The Anthropic Cosmology of St Maximus the Confessor (original) (raw)
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In the works of Maximus the Confessor, one clearly sees what could be termed the “book of creation,” which is inscribed with divine meaning. The essay proceeds along several lines: first, it considers the development of the doctrine of the λόγοι in Maximus’s predecessors; second, it considers Maximus’s own contributions to a developing “logology” in the Fathers, especially by Maximus’s pairing of the triads of being, well-being, and eternal being with creation, providence, and circumscription, which are treated in the third and fourth positions in the essay; finally, the essay explores what Maximus’s “logology” has to say to a contemporary account of the ecology of creation, especially with a view toward correcting the technocratic dominion over nature.
The Cosmology of St Maximus the Confessor as a Basis for Ecological and Humanitarian Justice
--- Please cite published (and updated version) version: https://www.academia.edu/18071880/The\_Cosmology\_of\_St\_Maximus\_the\_Confessor\_as\_a\_Basis\_for\_Ecological\_and\_Humanitarian\_Ethics --- This paper will look at the cosmic theology of St Maximus the Confessor and suggest ways in which it is important and relevant for the current ecological crisis and as a basis for humanitarian justice. It will deal with current scholarship on the topic and critique its present position, suggesting that St Maximus' cosmology offers a more cohesive and radical vision for the future of human society that has yet been proposed. The paper will offer a unique description of Maximus' cosmic vision modelled on his formula of 'creation-movement-rest' with particular focus on his works /Ambigua 7, 41 /and /The Mystagogia/. As this framework is explored, the way in which the vision is especially important in the context of our contemporary problems will be indicated. This will primary revolve around the integrity of creation both in its particular instances and as a whole, as well as the place of the human as mediator between heaven and earth. The paper will conclude that if Maximus' cosmology were retrieved and seriously considered with reference to human living, it would challenge both our environmental perspectives and everything else that runs contrary to a belief that it is in human nature to follow Christ in becoming mediators of love.
John's discussion of motion in God. The former also lays out proper Christology, while the latter explores the mystery of God more deeply. Together, the two serve as a singular work on the metaphysics of God and all of reality. Maximus' theology was not universally accepted in his own lifetime. While a council in Rome, which it is unclear if he attended, endorsed dyothelitism, the emperor refused to accept its decrees. 9 Maximus was called to two trials in Constantinople, but refused to recant his beliefs. He declared the emperor a heretic with whom he would not commune. Maximus had his right hand cut off and his tongue cut out so he could no longer write or preach against Monothelitism. 10 He was forced to spend the rest of his life in exile in solitary confinement in Georgia but died less than a year later. His theology was ultimately vindicated though, and his theology was dogmatized at the sixth ecumenical council in AD 681. 11 III. Motion in Pre-Christian Philosophy Before Maximus' own philosophy can be analyzed, it is important to look at the pre-Christian roots of many of his terms and ideas. The origins of Greek philosophy are heavily rooted in debates about motion (κίνησις). By motion should be understood not merely change of location, locomotion, but all forms of change. There were two main views of motion in presocratic philosophy, the Eleatics, most notably Parmenides and Zeno, and Heraclitus. 12 The Eleatics rejected all possibility of motion. 13 According to Parmenides, there is only being. While the Eleatics presented many logical arguments for their view, it only raised more problems as it
Forum Philosophicum, 2015
This essay considers distinct ways of understanding these complexities, specifically by reference to the anthropological and metaphysical thought of St. Maximus the Confessor. Maximus’ understanding of human knowledge and volition and desire are interpreted in light of his commitments concerning doctrine of God, read through his systematic correction of a broadly “Origenist” aversion to metaphysical motion.
The Three Basic Movements of the Soul in St. Maximus
In this paper I will discuss St. Maximus’ understanding of the role of sense perception (αϊσθησις), reason (λόγος), and intelligence (νοΰς) in the soul’s ascension to God in which knowledge of the whole of His creation is lifted up along with the soul in the state restored by and reconciled with God. Of course, behind the soul’s ascension to God lies the work of the Incarnate Word (Λόγος) who lifts the whole creation with Him and returns it back to God. Here I will limit myself to the side of the human logos as restored and reconciled with God. If sense, reason, and the intellect that philosophers speak of are the fallen human faculties; St. Maximus speaks of them in the state of their restoration, in the way in which they are meant to be and are supposed to function in accordance with their own nature before they were subjected to the fall. To elaborate St. Maximus’ Christian epistemology I just summarized, I will discuss his interpretations of the two biblical passages: Peter’s vision at Joppa and the Transfiguration at Mount Tabor.