J. P. Williams
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269991
- eISBN:
- 9780191683855
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269991.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, World Religions
The classical texts of Christianity and Zen Buddhism contain resources with potent appeal to contemporary spirituality. The ‘apophatic’, or ‘negative’, may offer a means to integrate the conservation ...
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The classical texts of Christianity and Zen Buddhism contain resources with potent appeal to contemporary spirituality. The ‘apophatic’, or ‘negative’, may offer a means to integrate the conservation of traditional religious practices and beliefs with an openness to experience beyond the limits of doctrine and of rational thought. This book argues for a new understanding of what is meant by apophatic theology, supported by extensive analysis of the texts of Dionysius the Areopagite, St Maximus the Confessor, and Zen Master Dogen. It demonstrates how an apophatic spirituality might inform personal and communal spiritual development, and sketches out the contribution it can offer to modern debate on theology and postmodernism, entropy, and interfaith dialogue, and to development of an active theological commitment to humanity.Less
The classical texts of Christianity and Zen Buddhism contain resources with potent appeal to contemporary spirituality. The ‘apophatic’, or ‘negative’, may offer a means to integrate the conservation of traditional religious practices and beliefs with an openness to experience beyond the limits of doctrine and of rational thought. This book argues for a new understanding of what is meant by apophatic theology, supported by extensive analysis of the texts of Dionysius the Areopagite, St Maximus the Confessor, and Zen Master Dogen. It demonstrates how an apophatic spirituality might inform personal and communal spiritual development, and sketches out the contribution it can offer to modern debate on theology and postmodernism, entropy, and interfaith dialogue, and to development of an active theological commitment to humanity.
CATHERINE OSBORNE
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198267669
- eISBN:
- 9780191683336
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267669.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Religion in the Ancient World
It is nothing new to have much to say about the love of God, but there remains something very different about twentieth-century talk of the love of God that marks it out from both Eastern and Western ...
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It is nothing new to have much to say about the love of God, but there remains something very different about twentieth-century talk of the love of God that marks it out from both Eastern and Western traditional doctrines. This chapter picks out the characteristic themes that can be illustrated from Process theology and from Jürgen Moltmann (or rather one work of Moltmann, since the chapter shall focus on The Crucified God; this should not be taken to imply that what it says here would apply to his later work). By juxtaposing these with the text from Dionysius the Areopagite, this chapter hopes to clarify the differences and explores why formulations that superficially have some resemblance lead to such different results. Dionysius is particularly concerned with apophatic theology, the way of negation, and the general problem of how it is possible to speak about God. It is in this connection that he embarks upon his discussion of the Divine Names. These names include love, Eros, discussed by Dionysius.Less
It is nothing new to have much to say about the love of God, but there remains something very different about twentieth-century talk of the love of God that marks it out from both Eastern and Western traditional doctrines. This chapter picks out the characteristic themes that can be illustrated from Process theology and from Jürgen Moltmann (or rather one work of Moltmann, since the chapter shall focus on The Crucified God; this should not be taken to imply that what it says here would apply to his later work). By juxtaposing these with the text from Dionysius the Areopagite, this chapter hopes to clarify the differences and explores why formulations that superficially have some resemblance lead to such different results. Dionysius is particularly concerned with apophatic theology, the way of negation, and the general problem of how it is possible to speak about God. It is in this connection that he embarks upon his discussion of the Divine Names. These names include love, Eros, discussed by Dionysius.
Norman Russell
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199205974
- eISBN:
- 9780191695636
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199205974.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter examines the monastic synthesis, looking at Evagrius Ponticus, the Macarian writings, Diadochus of Photice, Dionysius the Areopagite, and Maximus the Confessor. Deification entered the ...
