Severus of Antioch: His Life and Times

216 Pages·2016·0.897 MB·English

by  Youhanna Youssef, John D'Alton (Eds.)

SeverusofAntioch
Texts and Studies in
Eastern Christianity
ChiefEditor
KenParry(MacquarieUniversity)
EditorialBoard
AlessandroBausi(UniversityofHamburg)–MonicaBlanchard
(CatholicUniversityofAmerica)–MalcolmChoat(MacquarieUniversity)
PeterGaladza(SaintPaulUniversity)–VictorGhica(NorwegianSchoolofTheology)
EmmaLoosley(UniversityofExeter)–BasilLourié(StPetersburg)
JohnMcGuckin(ColumbiaUniversity)–StephenRapp(SamHouston
StateUniversity)–DietmarWinkler(UniversityofSalzburg)
volume7
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Severus of Antioch
HisLifeandTimes
Editedby
JohnD’Alton
YouhannaYoussef
leiden | boston
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Names:D'Alton,John(Priest),editor.
Title:SeverusofAntioch:hislifeandtimes/editedbyJohnD'Alton,YouhannaYoussef.
Description:Leiden;Boston:Brill,2016.|Series:TextsandstudiesinEasternChristianity,ISSN2213-0039;
VOLUME7|Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
Identifiers:LCCN2016000253(print)|LCCN2016002783(ebook)|ISBN9789004298019(hardback:alk.
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Subjects:LCSH:Severus,ofAntioch,approximately465-538.
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Contents
Foreword vii
BishopSuriel
Preface ix
BishopMorMalatiosMalkiMalki
NotesonContributors xi
Introduction xiv
SeverusofAntioch:HeirofSaintJohnChrysostom? 1
PaulineAllen
Seglorifierdesavilleetdesonsiège?Lagrandeurd’Antiocheetlemépris
destitreschezSévèreleGrand 14
Roger-YoussefAkhrass
ALetterfromtheOrthodoxMonasteriesoftheOrientSenttoAlexandria,
AddressedtoSeveros 32
SebastianP.Brock
TheAsceticismofSeverus:AnAnalysisofStruggleinHisHomily18onthe
“FortyHolyMartyrs”ComparedtotheCappadociansandtheSyrians 47
JohnD’Alton
QuotationsfromtheWorksofSt.SeverusofAntiochinPeterofCallinicus’
magnumopus‘ContraDamianum’ 65
RifaatEbied
SeverusofAntiochandChangingMiaphysiteAttitudestoward
Byzantium 124
NestorKavvadas
TheDovesofAntioch:Severus,Chalcedonians,Monothelites,and
Iconoclasm 138
KenParry
SeverusofAntiochattheCrossroadoftheAntiocheneandAlexandrian
ExegeticalTradition 160
RenéRoux
vi contents
HymnsofSeverusofAntiochandtheCopticTheotokia 183
YouhannaNessimYoussef
Index 199
Foreword
BishopSuriel
Itgivesmegreatpleasuretoreadthisbooktitled:SeverusofAntioch:HisLifeand
Times.ThisbookstartedwithaSymposiumthattookplaceatSt.Athanasius
CopticOrthodoxTheologicalCollege—amembercollegeoftheUniversityof
Divinity,Melbourne.HisEminenceMorMalatiusMalkiMalki,Archbishopof
oursisterSyrianOrthodoxChurchandmembersofhisclergyandcommunity
werepresent.
IwillmakejustafewbriefcommentsontherelationshipofSt.Severuswith
theCopticOrthodoxChurch.
WhatistheStatusofSt.SeverusofAntiochintheCopticOrthodox
Church?
St.SeverusholdsagreatstatusintheCopticChurch.Forexample,intheCoptic
liturgyin“TheAbsolutionoftheServants”hisnameprecedesthenamesofthe
greatAlexandrineFathers,Athanasius,Cyril,andDioscorus,anddirectlyafter
St.Marktheapostle.Thesameoccurswhenreciting“TheCommemorationof
theSaints.”AnotherexampleofthisphenomenoncanbeseenintheCoptic
Psalmody where Severus is mentioned amongst Athanasius and Dioscorus,
the two great fathers of the Coptic Church. In the Morning Doxology, the
CopticChurchexpressesthevalueoftheChristologicalteachingsofSeverus
by praying and saying, “The great patriarch, our father Abba Severus, whose
holyteachings,enlightenedourminds.”ThisprominencegiventoSt.Severus
inCopticliturgicalworshipaheadoftheCopticPatriarchsshowshowmuchhe
isveneratedandrespectedasaleaderandteacherofMiaphysiteChristology.
St.Severus,withanumberofthe[non-Chalcedonian]bishops,managedto
escapetoEgypt.InEgypt,Severuslivedaharriedexistence,1butwrotesome
ofhismostimportantworks,andcompletedhiscorrespondencewithSergius
fromhisexile.Lebondateshisgreatanti-Chalcedonianwork,theLibercontra
impiumGrammaticum,toaround519.
St.SeveruslivedinamonasteryinEgyptunderthedirectionoftheabbot
