ACriticalAppraisal
Editedby
DoruCostacheandPhilipKariatlis
StAndrewsOrthodoxPress
Sydney,2013
StAndrewsBook2013_R.indd 1 5/09/13 12:10 AM
Textcopyright2013remainswiththeauthors
Allrightsreserved.ExceptforanyfairdealingpermittedundertheCopyrightAct,
nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedbyanymeanswithoutpriorpermission.
Inquiriesshouldbemadetothepublisher.
NationalLibraryofAustraliaCataloguing-in-Publicationentry
Title: Cappadocianlegacy/DoruCostacheandPhilipKariatlis(eds).
ISBN: 978-0-9775974-9-9(paperback)
Notes: Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
Subjects: Gregory,ofNazianzus,Saint.
Basil,Saint,BishopofCaesarea,
approximately329-379.
Gregory,ofNyssa,Saint,
approximately335-approximately394
Theology--Earlyworksto1800
Christiansaints--Biography--Earlyworksto1800.
OtherAuthors/Contributors:
Costache,Doru,editor.
Kariatlis,Philip,editor.
DeweyNumber:230
StAndrewsOrthodoxPress
242ClevelandStreet,Redfern,NSW,2016
www.standrewsorthodoxpress.com.au
StAndrewsBook2013_R.indd 2 5/09/13 12:10 AM
Contents
PREFACE..................................................................................................................................................5
1.THECAPPADOCIANSWITHINTRADITION
TheCappadocianFathersasFoundersofByzantineThought
DavidBradshaw.....................................................................................................................................11
WeretheFathersProponentsofaFamilialImagoTrinitatis?
AdamG.Cooper.................................................................................................................................. 23
2.THELEGACYOFSTBASILTHEGREAT
StBasiltheGreatsExpositionofNiceneOrthodoxy
JohnAnthonyMcGuckin......................................................................................................................47
WhyDidntStBasilWriteinNewTestamentGreek?
JohnA.L.Lee............................................................................................................................................61
Light(/)anditsLiturgicalFoundationintheTeaching
ofStBasiltheGreat
AdrianMarinescu..................................................................................................................................77
ChristianWorldview:UnderstandingsfromStBasiltheGreat
DoruCostache.........................................................................................................................................97
StBasilsTrinitarianDoctrine:AHarmoniousSynthesisof
GreekPaideiaandtheScripturalWorldview
PhilipKariatlis..................................................................................................................................... 127
TheRecapitulationofHistoryandtheEighthDay:
AspectsofStBasiltheGreatsEschatologicalVision
MarioBaghos........................................................................................................................................ 151
StBasiltheGreatasEducator:ImplicationsfromtheAddresstoYouth
DimitriKepreotes................................................................................................................................ 169
3.THELEGACYOFSTGREGORYTHETHEOLOGIAN
TheTeachingsofGregoryofNazianzusontheTrinity
ArchbishopStylianosofAustralia................................................................................................ 187
Self-KnowledgeandKnowledgeofGod
accordingtoStGregorytheTheologian
GeorgiosMantzarides....................................................................................................................... 203
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GregorytheTheologianASpiritualPortrait
ArchbishopStylianosofAustralia................................................................................................ 215
SeekingOuttheAntecedentsoftheMaximian
TheoryofEverything:StGregorytheTheologiansOration28.
