I've decided to revive the Patristics carnival idea I had back in December,largely because the weekly Roundups are becoming difficult to maintain, what with a seven month son, work and family. So, I'm thinking that the Carnivals will run monthly (the experience of the Roundups suggest to me there will be material). The general guidelines are here in the Modest Proposal post from November. The only real change I'll make is that I will not post mere quotes from the Fathers, but will consider catenas on a case by case basis. Otherwise, essays or reflections are welcome.
Submissions can be sent through the dedicated e-mail: patristics-carnival@hotmail.com or through the blog carnival site. Suggestions should be submitted by July 31st. I expect to publish it by August 8th (I'll be in transit before that).
Spread the word. The Patristics carnival is back!
Meanwhile, back to my regularly scheduled vacation.
Peace, Phil
Friday, July 20, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Summer Break
After a rather tiring and trying spring, the school year is over and I'm (almost) officially on vacation. To celebrate, I'm taking a month long blogging hiatus starting today, so there will be no Patristic Roundups until the end of July or early August, when I plan a massive roundup. So, stay tuned.
In the meantime, enjoy the picture of a flax field in bloom (NOT a lake!). Also, please pray for my wife, son and I as we travel out West to Winnipeg to see family.
Peace,
Phil
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Sulpicius Severus- Life of St. Martin 11
I'm behind on my installments of St. Martin, but here is the new one, dealing with a (false) martyr cult.
Text:
But I shall proceed with addressing his remaining virtues which he performed as bishop.
Not far from the town, there was a place near the monastery in which the false opinion of men dedicated as martyrs' tomb. (2) For it was believed that an altar had been set up by earlier bishops. Martin, not adhering rashly to faith in uncertain things, demanded the name of the martyr from the priests and clerics who were older and to be shown the time of his martyrdom. He was moved by a strong scruple because the constant memory of tradition handed down nothing certain about it. (3) When he had held himself back from that place, neither detracting from that cult because it was uncertain, nor adapting his own authority to the mob so that the superstition would flourish, on a certain day, with brothers accompanying, he hastened to the place. (4) Then, standing over the tomb, he prayed to the Lord that He might show Martin whose tomb it was and what merit he had. Then, turning to the left, he saw a foul and savage ghost standing nearby. He ordered him to say what name and what merit he had. The ghost gave his name and admitted his crime. He was a robber who had been struck down because of his crime, but celebrated because of the error of the mob. He had nothing in common with the martyrs, since glory preserved them, but his punishment preserved him. (5) In an astonishing way,k those who were present heard the voice speaking, but saw no person. Then, Martin explained what he had seen and ordered that the altar which was there be moved from that place and, thus, he released the people from the error of its superstition.
Commentary:
This is an interesting passage on several scores. First, it reveals the confusion and misunderstandings that grew up around the cults to the martyrs which becomes quite important in the course of the fourth century. We, with our fully developed saints' lists, forget how messy the process of discerning true saints and martyrs and linking them to their tombs/relics was. Usually, there were many years between the death of the martyrs in question and the rise of the cults, simply because outward signs of commemoration of these saints was tricky while Christianity remained illegal in the Roman Empire. With Christianity's legalization, there was literally an explosion of localized martyr cults, some of which had considerable evidence for a connection, but many of which, like this one, are only tenuously connected to a martyr or saint.
This, of course, has led many scholars, secular and Christian, to wonder what was happening here. Was this the appropriation of pagan sites by connection to a previously unknown (or even fictitious) saint? Was this site mentioned by Sulpicius an ancient pagan site or tomb which was connected earlier with a martyr to preserve the traditions attached to the site. Sulpicius doesn't make it clear what kind of commemorations were done on the site, so it is difficult to know whether this is what was going one, but there is evidence that many of these rural pagan shrines were appropriated by Christians for this or that saint. Even as late as the Reformation, we know of these rural shrines being very active; to the horror of the Reformers who, rightly, saw these as pagan survivals.
This leads to my second point. What St. Martin seems to be doing here is regulating this impulse by questioning a cult with a highly dubious martyrs cult. He was rightly suspicious of a martyr's cult where the name of the martyr and the time of the martyrdom was unknown. Yet, he is cautious about how to deal with it, recognizing that the cult was very popular. So, he hesitates before he abolishes it and, then, only on the authority of a vision from God. This, in many ways, demonstrates both St. Martin's savvy as a bishop, but also his authority as a holy man. Ultimately, it is his status as a holy man which validates his vision and allows him to tear down the altar after 'proving' it to be a false cult. In St. Martin, the holy man and bishop are found in the same person and, one wonders, whether Sulpicius is implying that this is the way it should be.
Thirdly, I think we have to also see this episode as part of St. Martin's attempt to Christianize the rural areas in his responsibility. As many scholars have pointed out, Christianity was, initially, an urban phenomenon and did not really start penetrating the largely pagan countryside until the end of the fifth century; Martin of Tours being one of the pioneers of this effort. Admittedly, this shrine was conveniently located close to St. Martin's monastery, but the decision of St. Martin to deal with the altar shows his interest in religion in the rural areas usually neglected by Christian leaders. We will see more of this as the story goes on.
Lastly, I want to again highlight the role of the vision in this story. As the holy man, St. Martin is able, with God's help, to call out the demons and unclean spirits in the land, just as Jesus was able to do and as the Apostles became able to do. This connection is not coincidental, but, I think, has to be attributed to a tendency to want to equate St. Martin with the Apostles and show the degree to which St. Martin participates in the incarnational reality of Jesus. This is true imitation of Christ in the sense that St. Martin, in imitating the virtues of Christ, can, on occasion and through prayer, emulate Jesus' power over the supernatural world. Now, the Protestant in my twitches at that because I feel I have to add that this does not mean we should worship saints, but rather we need to remember that all this is done with God's power. Mind you, I'm sure St. Martin would agree.
Text:
But I shall proceed with addressing his remaining virtues which he performed as bishop.
Not far from the town, there was a place near the monastery in which the false opinion of men dedicated as martyrs' tomb. (2) For it was believed that an altar had been set up by earlier bishops. Martin, not adhering rashly to faith in uncertain things, demanded the name of the martyr from the priests and clerics who were older and to be shown the time of his martyrdom. He was moved by a strong scruple because the constant memory of tradition handed down nothing certain about it. (3) When he had held himself back from that place, neither detracting from that cult because it was uncertain, nor adapting his own authority to the mob so that the superstition would flourish, on a certain day, with brothers accompanying, he hastened to the place. (4) Then, standing over the tomb, he prayed to the Lord that He might show Martin whose tomb it was and what merit he had. Then, turning to the left, he saw a foul and savage ghost standing nearby. He ordered him to say what name and what merit he had. The ghost gave his name and admitted his crime. He was a robber who had been struck down because of his crime, but celebrated because of the error of the mob. He had nothing in common with the martyrs, since glory preserved them, but his punishment preserved him. (5) In an astonishing way,k those who were present heard the voice speaking, but saw no person. Then, Martin explained what he had seen and ordered that the altar which was there be moved from that place and, thus, he released the people from the error of its superstition.
Commentary:
This is an interesting passage on several scores. First, it reveals the confusion and misunderstandings that grew up around the cults to the martyrs which becomes quite important in the course of the fourth century. We, with our fully developed saints' lists, forget how messy the process of discerning true saints and martyrs and linking them to their tombs/relics was. Usually, there were many years between the death of the martyrs in question and the rise of the cults, simply because outward signs of commemoration of these saints was tricky while Christianity remained illegal in the Roman Empire. With Christianity's legalization, there was literally an explosion of localized martyr cults, some of which had considerable evidence for a connection, but many of which, like this one, are only tenuously connected to a martyr or saint.
This, of course, has led many scholars, secular and Christian, to wonder what was happening here. Was this the appropriation of pagan sites by connection to a previously unknown (or even fictitious) saint? Was this site mentioned by Sulpicius an ancient pagan site or tomb which was connected earlier with a martyr to preserve the traditions attached to the site. Sulpicius doesn't make it clear what kind of commemorations were done on the site, so it is difficult to know whether this is what was going one, but there is evidence that many of these rural pagan shrines were appropriated by Christians for this or that saint. Even as late as the Reformation, we know of these rural shrines being very active; to the horror of the Reformers who, rightly, saw these as pagan survivals.
This leads to my second point. What St. Martin seems to be doing here is regulating this impulse by questioning a cult with a highly dubious martyrs cult. He was rightly suspicious of a martyr's cult where the name of the martyr and the time of the martyrdom was unknown. Yet, he is cautious about how to deal with it, recognizing that the cult was very popular. So, he hesitates before he abolishes it and, then, only on the authority of a vision from God. This, in many ways, demonstrates both St. Martin's savvy as a bishop, but also his authority as a holy man. Ultimately, it is his status as a holy man which validates his vision and allows him to tear down the altar after 'proving' it to be a false cult. In St. Martin, the holy man and bishop are found in the same person and, one wonders, whether Sulpicius is implying that this is the way it should be.
Thirdly, I think we have to also see this episode as part of St. Martin's attempt to Christianize the rural areas in his responsibility. As many scholars have pointed out, Christianity was, initially, an urban phenomenon and did not really start penetrating the largely pagan countryside until the end of the fifth century; Martin of Tours being one of the pioneers of this effort. Admittedly, this shrine was conveniently located close to St. Martin's monastery, but the decision of St. Martin to deal with the altar shows his interest in religion in the rural areas usually neglected by Christian leaders. We will see more of this as the story goes on.
Lastly, I want to again highlight the role of the vision in this story. As the holy man, St. Martin is able, with God's help, to call out the demons and unclean spirits in the land, just as Jesus was able to do and as the Apostles became able to do. This connection is not coincidental, but, I think, has to be attributed to a tendency to want to equate St. Martin with the Apostles and show the degree to which St. Martin participates in the incarnational reality of Jesus. This is true imitation of Christ in the sense that St. Martin, in imitating the virtues of Christ, can, on occasion and through prayer, emulate Jesus' power over the supernatural world. Now, the Protestant in my twitches at that because I feel I have to add that this does not mean we should worship saints, but rather we need to remember that all this is done with God's power. Mind you, I'm sure St. Martin would agree.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Patristic Roundup-June 14-21st, 2007
Well, it seems that the coming of sumemr has begun to inspire people to dip into the Fathers again, so this week's roundup has been rather larger than normal with the return of several regulars to patristic postings. I'm sorry for being late with this batch, but I've been marking/doing report cards all week and this is the first I've had the chance to come up for air.
The Patristic Garden
Mike Aquilina on The Way of the Fathers features St. Gregory of Nyssa on the 'maze of life', lets us know about a Patristic Greek Reader to practice our Greek with, highlights a Gary Michuta’s new bookWhy Catholic Bibles Are Bigger: The Untold Story of the Lost Books of the Protestant Bible. , discusses St. Athanasius in light of Pope Benedict's catechetical lecture, then follows up with the Zenit translation of the lecture, quotes St. Hilary of Poitiers and remembers St. Paulinus of Nola.
Will Weedon on Weedon's blog features St.Ambrose , St. Basil the Great, St. John Chrysostom, St. Augustine, and St. John Chyrostom again in his Patristic Quote of the Day feature.
