a result of a United Nations vote—have any religious significance for Christians, as a contemporary act of God in history or manifestation of God's will? Need it prompt changes in Christians’ views about Jewish landedness or landlessness, and if so, how broad might these changes be? Are the policies of the state to be evaluated by Christians using religious criteria different from those used when evaluating other countries? Because these questions rest on underlying (and changing) Christian theological views about Jews and Judaism, they should be situated in a broader context: how do widespread contemporary Christian efforts to understand Judaism in theologically positive ways influence Christian views of the land and State of Israel specifically? This last question provides the context for addressing this topic. Since many western Christian groups and thinkers now reject supersessionism and affirm the ongoing legitimacy of the Jews’ covenant, the biblical promises concerning the land are an unavoidable topic. Even those who deny any contemporary religious significance to the State of Israel must face it, if only to make this separation between biblical promises and the modern nation‐state clear. There have been studies on contemporary Christian views of the religious significance or lack of religious significance of the land and State of Israel. Most have focused on one group or one perspective, such as liberal Christians, Catholics, evangelical/conservative Christians, and even British churches or Canadian churches. Other studies—fewer in number—survey a variety of perspectives. Much attention has been paid in particular to church/Christian activism, such as support for or opposition to Israel and its policies. Surprisingly, less attention has been paid to the underlying religious issues of the covenant between God and the Israelites/Jews and...

RELIGION IS EASY, BUT SCIENCE IS HARD … UNDERSTANDING McCAULEY'S THESIS

AbstractRobert N. McCauley's new book Why Religion Is Natural and Science Is Not (2011) presents a new paradigm for investigating the relationship between science and religion by exploring the cognitive foundations of religious belief and scientific knowledge. McCauley's contention is that many of the differences and disagreements regarding religion and science are the product of distinct features of human cognition that process these two domains of knowledge very differently. McCauley's thesis provides valuable insights into this relationship while not necessarily leading to a dismissive view of theology or religious belief. His paradigm allows the research lens to focus on cognitive differences in processing scientific versus religious information and the important role of automatic, unconscious, and intuitive cognitive processes in understanding both the natural and supernatural worlds.

Protecting Rural Church-Going Immigrant Women from Family Violence

Rural Latino immigrant women at risk of family violence may perceive churches as their only source of help. However, immigrant church leaders may be poorly equipped to address family violence in their congregations. This article describes a project designed to stimulate and support appropriate responses to family violence by rural immigrant churches, including those identified with conservative theological views on women. The primary goal was to provide rural Latino church leaders with culturally sensitive materials and resources they were willing to use with their congregations. We collaborated with local service providers who assisted in recruiting the church leaders for the pastors’ workshops where the resource materials were presented. Survey data indicated most of the pastors were receptive to the content and planned to incorporate it into their church work. Suggestions are made for future research on this culturally sensitive approach to addressing family violence in the immigrant community.

Vico oltre Babele? La diversità delle lingue nella Scienza Nuova , §§ 444-445

This paper investigates Giambattista Vico’s linguistic thought, focusing on the topic of the diversity of languages. It is argued that Vico’s position dismantled the traditional ideas that reduced the diversity of languages to a consequence of Babel as well as Scaliger’s and Sanchez’s conventionalist standpoints that recurred to a modified form of Aristotelism. Vico’s “natural” perspective is studied in the light of Epicurus’ theory of language origins, which not only provided a justification for the semantic differences underpinning human languages but also explained the inner relationship holding between mother-tongue(s), habits and nations. Finally, Vico’s concept of Providence, granting that an “ideal mental language” balances cultural differences and has them converge toward a universal ‘commonsense’, is discussed to illustrate the philosopher’s compromise between language naturalism and his theological (as well as anthropological) view of Human history

