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Some Church Fathers on Christ's Priesthood

Gerald O'Collins and Michael Keenan Jones

in Jesus Our Priest: A Christian Approach to the Priesthood of Christ

This chapter examines the scattered references to Christ's priesthood made by the fathers of the Church from Clement of Rome down to Gregory the Great, with particular attention paid to major ... More

This chapter examines the scattered references to Christ's priesthood made by the fathers of the Church from Clement of Rome down to Gregory the Great, with particular attention paid to major contributions coming from Origen, John Chrysostom, and Augustine of Hippo. Both then and later, reflection on Christ's priesthood was prompted both by issues concerning the exercise of the ordained ministry in the Church and by serious attention to Hebrews. Clement of Alexandria applied the story of Melchizedek further by understanding the offering of bread and wine to prefigure the Eucharist. Augustine developed the narrative of Christ's priesthood in the light of his being the head of the body that is the Church. At the Eucharist Christ is truly, if invisibly, present and makes the offering ‘on our behalf’. Augustine also reflected significantly on the nature of ‘true sacrifices’ as ‘works of mercy done to ourselves or our neighbour and directed to God’.Less

The Origenist monk and bishop

Demetrios S. Katos

in Palladius of Helenopolis: The Origenist Advocate

This chapter surveys Palladius' life from the beginning of his ascetic career to his composition of the Dialogue on the Life of St. John Chrysostom. It narrates his career among a social network of ... More

This chapter surveys Palladius' life from the beginning of his ascetic career to his composition of the Dialogue on the Life of St. John Chrysostom. It narrates his career among a social network of Origenists, such as Melania the Elder, Rufinus of Aquilea, Isidore the Presbyter, the Tall Brothers, and especially Evagrius of Pontus. It follows his peregrinations through Palestine, Alexandria, Nitria, and Cells, observes his work as a bishop in Asia Minor and as a defender of John Chrysostom that was banished to a frontier garrison. The chapter concludes with an examination of the date, provenance, and audience of the Dialogue. Palladius' emerges from this chapter not merely as a peripatetic monk, his own preferred self‐portrait, but as an ecclesiastical statesman who passionately supported the causes of his network in the most pressing controversies of his day.Less

Dio Chrysostom’s Construction of Olbia

BALBINA BÄBLER

in Classical Olbia and the Scythian World: From the Sixth Century BC to the Second Century AD

This chapter discusses Dio Chrysostom, a wealthy Greek who was banished from Prusa and who was exiled to Olbia. It focuses on his construction and illustration of Olbia through his thirty-sixth ... More

This chapter discusses Dio Chrysostom, a wealthy Greek who was banished from Prusa and who was exiled to Olbia. It focuses on his construction and illustration of Olbia through his thirty-sixth speech entitled Borystheniticus Or. 36. This speech is assumed to be written during his exile in Olbia and was delivered on his return to Prusa. His Borystheniticus themes are ‘harmony, good order, and regular and predictable change on earth as in heaven’. His speech consists of a large introduction that narrates the location of Olbia. Out of the 61 pages of his Borystheniticus, 13 are devoted to the exterior setting of the city, the city itself, its inhabitants and its surrounding, giving the impression that the introduction was not intended as a mere introductory part. His account of Olbia in his speech was not just an indulging innocent reminiscence, rather it was a description aimed for a larger audience. Behind his illustration of the Obliopolitans as early Greeks lies a traditional and elaborate theory that suggest that the technical and cultural evolution, development and progress of civilization came at the same time as moral degeneration. He painted a gloomy picture of Olbia as a rhetorical strategy that allowed him to illustrate a society on the brink of extinction as a result of the severe threat to its historical and religious identity and yet still holding out because of the sense of unity of the community. This concept was aimed to remind the inhabitants of Prusa of proper and responsible behaviour.Less

Josephus and Greek Literature in Flavian Rome

Christopher P. Jones

in Flavius Josephus and Flavian Rome

This chapter explores the ways in which Josephus’ rhetorical style of historical writing was influenced by other Greek writers in the Flavian period. It is somewhat difficult to locate such writers ... More