Danny Garland on the Irish-Catholic and Dangerous blog features a quote of St. Cyril of Alexandria on Scripture, asks the same Cyril about why John wrote his Gospel, Origen about what a Gospel is,
Peter Rival on the Utter Muttering blog features a very favourable review of Mike Aquilina's The Way of the Fathers
Eric Rasmusen on Eric Rasmusen's Weblog asks us why we have to assume that the early Church was more pure or better than us.
PJP on the Recapturing Our Catholic Patrimony blog features an article reflecting on the Patristics fever among young Catholics and discusses Athanasius contra mundum in the light of Pope Benedict's catechetical lecture on him.
James Swan on the Beggars All blog features Theodoret of Cyrrhus in his Ancient Voices series.
Kevin Edgecomb on biblicalia features some reflections on the canon.
Rick Brannon on the Pastoral Epistles blog resumes his series on the use of the Pastoral Epistles by the Apostolic Fathers with sections from St. Ignatius's letters (parts six, seven and eight).
Ben Smith on the Thoughts on Antiquity blog returns to his series on the canon with a discussion of St. Cyril of Jerusalem's canon.
The Apocryphal Corner
April DeConick on The Forbidden Gospels blog announces her new website, reflects on orality, comments on an article on the Gospel of Judas by Tim Finlay and announces the publication of the critical edition of the Gospel of Judas.
The Patristic Garden
Mike Aquilina on The Way of the Fathers features St. Gregory of Nyssa on the 'maze of life', lets us know about a Patristic Greek Reader to practice our Greek with, highlights a Gary Michuta’s new bookWhy Catholic Bibles Are Bigger: The Untold Story of the Lost Books of the Protestant Bible. , discusses St. Athanasius in light of Pope Benedict's catechetical lecture, then follows up with the Zenit translation of the lecture, quotes St. Hilary of Poitiers and remembers St. Paulinus of Nola.
Will Weedon on Weedon's blog features St.Ambrose , St. Basil the Great, St. John Chrysostom, St. Augustine, and St. John Chyrostom again in his Patristic Quote of the Day feature.
Danny Garland on the Irish-Catholic and Dangerous blog features a quote of St. Cyril of Alexandria on Scripture, asks the same Cyril about why John wrote his Gospel, Origen about what a Gospel is,
Peter Rival on the Utter Muttering blog features a very favourable review of Mike Aquilina's The Way of the Fathers
Eric Rasmusen on Eric Rasmusen's Weblog asks us why we have to assume that the early Church was more pure or better than us.
PJP on the Recapturing Our Catholic Patrimony blog features an article reflecting on the Patristics fever among young Catholics and discusses Athanasius contra mundum in the light of Pope Benedict's catechetical lecture on him.
James Swan on the Beggars All blog features Theodoret of Cyrrhus in his Ancient Voices series.
Kevin Edgecomb on biblicalia features some reflections on the canon.
Rick Brannon on the Pastoral Epistles blog resumes his series on the use of the Pastoral Epistles by the Apostolic Fathers with sections from St. Ignatius's letters (parts six, seven and eight).
Ben Smith on the Thoughts on Antiquity blog returns to his series on the canon with a discussion of St. Cyril of Jerusalem's canon.
The Apocryphal Corner
April DeConick on The Forbidden Gospels blog announces her new website, reflects on orality, comments on an article on the Gospel of Judas by Tim Finlay and announces the publication of the critical edition of the Gospel of Judas.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Chrysostom for Dads
Today is Father's Day; my first as a dad which has me thinking, oddly enough, about St. John Chrysostom. Now, that isn't as random a connection as it might seem, largely because my reaction to the impending birth of my son was to read the St. Vladimir Press collection of sermons On Marriage and Family LIfe by St. John Chrysostom. In particular, I'm thinking about Homily 21 which discusses the famous family passage, Ephesians 6:1-4 which reads:
As a result of reflecting on this passage, John gives us worthwhile advice about family life and about being a Christian parent. He gives it in a context in which not enough attention is given to the art of Christian parenting; a context much like our own where the link between our Christian principles and our practice is not always manifested. In our modern world, we get so much advice about child-rearing, especially written in a psychological vein, that it is easy to just to follow that well-meant secular advice and not ask ourselves what God calls us to do as parents. Yet what does God call us to do as fathers?
According to John, there are three strands we need to look at:
First, we have to remember that our authority as fathers is not based in any kind of authoritarian power (in John's day, enforced by Roman law about the pater familias), but rather must be based on our (hopefully) common faith. That is, we are not commanded to do something contrary to God's will because our parents have told us to, but we obey our parents because we are told to do so because of the Lord's commands. In that sense, our faith should shine out in our treatment of our children and that faith and our love which comes from it will make it so that children will ultimately learn how to be obedient. Of course, the actual working out of this is hardly easy or clean, but family life is one of those areas where one learns the Christian virtues through trial and error on the part of both parents and children.
Second, John emphasizes the importance of bringing spirituality into the very life of the family. He particular emphasizes the reading of Scripture to children, confronting as he does a prejudice in his own society that it isn't necessary because 'we aren't raising monks', but people who have to get by in the world. This sense that knowing Scripture or focusing on spiritual things will make one no good for a worldly life was a common one at the time of John (judging by how often he criticizes it) and it is equally common now. Yet John argues that early Bible reading will serve to build the Christian character and virtues of a child so that, whatever he should decide to do, he has a solid foundation of faith to build upon and can avoid the obvious temptations and vices which he WILL find in the world.
I think this last point is an important one. One of the most important of our functions as parents is to teach our children about right and wrong. If we fail in that task, we are giving our children endless opportunities to go very wrong and have to work out for themselves, without the tools to do so, how to fix their lives. No parent is pefect, of course, and clearly, we need God to help us and to watch over our children. Still, we can prepare the ground by encouraging faith in our chidlren, by reading them the stories which we Christians value and trying to understand what they mean for us now. Christianity as a lived reality is, in many ways, recognizing ourselves as part of the story of Israel and the Gentile graft onto Israel in the name of Jesus Christ. If our children feel a part of that story, they will, hopefully, live their lives accordingly.
Third, John defines the ultimate goal of the Christian parent:
The list of virtues, I admit, is hardly new or original. They don't have to be. What is striking with this passage is that our role as Christian parent is not focused solely on our children. We have to foster virtue in our children, don't get me wrong, but also have to learn virtues and godliness. This is not a one-way street in which we feed our children information about how to be good people, but rather that we are learning how to be Christians and to be virtuous and godly as we live together as a family. This only confirms a realization I made early in my marriage that living in a Christian familiy is an askesis (a spiritual discipline) in the sense that we confront our weaknesses and faults in rubbing up against our spouses and children. By trying to overcome them, we set ourselves (and, hopefully, the rest of our family by our example) on the road to godliness and virtue; a road which we will not complete in this life, but which gives us hope for life to come.
I think this is ultimately what John is trying to say to us. We cannot act as fathers as some kind of authoritarian, you'll-do-it-because-I-tell-you-to kind of father, but rather that we set the example of living our familial askesis in a faithful way by following and imitating Christ's own example. As an aside, this is the biggest reason why I think that the current men's movement, which insists on reviving the the hidden image of the man as warrior, has the wrong end of the stick. Our example and our standard is Jesus Christ, not some distantly remembered and romanticized concept of the warrior. Frankly, learning to live faithfully and virtuously as a Christian is challenge enough.
So, I'm going to give St. John the last word on the subject by quoting the last words of this homily:
Peace,
Phil
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honour your father and mother’—this is the first commandment with a promise: ‘so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.’ And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
As a result of reflecting on this passage, John gives us worthwhile advice about family life and about being a Christian parent. He gives it in a context in which not enough attention is given to the art of Christian parenting; a context much like our own where the link between our Christian principles and our practice is not always manifested. In our modern world, we get so much advice about child-rearing, especially written in a psychological vein, that it is easy to just to follow that well-meant secular advice and not ask ourselves what God calls us to do as parents. Yet what does God call us to do as fathers?
According to John, there are three strands we need to look at:
First, we have to remember that our authority as fathers is not based in any kind of authoritarian power (in John's day, enforced by Roman law about the pater familias), but rather must be based on our (hopefully) common faith. That is, we are not commanded to do something contrary to God's will because our parents have told us to, but we obey our parents because we are told to do so because of the Lord's commands. In that sense, our faith should shine out in our treatment of our children and that faith and our love which comes from it will make it so that children will ultimately learn how to be obedient. Of course, the actual working out of this is hardly easy or clean, but family life is one of those areas where one learns the Christian virtues through trial and error on the part of both parents and children.
Second, John emphasizes the importance of bringing spirituality into the very life of the family. He particular emphasizes the reading of Scripture to children, confronting as he does a prejudice in his own society that it isn't necessary because 'we aren't raising monks', but people who have to get by in the world. This sense that knowing Scripture or focusing on spiritual things will make one no good for a worldly life was a common one at the time of John (judging by how often he criticizes it) and it is equally common now. Yet John argues that early Bible reading will serve to build the Christian character and virtues of a child so that, whatever he should decide to do, he has a solid foundation of faith to build upon and can avoid the obvious temptations and vices which he WILL find in the world.
I think this last point is an important one. One of the most important of our functions as parents is to teach our children about right and wrong. If we fail in that task, we are giving our children endless opportunities to go very wrong and have to work out for themselves, without the tools to do so, how to fix their lives. No parent is pefect, of course, and clearly, we need God to help us and to watch over our children. Still, we can prepare the ground by encouraging faith in our chidlren, by reading them the stories which we Christians value and trying to understand what they mean for us now. Christianity as a lived reality is, in many ways, recognizing ourselves as part of the story of Israel and the Gentile graft onto Israel in the name of Jesus Christ. If our children feel a part of that story, they will, hopefully, live their lives accordingly.
Third, John defines the ultimate goal of the Christian parent:
When we teach our children to be good, to be gentle, to be forgiving (all of thse are attributes of God), to be generous, to love their fellow men, to regard this present age as nothing, we instill virtues in their souls, and reveal the image of God within them. This, then, is our task: to educate both ourselves and our children in godliness
The list of virtues, I admit, is hardly new or original. They don't have to be. What is striking with this passage is that our role as Christian parent is not focused solely on our children. We have to foster virtue in our children, don't get me wrong, but also have to learn virtues and godliness. This is not a one-way street in which we feed our children information about how to be good people, but rather that we are learning how to be Christians and to be virtuous and godly as we live together as a family. This only confirms a realization I made early in my marriage that living in a Christian familiy is an askesis (a spiritual discipline) in the sense that we confront our weaknesses and faults in rubbing up against our spouses and children. By trying to overcome them, we set ourselves (and, hopefully, the rest of our family by our example) on the road to godliness and virtue; a road which we will not complete in this life, but which gives us hope for life to come.
I think this is ultimately what John is trying to say to us. We cannot act as fathers as some kind of authoritarian, you'll-do-it-because-I-tell-you-to kind of father, but rather that we set the example of living our familial askesis in a faithful way by following and imitating Christ's own example. As an aside, this is the biggest reason why I think that the current men's movement, which insists on reviving the the hidden image of the man as warrior, has the wrong end of the stick. Our example and our standard is Jesus Christ, not some distantly remembered and romanticized concept of the warrior. Frankly, learning to live faithfully and virtuously as a Christian is challenge enough.
