The Ecumenical Legacy of the Cappadocians

293 Pages·2016·9.562 MB·English

by  Nicu Dumitraşcu (eds.)

E c u m e nical and Interreli
o r gio
ys f us
a D
w i
h al
t o
Pa g
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e
THE
ECUMENICAL
LEGACY OF THE
CAPPADOCIANS
Edited by
Nicu Dumitrascu
,
The Ecumenical Legacy
of the Cappadocians
PATHWAYS FOR ECUMENICAL
AND INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE
Series Editors: Mark Chapman and Gerard Mannion
Building on the important work of the Ecclesiological Investigations
International Research Network to promote ecumenical and inter-faith
dialogue, the Pathways for Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue series
publishes scholarship on interreligious encounters and dialogue in relation
to the past, present, and future. It gathers together a richly diverse array of
voices in monographs and edited collections that speak to the challenges,
aspirations, and elements of interreligious conversation. Through its pub-
lications, the series allows for the exploration of new ways, means, and
methods of advancing the wider ecumenical cause with renewed energy for
the twenty-first century.
The Theological Roots of Christian Gratitude
Kenneth Wilson
The Ecumenical Legacy of the Cappadocians
Edited by Nicu Dumitraşcu
The Ecumenical Legacy
of the Cappadocians
Edited by Nicu Dumitrașcu
THE ECUMENICAL LEGACY OF THE CAPPADOCIANS
Selection and editorial content © Nicu Dumitra(cid:2)cu 2016
Individual chapters © their respective contributors 2016
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2016 978-1-137-51394-6
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be
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First published 2015 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire, RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of Nature America, Inc., One New York
Plaza, Suite 4500, New York, NY 10004- 1562.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has
companies and representatives throughout the world.
ISBN: 978-1-349-57505-3
E-PDF ISBN: 978-1-137-50269-8
DOI: 10.1057/9781137502698
Distribution in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world is by Palgrave Macmillan®,
a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number
785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
The ecumenical legacy of the Cappadocians / edited by Nicu Dumitrascu.
pages cm.— (Pathways for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Cappadocian Fathers.
2. Theology, Doctrinal— History— Early church, ca. 30– 600. I. Dumitrascu, Nicu,
editor. II. O’Brien, Carl Sean. Creation, cosmogony and Cappadocian cosmology.
BR67.E28 2015
270.2092'2— dc23 2015013152
A catalogue record for the book is available from the British Library.
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Preface ix
Nicu Dumitrașcu
Introduction 1
Kallistos Ware
PART I
1 Creation, Cosmogony, and Cappadocian Cosmology 7
Carl Séan O’Brien
2 Some Considerations regarding the Cappadocian
Trinitarian Ontology 21
Mihai Himcinschi
3 The Cappadocians’ Stress on the Monarchia of
the Father in Metropolitan John D. Zizioulas 39
Krzysztof Leśniewski
4 The Atypical Friendship of Sts. Basil
the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus 63
Nicu Dumitrașcu
PART II
5 “A Long Way from Home”: The Travelling Man
According to St. Basil 85
Gunnar af Hällström
6 Philosophical Arguments and Christian Worship
in St. Basil’s Debate with Eunomius 93
Gheorghe Ovidiu Sferlea
7 The Contribution of St. Basil the Great
to Combating Pneumatomachism 105
Nicolae Chifăr
vi Contents
8 A Canonical Approach to Holy Canon 89 of St. Basil the Great 117
Elena Giannakopoulou
PART III
9 St. Gregory of Nazianzus on the Love of the Poor (Oration 14) 139
John A. McGuckin
10 The Impact of Cappadocian Theology on Byzantine Aesthetics:
Gregory of Nazianzus on the Unity and Singularity of Christ 159
Anne Karahan
11 Gregory of Nazianzus’s Oration 31 on the Holy Spirit 185
Pablo Argárate
12 The Logos Who Descends to Me:
St. Gregory of Nazianzus’s Christology 199
Florin Tomoioagă
PART IV
13 Gregory of Nyssa’s View of the Church: Status Quaestionis 215
José R. Villar
14 The Use of the Term Perichoresis in the Trinitarian
Dogma According to St. Gregory of Nyssa 235
Marius Telea
15 The Holy Spirit as the “Glory” of Christ:
Gregory of Nyssa on John 17:22 247
Miguel Brugarolas
16 Conquering the Promised Land: Gregory
of Nyssa Shifting Origen’s Impact 265
Victor Yudin
Postface: Three Beacons Illuminating the Fourth
Century . . . and Beyond! 277
Hector Scerri
List of Contributors 283
Index of Names 287
Index of Subjects 291
Illustrations
Figure 10.1 The Annunciation of the Virgin, Tokalı kilise, the
Old Church, first half of the tenth century, Göreme
OpenAir Museum, Cappadocia, Turkey. Mural
painting. 160
Figure 10.2 The First Seven Steps of the Virgin, Chora Church,
1315– 21, Istanbul, Turkey. Mosaic. 161
Figure 10.3 The Genealogy of Christ, the inner narthex of the
southern dome, 1315– 21, Chora Church, Istanbul,
Turkey. Mosaic. 164
Figure 10.4 Interior of Karanlık kilise, mid- eleventh century,
Göreme OpenAir Museum, Cappadocia, Turkey.
Mural paintings. 170
Figure 10.5 Detail of The Baptism, Tokalı kilise, the New Church,
ca. 950– 60, Göreme OpenAir Museum, Cappadocia,
Turkey. Mural painting. 172
Figure 10.6 The Crux Gemmata, Tokalı kilise, the New Church, ca.
950– 60, Göreme OpenAir Museum, Cappadocia,
Turkey. Mural painting. 174
Figure 10.7 The Crucifixion, Karanlık kilise, mid- eleventh century,
Göreme OpenAir Museum, Cappadocia, Turkey.
Mural painting. 174

