Byzantine Theology after Chalcedon.

Excerpts from

“Byzantine Theology,”

Historical trends and doctrinal themes

By John Meyendorff

(Please get the full version of this book at your bookstore)

Content:

Byzantine Theology after Chalcedon.

Exegetical traditions. Philosophical trends. The Problem of Origenism. Pseudo-Dionysius. Liturgy.

The Christological Issue.

The Monophysites. The Strict Dyophysites. The Cyrillian Chalcedonians. The Origenists.

The Iconoclastic Crisis.

Appearance of the Movement. Iconoclastic Theology. Orthodox Theology of Images: John of Damascus and the Seventh Council. Orthodox Theology of Images: Theodore the Studite and Nicephorus. Lasting Significance of the Issue.

Monks and Humanists.

Theodore the Studite. Photius (ca. 820 ― ca. 891). Michael Psellos (1018-1078). The Trials of John Italos (1076-1077, 1082).

Monastic Theology.

The Origins of Monastic Thought: Evagrius and Macarius. The Great Spiritual Fathers. Opposition to Secular Philosophy. Christian Faith as Experience: Symeon the New Theologian. Theology of Hesychasm: Gregory Palamas.

Ecclesiology: Canonical Sources.

The Councils and the Fathers. Imperial Legislation. Codifications of Ecclesiastical Law. Authoritative Commentaries and Criticism. Synodal and Patriarchal Decrees. Οικοnοmιa.

The Schism Between East and West.

The Filioque. Other Controversies. Authority in the Church. Two Ideas of Primacy. The Meaning of the Schism.

Encounter with the West.

The Circle of Cantacuzenos. Humanists. Palamite Theologians: Nicholas Cabasilas. Florence.

Lex orandi.

The “Great Church” of Constantinople. The Liturgical Cycles. Hymnology.

Doctrinal Themes.

Creation.

Creator and Creatures. The Divine Plan. The Dynamism of Creation. Sanctification of Nature.

Man.

Man and God. Man and the World. Original Sin. The New Eve.

Jesus Christ.

God and Man. Redemption and Deification. The Theotokos.

The Holy Spirit.

The Spirit in Creation. The Spirit and Man’s Redemption. The Spirit and the Church. The Spirit and Man’s Freedom.

The Triune God.

Unity and Trinity. Hypostasis, Essence, and Energy. The Living God.

Sacramental Theology: The Cycle of Life.

Number of Sacraments. Baptism and Chrismation. Penance. Marriage. Healing and Death.

The Eucharist.

Symbols, Images, and Reality. Eucharist and Church.

The Church in the World.

Church and Society. The Mission of the Church. Eschatology.

Conclusion.

Antinomies.

Byzantine Theology after Chalcedon.

Constantinople, the great cultural melting pot, the “New Rome” and capital of the empire, did not produce any real outstanding theologian in the fifth and sixth centuries; but the city witnessed the great theological debates of the day since their conclusion often depended upon imperial sanction. Bishops, monks, exegetes, and philosophers coming to the capital to seek favour and support created around the Episcopal see of the imperial city, from which the government’s theological advisers were usually drawn, a convergence of ideas, and a predisposition to syncretic and compromise solutions. The bishops of Constantinople and their staffs however were still able to defend explicit theological convictions, even against the imperial will, as the lonely pro-Chalcedonian stand adopted by the patriarchs, Euphemius (489-495) and Macedonius II (495-511), under the reign of the Monophysite emperor Anastasius, bears witness. Thus, a theology, which can be termed specifically “Byzantine” in contrast to the earlier currents of Eastern Christian thought and centred mainly in Egypt and Syria, comes into being during the post-Chalcedonian period. It would receive an official sanction under Justinian (527-565) and an expression in the balanced synthesis of Maximus the Confessor (†662).

It would have seemed that no individual figure played a decisive role in the formation of this theology, and one could be equally hard-pressed to locate any school or other intellectual centre in the capital where the theological thought was creatively elaborated. Though it seemed reasonable to assume that a theological school for the training of higher ecclesiastical personnel was connected with the patriarchate, sources about its character or the levels of its teaching were wanting. A centre of theological learning was attested at the famous monastery of the Akoimetai (the “Non-Sleepers”), and others certainly existed elsewhere, but very little was specifically known about them. Theologians, who were active during the fifth and sixth centuries, often received their training in distant parts of the empire, such as Syria or Palestine. The Lavra of St. Sabbas near Jerusalem, for example, was the scene of violent debates between competing Origenist factions.

The imperial, secular University of Constantinople, founded by Constantine and reorganized by a decree of Theodosius II (408-450), did not include theology among its subjects; yet it certainly served as a channel for the perpetuation of ancient Greek philosophical ideas. The university remained bilingual (Greek and Latin) until the seventh century and until the reign of Justinian and included pagans among its professors. But the drastic measures taken by Justinian in excluding both, pagans and non-Orthodox Christians, from the teaching profession and in closing the pagan University of Athens must have emphasized that the role of secular studies in Christian Byzantium was purely ancillary. Even if a small circle of intellectuals perpetuated the philosophical traditions of the ancient Greeks, the official position of both, Church and state, now considered philosophy as at best a tool for expressing Revelation, but it never admitted that philosophy was entitled to shape the very content of theological ideas. In practice, one might readily admit that Aristotelian logic is to be taught in the schools, but one would be consistently distrustful of Platonism because of its metaphysical implications. Yet Platonism would subsist through patristic literature mainly and especially through the Origenist tradition; but it would never be formally acknowledged as a valid expression of religious ideas.

Conservative in form and intent, Byzantine theology in the age of Justinian continually referred to tradition as its main source. In particular, the Christological debates of the period consisted chiefly of a battle between exegetes of Scripture about philosophical terms adopted by Christian theology in the third and fourth centuries and about patristic texts making use of these terms. Liturgical hymnology, which began to flourish at this time, incorporated the results of the controversies and often became a form of credal confession. The various elements of Byzantine theological traditionalism dominated in the fifth and sixth centuries, constituted the basis of further creativity in the later periods, and required very special attention.

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 492