So, I'm going to give St. John the last word on the subject by quoting the last words of this homily:
Therefore, let us be greatly concerned for our wives and children, and for ourselves as well, and as we educate both ourselves and them let us beg God to help us in our taslk. If He sees we care about this, He will help us; but if we are unconcerned, He will not give us his hand. God helps those who work, not those who are idle. No one helps an inactive person, but one who joins in the labour. The good God Himself will bring this work to perfection, so that all of us may be counted worthy of the blessing He has promised, through the grace and love for mankind of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, with whom, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, honour and power to the Father, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen
Peace,
Phil
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Patristic Roundup, June 7-14th, 2007
Mike Aquilina on The Way of the Fathers offers us Fathers for Father's Day, features a discussion of Eusebius of Caesarea by Pope Benedict , recommends a new book by John Salza on the biblical basis of the papacy and directs us to the full Zenit account of Pope Benedict' discussion of Eusebius on Wednesday.
Will Weedon on Weedon's blog features St. Augustine, St. Ambrose , St. Ambrose again and St. Ambrose once more in his Patristic Quote of the Day.
drooellis on the Droo's Clues blog features a discussion of Origen and the Trinity.
biblicalchristian on the One Truth blog features quotations on why we shouldn't forget the Church Fathers.
Orycteropus Afer on Aardvark Alley discusses the Council of Nicaea.
Jim Bonewald on the church geek blog publishes a sermon on the Apostle's Creed.
Lawrence of Arabia on the revolt in the desert blog discuss the visual arts and the 7th ecumenical council.
Ryan Martin on the Immoderate blog features a discussion of the Fathers and spiritual gifts including a catena on the subject.
The Dyspraxic Fundamentalist on The Patristic Page blog is back from Japan (at last!) and with a vengeance. He has posted translations of St. Ephrem of Syria Against Bardanes and Chromatius of Aquileia's Prologue to the Gospel of St. Matthew.
The God Fearin' Fiddler on the God Fearin' Forum features a quote from St. Papias on the Importance of Tradition.
PJP on the Recapturing our Catholic Patrimony blog reflects on Pope Benedict's catechetical lecture on Eusebius of Caesaria and history.
Danny Garland on the Irish-Catholic and Dangerousblog quotes a Patristics song to the tune of Supercalafragalisticexpialadocius. I saw this a few years ago, but it is a good one!
Paul Gregory Alms on incarnatus est quotes Cyril of Jerusalem on turning west to east.
The Apocryphal Corner
April DeConick on The Forbidden Gospel blog alerts us to Alastair Logan's book, The Gnostics: Identifying a Christian Cult
Will Weedon on Weedon's blog features St. Augustine, St. Ambrose , St. Ambrose again and St. Ambrose once more in his Patristic Quote of the Day.
drooellis on the Droo's Clues blog features a discussion of Origen and the Trinity.
biblicalchristian on the One Truth blog features quotations on why we shouldn't forget the Church Fathers.
Orycteropus Afer on Aardvark Alley discusses the Council of Nicaea.
Jim Bonewald on the church geek blog publishes a sermon on the Apostle's Creed.
Lawrence of Arabia on the revolt in the desert blog discuss the visual arts and the 7th ecumenical council.
Ryan Martin on the Immoderate blog features a discussion of the Fathers and spiritual gifts including a catena on the subject.
The Dyspraxic Fundamentalist on The Patristic Page blog is back from Japan (at last!) and with a vengeance. He has posted translations of St. Ephrem of Syria Against Bardanes and Chromatius of Aquileia's Prologue to the Gospel of St. Matthew.
The God Fearin' Fiddler on the God Fearin' Forum features a quote from St. Papias on the Importance of Tradition.
PJP on the Recapturing our Catholic Patrimony blog reflects on Pope Benedict's catechetical lecture on Eusebius of Caesaria and history.
Danny Garland on the Irish-Catholic and Dangerousblog quotes a Patristics song to the tune of Supercalafragalisticexpialadocius. I saw this a few years ago, but it is a good one!
Paul Gregory Alms on incarnatus est quotes Cyril of Jerusalem on turning west to east.
The Apocryphal Corner
April DeConick on The Forbidden Gospel blog alerts us to Alastair Logan's book, The Gnostics: Identifying a Christian Cult
Sunday, June 10, 2007
St. Cyprian and Protestant Ecclesiology
This has been a week for St. Cyprian what with Pope Benedict using him as the basis of his catechetical reflection on last Wednesday. That has led to a small flurry of posts on Cyprian which I've watched smugly, realizing that I've already posted on Cyprian in previous post . Well, okay, I'm not really claiming Pope Benedict hopped on my bandwagon, but, I wonder....
Okay, in all seriousness, I was pleased to see the interest in St. Cyprian for pretty much the reason that I set out back in my earlier post. I really do think that St. Cyprian has an insight into ecclesiology and unity which we would do well to heed today. That Catholics appreciate this message, I think, goes without saying, even if I think that the quick identification of orthodoxy only with Rome is perhaps overstated. I don't want to open that particular can of worms today. Or, at least, I don't want to open it in quite the same way.
What I do want to talk about is how similar Cyprian's dilemma with Novatian is with the current multi-denominational universe. The dilemma for Cyprian in dealing with Novatian and his own confessors was that they were usually doctrinally orthodox, if, perhaps, a little too rigourous. The result was that it was not easy to accuse them of heresy on most of the normal grounds (gnosticism, docetism, trinitarian confusions etc). Rather they were schismatics which would seem to suggest a different order of problem.
We, moderns, want to separate schism and heresy, of course. We focus primarily on what constitutes orthodoxy, but what the term orthodox means today remains inherently slippery because the marks of orthodoxy shift and change according to the tradition, denomination and, yes, even the person involved. Given the fact that there is no one authoritative voice in Christianity (at least, undisputed; there are several claimants), it is difficult to know how one could find more precision in the term or in just what consitutes heresy or schism. All three of these terms are so fuzzy, I almost wonder that they continue to be used with any inherent meanings intact.
The reason for this fuzziness around thes terms may be that there remains no universally accepted Church, especially in the aftermath of the Reformation which fractured Western Christianity into a thousand pieces; many of which are busily splintering themselves into another thousand pieces. The result is a radical crisis of authority which afflicts all Christians even today. We all, Catholic, Orthodox and the whole variety of Protestants deal with the aftermath of this fragmentation every day and, contrary to the opinion of many, we are all responsible, not only for the initial divisions, but for their continuation. Not that there is any easy or neat solution.
For Cyprian, however, the problem of schismatics and heretics was much easier to deal with for the very good reason that there was one central authority recognized within most of the Christian world: the undivided Church. That is, anyone outside the Church was, by definition, a heretic. Thus, it didn't matter that Novatian agreed with Cyprian on almost all doctrinal issues. His separation from the legitimately ordained Bishop of Rome made him a heretic; possibly because his ecclesiology which permitted him to break into schism was faulty or possibly because Novatian's unbending attitude to the lapsed suggests a disregard for the operation of God's forgiveness and grace.
Yet, today, I don't think we have the luxury of presuming an undivided Church. For that, we can blame the Reformation and its aftermath. But we can't shift the all blame for this solely on either the Protestants or the Catholics. By rights, the Catholic Church would have found within itself the ability to deal with the legitimate concerns of the early Reformers and conduct an internal reform along the lines the Cluniac reforms in the 11th century (yes, I know these were monastic reforms, but their impact was considerable on the mediaeval church). Of course, the Reformers were hardly patient enough to wait for the Church to hear their calls for reform nor were they wise in their choice of allies (German territorial princes, who were notorious for wanting to extending their own power at the expense of the Holy Roman Emperor).
This is, I think the reason why most mainline denominations including Roman Catholicism recognize that Christians of other denominations are recognizably Christian, even if our differences preclude full communion with them. After several hundreds years of sharp denomination differences, I think we are starting to recognize some of our common bonds again. The process is slow and painful, but, from time to time, we can see progress towards getting along with each other, even in our differences.
Where does that leave us? In pretty much the same place as we were when we started. The disunity of contemporary Christianity is an important reason why we are unable to convince people that the message we bear to the world is from God. In the past, Romans would look at Christians and say 'See how they love each other'. While we are getting better, I'm not sure we're causing people to think that, except in isolated pockets. I don't have a good solution, but the problem remains urgent if we take seriously our mission as Christ's people in this world.
Peace,
Phil
Okay, in all seriousness, I was pleased to see the interest in St. Cyprian for pretty much the reason that I set out back in my earlier post. I really do think that St. Cyprian has an insight into ecclesiology and unity which we would do well to heed today. That Catholics appreciate this message, I think, goes without saying, even if I think that the quick identification of orthodoxy only with Rome is perhaps overstated. I don't want to open that particular can of worms today. Or, at least, I don't want to open it in quite the same way.
What I do want to talk about is how similar Cyprian's dilemma with Novatian is with the current multi-denominational universe. The dilemma for Cyprian in dealing with Novatian and his own confessors was that they were usually doctrinally orthodox, if, perhaps, a little too rigourous. The result was that it was not easy to accuse them of heresy on most of the normal grounds (gnosticism, docetism, trinitarian confusions etc). Rather they were schismatics which would seem to suggest a different order of problem.
We, moderns, want to separate schism and heresy, of course. We focus primarily on what constitutes orthodoxy, but what the term orthodox means today remains inherently slippery because the marks of orthodoxy shift and change according to the tradition, denomination and, yes, even the person involved. Given the fact that there is no one authoritative voice in Christianity (at least, undisputed; there are several claimants), it is difficult to know how one could find more precision in the term or in just what consitutes heresy or schism. All three of these terms are so fuzzy, I almost wonder that they continue to be used with any inherent meanings intact.
The reason for this fuzziness around thes terms may be that there remains no universally accepted Church, especially in the aftermath of the Reformation which fractured Western Christianity into a thousand pieces; many of which are busily splintering themselves into another thousand pieces. The result is a radical crisis of authority which afflicts all Christians even today. We all, Catholic, Orthodox and the whole variety of Protestants deal with the aftermath of this fragmentation every day and, contrary to the opinion of many, we are all responsible, not only for the initial divisions, but for their continuation. Not that there is any easy or neat solution.
For Cyprian, however, the problem of schismatics and heretics was much easier to deal with for the very good reason that there was one central authority recognized within most of the Christian world: the undivided Church. That is, anyone outside the Church was, by definition, a heretic. Thus, it didn't matter that Novatian agreed with Cyprian on almost all doctrinal issues. His separation from the legitimately ordained Bishop of Rome made him a heretic; possibly because his ecclesiology which permitted him to break into schism was faulty or possibly because Novatian's unbending attitude to the lapsed suggests a disregard for the operation of God's forgiveness and grace.
Yet, today, I don't think we have the luxury of presuming an undivided Church. For that, we can blame the Reformation and its aftermath. But we can't shift the all blame for this solely on either the Protestants or the Catholics. By rights, the Catholic Church would have found within itself the ability to deal with the legitimate concerns of the early Reformers and conduct an internal reform along the lines the Cluniac reforms in the 11th century (yes, I know these were monastic reforms, but their impact was considerable on the mediaeval church). Of course, the Reformers were hardly patient enough to wait for the Church to hear their calls for reform nor were they wise in their choice of allies (German territorial princes, who were notorious for wanting to extending their own power at the expense of the Holy Roman Emperor).
