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In this paper, the author examines the earliest Christian treatise, Athanasius’ De incarnatione, in the light of the subsequent development of theological thought on the incarnation, and more specifically on the causes of the incarnation. The medieval scholastic reflections on the Logos’ incarnation as a good in itself, or as the means of the consummation of our salvation, applied to Athanasius’ work, do not represent a methodological shortcoming of anachronism, but rather help better understand the text itself. Indeed, a close analysis of the text shows that through two key passages in Athanasius’ work (On the Incarnation 1.3; 4.2-3) we can trace the two schematic aspects that would later be highlighted and developed by scholastic theology.

Through the efforts of Peter, Paul, and the other apostles, the gospel of Jesus Christ was transmitted to those who worshipped the many gods of the Greeks, Romans, and other Mediterranean peoples. This article offers an overview of Graeco-Roman polytheism and the complex relationships between its adherents and the worshippers of Christ, from the first century to the first Roman law commanding conversion in the sixth century. It focuses primarily on pagan cult and philosophy, official (especially imperial) attitudes toward religion, and normative Christian theology and practice. The article also discusses the participation of Christians in rites traditionally offered to the gods and the problem of the survival of such rituals into later Christianity.

The conceptual notion of divine simplicity is a contested one, both in modern continental Christian theology and contemporary analytic philosophy. Nevertheless, it is of central importance in the patristic and scholastic traditions of mainstream Christian theology and has a place in significant conciliar decrees. This article suggests that the notion has an implicit foundation in key biblical teachings regarding the oneness and uniqueness of God the Creator, as well as in the notion of the Trinity, since the three persons in God are affirmed to be one in being and nature, wholly unlike three individual human persons. Having noted key patristic and medieval definitions of divine simplicity, the key teachings of Thomas Aquinas on the topic will be summarized. Other medieval perspectives on simplicity are considered, as well as some modern philosophical challenges to the doctrine. Then the contours of the theological treatment of divine simplicity in the modern period will be explored, noting the teaching of the First Vatican Council, the modern continental trinitarian tradition, and modern analytic criticisms, respectively. It will be argued that in each of these instances, classical treatments of divine simplicity from the patristic and scholastic periods are of perduring importance in maintaining a conceptually balanced, historically responsible, and theologically plenary expression of orthodox thought in regard to the mystery of God the Holy Trinity.

mong Maximus’ more formidable hermeneutical tools is his theology of arithmetic, or number symbolism. While a typical feature in the Greek exegetical tradition, number symbolism finds more profound and detailed expression in Maximus’ writings. To the modern reader, many of his proposals may seem contrived. Examination of his use of arithmetical theology provokes a number of questions. Are Maximus’ exercises with numbers just a pretext for demonstrating what he already knows, a confirmation and elaborate demonstration of ascetic, spiritual, and dogmatic facts he knows by other means? Or does he through studying numbers and speculating about their meaning and use discover something really new? With these questions in mind, I first present two rich but fairly typical sequences where Maximus deploys his arithmological hermeneutics. These exercises with numbers confirm something crucial about his view of Scripture: every detail has a God-given meaning and anagogical purpose. From here I turn to analyse a brief but rather complicated numerological exercise in Maximus’ Ambigua to John, which magnifies not just his ingenuity, but also his limitation in solving an exegetical problem involving numbers. Yet the elasticity of arithmetic allows him finally to reach a resolution. Despite the apparent numerical disharmonies, numbers are seen to lend themselves to Maximus’ style of biblical interpretation; being infinitely amenable to further calculation, there is always more in a number than the number itself. In sum, by doing the requisite arithmetical research, and speculating on possible interpretations as to what the various numbers signify, Maximus is hoping to provide his monastic colleagues and students with material to reflect on what he offers and apply it to their own lives as they think best and as the Holy Spirit gives them insight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this article is to analyse the means by which the philokalic spirituality had influenced and shaped Dumitru Stăniloae' theological discourse, whose personality is regarded as defining an epoch within Romanian theology, and also to emphasize the implications of this philokalic theology upon the models of human existence in the contemporary world. The fact that he is considered one of the greatest theologian of the 20th centrury by some of the authors belonging to various Christian confessions is due to his very ability to be involved in the contemporary, modern man's existence, as a true witness and confessor of his epoch. This involvement does not mean that he identifies or abandons to the modernity structures, but he remains a real, original creator, that continues to be the spokesperson, deeply anchored within the patristic discourse, thus outlining that the Orthodox philokalic spirituality has something to say to the contemporary world and to provide original solutions to its challenges. Dumitru Stăniloae offered a model consisting in a living "alive" theology, experiated throughout his own life, theology that, although maintaining the philosophical means of exposure, has a philocalic content, his writing being a conversation with God rather than a talk about God. Therefore, he frantically revised the traditonal theology, that was blocked within an abstract scholastic discourse, emphasizing that the role of theology resides in extracting from the divine revelation the patterns of thought and existence characterizing every age/epoch. The Christological foundation and structure of the Philokalia have entitled Father Stăniloae to ensure a philokalic basis to his dogmatic theology, thus providing one of his most important contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religious music has always been man's attempt to express the relationship between the Divine and the human. Through it, human nature takes part in the love of the Holy Trinity, participating in power, in prayer and in spirit, in the immanence of God. Divine revelation is easily revealed to man through theology expressed in religious music, and man, regardless of his theological knowledge, begins to feel and live in the love of God. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. The article analyzes various views expressed in domestic and foreign criticism on the problem of the boundaries and the degree of influence of ancient thought on the Christian tradition. The article analyzes the question not only about the distortion of the ancient philosophy of Christianity, but also about the legitimacy of the influence of the "Hellenic" Christianity itself on the cultures of other peoples. Special attention is paid to the analysis of similarities and differences in approaches to this issue in philosophical thought in the West and in Russian philosophy.Materials and Methods. The main material for this article is the monograph of G. V. Florovsky's "Christianity and Civilization: Selected works on theology and Philosophy", as well as an extensive article by P. B. Mikhailov – "The concept of Hellenization of Christianity in the history of theology". In addition, the research material is the works of other domestic and foreign authors analyzing the problem under consideration. The article uses the methods of comparative analysis, generalization and historical and philosophical analysis.Results. The analysis shows that the concept that arose in Protestantism, the substitution of evangelical preaching in the late Christian thought with alien ideas of ancient philosophy, has undergone an evolution. Modern criticism emphasizes that the accusation itself is based on the German philosophy of history, which does not accept the phenomenon of the Gospel as a Tradition, i.e., Traditions. In this way, it divides the Gospel and Tradition and closes the Gospel in a specific historical moment. According to the scholars, it is necessary to distinguish between the declaration of the substitution of the gospel by philosophy as a theoretical assumption, and historical reality, as a process of realization of the Good News that took place in the second century and in subsequent time. At present, the idea of the identity of the internal content of the confessional faith and the diversity of external, cultural forms of its expression is becoming relevant.Discussion and Conclusions. The author of the study managed to conduct a comparative and systematic analysis of the approaches that determine the strength and scope of the influence of ancient philosophy on Christian theology, in the works of both domestic and foreign thinkers. As a result, the author managed to carry out a comprehensive analysis of various approaches in assessing the degree of influence of ancient philosophy on Christian theology, as well as to trace the evolution of these ideas.