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This chapter examines the monastic synthesis, looking at Evagrius Ponticus, the Macarian writings, Diadochus of Photice, Dionysius the Areopagite, and Maximus the Confessor. Deification entered the Byzantine tradition through Dionysius the Areopagite and Maximus the Confessor. For Dionysus, theosis was primarily the attaining of unity and likeness. Deification is the condition of the saved, which begins with baptism and is nurtured by participation in the holy synaxis, by reception of the Eucharist, and by opening the mind to divine illumination. For Maximus, it was not the problem of oneness and multiplicity that was central, but how a mortal human being can participate in a transcendent God. He took up the Gregorian and Dionysian approach but supplied a major corrective, for Dionysius has little to say about the Incarnation.Less
This chapter examines the monastic synthesis, looking at Evagrius Ponticus, the Macarian writings, Diadochus of Photice, Dionysius the Areopagite, and Maximus the Confessor. Deification entered the Byzantine tradition through Dionysius the Areopagite and Maximus the Confessor. For Dionysus, theosis was primarily the attaining of unity and likeness. Deification is the condition of the saved, which begins with baptism and is nurtured by participation in the holy synaxis, by reception of the Eucharist, and by opening the mind to divine illumination. For Maximus, it was not the problem of oneness and multiplicity that was central, but how a mortal human being can participate in a transcendent God. He took up the Gregorian and Dionysian approach but supplied a major corrective, for Dionysius has little to say about the Incarnation.
Charles M. Stang
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199640423
- eISBN:
- 9780191738234
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199640423.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Religion and Literature
This book argues that the pseudonym, Dionysius the Areopagite, and the influence of Paul together constitute the best interpretive lens for understanding the Corpus Dionysiacum [CD]. This book ...
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This book argues that the pseudonym, Dionysius the Areopagite, and the influence of Paul together constitute the best interpretive lens for understanding the Corpus Dionysiacum [CD]. This book demonstrates how Paul in fact animates the entire corpus, that the influence of Paul illuminates such central themes of the CD as hierarchy, theurgy, deification, Christology, affirmation (kataphasis) and negation (apophasis), dissimilar similarities, and unknowing. Most importantly, Paul serves as a fulcrum for the expression of a new theological anthropology, an “apophatic anthropology.” Dionysius figures Paul as the premier apostolic witness to this apophatic anthropology, as the ecstatic lover of the divine who confesses to the rupture of his self and the indwelling of the divine in Gal 2:20: “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Building on this notion of apophatic anthropology, the book forwards an explanation for why this sixth‐century author chose to write under an apostolic pseudonym. It argues that the very practice of pseudonymous writing itself serves as an ecstatic devotional exercise whereby the writer becomes split in two and thereby open to the indwelling of the divine. Pseudonymity is on this interpretation integral and internal to the aims of the wider mystical enterprise. Thus this book aims to question the distinction between “theory” and “practice” by demonstrating that negative theology—often figured as a speculative and rarefied theory regarding the transcendence of God—is in fact best understood as a kind of asceticism, a devotional practice aiming for the total transformation of the Christian subject.Less
This book argues that the pseudonym, Dionysius the Areopagite, and the influence of Paul together constitute the best interpretive lens for understanding the Corpus Dionysiacum [CD]. This book demonstrates how Paul in fact animates the entire corpus, that the influence of Paul illuminates such central themes of the CD as hierarchy, theurgy, deification, Christology, affirmation (kataphasis) and negation (apophasis), dissimilar similarities, and unknowing. Most importantly, Paul serves as a fulcrum for the expression of a new theological anthropology, an “apophatic anthropology.” Dionysius figures Paul as the premier apostolic witness to this apophatic anthropology, as the ecstatic lover of the divine who confesses to the rupture of his self and the indwelling of the divine in Gal 2:20: “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Building on this notion of apophatic anthropology, the book forwards an explanation for why this sixth‐century author chose to write under an apostolic pseudonym. It argues that the very practice of pseudonymous writing itself serves as an ecstatic devotional exercise whereby the writer becomes split in two and thereby open to the indwelling of the divine. Pseudonymity is on this interpretation integral and internal to the aims of the wider mystical enterprise. Thus this book aims to question the distinction between “theory” and “practice” by demonstrating that negative theology—often figured as a speculative and rarefied theory regarding the transcendence of God—is in fact best understood as a kind of asceticism, a devotional practice aiming for the total transformation of the Christian subject.