This is, I think the reason why most mainline denominations including Roman Catholicism recognize that Christians of other denominations are recognizably Christian, even if our differences preclude full communion with them. After several hundreds years of sharp denomination differences, I think we are starting to recognize some of our common bonds again. The process is slow and painful, but, from time to time, we can see progress towards getting along with each other, even in our differences.
Where does that leave us? In pretty much the same place as we were when we started. The disunity of contemporary Christianity is an important reason why we are unable to convince people that the message we bear to the world is from God. In the past, Romans would look at Christians and say 'See how they love each other'. While we are getting better, I'm not sure we're causing people to think that, except in isolated pockets. I don't have a good solution, but the problem remains urgent if we take seriously our mission as Christ's people in this world.
Peace,
Phil
Friday, June 08, 2007
Patristic Roundup-June 1-June 8, 2007
I think I've been a little spotty with my reporting this week, but, for what it is worth, here are my gleanings in the week that was patristics this week.
Patristic Garden
Mike Aquilina on The Way of the Fathers blog reminds us of his extensive discussion about St. Justin Martyr, announce his new edition of his Mass of the Early Christians, , give his take on Pope Benedict's words on St. Cyprian,
Will Weedon on ,Weedon's Blog features Patristic Quotes of the Day by St Gregory of Nyssa, , St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. Mark the Ascetic,
Roger Pierce on the Thoughts on Antiquity blog alerts us to the Oxford Patristics Conference in August. He also invites those with Greek and Latin to contribute to his open translation of Eusebius' Chronicle.
Benedict Seraphim on the This is Life! blog features a reflection on St. Gregory's Dialogue IV
Kenneth Samples on the Today's New Reason to Believe blog asks whether the doctrine of the Trinity is Biblical.
PJP on the Recapturing Our Catholic Patrimony blog discusses Pope Benedict's cathechetical discussions about St. Cyprian.
Father Z on the What Does the Prayer Really Say? blog features a discussion of Pope Benedict's comments about St. Cyprian. . He also alerts us to a podcast on Augustine and loving the Trinity too late.
James Siemens on the East and West blog quotes Pelikan on the authority of tradition.
Apocryphal Corner
Tony Chartrand-Burke on the Apocryphicity blog alerts us to his critical translation of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas.
April DeConick on The Forbidden Gospels blog alerts us to the Lost Christianities DVD lectures, considers what it would mean to meet Valentinus and alerts us to a useful guide on how to read Critical Apparatus'.
Patristic Garden
Mike Aquilina on The Way of the Fathers blog reminds us of his extensive discussion about St. Justin Martyr, announce his new edition of his Mass of the Early Christians, , give his take on Pope Benedict's words on St. Cyprian,
Will Weedon on ,Weedon's Blog features Patristic Quotes of the Day by St Gregory of Nyssa, , St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. Mark the Ascetic,
Roger Pierce on the Thoughts on Antiquity blog alerts us to the Oxford Patristics Conference in August. He also invites those with Greek and Latin to contribute to his open translation of Eusebius' Chronicle.
Benedict Seraphim on the This is Life! blog features a reflection on St. Gregory's Dialogue IV
Kenneth Samples on the Today's New Reason to Believe blog asks whether the doctrine of the Trinity is Biblical.
PJP on the Recapturing Our Catholic Patrimony blog discusses Pope Benedict's cathechetical discussions about St. Cyprian.
Father Z on the What Does the Prayer Really Say? blog features a discussion of Pope Benedict's comments about St. Cyprian. . He also alerts us to a podcast on Augustine and loving the Trinity too late.
James Siemens on the East and West blog quotes Pelikan on the authority of tradition.
Apocryphal Corner
Tony Chartrand-Burke on the Apocryphicity blog alerts us to his critical translation of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas.
April DeConick on The Forbidden Gospels blog alerts us to the Lost Christianities DVD lectures, considers what it would mean to meet Valentinus and alerts us to a useful guide on how to read Critical Apparatus'.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Sulpicius Severus, Life of St. Martin 10
Here is the new installment of the St. Martin saga. Here we learn about St. Martin's monastery and monastic vision.
Text:
I am not able to set out how great a man he proved to be after he took up the bishopric. For he persevered very firmly in the way of life he followed before. (2) He had the same humility in his heart, the same thrift in his clothing. He was full of authority and grace and fulfilled the dignity of bishop. Yet, he, nevertheless, did not abandon the lifestyle and virtues of a monk. (3) Therefore, for a long time, he used the cell which was connected to the side of the church. Then, when he was unable to bear the disturbance of those crowding around him, he established a monastery for himself almost two miles outside the town. (4) The place was so secret and remote that he did not miss the solitude of a hermit. On one side, it was bounded by a precipitous cliff of a high mountain. The river Loire shut in the remaining plain in a gradual sweep of the bay. It could only be reached by a narrow road. He himself had a cell built of wood, many of the brothers built cells in this way: (5) The majority made shelters for themselves by hollowing out the rock from the overhanging mountains. There were nearly eighty followers who were instructed in the example of their blessed master. (6) Nobody had anything of their own. Everything was owned in common. It was not permitted for them to buy or to sell as is the habit of most monks. No art was practiced there except that of the scribe in which duty the younger members were assigned, while the elders were freed up for prayer. (7) Rarely did anyone leave their cell unless they were gathering at the place for sermons. They all received food after the hour of fasting. No one knew wine unless some illness forced him to. (8) Most were clothed in camel hide; softer clothing was considered a crime. This must be considered the more astonishing because there were many nobles among them, who had been brought up very differently, but whom he urged to this humility and patience. The majority of them we have seen became bishops. (9) What city or church which does not desire a priest from the monastery of Martin?
Commentary:
Now that Martin is bishop, Severus moves on to set out the establishment of the monastery of St. Martin. Of course, Martin has been setting up monasteries as he moved around in northern Italy, Illyricum and Gaul, but he keeps finding either that he is crowded out by eager spiritual seekers or he is driven out by resentful ecclesial authorities. This is not an unusual state of affairs for a monastic life (as this one is in some ways), since even St. Antony had to move his hermitage several times in his life time.
This monastery is, of course, the final one and, like the final hermitage of Antony, it is all but inaccessible. That is, of course, rather the point because Martin is trying to establish a community outside the constraints of urban life in the Late Empire. Solitude, as a result, is necessary.
The rule at St. Martin's monastery is quite strict, as one would expect from the subject of a saint's life. The description tells us quite a bit about the monasticism of St. Martin's day; that it was starting to become laxer than Martin or the great ascetic athletes would tolerate. What Severus provides here is a picture of classic monasticism as a kind of template of the ascetic life as an antidote to easier, softer ways. The fact that work is not really a part of this monastery (except for copyists) points in that direction because it took the Benedictines to combine work and prayers as nearly equal elements of the monastic movement.
The comment about nobles is striking in this context. The implication is that the lifestyle of this monastery is not so far removed from the poor, but the adherence of a noble to this lifestyle which is so different from the lifestyle which they had grown accustomed to makes their discipline so much more remarkable. Mind you, Edward Gibbon would have a few harsh things to say about nobles pulling themselves out of Roman civil/political life, but this passages establishes Martin as the educator of bishops. This points to Martin's major influence on the development of the Gallic Church in the later 300s AD.
I admit that I tend to baulk at this kind of hard-core monasticism, largely because, all too often, it was based on a neo-Platonic contempt for the body which I neither find wholly biblical (yes, there are passages, notably in Paul's letters which could support it) nor consistent with a theology of a body characteristic of Judaism and a major element of early Christianity which sees body and soul was inseparable. While this is, at least, a monastic community as opposed to hermits (who themselves display an almost freakish devotion to a kind of ascetic Olympics in which one hermit strives to outdo his brothers in the severity of their body-denying disciplines), I worry about this particular version of monasticism. Perhaps I'm rather too used to Benedictine monasticism to entirely feel comfortable with this, admittedly, commendable monastic vision.
Yet, I also cannot deny the devotion of these ascetic athletes in prayer and in trying to make themselves develop spiritually. There is, clearly, much wisdom in the monastic tradition, even for those of us involved in the world. That wisdom explains the appeal of monasticism over the ages, both as a calling and as a source for non-monastics to find wisdom. St. Martin is a little hardcore, but not crazy about it. No one was tying themselves onto pillars or indulging too much in self-flagellation, it seems in this community. Instead, what we have is a community of prayer which is rather the point of the monastic vision.
Of course, we can learn much from this vision. In our particularly consumerist society, the idea of holding property in common is just plain strange and subversive. The idea of not going out to buy and sell is positively freakish. I am, of course, just as enmeshed in the consumer society we find ourselves in today. One does have to buy things, especially when one has a family to support and take care of. Nor would I say that is bad in itself. Ideally, buying and selling is what is necessary to get what we need to have for ourselves and families and, if engaged upon with honestly and integrity, can be an honourable profession. What is problematic in our culture is the compulsion to buy which infects our mass media and individual desires. St. Martin speaks against that compulsion both to his own culture and our own.
Peace,
Phil
Text:
I am not able to set out how great a man he proved to be after he took up the bishopric. For he persevered very firmly in the way of life he followed before. (2) He had the same humility in his heart, the same thrift in his clothing. He was full of authority and grace and fulfilled the dignity of bishop. Yet, he, nevertheless, did not abandon the lifestyle and virtues of a monk. (3) Therefore, for a long time, he used the cell which was connected to the side of the church. Then, when he was unable to bear the disturbance of those crowding around him, he established a monastery for himself almost two miles outside the town. (4) The place was so secret and remote that he did not miss the solitude of a hermit. On one side, it was bounded by a precipitous cliff of a high mountain. The river Loire shut in the remaining plain in a gradual sweep of the bay. It could only be reached by a narrow road. He himself had a cell built of wood, many of the brothers built cells in this way: (5) The majority made shelters for themselves by hollowing out the rock from the overhanging mountains. There were nearly eighty followers who were instructed in the example of their blessed master. (6) Nobody had anything of their own. Everything was owned in common. It was not permitted for them to buy or to sell as is the habit of most monks. No art was practiced there except that of the scribe in which duty the younger members were assigned, while the elders were freed up for prayer. (7) Rarely did anyone leave their cell unless they were gathering at the place for sermons. They all received food after the hour of fasting. No one knew wine unless some illness forced him to. (8) Most were clothed in camel hide; softer clothing was considered a crime. This must be considered the more astonishing because there were many nobles among them, who had been brought up very differently, but whom he urged to this humility and patience. The majority of them we have seen became bishops. (9) What city or church which does not desire a priest from the monastery of Martin?
Commentary:
Now that Martin is bishop, Severus moves on to set out the establishment of the monastery of St. Martin. Of course, Martin has been setting up monasteries as he moved around in northern Italy, Illyricum and Gaul, but he keeps finding either that he is crowded out by eager spiritual seekers or he is driven out by resentful ecclesial authorities. This is not an unusual state of affairs for a monastic life (as this one is in some ways), since even St. Antony had to move his hermitage several times in his life time.
This monastery is, of course, the final one and, like the final hermitage of Antony, it is all but inaccessible. That is, of course, rather the point because Martin is trying to establish a community outside the constraints of urban life in the Late Empire. Solitude, as a result, is necessary.