DoruCostache...................................................................................................................................... 225
Whatthen?IstheSpiritGod?Certainly!StGregorysTeaching
ontheHolySpiritastheBasisoftheWorldsSalvation
PhilipKariatlis..................................................................................................................................... 243
ScriptureintheWorksofStGregorytheTheologian
MargaretBeirne.................................................................................................................................. 261
StGregorytheTheologiansExistentialMetanarrativeofHistory
MarioBaghos........................................................................................................................................ 275
FeaturesoftheTheandricMysteryofChristin
theChristologyofStGregorytheTheologian
AnthonyPapantoniou....................................................................................................................... 299
4.THELEGACYOFSTGREGORYOFNYSSA
DivineProvidenceandFreeWillinGregoryofNyssa
andhisTheologicalMilieu
BronwenNeil........................................................................................................................................ 315
DazzlingDarknessTheMysticalorTheophanic
TheologyofStGregoryofNyssa
PhilipKariatlis..................................................................................................................................... 329
ApproachingAnApologyfortheHexaemeron:
ItsAims,MethodandDiscourse
DoruCostache...................................................................................................................................... 349
SpiritualEnrichmentthroughExegesis:StGregoryofNyssa
andtheScriptures
MargaretBeirne.................................................................................................................................. 373
ReconsideringApokatastasisinStGregoryofNyssas
OnTheSoulandResurrectionandtheCatecheticalOration
MarioBaghos........................................................................................................................................ 387
INFORMATIONABOUTTHECONTRIBUTORS.................................................................. 417
StAndrewsBook2013_R.indd 4 5/09/13 12:10 AM
225
SeekingOuttheAntecedentsoftheMaximianTheory
ofEverything:
StGregorytheTheologiansOration38
DoruCostache
Abstract: The papei begins by biiely uesciibing the famous theoiy
of everything expounded by St Maximus the Confessor in Bificulty
41. This fascinating Maximian narrative endeavours to give an ac-
countofthewholeofreality,initscomplexmulti-levelstructure.Al-
thoughStMaximusmaintains,bywayofintroduction,thatthisteach-
ingdrawsonthetraditionofthesaints,nothingsimilarcanbefound
in the writings of previous Church fathers. Contemporary scholars
haveattimesattemptedtosearchfortherootsofthistradition,with-
outmuchsuccess.Notclaimingtobeexhaustive,thispaperexplores
apossibletrajectory,ignoredbyscholarship,withintwopassages(11
and17)inStGregorytheTheologiansOration38,consideredinthe
contextofhiscelebratedTheophanysermons.
The prologue of Bificulty 41
1
claims that St Naximus theoiy of eveiy-
thing,
2
presentedwithinasoteriologicalframework
3
anu uealing with ive
divisions and syntheses of reality, draws on the mystical tradition of the
saints. The subsequent depiction has, however, no equivalent in the re-
corded patristic tradition. This is quite an intriguing aspect. Looking for
This is a reworked and expanded version of the article with the same title, published in
Phronema 26:2 (2011): 27-45. I am grateful to Fr Bogdan Bucur, Adam Cooper, Philip
Kariatlis,MarioBaghosandthePhronema reviewers for tbeir potient rectiicotion of my
stylisticshortcomingsandtheirconstructivesuggestions.
1
PG91,1304D.ForanEnglishversion,seeAndrewLouth,MaximustheConfessor(London
andNewYork:Routledge,1996),156.
2
The designation of St Maximus vision of reality in Bificulty 41 and parallels, like To
Thalassius, 48 (PG 90, 436AB) as a theory of everything belongs to me. I consistently
useu this label thioughout my unpublisheu uoctoial thesis Logos anu Cieation Fiom
theAnthropicCosmologicalPrincipletotheTheanthropocosmicPerspective(Universi-
ty of Buchaiest in Romanian anu in the aiticle uoing 0pwaius with Eveiything
You Are: The Unifying Ladder of St Maximus the Confessor, in Basarab Nicolescu and
MagdaStavinschi(eds.),ScienceandOrthodoxy:ANecessaryDialogue(Bucuie,ti:Curtea
Veche,2006):135-144.
3
PG91,1304D-1313B.Cf.
Louth,MaximustheConfessor,156-62.
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226
the souices of the theoiy ones iist ieaction woulu then be to asciibe it to
theunwrittenlore,whichincidentallymightbecorrect.Icannottreatthis
aspecthere.Nevertheless,inrecenttimestherehavebeenattemptstotrace
theliteraryantecedentsofthisworldview;below,Ishalladdressanumber
ofsuchendeavours.
Mypurposeinthefollowingistoexpoundonthesourcesofthetheory,
focusingontheinputofStGregorytheTheologian.Insodoing,Ichallenge
thesurprisinglackofinterestmanifestedbycontemporaryscholarshipin
St Gregory when seeking out the antecedents of the Confessors elabora-
tions.BysheddingnewlightontheTheologiansOration38.11and38.17
(consideredinthecontextoftheTheophanysermons,38-40)anditscon-
tributiontotheprocessthatledtotheMaximianconstruct,thispaperin-
tendstoofferamodesttributetoStGregoryandhislegacy.