Preface
The names of the great Cappadocian Fathers— St. Basil the Great, St. Greg-
ory of Nazianzus, and St. Gregory of Nyssa—r emained engraved with golden
letters in the soul of the Church everywhere due to their extraordinary con-
tribution to the development of Christian history, doctrine, and spirituality.
Their importance and authority in terms of the theology, church life, art,
and culture of their time is widely recognized, regardless of denomination or
Christian tradition.
They achieved a happy synthesis between the Christian faith and the spirit
of the age in which they lived. They set up a live and dynamic theology, able
to respond, through the concepts of the culture of their time, to the prob-
lems faced by their society. They managed to combine in a perfect harmony
deed with word, prayer with work, entirely devoting themselves to the min-
istry of God and people. Therefore, they have remained to this day an inspi-
ration to Christians from all around the world, regardless of denomination.
They are models worthy to be followed for all those who, though anchored
in the ancient Christian tradition, try to respond as properly as it is possible
to all the challenges of the contemporary world.
The timeliness of their theological thinking comes from the fact that they
were able to identify themselves with the major interests of the Christian
Church of that time and also from the fact that they placed their whole beings
at the service of these interests at any cost, at any sacrifice.
It is undoubtedly risky to attempt to characterize the three great Fathers in
a few words, because their personalities are extremely complex, and it cannot
be said that there is something special that belongs to one of them without
being reflected, even to a very limited extent, also in the other two. However,
we must assume this risk.
Basil is the symbol of the practical Christian life, lived in austerity and
organized according to precise rules that are meant to lead to perfection. An
exceptional orator, a diplomat, and a person who loved to minister the Holy
Liturgy, as well as a man of great culture, Basil remained in the memory of all
who knew and appreciated him as a symbol of priestly life lived with dignity
in the service of the others, choosing to sacrifice himself for their good.
Gregory of Nazianzus is the symbol of the high and true theology arising
from the light of the Gospel of Christ. A Christian poet of rare sensitivity
and a theologian consecrated to the Holy Trinity, endowed with a capacity