Nephalius.NephaliushadfallenawayfromtheMiaphysiteview,andSt.Severus
1 HementionsthistwiceinhisThirdLettertoSergius:emp.158.6–7;p.176.14–17.
viii bishop suriel
madeanunsuccessfulattempttoreconvincehim.Thisactionresultedinhis
beingexpelledfromthemonastery.
HediedinthetownofSakha,eastofAlexandria,onMonday,8February538.
HisbodywastransferredatalaterdatetotheMonasteryofGlassatEnaton,
outsideofAlexandria.
WhyisSt.SeverusImportantfortheCopticOrthodoxChurch?
ThenameofSeverusbecamewidespreadinEgyptianmonasteriesandintellec-
tualcentres,wherehewasveneratednotasamiracle-workerbutasthegreatest
theologianoftheone-natureChristology.
St.Severushasbeenmisunderstoodformanycenturiesandattackedwith
all sorts of names by the Byzantine Churches and the West since 536. As
ProfessorPaulineAllenstatesinherexcellentbookonSeverusofAntioch,it
wasonlyrecentlywhenJosephLebonwrotehis600pagemonographin1909
thathediscoveredthatthechristologyofSeverusofAntiochwasthatofCyrilof
Alexandria.Hence,theCopticChurchseesSt.Severusasoneofitsgreatfathers.
ChristologyofSt.SeverusofAntioch
St.SeverusstronglydefendedtheCyrillianAlexandrineChristologyandskil-
fullybroughtintounitytheAntiocheneandAlexandrineteachingsconcerning
theincarnationoftheLogos.
AndletmeendwithaquoteofSt.Severusonthisverypoint:
SincetheoneChristisonenatureandhypostasisofGodtheWordincar-
natefromGodheadandmanhood,itnecessarilyfollowsthatthesameis
knownatonceasconsubstantialwiththeFatherastoGodheadandcon-
substantialwithusastomanhood.ThesameistheSonofGodandtheSon
ofman.Heisnot,therefore,twosons,butheisoneandthesameson.2
2 V.C.Samuel,TheCouncilofChalcedonRe-Examined(TheSenateofSeramporeCollege:Ma-
dras,India,1977),246,quotingSeverus,ContraimpiumGrammaticumi,227.
Preface
M.M.MalkiMalki
TheLordofGloryentrustsuswithHisgreatglorywhenhetellsus,“Iamthe
lightoftheworld.HewhofollowsMeshallnotwalkindarkness,buthavethe
lightoflife”(John8:12).Healsochallengesussaying,“Youarethelightofthe
world…Letyourlightsoshinebeforemen”(Matthew5:14–16).
InconsideringthecourseofthelifeandpatriarchateofSt.SeverusofAnti-
och,thesubjectmatterofthisvolume,wewouldnoticehowSt.Severuswas
ontheonehandmanaginghisownspirituallife,andthestagesandmeansof
administeringhispatriarchatewhileinofficeorinexileontheother.
AsChurchhistorytestifies,thelivesandcareerofthePatriarchsofAntioch
were never easy. Severus of Antioch, who lived in a period of doctrinal and
historico-political turbulences and travails, is a perfect example. The “crown
oftheSyrians”,asheisentitledbytheSyrians,wasborninSozopolisofPisidia
inAsiaMinoraround456ad,ontheedgesoftheschismaticCouncilofChal-
cedon.Severus,theapologistoftheMiaphysitedoctrineofSt.Cyril,wasele-
vated to the patriarchal See of Antioch in 512. To the Western Church and
scholars,hispatriarchateendedin518,whenhewasexiledbytheorderofthe
ByzantineEmperorJustini(518–527).FortheOrientalOrthodoxChurch(Syr-
ianOrthodox,CopticOrthodox,ArmenianOrthodoxandEthiopicOrthodox)
andscholars,Severusisconsideredasaintandhispatriarchatelasteduntilhis
deathin538.
St. Severus’ writings are of the utmost importance. His books, treatises,
lettersandhomilies(ca.3900),albeitthemajorityofwhichhavenotsurvived,
reflecthistalentasanadministrator,composerandpreacheranddescribea
major critical stage in the history of Christianity. These works are an early,
firm, and defending frontline of the Miaphysite clear-cut stand of the post-
Chalcedonschismwhichensued.
Whatispublishedinthisvolumearethepapers,alongwithsomeinvited
contributions,presentedbyscholarsatthe“SymposiumonSt.SeverusofAnti-
och”whichtookplaceonthe2ndand3rdMarch,2013atSt.AthanasiusCoptic
OrthodoxTheologicalCollege(sacotc)underthepatronageandpresidency
ofHisGraceAnbaSuriel,BishopoftheCopticOrthodoxdioceseofMelbourne
andaffiliatedregionsandDeanofsacotc.
In these papers, each contributor has treated an aspect of St. Severus’ life
andpatriarchate.ThanksareduetoHisGraceBishopSurielforarrangingand
shepherding the Symposium, to St. Athanasius Coptic Orthodox Theological