Jan Machielsen
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780197265802
- eISBN:
- 9780191772009
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265802.003.0013
- Subject:
- History, European Early Modern History
This chapter, the book’s longest, explores a dispute between Martin Delrio and the famous Huguenot scholar Joseph Scaliger (1540–1609) that began with the Disquisitiones and lasted until their ...
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This chapter, the book’s longest, explores a dispute between Martin Delrio and the famous Huguenot scholar Joseph Scaliger (1540–1609) that began with the Disquisitiones and lasted until their deaths. Delrio’s denunciation of Scaliger, smuggled into the concluding pages of the Disquisitiones, proved an opening salvo for a wider confessional polemic. The chapter argues that Delrio collaborated with another Jesuit, Nicolas Serarius, to defend the antiquity of Christian monasticism. The two Jesuits defended separately two of the foundations—the testimony of Philo and (pseudo-)Dionysius the Areopagite—that Scaliger had attempted to refute in one fell swoop. This conflict must be studied jointly within its social and intellectual contexts, although it would shift into a decidedly lower register as time went on. What began as an attempt to defend the Catholic Church historian Cesare Baronio descended into vitriol and name-calling.Less
This chapter, the book’s longest, explores a dispute between Martin Delrio and the famous Huguenot scholar Joseph Scaliger (1540–1609) that began with the Disquisitiones and lasted until their deaths. Delrio’s denunciation of Scaliger, smuggled into the concluding pages of the Disquisitiones, proved an opening salvo for a wider confessional polemic. The chapter argues that Delrio collaborated with another Jesuit, Nicolas Serarius, to defend the antiquity of Christian monasticism. The two Jesuits defended separately two of the foundations—the testimony of Philo and (pseudo-)Dionysius the Areopagite—that Scaliger had attempted to refute in one fell swoop. This conflict must be studied jointly within its social and intellectual contexts, although it would shift into a decidedly lower register as time went on. What began as an attempt to defend the Catholic Church historian Cesare Baronio descended into vitriol and name-calling.
PAUL ROREM and JOHN C. LAMOREAUX
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269700
- eISBN:
- 9780191683756
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269700.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter examines the fragmentary evidence on the course of John of Scythopolis' career as a theologian. It analyses his theological works and discusses his Scholia and Prologue to the works of ...
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This chapter examines the fragmentary evidence on the course of John of Scythopolis' career as a theologian. It analyses his theological works and discusses his Scholia and Prologue to the works of Dionysius the Areopagite. It suggests that John's theological works have made a noticeable impression upon his contemporaries and later theologians. This is evident by the use of his dogmatic works in later conciliar acts, the existence of at least one of his works in the archives of Constantinople, and the circulation of his works among contemporary theological opponents.Less
This chapter examines the fragmentary evidence on the course of John of Scythopolis' career as a theologian. It analyses his theological works and discusses his Scholia and Prologue to the works of Dionysius the Areopagite. It suggests that John's theological works have made a noticeable impression upon his contemporaries and later theologians. This is evident by the use of his dogmatic works in later conciliar acts, the existence of at least one of his works in the archives of Constantinople, and the circulation of his works among contemporary theological opponents.
Charles M. Stang
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780823230815
- eISBN:
- 9780823235087
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fso/9780823230815.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter traces Saint Paul's influence on Dionysius the Areopagite's “apophatic anthropology” and Christology. It offers a brief review of the Dionysian universe, ...
