The Oxford Handbook of Maximus the Confessor (Oxford Handbooks)

Description

Maximus the Confessor (c.580-662) has become one of the most discussed figures in contemporary patristic studies. This is partly due to the relatively recent discovery and critical edition of his works in various genres, including On the Ascetic Life, Four Centuries on Charity, Two Centuries on Theology and the Incarnation, On the 'Our Father', two separate Books of Difficulties, addressed to John and to Thomas, Questions and Doubts, Questions to Thalassius, Mystagogy and the Short Theological and Polemical Works. The impact of these works reached far beyond the Greek East, with his involvement in the western resistance to imperial heresy, notably at the Lateran Synod in 649. Together with Pope Martin I (649-53 CE), Maximus the Confessor and his circle were the most vocal opponents of Constantinople's introduction of the doctrine of monothelitism. This dispute over the number of wills in Christ became a contest between the imperial government and church of Constantinople on the one hand, and the bishop of Rome in concert with eastern monks such as Maximus, John Moschus, and Sophronius, on the other, over the right to define orthodoxy. An understanding of the difficult relations between church and state in this troubled period at the close of Late Antiquity is necessary for a full appreciation of Maximus' contribution to this controversy. The editors of this volume provide the political and historical background to Maximus' activities, as well as a summary of his achievements in the spheres of theology and philosophy, especially neo-Platonism and Aristotelianism. Cover The Oxford Handbook of Maximus the Confessor Copyright Contents List of Illustrations List of Abbreviations List of Contributors Part I Historical Setting 1 Life and Times of Maximus the Confessor 2 A New Date-List of the Works of Maximus the Confessor 3 Byzantium in the Seventh Century 4 Maximus, a Cautious Neo-Chalcedonian Part II Theological and Philosophical Influences 5 Classical Philosophical Influences: Aristotle and Platonism 6 The Foundation of Origenist Metaphysics 7 The Ascetic Tradition 8 Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite and Maximus the Confessor 9 Mindset (γνώμη) in John Chrysostom 10 Augustine on the Will 11 Divine Providence and the Gnomic Will before Maximus Part III Works and Thought 12 Exegesis of Scripture 13 Maximus the Confessor’s Use of Literary Genres 14 Passions, Ascesis, and the Virtues 15 Christocentric Cosmology 16 Eschatology in Maximus the Confessor 17 The Mode of Deification 18 Spiritual Anthropology in Ambiguum 7 19 Mapping Reality within the Experience of Holiness 20 Christian Life and Praxis: The Centuries on Love 21 Liturgy as Cosmic Transformation Part IV Reception 22 The Georgian Tradition on Maximus the Confessor 23 Maximus’ Heritage in Russia and Ukraine 24 The Impact of Maximus the Confessor on John Scottus Eriugena 25 Maximus the Confessor’s Influence and Reception in Byzantine and Modern Orthodoxy 26 The Theology of the Will 27 Maximus and Modern Psychology 28 Maximus the Confessor and Ecumenism 29 Reception of Maximian Thought in the Modern Era General Index Index of Ancient Persons Index of Modern Persons Index of Biblical Citations