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Maximus the Confessor (c.580-662) has become one of the most discussed figures in contemporary patristic studies. This is partly due to the relatively recent discovery and critical edition of his works in various genres, including On the Ascetic Life, Four Centuries on Charity, Two Centuries on Theology and the Incarnation, On the 'Our Father', two separate Books of Difficulties, addressed to John and to Thomas, Questions and Doubts, Questions to Thalassius, Mystagogy and the Short Theological and Polemical Works.
The impact of these works reached far beyond the Greek East, with his involvement in the western resistance to imperial heresy, notably at the Lateran Synod in 649. Together with Pope Martin I (649-53 CE), Maximus the Confessor and his circle were the most vocal opponents of Constantinople's introduction of the doctrine of monothelitism. This dispute over the number of wills in Christ became a contest between the imperial government and church of Constantinople on the one hand, and the bishop of Rome in concert with eastern monks such as Maximus, John Moschus, and Sophronius, on the other, over the right to define orthodoxy. An understanding of the difficult relations between church and state in this troubled period at the close of Late Antiquity is necessary for a full appreciation of Maximus' contribution to this controversy. The volume provides the political and historical background to Maximus' activities, as well as a summary of his achievements in the spheres of theology and philosophy, especially neo-Platonism and Aristotelianism.
List of contents
- Part One. Historical Setting
- 1: Pauline Allen: Life and Times of Maximus the Confessor
- 2: Marek Jankowiak and Phil Booth: An Updated Date-List of the Works of Maximus the Confessor
- 3: Walter E. Kaegi: Byzantium in the Seventh Century
- 4: Cyril Hovorun: Maximus, a Cautious Chalcedonian
- Part Two. Theological and Philosophical Influences
- 5: Marius Portaru: Classical Philosophical Influences: Aristotle and Platonism
- 6: Pascal Mueller-Jourdan: The Foundation of Origenist Metaphysics
- 7: Marcus Plested: Theological and Philosophical Influences: The Ascetic Tradition
- 8: Ysabel De Andia: Dionysius Areopagite and Maximus the Confessor
- 9: Raymond J. Laird: Mindset (Gammani_mi_) in John Chrysostom
- 10: Johannes Börjesson: Augustine on the Will
- 11: Bronwen Neil: Divine Providence and the Gnomic Will before Maximus
- Part Three. Works and Thought
- 12: Paul M. Blowers: Exegesis of Scripture
- 13: Peter Van Deun: Maximus the Confessor's Use of Literary Genres
- 14: Demetrios Bathrellos: Passions, Ascesis, and the Virtues
- 15: Torstein T. Tollefsen: Christocentric Cosmology
- 16: Andreas Andreopoulos: Eschatology in Maximus the Confessor
- 17: Jean-Claude Larchet: The Mode of Deification
- 18: Adam Cooper: Spiritual Anthropology in Ambiguum 7
- 19: Doru Costache: Mapping Reality within the Experience of Holiness
- 20: George Berthold: Christian Life and Praxis: The Centuries on Love
- 21: Thomas Cattoi: Liturgy as Cosmic Transformation
- Part Four. Reception
- 22: Lela Khoperia: The Georgian Tradition on Maximus the Confessor
- 23: Grigory Benevich: Maximus' Heritage in Russia and Ukraine
- 24: Catherine Kavanagh: The Impact of Maximus the Confessor on John Scottus Eriugena
- 25: Andrew Louth: Maximus the Confessor's Influence and Reception in Byzantine and Modern Orthodoxy
- 26: Ian A. McFarland: The Theology of the Will
- 27: Michael Bakker: Maximus and Modern Psychology
- 28: Edward Siecienski: Maximus the Confessor and Ecumenism
- 29: Joshua Lollar: Reception of Maximian Thought in the Modern Era
About the author
Pauline Allen is Director of the Centre for Early Christian Studies at Australian Catholic University, Brisbane. A former Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung, and Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, she has worked on homiletic literature, Maximus the Confessor, the Council of Chalcedon, Severus of Antioch, John Chrysostom, and late-antique letter-writing. She is co-author of The Churches of Syrian Antioch, 300-638 CE (Leuven, 2012). She is research associate in the Department of Ancient Languages, University of Pretoria, and past president of the Association Internationale d'Études Patristiques.
Bronwen Neil is Assistant Director of the Centre for Early Christian Studies at Australian Catholic University (Brisbane). Neil has produced critical editions and translations of texts pertaining to Maximus the Confessor, and Pope Martin I. Other works on papal writings include annotated translations of Pope Gelasius' letters (with Pauline Allen) and selected letters and sermons of Pope Leo I, and A Companion to Gregory the Great, co-edited with Matthew Dal Santo. She has also published on poverty and welfare in Late Antiquity, and crisis management by late-antique bishops. She is current president of the Australian Association for Byzantine Studies, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, and a former Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung.
Summary
Maximus the Confessor (c. 580-662) has become one of the most discussed figures in contemporary studies of Byzantine theology and philosophy. This book integrates for the first time Maximus' works and thought into the history of his life in the politically troubled times of seventh-century Byzantium.
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this Handbook is a monumental and much-needed publication, which will definitely mark the field of Maximian studies for the next generations of scholars.
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this Handbook is a monumental and much-needed publication, which will definitely mark the field of Maximian studies for the next generations of scholars. Dr Sotiris Mitralexis, Vigiliae Christianae