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This chapter traces Saint Paul's influence on Dionysius the Areopagite's “apophatic anthropology” and Christology. It offers a brief review of the Dionysian universe, giving special attention to the themes of body and creation, as well as the question of Paul's influence on Dionysius' “apophatic anthropology” and his corresponding Christology. It also argues that writing under a pseudonym is integral to the aims of the corpus. Finally, the chapter ponders whether and how this practice of writing stands outside the purview of the celestial and ecclesiastical hierarchies and thereby leaves open the possibility that one might access deifying union with the unknown God in ways other than those permitted by the hierarchies.Less
This chapter traces Saint Paul's influence on Dionysius the Areopagite's “apophatic anthropology” and Christology. It offers a brief review of the Dionysian universe, giving special attention to the themes of body and creation, as well as the question of Paul's influence on Dionysius' “apophatic anthropology” and his corresponding Christology. It also argues that writing under a pseudonym is integral to the aims of the corpus. Finally, the chapter ponders whether and how this practice of writing stands outside the purview of the celestial and ecclesiastical hierarchies and thereby leaves open the possibility that one might access deifying union with the unknown God in ways other than those permitted by the hierarchies.
Valentina Izmirlieva
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226388700
- eISBN:
- 9780226388724
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226388724.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This book began its journey with two texts and two conjectures. The texts were chosen to represent two alternative models for listing the names of God: an open-ended list and a closed series of ...
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This book began its journey with two texts and two conjectures. The texts were chosen to represent two alternative models for listing the names of God: an open-ended list and a closed series of seventy-two names. Both lists presume to be exhaustive. Their respective understandings of “all,” however, are not identical. If they both comply with the axiom of monotheist onomatology that the single divinity has many names, each reflects a different position as to exactly how many they are. Theology vouches for an infinite number. Magic counters with seventy-two, the numerical equivalent of finitude. The central pronouncement of Christian theology on the naming of God—attributed to the authority of St. Dionysius the Areopagite—endorses the infinite list of names as the most adequate “name” for the unnamable divinity. It may be concluded that the theological vision emerging from the text of Dionysius presents an asymmetrical system of order that posits its “beyond” as its condition of possibility—a transcendent divinity exempt from the order it generates. The idea of order presented by the amulet The 72 Names of the Lord is based on an entirely different principle.Less
This book began its journey with two texts and two conjectures. The texts were chosen to represent two alternative models for listing the names of God: an open-ended list and a closed series of seventy-two names. Both lists presume to be exhaustive. Their respective understandings of “all,” however, are not identical. If they both comply with the axiom of monotheist onomatology that the single divinity has many names, each reflects a different position as to exactly how many they are. Theology vouches for an infinite number. Magic counters with seventy-two, the numerical equivalent of finitude. The central pronouncement of Christian theology on the naming of God—attributed to the authority of St. Dionysius the Areopagite—endorses the infinite list of names as the most adequate “name” for the unnamable divinity. It may be concluded that the theological vision emerging from the text of Dionysius presents an asymmetrical system of order that posits its “beyond” as its condition of possibility—a transcendent divinity exempt from the order it generates. The idea of order presented by the amulet The 72 Names of the Lord is based on an entirely different principle.
CATHERINE OSBORNE
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198267669
- eISBN:
- 9780191683336
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198267669.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Religion in the Ancient World
St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas were dealing with relationships within the Trinity, and it remains unclear how one should decide whether the bonds or relationships are essential to love within the ...
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St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas were dealing with relationships within the Trinity, and it remains unclear how one should decide whether the bonds or relationships are essential to love within the Trinity; but this much is clear already, that the kind of love which causes bonds of affection should be distinguished from the individual bonds that result. Aquinas, it seems, fails to allow that the inclination to form loving relationships is love; hence he takes over the phrases in Augustine and Dionysius that imply that love is a kind of force that brings about union and bonding, and infers that love is the bond that results from such a force, rather than the cause of that bond. Whether or not Aquinas correctly represents Augustine and Dionysius the Areopagite, it remains to be considered whether love is a helpful notion when applied to the Trinity.Less
St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas were dealing with relationships within the Trinity, and it remains unclear how one should decide whether the bonds or relationships are essential to love within the Trinity; but this much is clear already, that the kind of love which causes bonds of affection should be distinguished from the individual bonds that result. Aquinas, it seems, fails to allow that the inclination to form loving relationships is love; hence he takes over the phrases in Augustine and Dionysius that imply that love is a kind of force that brings about union and bonding, and infers that love is the bond that results from such a force, rather than the cause of that bond. Whether or not Aquinas correctly represents Augustine and Dionysius the Areopagite, it remains to be considered whether love is a helpful notion when applied to the Trinity.