The rule at St. Martin's monastery is quite strict, as one would expect from the subject of a saint's life. The description tells us quite a bit about the monasticism of St. Martin's day; that it was starting to become laxer than Martin or the great ascetic athletes would tolerate. What Severus provides here is a picture of classic monasticism as a kind of template of the ascetic life as an antidote to easier, softer ways. The fact that work is not really a part of this monastery (except for copyists) points in that direction because it took the Benedictines to combine work and prayers as nearly equal elements of the monastic movement.
The comment about nobles is striking in this context. The implication is that the lifestyle of this monastery is not so far removed from the poor, but the adherence of a noble to this lifestyle which is so different from the lifestyle which they had grown accustomed to makes their discipline so much more remarkable. Mind you, Edward Gibbon would have a few harsh things to say about nobles pulling themselves out of Roman civil/political life, but this passages establishes Martin as the educator of bishops. This points to Martin's major influence on the development of the Gallic Church in the later 300s AD.
I admit that I tend to baulk at this kind of hard-core monasticism, largely because, all too often, it was based on a neo-Platonic contempt for the body which I neither find wholly biblical (yes, there are passages, notably in Paul's letters which could support it) nor consistent with a theology of a body characteristic of Judaism and a major element of early Christianity which sees body and soul was inseparable. While this is, at least, a monastic community as opposed to hermits (who themselves display an almost freakish devotion to a kind of ascetic Olympics in which one hermit strives to outdo his brothers in the severity of their body-denying disciplines), I worry about this particular version of monasticism. Perhaps I'm rather too used to Benedictine monasticism to entirely feel comfortable with this, admittedly, commendable monastic vision.
Yet, I also cannot deny the devotion of these ascetic athletes in prayer and in trying to make themselves develop spiritually. There is, clearly, much wisdom in the monastic tradition, even for those of us involved in the world. That wisdom explains the appeal of monasticism over the ages, both as a calling and as a source for non-monastics to find wisdom. St. Martin is a little hardcore, but not crazy about it. No one was tying themselves onto pillars or indulging too much in self-flagellation, it seems in this community. Instead, what we have is a community of prayer which is rather the point of the monastic vision.
Of course, we can learn much from this vision. In our particularly consumerist society, the idea of holding property in common is just plain strange and subversive. The idea of not going out to buy and sell is positively freakish. I am, of course, just as enmeshed in the consumer society we find ourselves in today. One does have to buy things, especially when one has a family to support and take care of. Nor would I say that is bad in itself. Ideally, buying and selling is what is necessary to get what we need to have for ourselves and families and, if engaged upon with honestly and integrity, can be an honourable profession. What is problematic in our culture is the compulsion to buy which infects our mass media and individual desires. St. Martin speaks against that compulsion both to his own culture and our own.
Peace,
Phil
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Patristic Roundup-May 25-31st, 2007
Well, this has been a moderately busy week for patristics (and crazy busy for me), so here are the offerings for this week.
The Patristic Garden
Mike Aquilina on The Fathers of the Church blog features comments by R. R. Reno on the Fathers, calls St. Athanasius back to his office to deal with the canonization of Arius in an avowedly Arian church(well, you know, everything old is new again; if we can have a Gnostic Church, why not an Arian?) and gives us his patristic take on Memorial Day
Will Weedon on Weedon's Blog features St. Maximos the Confessor , St. Mark the Ascetic, St. Irenaeus, and St. Augustine in his Patristic Quote of the Day series
God Fearin' Fiddler on the God Fearin' Forum talks about the beneficial effects of the Church Fathers vs. liberal Catholic theology.
Orycteropus Afer on the Aardvark Alley blog features a story about the Venerable Bede
Seth Zirkle on the In the Agora blog considers the Spirit and the Cappadocian Fathers.
James Swan on his Beggars All blog features St. Augustine in his Ancient Voices series.
Father Z on the What Does the Prayer Really Say? blog links us to a podcast on St. Gregory.
Kevin Edgecomb on the biblicalia blog asks us would we prefer to be like the apostles and Church Fathers or modern academics.
Rick Brannon on ricoblog features a preliminary review of Heresies and How to Avoid Them.
The Thoughts on Antiquity blog features an explanation of how the Chroncile of Eusebius was discovered.
The Apocryphal Corner
April DeConick on The Forbidden Gospels blog features an announcement of her conference on the Gospel of Judas, an article review of István Czachesz' "The Transmission of early Christian thought: Toward a cognitive psychological model", a reflection on the Apostolic tradition as living literature,
The Patristic Garden
Mike Aquilina on The Fathers of the Church blog features comments by R. R. Reno on the Fathers, calls St. Athanasius back to his office to deal with the canonization of Arius in an avowedly Arian church(well, you know, everything old is new again; if we can have a Gnostic Church, why not an Arian?) and gives us his patristic take on Memorial Day
Will Weedon on Weedon's Blog features St. Maximos the Confessor , St. Mark the Ascetic, St. Irenaeus, and St. Augustine in his Patristic Quote of the Day series
God Fearin' Fiddler on the God Fearin' Forum talks about the beneficial effects of the Church Fathers vs. liberal Catholic theology.
Orycteropus Afer on the Aardvark Alley blog features a story about the Venerable Bede
Seth Zirkle on the In the Agora blog considers the Spirit and the Cappadocian Fathers.
James Swan on his Beggars All blog features St. Augustine in his Ancient Voices series.
Father Z on the What Does the Prayer Really Say? blog links us to a podcast on St. Gregory.
Kevin Edgecomb on the biblicalia blog asks us would we prefer to be like the apostles and Church Fathers or modern academics.
Rick Brannon on ricoblog features a preliminary review of Heresies and How to Avoid Them.
The Thoughts on Antiquity blog features an explanation of how the Chroncile of Eusebius was discovered.
The Apocryphal Corner
April DeConick on The Forbidden Gospels blog features an announcement of her conference on the Gospel of Judas, an article review of István Czachesz' "The Transmission of early Christian thought: Toward a cognitive psychological model", a reflection on the Apostolic tradition as living literature,
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Patristic Roundup-May 17th-May 24th
This is a bit late and a little patchy towards the beginning of the week, but here are the offerings.
The Patristic Garden
Mike Aquilina on The Way of the Fathers blog discusses a lineamenta from the Vatican on the Word, along with a patristic catena from the document, muses on the Hindu traditions about St. Thomas, provides an interview with Carl Sommer, author of We Look for a Kingdom: The Everyday Lives of the Early Christians and continues it here.
Will Weedon on Weedon's blog includes in his Patristic Quotes of the Week quotes by St. Augustine, St. Diadochus of Photiki, St. Maximos the Great, and St. Cyril of Alexandria.
Father Z on the What Does the Prayer Really Say? blog links us to a podcast reading of St. Augustine on Sts. John and Peter.
Rick Brannon on ricoblog (among others) alerts us to another book on the Apostolic Fathers.
Kevin Foflygen on the Tu me fecisti et refecisti blog features a discussion of the Christian Sabbath and the Church Fathers.
The Agnology blog features an article on the politics of Christendom beginning with Constantine. They're not fans.
Jon Sorenson on the Instructions for the Ignorent blog has started a Ask a Church Father, featuring St. Irenaeus on Rome and the successors of St. Peter.
Glen Thomson on the Anaxmios, Anaxmios, Anaxmios blog features a discussion of Nestorian Christianity in Ancient China.
Jeremy Priest on the Turning Towards the Lord blog alerts us to a new book by D.H. Williams, Evangelicals and Tradition.
davetherave on the davetherave conscious blog features a history article on Constantine.
Constantine on the Mars Hill blog features a quote by Lactantius.
The Cappadocia Guide blog features a brief introduction to the Cappadocian Fathers.
Brother Randy Grieve on The Tent of This Kingdom blog features a quote from St. Vincent of Lerins
Deacon Scott Dodge on The People of St. Mary Magdalene blog feature a quote from St. Cyril of Jerusalem.
James Swan on the Beggars All blog features Theonas of Alexandria in his Ancient Voices series.
Apocryphal Corner
Tony Chartrand-Burke on the Apocryphicity blog links us to his superb Collating for Dummies resource. I remember the lecture when he introduced this resource at the University of Toronto and thought it briliant.
April DeConick on The Forbidden Gospels blog devoted her energies to correct the mis-interpretation of her work in Nick Perrin's, Thomas, The Other Gospel, especially on the topics of orality-literacy, the Historical Jesus, accretions and methodology.
The Patristic Garden
Mike Aquilina on The Way of the Fathers blog discusses a lineamenta from the Vatican on the Word, along with a patristic catena from the document, muses on the Hindu traditions about St. Thomas, provides an interview with Carl Sommer, author of We Look for a Kingdom: The Everyday Lives of the Early Christians and continues it here.
Will Weedon on Weedon's blog includes in his Patristic Quotes of the Week quotes by St. Augustine, St. Diadochus of Photiki, St. Maximos the Great, and St. Cyril of Alexandria.
Father Z on the What Does the Prayer Really Say? blog links us to a podcast reading of St. Augustine on Sts. John and Peter.
Rick Brannon on ricoblog (among others) alerts us to another book on the Apostolic Fathers.
Kevin Foflygen on the Tu me fecisti et refecisti blog features a discussion of the Christian Sabbath and the Church Fathers.
The Agnology blog features an article on the politics of Christendom beginning with Constantine. They're not fans.
Jon Sorenson on the Instructions for the Ignorent blog has started a Ask a Church Father, featuring St. Irenaeus on Rome and the successors of St. Peter.
Glen Thomson on the Anaxmios, Anaxmios, Anaxmios blog features a discussion of Nestorian Christianity in Ancient China.
Jeremy Priest on the Turning Towards the Lord blog alerts us to a new book by D.H. Williams, Evangelicals and Tradition.
davetherave on the davetherave conscious blog features a history article on Constantine.
Constantine on the Mars Hill blog features a quote by Lactantius.
The Cappadocia Guide blog features a brief introduction to the Cappadocian Fathers.
Brother Randy Grieve on The Tent of This Kingdom blog features a quote from St. Vincent of Lerins
Deacon Scott Dodge on The People of St. Mary Magdalene blog feature a quote from St. Cyril of Jerusalem.
James Swan on the Beggars All blog features Theonas of Alexandria in his Ancient Voices series.
Apocryphal Corner
Tony Chartrand-Burke on the Apocryphicity blog links us to his superb Collating for Dummies resource. I remember the lecture when he introduced this resource at the University of Toronto and thought it briliant.
April DeConick on The Forbidden Gospels blog devoted her energies to correct the mis-interpretation of her work in Nick Perrin's, Thomas, The Other Gospel, especially on the topics of orality-literacy, the Historical Jesus, accretions and methodology.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Patristics Roundup Delayed
I've had a bit of setback with this week's roundup (I lost the almost completed roundup in Blogger ether), so it will take me a few days to get the roundup back together. I hope to get the roundup back out by the end of the weekend.