This chapter explores the ways in which Josephus’ rhetorical style of historical writing was influenced by other Greek writers in the Flavian period. It is somewhat difficult to locate such writers at Rome precisely during Josephus’ residence in the city. The chapter underlines the prologue to the Judaean War, where Josephus responds to previous histories of the war, some likely to have been in Greek, which he thought of poor quality. It argues that Josephus was particularly influenced by Dio Chrysostom, the orator from Prusa in Bithynia, and Plutarch, the philosopher and priest from Chaeronea in Boeotia. Dio’s Alexandrian oration, for example, may have been used by Josephus as a model for his narrative of the tension between Judeans and Greeks in that city in his Judaean Antiquities. As for Plutarch, the chapter maintains that Josephus was particularly influenced by his imperial biographies. However, Domitian’s eventual persecution of Judaean sympathizers likely forced Josephus into literary isolation.Less

Engaging Paradigms

Susan R. Holman

in God Knows There's Need: Christian Responses to Poverty

This chapter explores early Christian texts on poverty responses between the fourth and sixth centuries. It applies the book's three paradigms and a vision for practical social action to the ... More

This chapter explores early Christian texts on poverty responses between the fourth and sixth centuries. It applies the book's three paradigms and a vision for practical social action to the patristic writings and examples of the “Cappadocians”—Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, their sister Macrina, and their friend Gregory of Nazianzus—as well as Jacob of Sarug and John Chrysostom. Topics include poverty, hunger, injustice, disease, sermons on “the love of the poor,” and patristic ideals of social justice. This chapter draws on previous academic work on these texts to here apply scholarship to pastoral applications and challenges to contemporary social action in the modern world.Less

Grace and the Logos' Double Birth in the Early Church

Donald Fairbairn

in Grace and Christology in the Early Church

In the light of the book's treatment of grace and christology, this chapter argues that the central issue in patristic christology was not whether Christ was one person or two or whether one spoke of ... More

In the light of the book's treatment of grace and christology, this chapter argues that the central issue in patristic christology was not whether Christ was one person or two or whether one spoke of one nature or two, but whether God the Son was personally present on earth through the incarnation. The chapter asserts that the key phrase expressing this issue was the ‘double birth’ of the Logos. Those who insisted that God the Son must be and was personally present insisted that the Logos was born twice (of the Father eternally and of Mary in time). This chapter looks briefly at John Chrysostom, John of Antioch, Celestine, Leo, and the Chalcedonian Definition and concludes that belief in the double birth of the Logos was the faith of the entire Church in the fifth century, with only a small handful of dissenters.Less

 “Great Is Circumcision”: Christian Condemnation, Jewish Veneration

Leonard B. Glick

in Marked in Your Flesh: Circumcision from Ancient Judea to Modern America

The earliest converts to Christianity were expected to accept circumcision; but in his sharply worded letter to the Galatians, Paul disdained the practice as spiritually worthless. Justin Martyr and ... More

The earliest converts to Christianity were expected to accept circumcision; but in his sharply worded letter to the Galatians, Paul disdained the practice as spiritually worthless. Justin Martyr and John Chrysostom extended the Christian critique, further laying the foundation for nearly two millennia of Christian rejection. Roman authorities legislated against circumcision of non-Jews, particularly slaves. In contrast, early rabbinic texts passionately defended the practice, arguing that it is a purifying experience pleasing to the Lord.Less

‘Walk Towards him Shining’ 1

Lewis Ayres

in Nicaea and its Legacy: An Approach to Fourth-Century Trinitarian Theology

Builds on the previous two, looking first at common pro-Nicene anthropological themes. Pro-Nicenes share ‘dual-focus’ anthropologies, in which a rightly ordered soul is attentive both to the ... More

Builds on the previous two, looking first at common pro-Nicene anthropological themes. Pro-Nicenes share ‘dual-focus’ anthropologies, in which a rightly ordered soul is attentive both to the governing of the body and to the presence of God to the soul. These beliefs form the background to the accounts of purification that are, in turn, taken to be the context for the good practice of Trinitarian theology. The second half of the chapter considers shared pro-Nicene accounts of Scripture. Pro-Nicenes share a new sense of the efficacy and yet the mysteriousness of the scriptural text that shapes and is shaped by the pro-Nicene aesthetic is outlined in the previous chapter.Less