PAUL ROREM and JOHN C. LAMOREAUX
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269700
- eISBN:
- 9780191683756
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269700.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter presents a selected translation of John of Scythopolis' Prologue to the Dionysian corpus by Dionysius the Areopagite concerning divine names. John provided a running commentary on the ...
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This chapter presents a selected translation of John of Scythopolis' Prologue to the Dionysian corpus by Dionysius the Areopagite concerning divine names. John provided a running commentary on the passages of the Dionysian corpus covering the issues of beyond being, superlative wisdom, the truth of the Scripture, and concern for salvation. The pagination and section divisions in this translation are based on the older edition of the Dionysian corpus published by Jacques Paul Migne.Less
This chapter presents a selected translation of John of Scythopolis' Prologue to the Dionysian corpus by Dionysius the Areopagite concerning divine names. John provided a running commentary on the passages of the Dionysian corpus covering the issues of beyond being, superlative wisdom, the truth of the Scripture, and concern for salvation. The pagination and section divisions in this translation are based on the older edition of the Dionysian corpus published by Jacques Paul Migne.
Torstein Theodor Tollefsen
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199605965
- eISBN:
- 9780191738227
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199605965.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Religion in the Ancient World
The chapter describes the doctrines of creation or of the external activity of God, in Gregory of Nyssa, Dionysius the Areopagite, and Maximus the Confessor. The author questions whether Dionysius ...
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The chapter describes the doctrines of creation or of the external activity of God, in Gregory of Nyssa, Dionysius the Areopagite, and Maximus the Confessor. The author questions whether Dionysius has an orthodox doctrine of creation. The section on Maximus raises the question of whether he could have been acquainted with the philosophy of John Philoponus, who played an important role in the Christian critique of Neoplatonist doctrines of creation. The Christian view is that the cosmos is the result of a definite divine will to create, and that it had its beginning a definite number of time units ago. The chapter also discusses how the three thinkers viewed the participation of created beings in the divine activity.Less
The chapter describes the doctrines of creation or of the external activity of God, in Gregory of Nyssa, Dionysius the Areopagite, and Maximus the Confessor. The author questions whether Dionysius has an orthodox doctrine of creation. The section on Maximus raises the question of whether he could have been acquainted with the philosophy of John Philoponus, who played an important role in the Christian critique of Neoplatonist doctrines of creation. The Christian view is that the cosmos is the result of a definite divine will to create, and that it had its beginning a definite number of time units ago. The chapter also discusses how the three thinkers viewed the participation of created beings in the divine activity.
PAUL ROREM and JOHN C. LAMOREAUX
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269700
- eISBN:
- 9780191683756
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269700.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter presents a partial and selected translation of John of Scythopolis’ Prologue featuring his defence of the Dionysian corpus. John established the integrity of the corpus’ author Dionysius ...
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This chapter presents a partial and selected translation of John of Scythopolis’ Prologue featuring his defence of the Dionysian corpus. John established the integrity of the corpus’ author Dionysius the Areopagite and cited his appointment as judge of the Athenian council. This proved that Dionysius was one of noble birth and illustrious wealth. In addition, he also mentioned that Dionysius was educated under Hierotheus the great and was appointed bishop of the faithful in Athens.Less
This chapter presents a partial and selected translation of John of Scythopolis’ Prologue featuring his defence of the Dionysian corpus. John established the integrity of the corpus’ author Dionysius the Areopagite and cited his appointment as judge of the Athenian council. This proved that Dionysius was one of noble birth and illustrious wealth. In addition, he also mentioned that Dionysius was educated under Hierotheus the great and was appointed bishop of the faithful in Athens.