StMaximusTheoryofEverything
The opening section of constitutes a signiicant contiibution
totheChristianworldview,whichshouldbeconsideredalbeitinabroad
senseascognatewiththecurrentquestforatheoryofeverything.
4
Indeed,
St Maximus attempted to map the ultimate elements of reality, as known
toByzantinecosmography,andtogatherthemintoacomprehensivesyn-
thesis. This effort emerges for instance in his strenuous contemplation of
the divine thoughts, or ,
5
which both traverse and bridge all realms:
theuncreated,theangelicnoospheretoparaphraseTeilharddeChardins
coinage,thecosmos,thebiosphereandhumankind.Withoutbeingartic-
4
Perhapsexotictosomereaders,thenotionofatheoryofeverythingiscommonincon-
temporarycosmology.Itreferstothecurrenteffortsofreachinganalgorithmicformula
abletoaccountforallofreality.ForPaulDavies,itisthequestforacompletedescrip-
tion of the woilu which stems fiom the iuea that all physical laws coulu be uniieu into
asinglemathematicalscheme.Cf.PaulDavies,TheMindofGod:ScienceandtheSearch
forUltimateMeaning(PenguinBooks,1992),21,33,136.SeealsoJohnD.Barrow,The
ConstantsofNature:FromAlphatoOmegatheNumbersThatEncodetheDeepestSecrets
oftheUniverse(NewYork:PantheonBooks,2002),53-76.Basedontheconvictionthat
theuniverseisamanifestationofrationalorder(Davies,TheMindofGod,22,165),the
concept iepiesents a scientiic alteinative to what the humanities uesciibe as a meta-
narrative,ortheunderlyingreasonforsomeparticulardevelopmentsandevents.Davies
arguesconvincinglythatalthoughinitselfaprovokingthoughtasingle,bothconsistent
and complete theory of everything is impossible (cf. Davies, The Mind of God, 167-68;
seealsoBarrow,TheConstantsofNature,285,291).Inthefollowing,Ishallutilisethe
concept with this relative connotation, as a depiction of reality that does not claim to
encompassallofitsstrands.
5
Seee.g.7(PG91,1077C-1080B,1081AB).
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227
ulatedinthecomplexlanguageofcontemporarymathematics,thisconcept
is no less a theoiy of eveiything In fact anu keeping the piopoitions the
Confessorsnumerologicaldigressions
6
mightsuggestanintentiontogive
theChristianworldviewanalternatemathematicalshape,perhapsevoca-
tiveofthePythagoreansystem.ThisaspectbringstheMaximianconstruct
evenclosertothecurrentnotionofatheoryofeverything.
That said, we move to the analysis of this enticing expression of St
Maximus worldview. As presented in 41,
7
the whole of reality
encompasses ive iiieuucible uivisions oi polaiities In my tianslation the
textreadsasfollows.
The iist polaiity sepaiates the entiie cieateu natuie
)[]fromtheuncreatednature(
).[]Thesecondisthataccordingtowhichtheentirebeing
thathasreceivedexistencefromGodbycreationisdifferentiatedinto
theintelligibleandthesensible(
).Thethirdisthat
by which the sensible being is divided into sky and earth (
).Thefourthisthatbywhichtheearthisdividedintoparadise
andtheinhabitedworld( Anu the ifth
isthatbywhichthehumanbeing,likeacomprehensiveworkshopof
everything and which mediates physically between the edges of all
polarities,[]isdividedintomaleandfemale( ).
The ive polaiities constitute an encompassing uesciiption of ieality which
evokesbothculturalandscripturalfeatures,andwhichpresentstheseele-
mentsintheformofastructuredhierarchythePorphyriantree,accord-
ingtoTorsteinTheodorTollefsen.