Peace,
Phil
Peace,
Phil
St. Cyprian, Novatian and the Divided Church
Over the last few weeks, I`ve been thinking about St. Cyprian and about the way forward in maintaining unity in an already broken and divided church. I am, of course, thinking of the current state of the Anglican Communion and the coming General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, at least in part; but not completely. The general state of Christianity remains that of deep and unresolved divisions: between Eastern Orthodoxy and the Western churches, between Roman Catholicism and Protestants, between the multiple Protestant groups. This has rightly been characterized as a scandal because how can we talk of Jesus' Good News to the world when we are unable to agree on what that news is? Non-Christian friends have asked me which church is the one true Church and I have no other answer than "none of them, potentially", because we have failed to maintain those bonds of love and unity which characterized the early Christian communities. And "all of them, potentially" because we are all, nevertheless, the Body of Christ. That is, of course, paradoxical, but it is as close as I can get to affirming the unity that Christ has called us to here and now.
This lost unity is, of course, why I turn back to St. Cyprian and to a time before the major church divisions we take so much for granted were even considered. Cyprian lived way back in the 250s AD and was just appointed Bishop of Carthage, one of the larger Western dioceses, a year before the outbreak of the Decian persecutions. These persecutions were rather different from those persecutions which had proceeded them. The earlier persecutions tended to be localized and short-lived. The Emperor Decius instituted the first empire-wide persecution by demanding that everyone in the Empire had to sacrifice to the Emperor cult or face the state's wrath. Not surprisingly, large numbers of Christians, facing not only financial/social ruin, but even martyrdom, chose to sacrifice or pretended to sacrifice. The result was total chaos in the Church as large numbers of Christians lapsed and large numbers were martyred or suffered for their faith. No one had expected the empire-wide demand to sacrifice and no one had had to deal with the aftermath of the widespread lapsing of even mature Christians. By the time the persecution died down in 251 AD, the church was in chaos and this chaos was only going to get worse when the surviving bishops and clergy began to grapple with the problem of the lapsed.
To say that there was disagreement is an understatement. Rigorists insisted that the lapsed were simply damned for deserting Christ and there was no way for them to make sufficient penance to allow them to return to the church. They were out. Less rigorous leaders felt that there must be a way for the lapsed to make penance and find forgiveness. There didn't seem to be much room for compromise.
In many ways, the rigorists were represented by the Roman presbyter, Novatian, who was, by all accounts, a brilliant and orthodox leader in the fragmented Roman church, who had even been a candidate for the Bishop of Rome in 251 AD. He lost, and almost immediately, he led his followers in schism from the rightfully elected (and orthodox) Pope Cornelius. In doing so, he began a schism which would last for several decades and which was particularly troublesome because accusations of heresy were hard to make stick since Novatian had impeccable orthodox credentials.
The other side can be represented by some of the confessors of Cyprian's own church, who took it upon themselves, in Cyprian's absence, to forgive the lapsed without any real inquiry into the circumstances of their lapse. They felt their authority greater than their bishop, who, after all, had fled the persecution, while they stayed and suffered through it. They were trading on their spiritual status as confessors and were willing to make exceptions among the lapsed almost immediately on the end of the persecutions and without much or any investigation of the circumstances of their lapse.
Cyprian, in many ways, was probably more sympathetic to Novatian than to his own confessors. He did think that the those who lapsed during the persecutions had committed a grave sin and could only be reconciled with the Church with great difficulty. Yet he shied away from Novatian because of his high view of the episcopacy (like most Church Fathers) which caused him to back the legal ordination of Cornelius and because of his view that it was impossible to go into schism without falling into heresy. He never really goes so far as to define the heresy, but I think he sees Novatian's decision to split the Roman church as betraying a heretical understanding of ecclesiology. This is intriguing, but I suspect tangential to what I'm trying to say here. Perhaps I'll pick that point up in a separate entry.
In Christianity today (and in my own church), we have very many Novatians and very many confessors, who are perfectly willing to drive their agendas to the point of schism. Yet I offer Cyprian's solution to the problem for us all to consider. While sympathetic to rigorism, he didn't rely only his own opinion. He called a council of African bishops. He consulted with his fellow bishops, especially with the Bishop of Rome. He adopted a solution which recognized the importance of the lapses, but also recognized the power of true repentance.
We need Cyprians today in the churches; people who take seriously what the Bible and tradition have taught them, but are willing to reflect carefully over the new situations each generation presents and to try to maintain unity by finding common solutions to shared problems. Cyprian has his rough edges, of course, and he was fiercely aware of his own prerogatives as bishop, but his example in the matter of the lapsed presents us with an approach to disunity which we modern Christians would do well to imitate.
Peace,
Phil
This lost unity is, of course, why I turn back to St. Cyprian and to a time before the major church divisions we take so much for granted were even considered. Cyprian lived way back in the 250s AD and was just appointed Bishop of Carthage, one of the larger Western dioceses, a year before the outbreak of the Decian persecutions. These persecutions were rather different from those persecutions which had proceeded them. The earlier persecutions tended to be localized and short-lived. The Emperor Decius instituted the first empire-wide persecution by demanding that everyone in the Empire had to sacrifice to the Emperor cult or face the state's wrath. Not surprisingly, large numbers of Christians, facing not only financial/social ruin, but even martyrdom, chose to sacrifice or pretended to sacrifice. The result was total chaos in the Church as large numbers of Christians lapsed and large numbers were martyred or suffered for their faith. No one had expected the empire-wide demand to sacrifice and no one had had to deal with the aftermath of the widespread lapsing of even mature Christians. By the time the persecution died down in 251 AD, the church was in chaos and this chaos was only going to get worse when the surviving bishops and clergy began to grapple with the problem of the lapsed.
To say that there was disagreement is an understatement. Rigorists insisted that the lapsed were simply damned for deserting Christ and there was no way for them to make sufficient penance to allow them to return to the church. They were out. Less rigorous leaders felt that there must be a way for the lapsed to make penance and find forgiveness. There didn't seem to be much room for compromise.
In many ways, the rigorists were represented by the Roman presbyter, Novatian, who was, by all accounts, a brilliant and orthodox leader in the fragmented Roman church, who had even been a candidate for the Bishop of Rome in 251 AD. He lost, and almost immediately, he led his followers in schism from the rightfully elected (and orthodox) Pope Cornelius. In doing so, he began a schism which would last for several decades and which was particularly troublesome because accusations of heresy were hard to make stick since Novatian had impeccable orthodox credentials.
The other side can be represented by some of the confessors of Cyprian's own church, who took it upon themselves, in Cyprian's absence, to forgive the lapsed without any real inquiry into the circumstances of their lapse. They felt their authority greater than their bishop, who, after all, had fled the persecution, while they stayed and suffered through it. They were trading on their spiritual status as confessors and were willing to make exceptions among the lapsed almost immediately on the end of the persecutions and without much or any investigation of the circumstances of their lapse.
Cyprian, in many ways, was probably more sympathetic to Novatian than to his own confessors. He did think that the those who lapsed during the persecutions had committed a grave sin and could only be reconciled with the Church with great difficulty. Yet he shied away from Novatian because of his high view of the episcopacy (like most Church Fathers) which caused him to back the legal ordination of Cornelius and because of his view that it was impossible to go into schism without falling into heresy. He never really goes so far as to define the heresy, but I think he sees Novatian's decision to split the Roman church as betraying a heretical understanding of ecclesiology. This is intriguing, but I suspect tangential to what I'm trying to say here. Perhaps I'll pick that point up in a separate entry.
In Christianity today (and in my own church), we have very many Novatians and very many confessors, who are perfectly willing to drive their agendas to the point of schism. Yet I offer Cyprian's solution to the problem for us all to consider. While sympathetic to rigorism, he didn't rely only his own opinion. He called a council of African bishops. He consulted with his fellow bishops, especially with the Bishop of Rome. He adopted a solution which recognized the importance of the lapses, but also recognized the power of true repentance.
We need Cyprians today in the churches; people who take seriously what the Bible and tradition have taught them, but are willing to reflect carefully over the new situations each generation presents and to try to maintain unity by finding common solutions to shared problems. Cyprian has his rough edges, of course, and he was fiercely aware of his own prerogatives as bishop, but his example in the matter of the lapsed presents us with an approach to disunity which we modern Christians would do well to imitate.
Peace,
Phil
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Patristics Roundup- May 10-17th, 2007
Patristics:
Mike Aquilina on The Way of the Fathers blog announces his new book, The Resilient Church, suggests online tools for patristic and biblical studies, links us to a chapter from Yves Conger's Meaning of Tradition and De Lubac's History and Spirit and quotes St. Leo the Great on Ascension Day.
Will Weedon on Weedon`s blog features Patristics Quotes of the day with St. Augustine.
Danny Garland on the Irish-Catholic and Dangerous blog asks St. Augustine about sacrifices.
Marshall Montgomery on the Communion in Conflict blog reflects on Aidon Nichol's book on Schism and the current situation in the Anglican Communion.
James Engwar on Triablogue discusses the prevalence of Monarchichal bishops in early Christianity.
Scott Lyons on the Swept Over blog discusses the early Fathers.
Christopher on the Orrologion blog discusses a Patristics Conference in St. Louis.
Fearsome Pirate on the Cruising Down the Coast of High Barbaree (now, there is a name for a blog!!!) talks about Ignatius and the Bishops.
James Swan on the Beggars All blog features St. Caesarius in his Ancient Voices series.
Father Z on the What Does the Prayer Say blog points us to a podcast of a St. Augustine sermon (well, not with him delivering it!)
The Apocryphal Corner
Tony Chartrand-Burke on the Apocryphicity blog discusses new developments in the study of the Syraic Infancy Gospel of Thomas.
April De Conick on The Forbidden Gospels blog alerts us to an article on the Gospel of Judas, continues her discussion about the kernal Thomas, sent out a call for recent theses, reported on a new book on the Gospel of Thomas, alerts to a series in the Expository Times on the other Gospels and another on the apostolic Fathers (okay, this last one is Patristic, but for simplicity sake, I left it here).
Mike Aquilina on The Way of the Fathers blog announces his new book, The Resilient Church, suggests online tools for patristic and biblical studies, links us to a chapter from Yves Conger's Meaning of Tradition and De Lubac's History and Spirit and quotes St. Leo the Great on Ascension Day.
Will Weedon on Weedon`s blog features Patristics Quotes of the day with St. Augustine.
Danny Garland on the Irish-Catholic and Dangerous blog asks St. Augustine about sacrifices.
Marshall Montgomery on the Communion in Conflict blog reflects on Aidon Nichol's book on Schism and the current situation in the Anglican Communion.
James Engwar on Triablogue discusses the prevalence of Monarchichal bishops in early Christianity.
Scott Lyons on the Swept Over blog discusses the early Fathers.
Christopher on the Orrologion blog discusses a Patristics Conference in St. Louis.
Fearsome Pirate on the Cruising Down the Coast of High Barbaree (now, there is a name for a blog!!!) talks about Ignatius and the Bishops.
James Swan on the Beggars All blog features St. Caesarius in his Ancient Voices series.
Father Z on the What Does the Prayer Say blog points us to a podcast of a St. Augustine sermon (well, not with him delivering it!)
The Apocryphal Corner
Tony Chartrand-Burke on the Apocryphicity blog discusses new developments in the study of the Syraic Infancy Gospel of Thomas.
April De Conick on The Forbidden Gospels blog alerts us to an article on the Gospel of Judas, continues her discussion about the kernal Thomas, sent out a call for recent theses, reported on a new book on the Gospel of Thomas, alerts to a series in the Expository Times on the other Gospels and another on the apostolic Fathers (okay, this last one is Patristic, but for simplicity sake, I left it here).