Sarah Coakley
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780823251926
- eISBN:
- 9780823253067
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823251926.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This paper critically examines the ‘Orthodox construction of the West’ to be found in the thought of Vladimir Lossky (1903-1958), and argues that it can only be properly understood against the ...
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This paper critically examines the ‘Orthodox construction of the West’ to be found in the thought of Vladimir Lossky (1903-1958), and argues that it can only be properly understood against the backcloth of the simultaneous currents of reform in French Catholic thought of the time. What Lossky rejects in the ‘West’ is ironically what these movements for reform also critique; and a key figure in this negotiation is Étienne Gilson (1884–1978), Lossky's thesis advisor. Henri de Lubac, SJ (1896-1991), leader of la nouvelle théologie, then provides the main focus for comparison with Lossky; and their contrastive reception of Dionysius's ‘apophatic’ theology emerges as the lynchpin conjoining, as well as disjoining, the exponents for reform. The thesis is proposed that the respective assessments of ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ theology in Lossky are mutually entangled via his rendition of the Dionysian corpus; but they are also directly connected – more covertly – to his own ‘Western’ location. Lossky's ‘Orthodox construction of the West’, in sum, is a thoroughly ‘Western’ invention, but no less creative for that.Less
This paper critically examines the ‘Orthodox construction of the West’ to be found in the thought of Vladimir Lossky (1903-1958), and argues that it can only be properly understood against the backcloth of the simultaneous currents of reform in French Catholic thought of the time. What Lossky rejects in the ‘West’ is ironically what these movements for reform also critique; and a key figure in this negotiation is Étienne Gilson (1884–1978), Lossky's thesis advisor. Henri de Lubac, SJ (1896-1991), leader of la nouvelle théologie, then provides the main focus for comparison with Lossky; and their contrastive reception of Dionysius's ‘apophatic’ theology emerges as the lynchpin conjoining, as well as disjoining, the exponents for reform. The thesis is proposed that the respective assessments of ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ theology in Lossky are mutually entangled via his rendition of the Dionysian corpus; but they are also directly connected – more covertly – to his own ‘Western’ location. Lossky's ‘Orthodox construction of the West’, in sum, is a thoroughly ‘Western’ invention, but no less creative for that.
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226388700
- eISBN:
- 9780226388724
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226388724.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
There is one crucial difference between The Divine Names of Dionysius the Areopagite and almost all previous Christian discourses on the naming of God: it is not a polemic work. In accordance with ...
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There is one crucial difference between The Divine Names of Dionysius the Areopagite and almost all previous Christian discourses on the naming of God: it is not a polemic work. In accordance with the Areopagite's general disapproval of polemical engagement in theology, he does not establish his onomatological position by refuting or endorsing preexisting views. Instead, he approaches his subject directly and negotiates his legitimacy by “speaking appropriately of what he knows” not in preestablished contexts of conflict and controversy, but within the frame of an autonomous, comprehensive, and largely original theological system. The fact that the treatise is designed as part of a corpus of systematic theology is not just a formal matter of context or structure; it defines a specular as well as a speculative position.Less
There is one crucial difference between The Divine Names of Dionysius the Areopagite and almost all previous Christian discourses on the naming of God: it is not a polemic work. In accordance with the Areopagite's general disapproval of polemical engagement in theology, he does not establish his onomatological position by refuting or endorsing preexisting views. Instead, he approaches his subject directly and negotiates his legitimacy by “speaking appropriately of what he knows” not in preestablished contexts of conflict and controversy, but within the frame of an autonomous, comprehensive, and largely original theological system. The fact that the treatise is designed as part of a corpus of systematic theology is not just a formal matter of context or structure; it defines a specular as well as a speculative position.
Paul M. Blowers
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199673940
- eISBN:
- 9780191815829
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199673940.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Philosophy of Religion
Maximus’ ecclesiology is thoroughly “cosmic” and liturgico-centric. The Church in heaven and on earth is strategically both the theatre of the cosmic liturgy of praise and an active participant ...