8
Initssequenceoflayers,thishierarchy
beginswiththemostgeneralaspecttoendwiththemostparticularone,as
uepicteu by the Chiistian woiluview Thus the iist polaiity coiiesponuing
tothefundamentalChristiandivisionofbeingasseenbyStAthanasiusand
theCappadocians,considerstheultimateontologicalriftattheheartofre-
ality,whichdividestheuncreatedandcreatedrealms;thesecond,evoking
thegreatPlatonicdivision,addressesthediversitypertainingtothewhole
ofcreation,consistingoftheintelligibleandthesensible;thethird,theAr-
istotelian division, refers to the sensible domain, subdivided into sky and
6
See Bespina B Piassas Intiouuction to StMaximustheConfessorsQuestionsandDoubts
(DeKalb:NorthernIllinoisUniversityPress,2010),24-25.
7
PG91,1304D-1305B.
8
Toistein Theouoi Tollefsen The Ethical Consequences of the Chiistian Conception of
NatureasCreatedbyGod,StVladimirsTheologicalQuarterly45:4(2001):395-408,at
398.
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228
eaith the fouith ieiteiating uenesis iuentiies on eaith the inhabiteu
zone oi the woilu of civilisation anu the paiauise anu the ifth evoking
Genesis1,highlightsthegenderdivisionasthebasicpolarityofhumankind.
St Naximus piesents the ive uivisions as existential challenges The
humanbeingappearstobeappointedbythecreatorLogoswiththetaskof
overcomingthesechallengesbytappingintothedivinerationalitythatper-
meatescreation.Theaccomplishmentofthistaskispossibleonlyforthose
thatlivevirtuously,
9
sincevirtuecorrespondstotheubiquitousgroundof
divinerationality.Theunifyingprocessadvancesinthereverseorderofthe
ive uivisions as follows
10
iist the human synthesis by way of oveicoming
the gender division; second, the union between the inhabited world and
paradise; third, the union of earth and sky, as the two main zones of the
visiblerealm;fourth,thesynthesisofthevisibleandinvisibledomains;and
ifth the communion of the cieateu anu the uncieateu Textually anu again
inmytranslation,StMaximusstatedasfollows.
the human being was intiouuceu among the othei beings as a inal
graceandanaturallinkofsorts()thatingen-
eralmediatesbyitsownpartsbetweenextremities,bringingtounity
()initselfthemany[things]thatarephysicallyseparated[].
BytheunionthatbringstogetherallthingstoGod,theircause,begin-
ning with its own uivision ie the ifth anu auvancing sequentially
and orderly through the intermediate [polarities], [the human be-
ing] reaches the end of the ascension accomplished through all the
realmsbyunionwithGod,inwhomthereisnodivision.
11
Nevertheless,humanityrelinquisheditstaskandbyabandoningthevirtu-
ouslifestylebecametheoriginofwhatcanbedepictedasnegativewaves.
12
Thesecatastrophicaftershockscausedthepolaritiestosharpen,threaten-
ingtodisruptthefabricoftheuniverseaphenomenonrepressedbythe
pioviuential inteivention of uou The piocess of giauual uniication was
boosteu anew by the incaination anu salviic economy of the Logos oui
Loiu Chiist thiough which all ive syntheses weie accomplisheu
13
Else-
where,inToThalassius,48,StMaximusponderedChristsmediatingaction
9
Pu C Cf Tollefsen The Ethical Consequences at Tollefsen ieheaises
thesameideayetseeminglynotallowingforthevirtuetobeinterpretedasanecosys-
temicfactor.
10
PG91,1305B-1308C.
11
41(PG91,1305BC).
12
SeeforinstanceToThalassius,64(PG90,696C).
13
Cf.41(PG91,1308CD).
StAndrewsBook2013_R.indd 228 5/09/13 12:11 AM
229
between the ive uivisions as an outcome of the hypostatic union by iepeat-
edlyusingtheverb heunited).
14
Although worthwhile for the Christian worldview in general, here is
neithei the place foi a uetaileu analysis of this magniicent constiuct with
its theocentric anthropology evaluated cosmologically) nor an investiga-
tion of its cultuial anu theological iamiications I must tuin now to the vai-
iousopinionsonthesourcesofStMaximustheory.
