Isaac of Nineveh's ascetical eschatology PDF
Preview Isaac of Nineveh's ascetical eschatology
OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 03/10/17, SPi OXFORD EARLY CHRISTIAN STUDIES General Editors Gillian Clark Andrew Louth OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 03/10/17, SPi THE OXFORD EARLY CHRISTIAN STUDIES series includes scholarly volumes on the thought and history of the early Christian centuries. Covering a wide range of Greek, Latin, and Oriental sources, the books are of interest to theologians, ancient historians, and specialists in the classical and Jewish worlds. Titles in the series include: The Role of Death in the Ladder of Divine Ascent and the Greek Ascetic Tradition Jonathan L. Zecher (2015) Theophilus of Alexandria and the First Origenist Controversy Rhetoric and Power Krastu Banev (2015) Debates over the Resurrection Constructing Early Christian Identity Outi Lehtipuu (2015) The Consolation of Boethius as Poetic Liturgy Stephen Blackwood (2015) The Theological Anthropology of Eustathius of Antioch Sophie Cartwright (2015) The Song of Songs and the Fashioning of Identity in Early Latin Christianity Karl Shuve (2016) The Demonic in the Political Thought of Eusebius of Caesarea Hazel Johannessen (2016) Enchantment and Creed in the Hymns of Ambrose of Milan Brian P. Dunkle, SJ (2016) Social Justice and the Legitimacy of Slavery The Role of Philosophical Asceticism from Ancient Judaism to Late Antiquity Ilaria L.E. Ramelli (2016) OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 03/10/17, SPi Isaac of Nineveh’s Ascetical Eschatology JASON SCULLY 1 OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 03/10/17, SPi 1 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries © Jason Scully 2017 The moral rights of the author have been asserted First Edition published in 2017 Impression: 1 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by licence or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Control Number: 2016961457 ISBN 978–0–19–880358–4 Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and for information only. Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials contained in any third party website referenced in this work. OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 03/10/17, SPi To my parents, Ken and Elaine OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 03/10/17, SPi OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 03/10/17, SPi Acknowledgements I began this book in the form of a dissertation at Marquette University and therefore I owe a special word of thanks to the Marquette Theology depart- ment. I could not be more satisfied with the quality of education that I received from this department. I am also especially grateful for the generous financial assistance that I received during my doctoral program, including a departmen- tal teaching fellowship during the first year of writing my dissertation. In this respect, I owe a special word of thanks to Fr. Thomas Hughson, the director of graduate studies during my time at Marquette. I would like to thank my dissertation director, Bishop Alexander Golitzin, for his insightful scholarly suggestions and for introducing me to an entirely new way of thinking about the history of asceticism. Most of all, I am thankful for his encouragement and friendship. The other members of my dissertation board also deserve thanks: Michel Barnes, who took up the reins as tempor- ary director when needed and who still inspires my thoughts about patristic scholarship; Deirdre Dempsey, who taught me Syriac and diligently helped me translate many of the Syriac passages in this book; and Robin Darling Young, who graciously agreed to be on my board as an outside reader. I am also grateful for a grant that I received from the North American Patristics Society covering the 2014–15 academic year. This grant provided me with the financial resources and time to add new material and make important revisions to this book. I owe a debt of gratitude to Seton Hall University and to the director of the Core, Anthony Sciglitano. I completed most of the revision work for this book during my time as a post-doctoral fellow in the department of University Core. My wife, Ellen, and I will be forever grateful for this opportunity, as it is not an easy thing for spouses specializing in the same academic field to find two jobs at the same school. I would like to thank the editors of Oxford University Press for their assistance in preparing this book for publication, especially Tom Perridge, Andrew Louth, and Gillian Clark for their willingness to consider my project, Karen Raith for answering all of my questions in a thorough and consistently helpful manner, and Matthew Humphrys for his work during the produc- tion process. Elissa Connor, who was the copy-editor for this book, was also extremely helpful during the editorial process. The anonymous reviewer offered insightful and detailed suggestions for improving my book and also saved me from a few embarrassing mistakes. I know that my book is better due to this reviewer’s suggestions. OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 03/10/17, SPi viii Acknowledgements I am humbled by the continuous love and support that I have received from my parents. They were the first people to inspire my interest in the history of Christian theology and they have instilled in me the virtues that have made writing this book possible: faith, diligence, self-sacrifice, and a commitment to work to the best of my abilities. For this reason, I have dedicated this book to them. Above all else, I must offer thanks to my wife, Ellen Scully, who was part of this project from the very beginning. She helped me conceptualize the project right from the start and gave me invaluable suggestions for how to improve every chapter. Ellen helped me discover what points I really wanted to make and how to communicate these points in a clear fashion. This book would not be what it is without her help. Since the inception and initial draft of this book, Ellen and I have had the pleasure of welcoming our first two sons, Eamon Macarius and Callum Emmanuel, into the world. While young children certainly make finding time for research more difficult they have also, in their own way, taught me a lot about asceticism and wonder. Jason Scully February 2017 OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 03/10/17, SPi Contents Abbreviations xi Introduction xiii 1. The East-Syriac Reception of Evagrius’s Gnostic Chapters 1 2. Felix Culpa: The Infantile Adam and Asceticism as an Inherent Part of Creation 27 3. Isaac of Nineveh’s Eschatology: The Influence of John the Solitary 48 4. The Syriac Sources for Isaac of Nineveh’s Development of Wonder and Astonishment 73 5. The Greek Sources for Isaac of Nineveh’s Development of Wonder and Astonishment 92 6. Excursus: Isaac of Nineveh’s Moral Psychology 117 7. Wonder as the Culmination of Isaac of Nineveh’s Eschatology 135 Conclusion 151 Bibliography 163 Index of Biblical References 183 Index of Names 184 General Index 185
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