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Abstract
In his commentary on Psalm 118(LXX):73a, “Your hands made me and fashioned me” (Tract.118Ps. 10.1–8), Hilary of Poitiers provides a unique perspective on the creation of humanity and on its exceptional dignity. I will examine key aspects of Hilary’s exegesis of this verse, namely, the identification of the hands of God, the interpretation of the two verbs “made” and “fashioned”, and the connections with Genesis 1:26 and 2:7. I will also compare Hilary’s interpretation of Ps 118:73a to the views expressed by other authors such as Theophilus, Irenaeus, Origen, Tertullian, Ambrose, and Didymus, with the purpose of contextualising Hilary’s novel understanding of human dignity within the larger framework of Early Christian interpretations of Genesis.
Abstract
In this paper, a detail from the Coptic Vita Pachomii is examined. The focus is on the motif of the herd without a shepherd. The text passage Zechariah 13,7 is used for comparison.
Abstract
Basil’s Homily against Anger is one of a few early Christian writings devoted to the topic of anger. This homily thus offers important insight into how early Christians interpreted and tempered anger, but it has not yet received adequate scholarly attention. The close reading of the homily and comparison of it with various proposals for controlling anger in the Greco-Roman philosophical tradition offered here expand the understanding of early Christian teachings about this powerful emotion. The focus is on the ways in which Basil’s reasoning is consistent with Greco-Roman philosophical attitudes regarding anger as well as the distinctive features of his Christian-oriented proposal for controlling anger.
Abstract
In the modern period idiorrhythmic monasticism was prevalent on Mt Athos and elsewhere. This article seeks to establish when the idiorrhythmic way of life first appeared and how it developed in the Middle and Late Byzantine periods.
Abstract
The Ambigua to John by Maximus the Confessor contains numerous passages, where difficulties in the Bible and the Church fathers are interpreted using the terms ‘symbol,’ ‘type,’ and ‘image.’ Symbol appears as a clearly defined exegetic instrument and is always distinguished from other terms. However, in different contexts, Maximian symbolism reveals some peculiarities. On the one hand, the traditional Alexandrian understanding of symbol is accepted by Maximus the Confessor. On the other hand, he tries to employ its Areopagitic interpretation, especially that of the treatises On Mystical Theology and On Ecclesiastical Hierarchy. In two chapters of the Ambigua to John, commenting on the Transfiguration of Christ, Maximus the Confessor interweaves Alexandrian and Areopagitic symbolism, which leads to perplexing formulae, such as of the Incarnate Christ as “a type and symbol of Himself.” The analysis of the foregoing traditions makes it possible to propose an interpretation of this and similar locutions.
Abstract
The Greek manuscripts of Barlaam romance, pointing out in the Lemma that the story was brought to the Holy City by the honorable man, monk Ioann of the monastery of Saint Sabas, supported establishing the name of Saint John Damascene as the author of the romance. According to this research, the bearer of this story was Iovanne- Tornike, a monk of Athos and a former Byzantine general. The monk Ioann mentioned in the Lemma was not a monk of the Laura of the Holy Sabba the Sanctified, but of the Georgian monastery of Oshki, where Saint Father Sabba was the abbot. Theological texts were copied there under Iovanne-Tornike’s guidance finding their way to Athos through his efforts. Two redactions of the Barlaam are preserved in Georgian manuscripts: The Wisdom of Balahvar and The Life of the Blessed Iodasaph. The first one is the short and original redaction. It preserves the earlier Christian reworking of this Eastern story, making it significant in studying the Arabic editions of the Balavhar and Būḏāsf.