SeekingOuttheAntecedentsoftheMaximianTheory
Looking for the sources of the theory, many scholars assumed that there
musthavebeenadevelopmentoftheideafromsimplerformstothema-
tureelaborationbytheConfessor.Inspiteofthefactthat,alreadyin1941,
HansUrsvonBalthasarhighlightedtheoriginalityoftheMaximiansynthe-
sisandwarnedagainstreducingittothenumeroussourcesitreworked,
15
laterscholarsexhibitedapersistentinterestinidentifyingtheoriginofthe
Confessois theoiy Thus only a few yeais aftei the iist euition of the Cos-
micLiturgy,in1944VladimirLosskyimpliedthatthetheorystemsfromthe
patristicconsensusregardingthediversityofcreationbroughttounityinto
thehumanbeing.
16
However,hisallusionstoStBasiltheGreat,StGregory
ofNyssaandStIsaactheSyrian,failedtodemonstrateadirectconnection.
ThesamegoesforGeorgesFlorovskysloosereferencestoPhilo,StGregory
ofNyssaandNemesiusofEmessa.
17
Foity yeais aftei the iist euition of Losskys woik Lais Thunbeig uis-
cussedmorethoroughlythesourcesofStMaximusconstruct.Hesurveyed
aseriesofclassicalandChristianthinkers,focusingontheircontributions
to the concept of the miciocosm as an impoitant stage in the ielective pio-
cess that led to the Maximian theory.
18
The inclusion in this survey of St
GregorytheTheologiansuseofmicroscosmosinOration28.22isnote-
14
Cf.PG90,436AB.IamgratefultoAdamCooperforpointingouttometheconnection
between the ive syntheses anu the hypostatic union in ielation to this Naximian text
15
Cf.CosmicLiturgy:TheUniverseAccordingtoMaximustheConfessor,trans.byBrianE.
Daley,SJ(SanFrancisco:IgnatiusPress,2003),56-63.
16
Cf.TheMysticalTheologyoftheEasternChurch(Crestwood,NY:StVladimirsSeminary
Press,2002),106-108.
17
Cf. The Byzantine Fathers of the Sixth to Eight Century, trans. R. Miller and A. M. Doll-
inger-Labriolle(Vaduz:Bchervertriebsanstalt,1987),225-26.
18
Cf.MicrocosmandMediator:TheTheologicalAnthropologyofMaximustheConfessor,sec-
ondedition(ChicagoandLaSalle:OpenCourt,1995),132-35.
StAndrewsBook2013_R.indd 229 5/09/13 12:11 AM
230
worthy
19
yetThunbergmanifestednointerestinOration38.11,wherethe
sameconceptisusedunderadifferentguiseasakindofsecondworld,
great within the small one as we shall see below. The Swedish scholar
concentrated much of his attention however on St Gregory of Nyssas On
theMakingofMan,16andTheGreatCatecheticalOration,6,
20
togetherwith
Nemesius of Emesas On the Nature of Man, 1.
21
He considered these pas-
sagestohavehadacrucialimpactuponStMaximusthought,andprovid-
edbriefdescriptionsoftherespectivecontexts.Thus,thetextsintheNys-
senexalthumandignity,whichconsistsinthefactofbeinginGodsimage,
within an attempt to give a Christian spin to the philosophical concept of
themicrocosm.Inturn,ThunbergbelievedthatthechapterfromNemesius
went beyonu the Nyssens musings by ielecting philosophically upon the
unifying task ascribed to humankind by God. However, this last aspect is
notsupportedbythetext,whichconsistsinagoodsummaryoftheoverall
Cappadocian teaching whilst being deprived of originality and philosoph-
ical virtues.
22
In turn, drawing on Thunbergs work, which he cited, John
MeyendorffintroducedhisverysuccinctdescriptionoftheMaximianthe-
ory by emphasising that the Cappadocians already addressed the topic of
humankindstaskwiththeircopioususeoftheconceptofthemicrocosm.
23
More recently, the quest for antecedents continued with Andrew
Louth,whoprefacedhistranslationof41bypointingtoStGrego-
ryofNyssaasitsprimarysource.
24
HereferredtotwopassagesintheNys-
sens Against Eunomius (I.270-72 and III.6.62-67), adding their supposed
correspondentsinthecriticaleditionofJaeger
25
yetwithoutprovidingde-
19
Cf.Ibidem,135.
20
Cf.Ibidem,135-36.
