Union And Distinction In The Thought Of St Maximus The Confessor

Union and Distinction in the Thought of St Maximus the Confessor presents the writings of a key figure in Byzantine theology in the light of the themes of unity and diversity. The principle of simultaneous union and distinction forms the core of Maximus' thought, pervading every area of his theology. It can be summarized as: Things united remain distinct and without confusion in an inseparable union. As Melchisedec Törönen shows, this master theme also resonates in contemporary theological and philosophical discussions.

A major study of the work of St Maximus the Confessor, covering all the important areas of his thought, from Trinitarian theology to cosmology and spirituality.

In 1054 CE, the Great Schism between Eastern and Western Christianity occurred, and the official break of communion between the two ancient branches of the church continues to this day. There have been numerous church commissions and academic groups created to try and bridge the ecumenical divides between East and West, yet official communion is still just out of reach. The thought of St. Maximus the Confessor, a saint of both churches, provides a unique theological lens through which to map out a path of ecumenical understanding and, hopefully, reconciliation and union. Through an exposition of the intellectual history of Maximus' theological influence, his moral and spiritual theology, and his metaphysical vision of creation, a common Christianity emerges. This book brings together leading scholars and thinkers from both traditions around the theology of St. Maximus to cultivate greater union between Eastern and Western Christianity.

In 1054 CE, the Great Schism between Eastern and Western Christianity occurred, and the official break of communion between the two ancient branches of the church continues to this day. There have been numerous church commissions and academic groups created to try and bridge the ecumenical divides between East and West, yet official communion is still just out of reach. The thought of St. Maximus the Confessor, a saint of both churches, provides a unique theological lens through which to map out a path of ecumenical understanding and, hopefully, reconciliation and union. Through an exposition of the intellectual history of Maximus’ theological influence, his moral and spiritual theology, and his metaphysical vision of creation, a common Christianity emerges. This book brings together leading scholars and thinkers from both traditions around the theology of St. Maximus to cultivate greater union between Eastern and Western Christianity.

St Maximus the Confessor is one of the giants of Christian theology. His doctrine of two wills gave the final shape to ancient Christology and was ratified by the Sixth Ecumenical Council in AD 681. This study throws new light upon one of the most interesting periods of historical and systematic theology. Its focus is the seventh century, the century that saw the rapid expansion of Islam, and the Empire's failed attempt to retain many of its south-eastern provinces by inventing and promoting the heresy of Monothelitism (only one will in Christ) as a bridge between the Byzantine Church and the anti-Chalcedonian Churches which prevailed in some of these areas. From the point of view of systematic theology, the book examines the meaning of the terms person/hypostasis, nature/essence, and will in the context of Christology after the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451), with special reference to Maximus. It also explores the complex question of the human will of Jesus Christ and its relation to his person and natures. The Byzantine Christ enhances our understanding of Eastern Orthodox theology and of some of the reasons that still separate it both from Western Christianity and from the so-called Oriental Orthodox Churches.

This volume presents Theodore Abu Qurrah’s apologetic Christian theology in dialogue with Islam. It explores the question of whether, in his attempt to convey orthodoxy in Arabic to the Muslim reader, Abu Qurrah diverged from creedal, doctrinal Christian theology and compromised its core content. A comprehensive study of the theology of Abu Qurrah and its relation to Islamic and pre-Islamic orthodox Melkite thought has not yet been pursued in modern scholarship. Awad addresses this gap in scholarship by offering a thorough analytic hermeneutics of Abu Qurrah’s apologetic thought, with specific attention to his theological thought on the Trinity and Christology. This study takes scholarship beyond attempts at editing and translating Abu Qurrah’s texts and offers scholars, students, and lay readers in the fields of Arabic Christianity, Byzantine theology, Christian-Muslim dialogues, and historical theology an unprecedented scientific study of Abu Qurrah’s theological mind.

This book argues that Western philosophy's traditional understanding of Being as substance is incorrect, and demonstrates that Being is fundamentally Relationality. To make that argument, the book examines the history of Western philosophy's evolving conception of being, and shows how this tradition has been dominated by an Aristotelian understanding of substance and his corresponding understanding of relation. First, the book establishes that the original concept of Being in ancient Western philosophy was relational, and traces this relational understanding of Being through the Neoplatonists. Then, it follows the substantial understanding of Being through Aristotle and the Scholastics to reach its crisis in Descartes. Finally, the book demonstrates that Heidegger represents a recovery of the original, relational understanding of Being.

This book is dedicated to the synergic process of divine-human communion in the humanly possible knowledge of God, according to Saint Maximus the Confessor. These various types of knowledge play an important, but as yet unexplored role in Maximus the Confessor's teaching on God, which in many respects appears to be a synthesis and culmination of the Greek patristic tradition and the antecedent of ancient pre-Christian and Christian philosophy. Focus on this problem brings forth the major issues of Maximus' psychology: the "soul-body" relationship and a detailed examination of the cognitive capacities of the soul, including the perception of the senses, rational activity, and operations of the mind. The indivisibility of the gnoseological issues from medieval man is traced in an examination of the cognitive levels within the trichotomic structure of practical philosophy, natural contemplation, and theology. The two methods--both affirmative (cataphatic) and negative (apophatic)--demonstrate the two rational discourses in human knowledge of God. Special attention is given to the understanding of hexis (ἕξις) and gnomi (γνώμη) concepts and their crucial place in the cognitive structure, leading to knowledge of God as Goodness and of God as Truth.