St. Cyril of Alexandria's Metaphysics of the Incarnation

St. Cyril of Alexandria's Metaphysics of the Incarnation
Author: Sergey Trostyanskiy
Publisher: Peter Lang
Total Pages: 347
Release: 2016-09-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1453918892

Cyril of Alexandria is one of the major intellectuals of the early Byzantine Christian world. His approach to Christ is at the core of the classical Christian tradition, however, because his works were not translated into English in the post-Reformation environment, the precise implications of his "science of Christ" have been extensively misunderstood. This work seeks to reposition Cyril in the precise philosophical context to which he belonged, seeking, as he did, for a deliberate bridge-building between ecclesiastical biblical presuppositions and the semantic terms central to the Late Antique philosophical Academy, with which he understands the Church must communicate. This book seeks to lay bare the fundamental philosophical axioms of Cyril’s metaphysics of the Incarnation. To illuminate this, it investigates the fifth-century curriculum of metaphysical studies as followed in the academies of both Alexandria and Athens. Common to both Cyril and his Hellene contemporaries are the terms of theological speculation prevalent in the Commentaries on the Parmenides. This monograph applies the schema of theological analysis offered by the Commentators to Cyril’s metaphysics of the Incarnation to see how well it accounts for the precise terms of the Incarnational doctrine posited by Cyril. This study also endeavors to expound and evaluate the many previous (and heavily conflicting) scholarly accounts of Cyril’s intellectual agenda. It outlines various cognitive gaps associated with the macro arguments of the different positions, which by and large have underestimated Cyril’s philosophical acumen and ignored his own immediate academic context.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: The Christological Controversy

St. Cyril of Alexandria: The Christological Controversy
Author: John A. McGuckin
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 448
Release: 2015-12-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004312900

St. Cyril of Alexandria: The Christological Controversy describes the turmoil of 5th century Christianity seeking to articulate its beliefs on the person of Christ. The policies of the Theodosian dynasty and the conflicting interests of the patriarchal sees are set as the context of the controversy between Nestorius of Constantinople and Cyril of Alexandria, a bitter dispute that racked the entire oecumene. The historical analysis expounds the arguments of both sides, particularly the Christology of Cyril which was adopted as a standard. Many major texts are presented in new translations, some of which have never before appeared in English. These writings are essential reading in the history of doctrine. The work will be an indispensable resource for all students of the period: theologians and Byzantinists.

On the Unity of Christ

On the Unity of Christ
Author: Saint Cyril (Patriarch of Alexandria)
Publisher: St Vladimir's Seminary Press
Total Pages: 158
Release: 1995
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780881411331

This text is one of the most important and yet approachable works produced by Cyril. It was written after the Council of Ephesus (431) to explain his doctrine to an international audience. Cyril argues for the single divine subjectivity of Christ, and describes how it encompasses a full and authentic humanity in Jesus - a human experience that is not overwhelmed by the divine presence, but fostered and enhanced by it. Christology becomes then, for St Cyril, a paradigm for the transfigured and redeemed life of the Christian. There is an introduction to the historical and theological background of the time, of the text and to St Cyril himself.

Scholia on the Incarnation of the Only-Begotten

Scholia on the Incarnation of the Only-Begotten
Author: Cyril Of Alexandria
Publisher: Independently Published
Total Pages: 46
Release: 2021-04-04
Genre:
ISBN:

Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376 - 444) was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444. He was enthroned when the city was at the height of its influence and power within the Roman Empire. Cyril wrote extensively and was a leading protagonist in the Christological controversies of the later 4th and 5th centuries. He was a central figure in the First Council of Ephesus in 431, which led to the deposition of Nestorius as Patriarch of Constantinople.Cyril is counted among the Church Fathers and the Doctors of the Church, and his reputation within the Christian world has resulted in his titles Pillar of Faith and Seal of all the Fathers, but Theodosius II, the Roman Emperor, condemned him for behaving like a "proud pharaoh", and the Nestorian bishops at the Council of Ephesus declared him a heretic, labelling him as a "monster, born and educated for the destruction of the church."Cyril is well-known due to his dispute with Nestorius and his supporter Patriarch John of Antioch, whom Cyril excluded from the Council of Ephesus for arriving late.