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Many of the present day scientists think that religion can never come to terms with science. In sharp contrast with this widespread opinion, this paper argues that, historically, scientific reasoning and religious belief joined hands in their effort to investigate and understand reality. In fact, the present-day divorce between science and religion is nothing else than the final outcome of a gradual, long-term, and deliberately assumed process of science secularization. However, especially during the latest two decades, we are all the same confronted with the advance of a new concern that some of the nowadays scientists have, the one of reviewing the sphere of problems specific to the domains of investigation they are involved in, with the face to the themes that are usually addressed by the theological thought. The paper describes this recent development as being captured by an emerging new field of investigation within the modern scientific epistemology: the dialogue between Science and Religion. It is also shown that the dialogue follows two divergent directions of analysis, namely the scholastic approach and the personalist one, respectively.

This article discusses the interpretation of the doctrine of the Trinity by K. Nürnberger from the perspective of an appreciation of his intellectual and theological accomplishment, especially as expressed in the publication of his systematic theology in 2016. Nürnberger’s distinct understanding of the Trinity is mapped with reference to five perspectives: the structural place in the overall treatment of the Christian faith, an estimation of Patristic theology, the relative importance of the doctrine, the category for interpretation and, finally, the ‘point’ of the Trinitarian confession. To establish some form of evaluative frame of reference, the so-called Trinitarian Renaissance is briefly described. The article concludes with a preliminary evaluation, expressing concern about Nürnberger’s negative view of the Patristic interpretation, the shift from a focus on God’s nature and identity to human experience, a modernist conception about intelligibility and the dismissal of mystery and a general truncation of the heuristic potential of the doctrine. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The article is an intra-disciplinary study. It addresses the view of a fellow systematic theological scholar (K Nürnberger). At stake is the impact of different research paradigms within the same discipline. In this case, the engagement is between the paradigms of realist-experiential versus critical-metaphysical. Different results emerge from this.

The text proposed here is an extended reworking of the contribution already prepared for Historiam perscrutari. Miscellaneous of studies offered to Prof. Ottorino Pasquato, LAS, Rome 2003, 673-687 with the title Linee di ecclesiologia nel pensiero di Cromazio di Aquileia. In it, the author intends to offer a synthesis of the ecclesiology of Saint Chromatius of Aquileia by retracing the texts of his works and suggesting some keys of interpretation for an adequate systematic synthesis of the theme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the principle meanings of the term «ύπόστασις» (person) in theology during the time of the great Christological disputes. The author attempts to shed light on the various ways of understanding the term «ύπόστασις» (person) as the real nucleus of the person in the Christology of those writers who defended a diphysite theology from the sixth to the ninth centuries