A Derridarean critique of Logocentrism as opposed to Textcentrism in John 1v1

In Kelber’s hermeneutics of John, the notion of the pre-existence Logos is central . The Logos, in his reading , is prior to the realm of history and outside the reality of the narrative text. I have argued that the Logos in John can be seen as a leading case of logocentrism as coined by Derrida. The term ‘logocentrism’ refers to the Graeco-Christian or Johannine Platonic tradition according to which written language belongs to the realm of the imperfect whereas true knowledge pertains to the pre-existent, personified Logos . Derrida provides an uncompromising critique of logocentrism. He read Western theology and philosophy not in terms of a fading logocentrism and a rise of textcentrism, but rather in terms of the illusion of logocentrism. Derrida’s principle of distress is the referential paradigm of language. The linguistic sign is defined by the signifier and the signified. The signifier constitutes the visible marks committed to paper and the signified is the so-called meaning we attached to them. For Derrida, written language is generally seen as inferior whereas spoken language takes on transcendental significance and an ontological status to the referent of language. The Western tradition of philosophy and theology views writing as exterior whereas speech appears as innocent. Derrida’s logocentrism approach challenges the privileging of speech over writing in the referential system, accusing Western theology and philosophy of falsely enslaving the sign by establishing a transcendental signifier over against writing. In this article, these ideas of Derrida are applied by reading the Logos in the Johannine narrative from the perspective of orality and textuality.

John Ross's Theological View on the Primitive Monotheism of Chinese Confucianism and the Term Quesiton of the Chinese Bible Translation

John Ross's Theological View on the Primitive Monotheism of Chinese Confucianism and the Term Quesiton of the Chinese Bible Translation

Adolescents as Theologians: A New Approach in Christian Education and Youth Ministry

The author argues that adolescents are not only philosophers, as Kohlberg and Gilligan once claimed, but should also be viewed as theologians. This view corresponds to what has been called “lay theology” or “ordinary theology.” Moreover, the article takes up the double question what adolescents might benefit from theology and what theology might benefit from adolescents. On this background, a systematic understanding of adolescents as theologians is offered, distinguishing between theology of adolescents, with adolescents, and for adolescents. In a final section, theological views concerning adolescence as a stage in the human lifecycle are discussed.

Reinterpretacja postaci Hioba w starożytnym monastycyzmie chrześcijańskim

This article presents the results of research in understanding and practical significance of the figure of Job in ancient monasticism. The monastic reinterpretation constitutes one of the elements of the history of interpretation of this biblical book in general. In the patristic period the book of Job, with its presentation of difficult theological views, has not been entirely congenial to the proponents of theological doctrine, but rather of Christian ethics and spirituality. Apparently the Greek Christian writers favored the book of Job. The Latins seem to have been overwhelmed by the Moralia of Gregory the Great. Monastic literature of that time notes the biblical typology within an ascetic context. Virtues such as patience, the struggle with evil and perseverance in bearing the sufferings appeared as a characteristic of famous monks and great spiritual masters. The biblical figures of Job is seen by the ancient monks as model for those seeking a life in God’s presence.

Ditches of destruction – Cyril of Alexandria and the rhetoric of public security

AbstractThis article examines the rhetoric of destruction and damage with which Cyril of Alexandria depicted Nestorius and the deviating theological views during the Christological dispute (the Nestorian controversy). In my analysis, I focus on Cyril’s ways of appealing to security, unity and peace. One of the aims of this article is retranslate Cyril from a venerated church father into a late antique opinion leader who had both the capacity and the power to persuade and who used language not only for describing, but also for moulding social reality. Consequently, I draw attention to the rhetorical techniques by which he constructed the disagreement of theological views into a heresy that dangers the life and salvation of fellow Christians. In this analysis, the discursive category called “orthodoxy” is, therefore, understood as a process in which “orthodoxy” was continually defined, redefined, tested, retested, preserved and challenged in particular historical situations. Cyril’s rhetoric of confrontation and the ways he represented himself as the guardian of the correct doctrine were in line with the conventions of other earlier ancient as well as contemporary ecclesiastical writers. Furthermore, in this article, Cyril’s rhetoric of confrontation is considered in the framework of the reign of Theodosius II. Guarding the borderlines of the correct doctrine was associated with protecting the borders of the Roman Empire. The concerns for heresy and orthodoxy were increasingly understood as an issue of public security: thus, what was claimed to be at stake was not only the unity of the church, but also the fate of the whole Empire, as Cyril’s argumentation shows.