On Deification and Sacred Eloquence

On Deification and Sacred Eloquence
Author: Louise Nelstrop
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 301
Release: 2019-10-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 100069108X

This book considers the place of deification in the writings of Julian of Norwich and Richard Rolle, two of the fourteenth-century English Mystics. It argues that, as a consequence of a belief in deification, both produce writing that is helpfully viewed as sacred eloquence. The book begins by discussing the nature of deification, employing Norman Russell’s typology. It explores the realistic and ethical approaches found in the writings of several Early Greek Fathers, including Irenaeus of Lyons, Cyril of Alexandria, Origen, and Evagrius Ponticus, as well as engaging with the debate around whether deification is a theological idea found in the West across its history. The book then turns its attention to Julian and Rolle, arguing that both promote forms of deification: Rolle offering a primarily ethical approach, while Julian’s approach is more realistic. Finally, the book addresses the issue of sacred eloquence, arguing that both Rolle and Julian, in some sense, view their words as divinely inspired in ways that demand an exegetical response that is para-biblical. Offering an important perspective on a previously understudied area of mysticism and deification, this book will be of interest to scholars of mysticism, theology, and Middle English religious literature.

Karl Barth and the Incarnation

Karl Barth and the Incarnation
Author: Darren Sumner
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2014-09-25
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 056765530X

This work demonstrates the significance of Karl Barth's Christology by examining it in the context of his orientation toward the classical tradition - an orientation that was both critical and sympathetic. To compare this Christology with the doctrine's history, Sumner suggests first that the Chalcedonian portrait of the incarnation is conceputally vulnerable at a number of points. By recasting the doctrine in actualist terms - the history of Jesus' lived existence as God's fulfillment of His covenant with creatures, rather than a metaphysical uniting of natures - Barth is able to move beyond problems inherent in the tradition. Despite a number of formal and material differences, however, Barth's position coheres with the intent of the ancient councils and ought to be judged as orthodox. Barth's great contribution to Christology is in the unapologetic affirmation of 'the humanity of God'.

The Son of God Beyond the Flesh

The Son of God Beyond the Flesh
Author: Andrew M. McGinnis
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2014-07-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567655814

The so-called extra Calvinisticum-the doctrine that the incarnate Son of God continued to exist beyond the flesh-was not invented by John Calvin or Reformed theologians. If this is true, as is almost universally acknowledged today, then why do scholars continue to fixate almost exclusively on Calvin when they discuss this doctrine? The answer to the “why” of this scholarly trend, however, is not as important as correcting the trend. This volume expands our vision of the historical functions and christological significance of this doctrine by expounding its uses in Cyril of Alexandria, Thomas Aquinas, Zacharias Ursinus, and in theologians from the Reformation to the present. Despite its relative obscurity, the doctrine that came to be known as the “Calvinist extra” is a possession of the church catholic and a feature of Christology that ought to be carefully appropriated in contemporary reflection on the Incarnation.

The Humility of the Eternal Son

The Humility of the Eternal Son
Author: Bruce Lindley McCormack
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2021-09-16
Genre: Bibles
ISBN: 1316518299

This book is the first thoroughly Reformed version of kenotic Christology. It has the virtue of overcoming from within the logical aporia created by the Chalcedonian Definition without abandoning that Definition.

Words, Imagery, and the Mystery of Christ

Words, Imagery, and the Mystery of Christ
Author: Steven A. McKinion
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2015-12-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004313214

This volume deals with the christology of fifth-century pastor and theologian Cyril of Alexandria, particularly as it relates to Apollinarianism and Nestorianism. More specifically, it explores the use of a plethora of images to illustrate his understanding of the mystery of Christ. The book traces the background of his analogies in the philosophers and the Scriptures. Included are sections on Cyril’s understanding and use of the Scriptures, and the intended force of images in his theology. The final part is a re-reading of his christology through the lens of his christological imagery. Historians of Christian theology and dogma will find a unique look into the word pictures Cyril uses and the picture of Christ the reveal.