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Sulpicius Severus, Life of St. Martin 9
Here is the new installment of St. Martin's Life. In this passage, we see Martin's strange, but popular ordination as bishop of Tours, a post he held until his death.
Text:
At almost the same time, Martin was sought after for the episcopacy of the church at Tours. But he could not easily be drawn out of his own monastery. A certain Rusticus, a citizen, pretending the illness of his wife, fell down to his knees and prevailed upon Martin to come. (2) Since a crowd of citizens were placed along the route, he was led right up to the city under a sort of guard. In an astonishing way, a incredible multitude not only from the town, but also from the nearby cities gathered to conduct a vote. (3) There was one will among all, one vote and the same opinion that Martin was most worthy of the episcopate and the church with such a priest would be lucky. Nevertheless, a few, several among the bishops who were called to ordain the high priest, impiously were revolted, saying, doubtless, that his personal appearence was contemptable, the man was unworthy of the episcopal office and despicable because of this appearence, his clothing was dirty, and his hair unkempt. (4) Their madness was mocked by people of a more sane opinion, who praised that illustrious man while they desired to find fault. Nor truly was it permitted for them to do anything than what the people decided in accordance with God's will. Nevertheless, among the bishops who were present, was a certain Defensor, who especially was said to have resisted. Then, he was considered to have been seriously censured by the reading from the prophets. (5) When, by chance, that reader whose duty it was to read that day was absent, having been shut out by the people and the service disrupted while they waited for the one who was not there, one of the bystanders, taking up the psalter, seized upon the first verse he encountered. (6) The psalm was this one: "from the mouths of infants and babes, you have perfected praise against your enemies so they you will destroy the enemy and the avenger[defensorem].". With that reading, the clamour of the people was raised and the other side put into confusion. (7) It was though,t as a result, that the psalm was read by divine approval so that Defensor would hear the testimony against his own works, which was shown, with the praise of God being perfected in Martin, and, equally from the mouhts of infants and babes, so that, as his enemy, he was destroyed.
Commentary:
This is an odd, but not unheard of kind of ordination. This ordination is usually dated to c. 371 AD, so Christianity has been quite established for over twenty years, even if the Arian controversy is continuing. Over those fifty years, there has been a considerable evolution in the office of bishop and the kind of person ordained. By the 370s, the episcopacy was a position of considerable influence in a city and, indeed, in a province. They weren't running the show, but they could make life rather hard on a governor, if they decided to, especially if that governor was a Christian.
Thus, there shouldn't be a surprise that there was a tendency for the high property classes to dominate in this office. Certainly, we have enough stories of highly educated and rich candidates being recruited or, if need be, dragooned into becoming a bishop. Ambrose and Augustine are two examples which turned out well. I'm pretty certain that Defensor and the other bishops who opposed Martin's ordination were probably of that type, so their opposition was probably based on their ideas about the dignity of the episcopal office. Those ideas were almost certainly tinged by social class.
By those standards, Martin made an astonishingly bad candidate. He was dirty, badly clothed and had a bad hair-do. How could he possibily make a good bishop?
Here is where we see the clash between the growing monastic-ascetic movement in the West which was already very strong in the East. Martin is distinctly not interested in power or the perks of being bishop. In fact, he'd sooner run the other way, so he had to be tricked and implicitly compelled to come into the city in the first place. He does not look the part nor, as the bishops surely feared, would he act the part of a bishop.
So, what was Martin's appeal? He was a holy man. That is, he was believed to be closely connected in prayer to God and that connection came out in his deeds, especially his healings. He was notably not the worldy, powerful bishop that Defensor and others wanted, but was increasingly being regarded with suspicion by laymen. He was resolutely anti-Arian and, given his dislike of the honour, was unlikely to reverse himself for career reasons if imperial pressure should again be placed on him to become Arian.
Yet, it seems a contentious election. In fact, it was only solved by the (chance?) reading of Psalm 8 which seemed to implicitly condemn Defensor, the leader of the anti-Martin opposition. This episode is interesting because it shows an aspect both of the Father's attitude to Scripture and their conception of the miraculous intervention. Here, it is the chance reading of a scripture which is immediately seen to apply to the situation. This chance reading determines the winner in this contest because it is not taken as a chance reading. Rather, God made sure that this line would be read aloud at this particular time by makng sure the regular lector was missing and that the substitute turned to precisely this page and read this line. God's will is recognized in this simple act of reading a line out of a psalm.
Now, we can, as many would, say that this was either a massive coincidence, a clever on-the-spot contrivance or mob mentality which inflated this incident to its decisive status in electing Martin. We can also shake our heads at the clear proof-texting here. Yet, the point isn't this. The idea here is that the reading of this Scripture at this time was considered to indicate divine approval for Martin's ordination. This is a high view of Scripture in a way that a modern or a post-modern would have a problem seeing. I'm not sure whether to say that this is a good or a bad view, but it is important to see this use (which is rather widespread: think of Augustine in the garden before his conversion)as a very old one and to ask what we can draw from it.
Peace,
Phil
Text:
At almost the same time, Martin was sought after for the episcopacy of the church at Tours. But he could not easily be drawn out of his own monastery. A certain Rusticus, a citizen, pretending the illness of his wife, fell down to his knees and prevailed upon Martin to come. (2) Since a crowd of citizens were placed along the route, he was led right up to the city under a sort of guard. In an astonishing way, a incredible multitude not only from the town, but also from the nearby cities gathered to conduct a vote. (3) There was one will among all, one vote and the same opinion that Martin was most worthy of the episcopate and the church with such a priest would be lucky. Nevertheless, a few, several among the bishops who were called to ordain the high priest, impiously were revolted, saying, doubtless, that his personal appearence was contemptable, the man was unworthy of the episcopal office and despicable because of this appearence, his clothing was dirty, and his hair unkempt. (4) Their madness was mocked by people of a more sane opinion, who praised that illustrious man while they desired to find fault. Nor truly was it permitted for them to do anything than what the people decided in accordance with God's will. Nevertheless, among the bishops who were present, was a certain Defensor, who especially was said to have resisted. Then, he was considered to have been seriously censured by the reading from the prophets. (5) When, by chance, that reader whose duty it was to read that day was absent, having been shut out by the people and the service disrupted while they waited for the one who was not there, one of the bystanders, taking up the psalter, seized upon the first verse he encountered. (6) The psalm was this one: "from the mouths of infants and babes, you have perfected praise against your enemies so they you will destroy the enemy and the avenger[defensorem].". With that reading, the clamour of the people was raised and the other side put into confusion. (7) It was though,t as a result, that the psalm was read by divine approval so that Defensor would hear the testimony against his own works, which was shown, with the praise of God being perfected in Martin, and, equally from the mouhts of infants and babes, so that, as his enemy, he was destroyed.
Commentary:
This is an odd, but not unheard of kind of ordination. This ordination is usually dated to c. 371 AD, so Christianity has been quite established for over twenty years, even if the Arian controversy is continuing. Over those fifty years, there has been a considerable evolution in the office of bishop and the kind of person ordained. By the 370s, the episcopacy was a position of considerable influence in a city and, indeed, in a province. They weren't running the show, but they could make life rather hard on a governor, if they decided to, especially if that governor was a Christian.
Thus, there shouldn't be a surprise that there was a tendency for the high property classes to dominate in this office. Certainly, we have enough stories of highly educated and rich candidates being recruited or, if need be, dragooned into becoming a bishop. Ambrose and Augustine are two examples which turned out well. I'm pretty certain that Defensor and the other bishops who opposed Martin's ordination were probably of that type, so their opposition was probably based on their ideas about the dignity of the episcopal office. Those ideas were almost certainly tinged by social class.
By those standards, Martin made an astonishingly bad candidate. He was dirty, badly clothed and had a bad hair-do. How could he possibily make a good bishop?
Here is where we see the clash between the growing monastic-ascetic movement in the West which was already very strong in the East. Martin is distinctly not interested in power or the perks of being bishop. In fact, he'd sooner run the other way, so he had to be tricked and implicitly compelled to come into the city in the first place. He does not look the part nor, as the bishops surely feared, would he act the part of a bishop.
So, what was Martin's appeal? He was a holy man. That is, he was believed to be closely connected in prayer to God and that connection came out in his deeds, especially his healings. He was notably not the worldy, powerful bishop that Defensor and others wanted, but was increasingly being regarded with suspicion by laymen. He was resolutely anti-Arian and, given his dislike of the honour, was unlikely to reverse himself for career reasons if imperial pressure should again be placed on him to become Arian.
Yet, it seems a contentious election. In fact, it was only solved by the (chance?) reading of Psalm 8 which seemed to implicitly condemn Defensor, the leader of the anti-Martin opposition. This episode is interesting because it shows an aspect both of the Father's attitude to Scripture and their conception of the miraculous intervention. Here, it is the chance reading of a scripture which is immediately seen to apply to the situation. This chance reading determines the winner in this contest because it is not taken as a chance reading. Rather, God made sure that this line would be read aloud at this particular time by makng sure the regular lector was missing and that the substitute turned to precisely this page and read this line. God's will is recognized in this simple act of reading a line out of a psalm.
Now, we can, as many would, say that this was either a massive coincidence, a clever on-the-spot contrivance or mob mentality which inflated this incident to its decisive status in electing Martin. We can also shake our heads at the clear proof-texting here. Yet, the point isn't this. The idea here is that the reading of this Scripture at this time was considered to indicate divine approval for Martin's ordination. This is a high view of Scripture in a way that a modern or a post-modern would have a problem seeing. I'm not sure whether to say that this is a good or a bad view, but it is important to see this use (which is rather widespread: think of Augustine in the garden before his conversion)as a very old one and to ask what we can draw from it.
Peace,
Phil
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Patristics Roundup-April 27th-May 9th, 2007
This is an unusual two-week review because those darn little patristics dogies got away from me last week. Well, okay, the real reason was that I was away with some of my students at a student conference. And I've been pretty sick. But, the conference is over and I'm getting better, so here are the offerings for the last two weeks. Enjoy!
Patristics:
Mike Aquilina on The Way of the Fathers blog features a report on the Armenia Sacra exhibition at the Louvre, calls attention to a discussion by Scott Hahn on the Iconclastic controversies, links on St. Athanasius including an oral reading of some of Athanasius' works, a continuation of Pope Benedict's series on Origen and more on Origen, calls attention to a audio-reading of St. John of Damascus' On Holy Images,
Will Weedon on Weedon's Blog continues his Patristic Quotes of the Day featuring St. Augustine, Augustine again, Augustine again, Augustine again,
Danny Garland on the Irish-Catholic and Dangerous blog quotes St. Gregory the Great on how we come to know the Lord and St. Irenaeus on Mary,
Daniel on the Hi-Speed Soul blog features a useful discussion on the Western and Eastern Fathers on the Trinity.
Ian on the Ruminations By the Lake blog calls our attention to an article by Prof. Michael Haykin on why we should study the fathers. Read the article here!
Matt on the Catching Meddler's blog celebrates the feast day of Athanasius with an amusing story of Athanasius as a child and Athanasius' Creed.
Mark Horne on the Mark Horne blog discusses puritans and the Church Fathers.