John Chrysostom

Henry Chadwick

in The Church in Ancient Society: From Galilee to Gregory the Great

Discusses the career and reputation of John Chrysostom (c.347–407) and the religious consequences of the political events of his time. John first came to prominence at Antioch through his strict ... More

Discusses the career and reputation of John Chrysostom (c.347–407) and the religious consequences of the political events of his time. John first came to prominence at Antioch through his strict moral teaching, and he became bishop of Constantinople, despite considerable opposition, in 397. Under the emperor Arcadius and his consort Eudoxia, John became involved in court politics and dealings with the barbarian soldiers in Roman service. His sympathy for ascetic admirers of Origen expelled from Egypt to Constantinople provided John's enemies with the opportunity to move against him. On his expulsion over the immediate issue of the erection of a statue of Eudoxia, the church at Constantinople was divided between his supporters and opponents.Less

Innocent I and John Chrysostom's Honour: Alaric and the Fall of Rome

Henry Chadwick

in The Church in Ancient Society: From Galilee to Gregory the Great

Controversy about the excommunication of John Chrysostom affected relations between east and west, as pope Innocent I (401–17) defended John's reputation and gradually gained some support in the ... More

Controversy about the excommunication of John Chrysostom affected relations between east and west, as pope Innocent I (401–17) defended John's reputation and gradually gained some support in the east. John's deposition did not, as his opponents had wished, diminish the status of Constantinople or ‘New Rome’ in the eastern churches. Innocent's correspondence with the east covered other matters, including the Roman liturgy and Pelagianism. Innocent's time in office was also troubled by barbarian invasions of Gaul and Italy. Alaric's sack of Rome in 410 provoked agonizing questions for Christians about divine providence and provided the occasion for Augustine to begin work on his City of God.Less

Jesus' Descent to the Underworld

Jeffrey A. Trumbower

in Rescue for the Dead: The Posthumous Salvation of Non-Christians in Early Christianity

The fifth chapter categorizes various early Christian opinions on who exactly was saved during Christ's descent to the underworld or Hades, an event known in later theology as the “harrowing of ... More

The fifth chapter categorizes various early Christian opinions on who exactly was saved during Christ's descent to the underworld or Hades, an event known in later theology as the “harrowing of hell.” Most early theologians posit that only the righteous of the Old Testament were saved, but some texts, like the Odes of Solomon, infer that a general offer of salvation to all the dead was made at that time. Clement of Alexandria interpreted 1 Peter from the New Testament in the same direction. John Chrysostom and Philaster of Brescia were adamant that no one “converted” in hell; only those who had been righteous in this life were eligible to receive Christ in the underworld. Two different versions of the Gospel of Nicodemus give two different answers to this question.Less

Advocacy in the Dialogue on the Life of St John Chrysostom

Demetrios S. Katos

in Palladius of Helenopolis: The Origenist Advocate

This chapter argues that the Dialogue on the Life of St. John Chrysostom should be understood as a legal argument in defense of John composed in accordance with the principles of late antique ... More

This chapter argues that the Dialogue on the Life of St. John Chrysostom should be understood as a legal argument in defense of John composed in accordance with the principles of late antique judicial rhetoric found in the Art of Political Speech (Anonymous Seguerianus) and Art of Rhetoric, attributed to Apsines of Gadara. This chapter analyzes the Dialogue in terms of its four constitutive parts, namely, the introduction [proemion], narration [diegesis], argumentation [kataskeue or pistis], and conclusion [epilogos] and explains the purpose and historical value of each. This chapter reveals that Palladius used the dialogue form to mimic courtroom debate and that he subordinated all narrative elements to the argumentation. It is the argumentation that is at the very heart of the Dialogue, even though its significance has been ignored or even dismissed by most scholarship which has long viewed the dialogue as a historical or biographical narrative.Less

Conclusion

Michael Peppard

in The Son of God in the Roman World: Divine Sonship in its Social and Political Context

This short chapter uses a fourth‐century homily of John Chrysostom about baptism as a way to recapitulate the main themes of the book.