21
Cf. Ibidem, 136-37. See also idem, Man and the Cosmos: The Vision of St Maximus the
Confessor(Crestwood,NY:StVladimirsSeminaryPress,1985),80.Forsomereason,in
hispresentationofThunbergsanalysisoftheantecedents,AidanNichols,O.P.,Byzantine
Gospel:MaximustheConfessorinModernScholarship(Edinburgh:T&TClark,1993),165,
chosetoreferonlytoNemesiusasasourceoftheMaximiantheory.Thisreductiondoes
aninjusticetoThunberg.
22
SeeNemesiusATreatiseontheNatureofManI.1-10,inCyrilofJerusalemandNemesius
ofEmesa,editedbyWilliamTelfer,TheLibraryofChristianClassics(LouisvilleandLon-
don:WestminsterJohnKnoxPress,2006),224-56.
23
Cf.ByzantineTheology:HistoricalTrendsandDoctrinalThemes,revisedsecondedition
(NewYork:FordhamUniversityPress,1983),142.
24
Cf.MaximustheConfessor,155,and212,n.3.Louthvoicedthesameconvictionearlier,at
72,howeverprovidingnodirectreferencetoStGregoryofNyssa.
25
Quoteu as anu Wheieas the iist iefeience to }aegeis euition is accu-
rate,thesecondisinexact;indeed,thetextcanbefoundatpage245,andnotat66-67.
StAndrewsBook2013_R.indd 230 5/09/13 12:11 AM
231
tails.Readingthetwopassagesinthecriticaledition,
26
onediscoversthat
the iist tieats the Platonic uivision of being which iefeis to the uomains of
theintelligible()andthesensible( ).Thetextassoci-
atesthetwoclassicaltermsandtheirpresumedscripturalequivalents,the
sensible being iuentiieu with the visible )
andtheintelligiblewiththeinvisible().Thepassagefurtherad-
dressesthecomplexityoftheintelligible,ascribingtothePlatonicconcepta
Christianmeaningbyhighlightingamoreprofounddualityingrainedwith-
in it, i.e. the ontological rift between the uncreated () realm and
that of created () nature. The second passage points out the igno-
iance oi lack of insight ),ofcreationregardingGodsessence.
ThetopicsdiscussedbyStGregoryinthetwopassagesareundeniablyre-
hearsedbytheMaximiantheoryofeverything.
WhenproposingtheparagraphsfromtheNyssenasexclusivesources
oftheMaximiantheory,Louthseemstohavebeenunawareofaconundrum
emergingfromhisownassertions.Thus,whenintroducinghistranslation
of41,hecasuallynotedthatthechapterisinspiredbyafamous
anu inluential passage in St uiegoiy the Theologians Oration 39.13. In
histranslation,thetextreadsasfollows:andnaturesareinstitutedafresh,
andGodbecomesman.
27
Onewouldhaveexpectedadevelopmentofthis
statement yet Louth chose to address the reception of the phrase in the
ByzantinetraditionanditsWesternparallels.Onlyafewlinesbelowthere-
markconcerningtheinspirationofStMaximuschapterintheTheologians
thought, he went on to point to the two passages in St Gregory of Nyssa,
whichIsummarisedabove,asthesourceofthetheory.Giventhissudden
shift one might wonuei about the signiicance of the Theologians phiase
within 41, a chapter supposedly drawing on the Nyssen. Louth
notedthatthephrasereappearsonlyattheendofthechapter,
28
bywhich
heimplied,Ipresume,thattheTheologiansthoughtwasnotatitscentre.
Louths information, however, is erroneous. St Maximus already returned
totheGregoriantextlongbeforetheendofthechapter.
29
Evenintheevent
ofthisremarkbeingsound,whichisnotthecase,thisbynomeanswould
solvetheconundrum.
26
Contra Eunomium Libri, iteratis curis edidit Wernerus Jaeger, Pars Prior, Liber I et II
(vulgoIetXIIB)(Leiden:E.J.Brill,1960),105-106,245.
27
Cf.Louth,MaximustheConfessor,155,and212,n.2.IntheoriginalGreek(PG36,348D)
the text ieaus which in English
wouldtranslateas:thenaturesrenew,andGodbecomesman.
28
Cf.Louth,MaximustheConfessor,156.
29
Cf.PG91,1308CD.
