Review on Elm, Sons of Hellenism, Fathers of the Church, in Athenaeum 103.2 (2015). (original) (raw)
Orthodoxy and Hellenism in St. Gregory Palamas
I argue how Christianity baptized Hellenism in patristic theology. In doing so, theology transformed philosophical terms and concepts. Theology cannot do away with philosophy but must and does move beyond philosophy to enter the mystery or to be initiated into the mystery (mystagogia). I demonstrate the above points by citing St. Gregory Palamas, Maximus, and Dionysius the Areopagite.
In Masden and Ashley (eds), 'Landscapes and Artefacts: Essays in Honour of Andrew Rogerson. 'North and South Elmham in Norfolk and Suffolk respectively. Both churches of circa 1100 on episcopal manors - diocese of East Anglia
2022
This volume tries to illuminate various aspects of philosophical theology dealt with by different Jewish and early Christian authors and texts, rooted in and influenced by the Hellenistic religious, cultural, and philosophical context, and it also features studies focused on literary and cultural traditions of Hellenized Judaism and its reception. It intends not only to better understand Christianity, but also to better comprehend Hellenism and its consequences.
Abraham in the Works of John Chrysostom
2014
Christian writers of the patristic era sometimes engaged in polemicism against Judaism and Judaizing Christians, leading some today to charge that the church fathers were hopelessly anti-Semitic. The present work sheds new light on this debate, offering the first, comprehensive examination of John Chrysostom’s view of the patriarch Abraham. Although Chrysostom is one of the most important Eastern church fathers and a critical antagonist in many portrayals of Christian anti-Semitism, very little attention has been paid to his understanding of the pivotal figure of Abraham. This oversight was certainly not characteristic of Chrysostom himself. Throughout his homilies and discourses the celebrated Antiochene preacher made hundreds of references to Abraham, crafting a classical encomium in which he presented Abraham as a preeminent Christian model of virtue for his flock to emulate. An analysis of the full range of references to Abraham reveals the ways in which Chrysostom used the scriptural figure of Abraham to serve as a didactic model of philosophical and Christian virtue, familial devotion, philanthropy, and obedient faith. It also reveals the ways in which Chrysostom used Abraham as part of his diatribe against both Judaism and Judaizing Christians, specifically because he felt Christians were the true inheritors of the Abrahamic promise. A distinguishing feature of the study is its original examination of Chrysostom’s encomiastic model of Abraham and the ways in which he used that model to convey various pastoral and theological viewpoints. The result is a holistic understanding of a single scriptural figure throughout the entire corpus of a prominent church father that provides broad insights into his pastoral, theological, and apologetical outlook. From this comprehensive examination of Chrysostom’s treatment of Abraham, we also gain a better understanding of the rhetorical and exegetical influences that shaped this important Christian thinker. While Chrysostom upheld the tradition according to which early church fathers viewed the narrative of the Jewish Bible and the figures of that narrative as part of a Christian legacy, which they believed originated in the opening verses of the Book of Genesis, Chrysostom took an additional step of great interest. This early Christian cleric held up the figures of the Jewish Bible even while he engaged in polemical discourse directed at the contemporaneous Jewish community and those members of his flock who attended their services. In particular, he singled out the figure of the patriarch Abraham, not only to substantiate Christian claims to the Jewish Bible but also to serve as an exemplar of Christian virtue that his flock should emulate.