The Byzantine Christ: Person, Nature, and Will in the Christology of Saint Maximus the ConfessorSt Maximus the Confessor is one of the giants of Christian theology. His doctrine of two wills gave the final shape to ancient Christology and was ratified by the Sixth Ecumenical Council in AD 681. This study throws new light upon one of the most interesting periods of historical and systematic theology. Its focus is the seventh century, the century that saw the rapid expansion of Islam, and the Empire's failed attempt to retain many of its south-eastern provinces by inventing and promoting the heresy of Monothelitism (only one will in Christ) as a bridge between the Byzantine Church and the anti-Chalcedonian Churches which prevailed in some of these areas. From the point of view of systematic theology, the book examines the meaning of the terms person/hypostasis, nature/essence, and will in the context of Christology after the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451), with special reference to Maximus. It also explores the complex question of the human will of Jesus Christ and its relation to his person and natures. The Byzantine Christ enhances our understanding of Eastern Orthodox theology and of some of the reasons that still separate it both from Western Christianity and from the so-called Oriental Orthodox Churches. |
Contents
Introduction | 3 |
1 From the Fourth to the Seventh Century | 9 |
2 The Monothelite Heresy of the Seventh Century | 60 |
3 The Dyothelite Christology of Saint Maximus the Confessor | 99 |
4 Further Issues Relating to Saint Maximuss Dyothelite Christology and their Theological Significance | 175 |
Epilogue | 208 |
| 211 | |
| 223 | |
Other editions - View all
The Byzantine Christ: Person, Nature, and Will in the Christology of Saint ... Demetrios Bathrellos No preview available - 2004 |
The Byzantine Christ: Person, Nature, and Will in the Christology of Saint ... Demetrios Bathrellos No preview available - 2004 |
Common terms and phrases
according Acta Conciliorum Oecumenicorum acts Adversus Nestorianos Allen and Neil anti-Chalcedonian Apollinarius Chalcedon Chalcedonian characterized Christ in Christian Christ's human Christian Tradition Constantinople Council of Chalcedon Cyril Cyrillian deification Disputatio Bizyae distinction divine and human divine nature doctrine Doucet dyothelite Christology Ekthesis energies of Christ epistle excerpt expression fact Father flesh formula of Leo Gethsemane prayer gnōmē gnomic Gregory Gregory of Nazianzus Grillmeier Honorius human nature humanity of Christ hypostasis hypostasis of Christ hypostatic Ibid implies interpretation Jesus John of Damascus Leontioi Leontius of Byzantium Leontius of Jerusalem Maxime le Confesseur Maximus argued Maximus the Confessor Maximus's dyothelite monenergism monophysite monothélisme monothelite controversy monothelitism moved nature of Christ Neil eds Nestorianism Nestorius Opusc orthodox passage proairesis Pyrrhus reference Riedinger Saint Maximus Scripta Saeculi VII seems self-determining Sergius Sergius's seventh century Severus Sherwood Sixth Ecumenical Council theandric energy Theodore theologians theological union unity of Christ whereas