StAndrewsBook2013_R.indd 231 5/09/13 12:11 AM
232
More recently, and again attempting to trace the antecedents of the
Maximiantheory,AdamCoopermentionedoncemoreNemesiusofEmesas
On the Human Nature, 1, whilst referring to another work by St Gregory
ofNyssa,theDialogueonSoulandResurrection(PG46,28B).
30
Withinthe
same context and to his credit, he discussed St Gregory the Theologians
Oration38.11,yetonlyinregardstoBificulty7wheretherelevantpassage
is quoted verbatim. Despite this restriction, of all the scholars reviewed
aboveCooperstandsapartinhisintuitionofOration38asasourceforthe
Confessorsworldview.
In the following I shall address the current claims regarding the an-
tecedents of the Maximian theory in St Gregory of Nyssa and Nemesius,
whilst pointing to Oration 38 as a forgotten written source for Bificulty
41. This does by no means imply that I intend to reduce the Confessors
contributiontoanotherandsupposedlymoreplausiblesource;Ijustwish
tohighlightafewreasonswhytheTheologianslegacyshouldnotbeover-
looked.Afterall,touseThunbergswords,StMaximuswasadeepadmirer
ofGregoryofNazianzus,thegreatRhetoramongtheFathers.
31
30
Cf. Tbe BoJy in St Hoximus tbe Confessor Eoly Ilesb Wbolly BeiieJ, The Oxford Early
ChristianStudies(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2005),103-104.
31
Cf.ManandtheCosmos,28.
32
Cf.TreatiseontheNatureofMan,1.3(Telfer,232-34).
33
Cf.GregoryofNyssa:DogmaticTreatises,NiceneandPost-NiceneFathers,2
nd
series,vol.
5,52-53.
34
Cf.Nemesius,TreatiseontheNatureofMan,1.8-9(Telfer,248-50,251-54).
35
Cf.BasiltheGreat:LettersandSelectWorks,NiceneandPost-NiceneFathers,2
nd
series,
vol.8,77-78,81.
36
Cf.TreatiseontheNatureofMan,1.2(Telfer,228-30)and1.4(Telfer,235-37).
StAndrewsBook2013_R.indd 232 5/09/13 12:11 AM
233
St Gregory the Theologians Oration 38.10-11,
37
which depicts creation as
brought to unity within the human microcosm. These similarities lead to
onlyoneconclusion;that,byallaccountssurvivingtheCappadocians
38
and
being theii iist ieviewei Nemesius offeieu a veiy skilful summaiy of theii
contributions without adding much to their legacy. Therefore, the impact
of his synthesis upon St Maximus notwithstanding, given the latters ex-
tensivefamiliaritywiththeCappadocians
39
we can coniuently asseit that
Nemesiusworkcannotrepresenttheprimarysourceofthetheoryunder
consideration.Beforemovinganyfurther,onemorepointisinorder,which
emergesfromthepreviousdiscussion.InotedearlierthatThunbergsbe-
lief in a ministiy of uniication exeiciseu by humankinu upon which Nem-
esius woulu have supposeuly philosophiseu inus no textual coniimation
Inueeu what we see at the enu of the iist chaptei of his woik
40
doesnot
match either the amplitude or the vigour of the Confessors elaborations.
Althoughhereiteratedtheontologicalconvergenceoftherealmsinthehu-
manmicrocosmasponderedbythetwoGregoriesNemesiussynthesis
uiu not auu to theii contiibutions anu cannot be taken as a signiicant au-
vancementoftheidea.
I turn now to the scholarly opinion regarding the dependence of the
theory of everything on St Gregory of Nyssa as its major inspiration. It
should be noted from the outset that the Confessors profuse drawing on
StBasilsyoungerbrotherisdoubtless.Thatsaid,whendealingwithBifi-
culty41andthetheoryofeverythingfoundtherein,theideaofStMaximus
relying on St Gregory of Nyssa instead of the Theologian does not make
much sense. This observation emerges from basic hermeneutical princi-
ples requiring any given paragraph to be considered above all within its
immediateliterarycontext.Asamatteroffact,theearlierBookofBificul-
ties(writtenaround630inNorthAfricaanddedicatedtoJohnofCyzicus)
41
chapter12
62
narratestheparadisalexperienceandtheexistentialfailureof
humankinu anu inally chaptei
63
presentstheantidoteofthisfailureas
administeredbythedivinepedagogyinhistory,culminatingintheincarna-
tionofGodtheLogos.