Many of the present day scientists think that religion can never come to terms with science. In sharp contrast with this widespread opinion, this paper argues that, historically, scientific reasoning and religious belief joined hands in their effort to investigate and understand reality. In fact, the present-day divorce between science and religion is nothing else than the final outcome of a gradual, long-term, and deliberately assumed process of science secularization. However, especially during the latest two decades, we are all the same confronted with the advance of a new concern that some of the nowadays scientists have, the one of reviewing the sphere of problems specific to the domains of investigation they are involved in, with the face to the themes that are usually addressed by the theological thought. The paper describes this recent development as being captured by an emerging new field of investigation within the modern scientific epistemology: the dialogue between Science and Religion. It is also shown that the dialogue follows two divergent directions of analysis, namely the scholastic approach and the personalist one, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orygenes z Aleksandrii († 253), jeden z najwybitniejszych pisarzy wczesno­chrześcijańskich, w apologii Contra Celsum podjął rozważania nad teologiczną wizją państwa. Dominuje w niej idea afirmacji oraz wola współpracy dla wspólne­go dobra. W myśl nauczania biblijnego Adamantios podkreśla Boskie pochodze­nie władzy, której należy się szacunek i lojalność. W przypadku jednak nadużycia kompetencji państwa w kwestii sumienia i wyznania obywateli, chrześcijanin wi­nien bardziej słuchać Boga. Religia domaga się wolności i uszanowania jej zasad. Chrześcijaństwo nie tylko nie przeciwstawia się w swojej doktrynie założeniom państwa i jego celom, lecz może mu służyć na wielu płaszczyznach. Państwo pełniąc rolę służebną względem obywateli, do których należą chrześcijanie, sza­nując ich zasady życia, zyska przez to Boże błogosławieństwo, jak również naj­lepszych i najwartościowszych obywateli. Ideałem, który kreśli Orygenes, byłoby zbudowanie instytucji państwa na wartościach Chrystusowych, z chrześcijańskim władcą na czele. Świat rzymski, a szczególnie jego elity, muszą zrozumieć, iż chrześcijaństwo, które ciągle jest jeszcze w ogromnej mniejszości, jest pragma­tycznie potrzebne Imperium, a Imperium chrześcijaństwu. Rzym, jeśli chce oca­leć i zwyciężyć swoich wrogów, winien stać się chrześcijański. Kościół, według Scholarchy z Aleksandrii, może być źródłem scalenia i unifikacji społeczeństwa, co zawsze stanowi podstawę siły i trwałości państwa. W tym miejscu historii myśl taka była jedynie teoretycznym marzeniem. Jednak w niedługim czasie cesarz Konstantyn, który przejdzie do historii z przydomkiem Wielki, podejmie próbę urzeczywistnienia tego ideału.

In a recent revival of interest in the Christian understanding of theosis , Baptist theologians usually express marginal and cautious interest, predominantly addressing this concept within the context of the Eastern Orthodox tradition. While insights from modern Orthodox theology are indispensable for understanding deification , they should not limit the theological scope that theosis can offer for a post - modern narrative of contemporary contextualisation. The creative fluidity of this concept in Patristic theology, along with its universal Christian perspective that transcends an y denominational compartmentalisation, makes theosis an effective tool for engaging in original and constructive theological discussion that can tremendously enrich Baptist spirituality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Studii Teologice is the property of Studii Teologice and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study** aims to systematize St. Basil the Great's view of the evil and set it into the larger framework covering similar concerns within the field of religious studies. The permanent reference to the broader scope of this research subject matter has the advantage of highlighting more suitably the merits of Basil's thinking pattern. The metaphysical, personal and moral aspects of the evil are dwelt upon, and projected on the background of the intellectual tensions of the time, while their benchmark value for the Eastern Christianity is emphasized up until today. From the point of view of the history of religions, understanding Basils's view of the evil is an endeavour that is both necessary and useful to its own inherent academic discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This memoir gives an account of how twentieth-century Orthodox emigres from Russia encountered non-Orthodox Christians in the Christian West in which they settled and what they received from this encounter. Although the links in France between Russian theologians and their Catholic, Calvinist and Lutheran counterparts are not omitted, the author makes particular reference to the Fellowship of Saint Alban and Saint Sergius, an expression of the close and lasting contact which developed between Anglican and Orthodox theologians, and to Sergius Bulgakov and Nicolas Zernov, influential in its founding (1928), and Georges Florovsky and Vladimir Lossky, who exercised a patristic theological influence after the second world war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the question whether we should prefer the so-called 'social' doctrine of the Trinity, which figures so prominently in contemporary trinitarian reflection, to its 'Latin' alternative. After a sketch of some evident attractions of social trinitarianism, it is argued that these attractions conceal as many problems—problems which may be rather devastating in the end. First of all, the practical and ethical usefulness of the social doctrine turns out to be highly questionable. Second, contemporary social trinitarianism deviates in crucial aspects from the Cappadocian (and other) Fathers. And third, the claim that social trinitarianism is in fact the best way to appropriate the biblical witness is found wanting. The paper concludes with the suggestion that social trinitarians today use the doctrine of the Trinity to answer questions which the Fathers answered by means of Christology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]