Confrontation in the Early Episcopacy

Susan Wessel

in Cyril of Alexandria and the Nestorian Controversy: The Making of a Saint and of a Heretic

This chapter discusses Cyril's early episcopacy, including his polemical confrontation with Jews, pagans, and Arians. By these polemics, Cyril forged his distinctly Alexandrian vision of ... More

This chapter discusses Cyril's early episcopacy, including his polemical confrontation with Jews, pagans, and Arians. By these polemics, Cyril forged his distinctly Alexandrian vision of Christianity, which favoured simple, repeatable formulations of the creed. During this time, too, Cyril borrowed Athanasius' anti-Arian discourse which Cyril made relevant once again in his later controversy with Nestorius. The first section of this chapter discusses Cyril's election and the Novatians. The second section looks at Theophilus' actions against the Tall Brothers and John Chrysostom. The third section considers Cyril's conflict with the Alexandrian Jews. The fourth section examines the murder of the renowned pagan and neo-Platonist philosopher Hypatia. The fifth section considers the lingering problem of Arianism.Less

Constantinople’s Growing Power: Socrates the Historian

Henry Chadwick

in East and West: The Making of a Rift in the Church: From Apostolic Times until the Council of Florence

Written a few years before Theodisius II's death, a notable church history in continuation of Eusibius was compiled by Socrates of Constantinople. This chapter focuses on his work, where his motive ... More

Written a few years before Theodisius II's death, a notable church history in continuation of Eusibius was compiled by Socrates of Constantinople. This chapter focuses on his work, where his motive was to foster the peace and unity in the controversies of the previous century and a half. Socrates recorded differences of liturgical and other custom between different places in the Church, controversies and conflicts in church history, conflict about the unity of the person of the divine and human Redeemer. The seven books of Socrates History are articulated round the reigns of successive emperors, which enables him to devote the whole of book 3 to debate with Libanius' idealization of a pagan hero, Julian and book 6 to John Chrysostom for whom his admiration was qualified.Less

Introducing Doulology

Chris L. de Wet

in Preaching Bondage: John Chrysostom and the Discourse of Slavery in Early Christianity

This book explores the dynamics of the discourse of slavery, referred to as doulology, in the homilies of fourth-century priest and bishop John Chrysostom. Drawing on the analytical concepts of ... More

This book explores the dynamics of the discourse of slavery, referred to as doulology, in the homilies of fourth-century priest and bishop John Chrysostom. Drawing on the analytical concepts of Michel Foucault as well as the critical theories of Michel de Certeau and Pierre Bourdieu, the book discusses three presuppositions that are central to the study of slavery: first, slavery was a functional institution in the Roman Empire up to the mid-fifth century; second, the Roman institution of slavery suffered a complete systemic collapse due to the lack of both supply and demand during the years of the disintegration of the later Roman Empire; and third, late ancient Christianity accepted slavery as a necessary social institution. This introductory chapter considers the importance of slavery as a discourse in early Christianity, the basic features of slavery in late antiquity, and the pervasive yet sustaining carcerality of the slave economy. It also explains how the heteronomy of the body shaped early Christian doulology, and in particular, Chrysostomic doulology.Less

Divine Bondage: Slavery between Metaphor and Theology

Chris L. de Wet

in Preaching Bondage: John Chrysostom and the Discourse of Slavery in Early Christianity

This chapter examines the metaphor of slavery in John Chrysostom's theology and how it became theologized and was implemented in the making of Christian subjectivity as an expression of Christian ... More

This chapter examines the metaphor of slavery in John Chrysostom's theology and how it became theologized and was implemented in the making of Christian subjectivity as an expression of Christian corporeal heteronomy. It first considers the theology of the apostle Paul with regards to slavery and how he influenced Chrysostom's metaphor and theology of slavery. It then discusses the role of sin in the dynamics of doulology, with particular emphasis on free moral agency and how slavery, through the catalyst of hamartiology (the discourse of sin), functioned in other modes of Chrysostom's theology, including his anthropology, protology, Christology, and eschatology. It also explores slavery to the passions by focusing on Chrysostom's reading of 1 Corinthians 7:21–23. The chapter concludes by commenting on Chrysostom's argument that it is better to be an institutional slave than a slave of sin and the passions, and that divine bondage is what defines Christian freedom.Less