Lookingcloselytoourtext,Oration evokes two of the ive Nax-
imian polaiities the seconu anu the ifth which iefei to the intelligible
and the sensible, and the human being (the latter, however, without the
gender connotations of the Confessors theory). The Gregorian passage
ends with the paradox of the human being as a second and greater cos-
mos, which in its complex architecture contains and transcends
64
the
perfectlyarticulatedwholenessoftheuniverse.Thisveryaspectissimilar
to the Confessois vision that uepicts the uniieu anu peifecteu univeise as
like another human being ( ).
65
Nevertheless,
thetwoaccountsdonotcoincideinallrespects.Themaindifferencecon-
sistsinthatwhereasthesynthesisoftheintelligibleandthesensibleinSt
Gregoryoccurswithinthepsychosomaticmakeupofthehumannature,in
StMaximusthisdetailisimpliedbutnotstated.
66
Besidethisvariance,the
59
Forasummaryoftheoration,seeMcGuckin,SaintGregoryofNazianzus,338-39.Foran
analysisofthecontextpertainingtoOration38(andrelatedworks),inacomplextheo-
logical, anthropological and cosmological perspective, see Radford Ruether, Gregory of
Nazianzus,130-36.
60
PG 36, 320C-321C. See a few remarks on this group of chapters, extended to 7-11, in
ChristopherA.Beeley,GregoryofNazianzusontheTrinityandtheKnowledgeofGod:In
YourLightWeShallSeeLight(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2008),117-18.
61
Forthehumanbeingasaconnectorofthevisibleandinvisible,andascalledtounion
with uou see Kenneth Paul Wesche The 0nion of uou anu Nan in }esus Chiist in the
Thought of Gregory of Nazianzus, St Vladimirs Theological Quarterly 28:2 (1984): 83-
esp 0n the uiegoiian concept of ueiication see Toistein Theouoi Tollefsen
TheosisaccordingtoGregory,inJosteinBrtnesandTomasHgg(eds.),GregoryofNa-
zionzus lmoqes onJ Relections(Copenhagen:MuseumTusculanumPressandUniversi-
tyofCopenhagen,2006):257-70.Cf.Beeley,GregoryofNazianzus,116-22.
62
PG36,324B-D.
63
PG36,325A-D.
64
AnideaclearlystatedinOration39.8(PG36,341D):wearecalledtopassovercreation
(
65
Bificulty41(PG91,1312A).
66
St Maximus reiterates more clearly the Gregorian approach in Mystagogy, 7 (PG 91,
684D-685A).
StAndrewsBook2013_R.indd 238 5/09/13 12:11 AM
239
twofathersconveyacommonmessage:thereisacloseconnectionbetween
human existence and the cohesion of the cosmos. This conclusion allows
forafertilereadingoftheirideasindialoguewiththemodernnotionofthe
anthiopic cosmological piinciple which speciically points to this connec-
tionasaconditionfortheverylifeoftheuniverse.
Movingtothesecondparagraphofinterest,inOration38.17,
67
ween-
counter a very different, yet not unrelated, approach. The whole chapter
continues the line of thought set by chaptei which sums up the signii-
canceofChristsincarnationasarecapitulationofGodspeopleinthemain
acts of salvation.
68
The signiicant uiffeience between chapteis anu
consistsinthatwhilsttheformeraddressestheanthropologicalaspectof
salvation,thelatterelaborateswithinthebroaderframeworkofcosmology,
thusreiteratingtheapproachoftheanalysedpassagefromchapter11.In-
deed,chapter17consistsofadoxologicalsummaryoftheeventsrecounted
by the Nativity naiiatives inteipieting the salviic ueeus as means by which
Christachievedtheunionofheavenandearth,andofeverythingelse.This
approach, which gives substance to Wesches note that communion with
GodistheheartofGregorystheologicalintuitionconcerningthemystery
ofChrist
69
correspondstotheMaximianmusingsonChristasmediator.
70