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Maximus’ ecclesiology is thoroughly “cosmic” and liturgico-centric. The Church in heaven and on earth is strategically both the theatre of the cosmic liturgy of praise and an active participant therein. In liturgy, the Church hosts both asceticism and mystagogy, and Maximus’ commentary on the Divine Liturgy in his Mystagogia reveals his integration of monastic and ecclesiastical protocols of worship, as well as his debt to Dionysius the Areopagite. The liturgy is a ritual drama playing out the mystery of salvation and deification, and so to a theophany, another divine “embodiment.” Its sequences and rhythms draw the faithful—and all creation—toward the ultimate experience of deifying encounter with God in the Eucharist, an experience entailing a careful dialectics of concealment—signaled by Maximus’ silence on the anaphora, or Eucharistic prayer—and disclosure, namely, of the eschatological communion already available in the Eucharist.Less
Maximus’ ecclesiology is thoroughly “cosmic” and liturgico-centric. The Church in heaven and on earth is strategically both the theatre of the cosmic liturgy of praise and an active participant therein. In liturgy, the Church hosts both asceticism and mystagogy, and Maximus’ commentary on the Divine Liturgy in his Mystagogia reveals his integration of monastic and ecclesiastical protocols of worship, as well as his debt to Dionysius the Areopagite. The liturgy is a ritual drama playing out the mystery of salvation and deification, and so to a theophany, another divine “embodiment.” Its sequences and rhythms draw the faithful—and all creation—toward the ultimate experience of deifying encounter with God in the Eucharist, an experience entailing a careful dialectics of concealment—signaled by Maximus’ silence on the anaphora, or Eucharistic prayer—and disclosure, namely, of the eschatological communion already available in the Eucharist.
Michael F. Andrews
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780823225187
- eISBN:
- 9780823237135
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fso/9780823225187.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter takes up the theme of “faith seeking understanding”. The central figure in this discussion is Edith Stein, the most important woman of the phenomenological ...
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This chapter takes up the theme of “faith seeking understanding”. The central figure in this discussion is Edith Stein, the most important woman of the phenomenological movement who, like Jean-Yves Lacoste, is also interested in the “we” behind the “I”; it is at the base of her philosophy of empathy. And like all phenomenologists, she responds to the questions folded in “the experience of God” as a field of tensions where we must live. Because experience of God does not translate readily into knowledge of God, we must recognize that in our encounters with God, nonexperience can have the same traits as experience. Indeed, we cannot find God unless we first lose Him — as a concept, as a source of psychological consolation, and as a ground. This chapter describes how Stein rejects an Enlightenment view of the self in a manner similar to that of Jean-Luc Marion and how she, like Marion, remains genuinely committed to the apophatic tradition, drawing effortlessly on the negative theological imagery of Dionysius the Areopagite and John of the Cross.Less
This chapter takes up the theme of “faith seeking understanding”. The central figure in this discussion is Edith Stein, the most important woman of the phenomenological movement who, like Jean-Yves Lacoste, is also interested in the “we” behind the “I”; it is at the base of her philosophy of empathy. And like all phenomenologists, she responds to the questions folded in “the experience of God” as a field of tensions where we must live. Because experience of God does not translate readily into knowledge of God, we must recognize that in our encounters with God, nonexperience can have the same traits as experience. Indeed, we cannot find God unless we first lose Him — as a concept, as a source of psychological consolation, and as a ground. This chapter describes how Stein rejects an Enlightenment view of the self in a manner similar to that of Jean-Luc Marion and how she, like Marion, remains genuinely committed to the apophatic tradition, drawing effortlessly on the negative theological imagery of Dionysius the Areopagite and John of the Cross.
PAUL ROREM and JOHN C. LAMOREAUX
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269700
- eISBN:
- 9780191683756
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269700.003.0013
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter presents a selected translation of John of Scythopolis' Prologue to the Dionysian corpus by Dionysius the Areopagite concerning the Epistles. John provided a running commentary on the ...
