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After the Emperor Constantine made the Church's faith legal in 313, there was a tremendous flowering of Christian culture and a creative and turbulent encounter between the Christian community and the classical heritage of late antiquity. In the final third of the fourth century the three great Cappadocian Fathers were at the centre of this exciting encounter. Their leader was St Basil, an ecclesiastical statesman, social reformer and monastic founder as well as a theologian. His friend St Gregory of Nazianzus was a brilliant preacher and sensitive poet who gave classic expression to the theology and spirituality of the Holy Trinity in luminous prose and verse. Basil's brother St Gregory of Nyssa was renowned for the depth of his speculative theology and mystical spirituality. Though they collaborated and shared many common perspectives, each had a unique gift and personality. This book is the first general treatment in English to bring together the three Cappadocians. It introduces the reader to their fascinating lives and writings and shows their connections with the Greco-Roman culture of their age.
This book brings the Cappadocian Fathers to life and explores their contributions to subsequent Christian thought. Melding together a thematic and individualized approach, the book examines Cappadocian thought in relation to Greek philosophy and the musings of other Christian thinkers of the time. The volume is unique in that it details the Cappadocian legacy upon the three central divisions of Christianity, rather than focusing on one confession. Providing a multifaceted assessment of the spirituality and beliefs of the fourth-century Church, contributors interweave historical studies into their philosophical and theological discussions. The volume draws together an international team of sc...
Vasiliki Limberis has discovered a hitherto untold element in the history of the Cappadocian Fathers (Basil of Caesarea, his brother Gregory of Nyssa, and their friend Gregory of Nazianzus). Simply stated, for the Cappadocians all aspects of Christian life were best communicated, understood, and indeed lived, through the prism of martyr piety. Limberis shows that the cult of the martyrs was absolutely central to the formation of Christian life for them and the laity.
By exploring gender and identity in fourth-century Cappadocia, where bishops used a rhetoric of contest to align with classical Greek masculinity, this book contributes to discussions about how gender, identity formation, and materiality shaped episcopal office and theology in late antiquity.
In this work, Patrick Whitworth explores the writings of Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory Nazianzen and shares their understanding of the purpose and scope of theology.
This monograph considers not so much the moments, thoughts, speculations with which the so-called 'Cappadocian Fathers' agreed and proposed a unified doctrine, but the points and moments, the doctrines in which they disagreed. Thus, it is not a new book on the Cappadocian Fathers considered as a unity, which surely would have come to a huge dimension, but asks the question: Is it possible to speak of agreement and, at the same time, of differentiation between these Fathers? Is it useful to change, at least in part, an established opinion, that of the 'Cappadocian theology'? The examination of the various problems leads to an affirmative answer. Concordia discors might be the true sense. So f...
Papers presented at the Twelfth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 1995 (see also Studia Patristica 29, 30, 31 and 33). The successive sets of Studia Patristica contain papers delivered at the International Conferences on Patristic Studies, which meet for a week once every four years in Oxford; they are held under the aegis of the Theology Faculty of the University. Members of these conferences come from all over the world and most offer papers. These range over the whole field, both East and West, from the second century to a section on the Nachleben of the Fathers. The majority are short papers dealing with some small and manageable point; they raise and sometimes resolve questions about the authenticity of documents, dates of events, and such like, and some unveil new texts. The smaller number of longer papers put such matters into context and indicate wider trends. The whole reflects the state of Patristic scholarship and demonstrates the vigour and popularity of the subject.
"Van Dam's exploration . . . makes for fascinating reading and should provoke fruitful debate."—Choice
The Cappadocian Fathers had great influence on the church of the fourth century, having brought their passion for Christ and theological expertise to life in their ministry. Their work was not devoid of influence, including that of their immediate family members. Within their writings we uncover the lives of seven women, the Cappadocian Mothers, who may have had more influence on the theology of the church than previously believed. As the Cappadocians wrestle with the Christianization of the concept of deification, we find the women in their lives becoming models for their theological understanding. The lives of the women become points of intersection in the kenosis-theosis parabola. Not only are the Cappadocian Mothers uncovered in the texts, but they become models of an optimistic theology of restoration for all of humanity without constraint of gender.
The Cappadocian Fathers had great influence on the church of the fourth century, having brought their passion for Christ and theological expertise to life in their ministry. Their work was not devoid of influence, including that of their immediate family members. Within their writings we uncover the lives of seven women, the Cappadocian Mothers, who may have had more influence on the theology of the church than previously believed. As the Cappadocians wrestle with the Christianization of the concept of deification, we find the women in their lives becoming models for their theological understanding. The lives of the women become points of intersection in the kenosis-theosis parabola. Not only are the Cappadocian Mothers uncovered in the texts, but they become models of an optimistic theology of restoration for all of humanity without constraint of gender.