James F . Wellington | University of Cambridge (original) (raw)

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Papers by James F . Wellington

Peter Lang eBooks, Jul 11, 2016

Peeters Publishers eBooks, Nov 19, 2021

Studia Patristica. Vol. CXV - Papers presented at the Eighteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2019, 2021

Studia Patristica. Vol. C - Including Papers Presented at the Sixth British Patristics Conference, Birmingham, 5-7 September 2016, 2020

Studies in Eastern Orthodoxy, 2014

A paper presented at the Mystical theology Network Conference, 'Thinking About Nothing', 2021

To speak of nothing -ness, in theological terms, is to speak of negative or apophatic theology, a... more To speak of nothing -ness, in theological terms, is to speak of negative or apophatic theology, a theology which seeks to describe God not in terms of what God is, but in terms of what God is not. In considering the appearance of this kind of thinking in Christian circles, pride of place is often given to an evaluation of the pseudonymous works of Dionysius the Areopagite (late fifth century), and, in particular, his De mystica theologia and his De divinis nominibus.

Studia Patristica, 2016

Is the Christology of Evagrius Ponticus to be determined by his apparent heterodoxy in the Kephal... more Is the Christology of Evagrius Ponticus to be determined by his apparent heterodoxy in the Kephalaia Gnostica or by his apparent orthodoxy in such works as the Scholia ad psalmos? This paper sets this question to one side, and begins with Evagrius' own injunction to his readers in De oratione 82, to 'sing psalms with understanding'. Evagrius' psalm-commentary would have been intended to provide the understanding to which he was calling his readers. Hence the purpose here is to allow the Scholia ad psalmos to speak for itself, independently of any questioning as to its precise relationship with the Kephalaia Gnostica, and to uncover the Christ whom Evagrius was commending in its teaching to those for whom psalmody was a way of life. This paper will briefly outline Evagrius' extensive use of the title Χριστός throughout the

Studia Patristica, 2014

Abstract: The debate about the nature and the extent of the influence of Evagrius of Pontus on t... more Abstract:

The debate about the nature and the extent of the influence of Evagrius of Pontus on the
ascetical work of Diadochus of Photice has often revolved around their respective approaches
to such concepts as apatheia or logismoi. This paper will examine an area which has been
neglected up to now, and will argue that as well as using and developing Evagrius’ concepts,
Diadochus also used and developed his understanding of the role of psalmody in order to
advance a new form of contemplative prayer.

It will outline the threefold structure of the role of psalmody in Evagrian thought as presented
by Luke Dysinger in Psalmody and Prayer in the Writings of Evagrius Ponticus, in which the
role of the Psalter is identified as providing a spiritual remedy, a spiritual weapon, and
contemplative vision for the monk seeking Gnostic advancement. From there, the paper will
offer a brief analysis of the eight chapters in the Capita centum de perfectione spirituali, in
which reference is made to the continual remembrance and invocation of the Lord Jesus. In
the course of this analysis it will indicate how each of the eight passages correlates with one
or more of the therapeutic, martial, or visionary aspects of the threefold Evagrian structure.

Studia Patristica, 2012

In seeking to chart the early development of the Jesus Prayer in his 1960 publication, Noms du Ch... more In seeking to chart the early development of the Jesus Prayer in his 1960 publication, Noms du Christ et voies d'oraison, Irénée Hausherr's account of Eastern monastic culture of the late fourth and early fifth century is of lasting value. However, its failure to take seriously the role of psalmody in the life of the Desert Fathers is an omission which greatly inhibits the acquisition of an accurate portrait of the milieu generally accredited with having given rise to the prayer of the heart. The purpose of the present study is to rectify this omission by posing the question: What contribution did psalmody make to the environment in which the Jesus Prayer first appeared? Having defined the two components of the Jesus Prayer as an invocation of Christ and an act of supplication for his assistance, it will examine how prayers of divine invocation and supplication in the Psalter were understood by the monastic communities of this period.