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This chapter presents a selected translation of John of Scythopolis' Prologue to the Dionysian corpus by Dionysius the Areopagite concerning the Epistles. John provided a running commentary on the passages of the Dionysian corpus covering the issues of pre-eminent negation, transcendence, divinity of God, and personal pride. The numbering of the pages and sections in this translation are based on Jacques Paul Migne's version of the Dionysian corpus.Less
This chapter presents a selected translation of John of Scythopolis' Prologue to the Dionysian corpus by Dionysius the Areopagite concerning the Epistles. John provided a running commentary on the passages of the Dionysian corpus covering the issues of pre-eminent negation, transcendence, divinity of God, and personal pride. The numbering of the pages and sections in this translation are based on Jacques Paul Migne's version of the Dionysian corpus.
PAUL ROREM and JOHN C. LAMOREAUX
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269700
- eISBN:
- 9780191683756
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269700.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter presents a selected translation of John of Scythopolis' Prologue to the Dionysian corpus by Dionysius the Areopagite concerning ecclesiastical hierarchy. John provided a running ...
More
This chapter presents a selected translation of John of Scythopolis' Prologue to the Dionysian corpus by Dionysius the Areopagite concerning ecclesiastical hierarchy. John provided a running commentary on the passages of the Dionysian corpus covering the issues of tradition, divine mind, sacred works, and self-awareness. The number of the pages and section divisions presented in this translation are based on the older edition of the Dionysian corpus by Jacques Paul Migne.Less
This chapter presents a selected translation of John of Scythopolis' Prologue to the Dionysian corpus by Dionysius the Areopagite concerning ecclesiastical hierarchy. John provided a running commentary on the passages of the Dionysian corpus covering the issues of tradition, divine mind, sacred works, and self-awareness. The number of the pages and section divisions presented in this translation are based on the older edition of the Dionysian corpus by Jacques Paul Migne.
PAUL ROREM and JOHN C. LAMOREAUX
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269700
- eISBN:
- 9780191683756
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269700.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This chapter presents a selected translation of John of Scythopolis' Prologue to the Dionysian corpus by Dionysius the Areopagites concerning celestial hierarchy. John defined hierarchy as the source ...
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This chapter presents a selected translation of John of Scythopolis' Prologue to the Dionysian corpus by Dionysius the Areopagites concerning celestial hierarchy. John defined hierarchy as the source of the order of sacred things and hierarch as the one who is the source of sacred things. He provided a running commentary on the passages of Dionysian corpus including those covering the issues of intelligence, source of perfection, and the use poetic imagery in the Scriptures.Less
This chapter presents a selected translation of John of Scythopolis' Prologue to the Dionysian corpus by Dionysius the Areopagites concerning celestial hierarchy. John defined hierarchy as the source of the order of sacred things and hierarch as the one who is the source of sacred things. He provided a running commentary on the passages of Dionysian corpus including those covering the issues of intelligence, source of perfection, and the use poetic imagery in the Scriptures.
Torstein Theodor Tollefsen
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199605965
- eISBN:
- 9780191738227
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199605965.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies, Religion in the Ancient World
The chapter describes doctrines of Trinitarian generation in Gregory of Nyssa, Dionysius the Areopagite, and Maximus the Confessor. The treatment of Gregory of Nyssa dwells on his arguments against ...
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The chapter describes doctrines of Trinitarian generation in Gregory of Nyssa, Dionysius the Areopagite, and Maximus the Confessor. The treatment of Gregory of Nyssa dwells on his arguments against Eunomius. Trinitarian generation is described as an internal activity of the Godhead. It is stressed that the three thinkers clearly see that one ventures to create appropriate models to accommodate human understanding to what in itself transcends reason.Less
The chapter describes doctrines of Trinitarian generation in Gregory of Nyssa, Dionysius the Areopagite, and Maximus the Confessor. The treatment of Gregory of Nyssa dwells on his arguments against Eunomius. Trinitarian generation is described as an internal activity of the Godhead. It is stressed that the three thinkers clearly see that one ventures to create appropriate models to accommodate human understanding to what in itself transcends reason.