Michael Jensen on The Blogging Parson blog condemns the doctrine of the impassability of God; a patristic doctrine if there has ever been one.
spurgeon on The Shepherd's Scrapbook blog features a quote from Michael Haykin on patristic exegesis and follows up with a discussion of a recent Tiber-swimming evangelical and current president of the Evangelical Theological Society, James Beckworth.
bfhu from the Bread From Heaven Unlimited blog features a discussion about clerical confession and the Church Fathers.
Michael Rose on the Papa Ratzi Post calls attention to Pope Benedict's discussions of the Church Fathers since March including a link to an article reviewing these addresses.
Carl Truman on the Reformation21 blog has started a list of resources of where to start in reading the Church Fathers. He continues his discussion in his More on Patristics and Yet more on Patristics posts.
James Siemans on the East To West blog features a chapter out of Laterculus Malianus on the person of Christ.
Rick Brannon on ricoblog quotes St. Ignatius' Letter to the Ephesians and the Shepherd of Hermas.
Meanwhile, on Rick Brannon's other blog, Pastoral Epistles, he continues his series on St. Ignatius and the Pastoral Epistles in parts three, four and five.
Roger Pierce on the Thoughts on Antiquity blog announces a collaborative translation of Eusebius, discusses his attempt to read the Armenian version of Eusebius and again,
Ben Smith also on the Thoughts on Antiquity blog gives us the sixth installment on the canonical lists with his discussion of the Apostolic Constitutions.
Kyle on the Vindicated blog reflects on his reflections on St. Athanasius.
Apocryphal Corner
April DeConick on The Forbidden Gospels blog picks up on Tony Chartrand-Burke's discussion of anti-Apocrypha rhetoric and 'canonism, asks why Gnosticism is a dangerous error, discusses methodology and academic integrity, offers suggestions for further methodological study, discusses the contrast between empathy and sympathy in scholarship, discusses the Kernel Thomas , calls attention to a new article on the Gospel of Judas and continues to reflect on methodology.
Tony Chartrand-Burke on the Apocryphicity blog announces a conference on Christian Apocrypha at Tony's home university, York University, in 2007, let us know about a new section on his home page dealing with tabloid accounts of the Apocrypha and gives an interesting review of Ben Witherington's What Have they Done with Jesus?
Patristics:
Mike Aquilina on The Way of the Fathers blog features a report on the Armenia Sacra exhibition at the Louvre, calls attention to a discussion by Scott Hahn on the Iconclastic controversies, links on St. Athanasius including an oral reading of some of Athanasius' works, a continuation of Pope Benedict's series on Origen and more on Origen, calls attention to a audio-reading of St. John of Damascus' On Holy Images,
Will Weedon on Weedon's Blog continues his Patristic Quotes of the Day featuring St. Augustine, Augustine again, Augustine again, Augustine again,
Danny Garland on the Irish-Catholic and Dangerous blog quotes St. Gregory the Great on how we come to know the Lord and St. Irenaeus on Mary,
Daniel on the Hi-Speed Soul blog features a useful discussion on the Western and Eastern Fathers on the Trinity.
Ian on the Ruminations By the Lake blog calls our attention to an article by Prof. Michael Haykin on why we should study the fathers. Read the article here!
Matt on the Catching Meddler's blog celebrates the feast day of Athanasius with an amusing story of Athanasius as a child and Athanasius' Creed.
Mark Horne on the Mark Horne blog discusses puritans and the Church Fathers.
Michael Jensen on The Blogging Parson blog condemns the doctrine of the impassability of God; a patristic doctrine if there has ever been one.
spurgeon on The Shepherd's Scrapbook blog features a quote from Michael Haykin on patristic exegesis and follows up with a discussion of a recent Tiber-swimming evangelical and current president of the Evangelical Theological Society, James Beckworth.
bfhu from the Bread From Heaven Unlimited blog features a discussion about clerical confession and the Church Fathers.
Michael Rose on the Papa Ratzi Post calls attention to Pope Benedict's discussions of the Church Fathers since March including a link to an article reviewing these addresses.
Carl Truman on the Reformation21 blog has started a list of resources of where to start in reading the Church Fathers. He continues his discussion in his More on Patristics and Yet more on Patristics posts.
James Siemans on the East To West blog features a chapter out of Laterculus Malianus on the person of Christ.
Rick Brannon on ricoblog quotes St. Ignatius' Letter to the Ephesians and the Shepherd of Hermas.
Meanwhile, on Rick Brannon's other blog, Pastoral Epistles, he continues his series on St. Ignatius and the Pastoral Epistles in parts three, four and five.
Roger Pierce on the Thoughts on Antiquity blog announces a collaborative translation of Eusebius, discusses his attempt to read the Armenian version of Eusebius and again,
Ben Smith also on the Thoughts on Antiquity blog gives us the sixth installment on the canonical lists with his discussion of the Apostolic Constitutions.
Kyle on the Vindicated blog reflects on his reflections on St. Athanasius.
Apocryphal Corner
April DeConick on The Forbidden Gospels blog picks up on Tony Chartrand-Burke's discussion of anti-Apocrypha rhetoric and 'canonism, asks why Gnosticism is a dangerous error, discusses methodology and academic integrity, offers suggestions for further methodological study, discusses the contrast between empathy and sympathy in scholarship, discusses the Kernel Thomas , calls attention to a new article on the Gospel of Judas and continues to reflect on methodology.
Tony Chartrand-Burke on the Apocryphicity blog announces a conference on Christian Apocrypha at Tony's home university, York University, in 2007, let us know about a new section on his home page dealing with tabloid accounts of the Apocrypha and gives an interesting review of Ben Witherington's What Have they Done with Jesus?
Monday, May 07, 2007
Roundup Delayed
I think I'm going to have to delay and combine the roundups of last week and this week, largely because, while Classics Conference is over, I'm still very unwell and need time to recover. Conference was wonderful and the kids had great time. I found it a bit stressful for several reasons not the least of which was because I was quite unwell at the time. So, I need to slow down and regroup.
I expect to have the combined Roundup by Thursday or thereabouts.
Peace,
Phil
I expect to have the combined Roundup by Thursday or thereabouts.
Peace,
Phil
Monday, April 30, 2007
Martin Delayed Again
It's been one of those weeks again and this one looks even worse. So, the next installment of Sulpicius Severus will have to wait. I'm also pretty sure the Roundup is going to be late as well, since this is my busiest week of the year.
Peace,
Phil
Peace,
Phil
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Patristics Roundup- April 19-26, 2007
Welcome back to the roundup! It looks like an average week this week, so some interesting entries. Enjoy!
Patristics
Mike Aqulina on The Way of the Fathers Blog quotes Pope Benedict's words on Augustine, announces advanced sales on his new expanded edition of his book, the Mass of the Early Christians, celebrates the feast of St. Mark with a quote from St. Jerome, alerts us to an article about the condemnation of Origen and quotes Pope Benedict's discussion of Origen.
Will Weedon on Weedon's Blog offers Patristics Quotes of the Day featuring St. Augustine, Augustine again, Augustine yet again,
Ian on the Ruminations by the Lake blog features an essay on Luther the Augustinian and a review of Ivor Davidson's Birth of the Church.
Deep Furrows on the Deep Furrows blog features an anthology of mostly patristic authors on ecclesiology.
Father Z on the What Does the Prayer Really Mean? blog features a discussion of Pope Benedict and St. Augustine's bones.
purifyyourbride on the Purify Your Bride blog features a discussion of the Fathers and evolution.
Father Stephanos on the Me Monk, Me meander blog features a discussion of the Niceno-Constaninopolitan Creed.
Tony Jones on the Theoblogy blog discusses the importance of patristics to an emergent/post-modern approach in which orthodoxy is an event, not a foundational set of propositions.
Carl Olsen on the Insight Scoop blog reports on Pope Benedict's references to Origen in his catchecetical lectures.
The cathedra unitatis blog features a discussion of and links to Orthodox vs 'Western' soteriology with particular reference to the Fathers.
Allen Thornburgh on The Point blog refers us to a quiz about whether we are a heretic (and don't know it.). I'm, happily, Chalcedon compliant. Yeah!
Kevin Edgecomb on biblicalia posts the locations for the relics of various Church Fathers.
Rick Brannon on the Pastoral Epistles blog continues his series on the use of the Pastoral Epistles in the Apostolic Fathers with St. Ignatius (Parts One and Two)
The Apocryphal Corner
The Current Era blog features an interview between Steven Colbert (aka St. Irenaeus?)and Elaine Pagels on the Gospel of Judas. . Doesn't that Gospel just show up in the weirdest places? Hat tip to Mike Aquilina et al.
April DeConick on the Forbidden Gospels blog features an article by Peter Head on the Gospel of Judas, some comments on the Colbert interview with Elaine Pagels, a plea for the release of the photographs of the Gospel of Judas, , discusses the influence of Irenaeus and pseudo-Tertullian on our understanding of the Gospel of Judas and posts a review of Andrew Bernard's book on the manuscripts of other Gospels.
Patristics
Mike Aqulina on The Way of the Fathers Blog quotes Pope Benedict's words on Augustine, announces advanced sales on his new expanded edition of his book, the Mass of the Early Christians, celebrates the feast of St. Mark with a quote from St. Jerome, alerts us to an article about the condemnation of Origen and quotes Pope Benedict's discussion of Origen.
Will Weedon on Weedon's Blog offers Patristics Quotes of the Day featuring St. Augustine, Augustine again, Augustine yet again,
Ian on the Ruminations by the Lake blog features an essay on Luther the Augustinian and a review of Ivor Davidson's Birth of the Church.
Deep Furrows on the Deep Furrows blog features an anthology of mostly patristic authors on ecclesiology.
Father Z on the What Does the Prayer Really Mean? blog features a discussion of Pope Benedict and St. Augustine's bones.
purifyyourbride on the Purify Your Bride blog features a discussion of the Fathers and evolution.
Father Stephanos on the Me Monk, Me meander blog features a discussion of the Niceno-Constaninopolitan Creed.
Tony Jones on the Theoblogy blog discusses the importance of patristics to an emergent/post-modern approach in which orthodoxy is an event, not a foundational set of propositions.
Carl Olsen on the Insight Scoop blog reports on Pope Benedict's references to Origen in his catchecetical lectures.
The cathedra unitatis blog features a discussion of and links to Orthodox vs 'Western' soteriology with particular reference to the Fathers.
Allen Thornburgh on The Point blog refers us to a quiz about whether we are a heretic (and don't know it.). I'm, happily, Chalcedon compliant. Yeah!
Kevin Edgecomb on biblicalia posts the locations for the relics of various Church Fathers.
Rick Brannon on the Pastoral Epistles blog continues his series on the use of the Pastoral Epistles in the Apostolic Fathers with St. Ignatius (Parts One and Two)
The Apocryphal Corner
The Current Era blog features an interview between Steven Colbert (aka St. Irenaeus?)and Elaine Pagels on the Gospel of Judas. . Doesn't that Gospel just show up in the weirdest places? Hat tip to Mike Aquilina et al.
April DeConick on the Forbidden Gospels blog features an article by Peter Head on the Gospel of Judas, some comments on the Colbert interview with Elaine Pagels, a plea for the release of the photographs of the Gospel of Judas, , discusses the influence of Irenaeus and pseudo-Tertullian on our understanding of the Gospel of Judas and posts a review of Andrew Bernard's book on the manuscripts of other Gospels.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Patristics Withdrawl and Future Directions
This last few months have been quite busy on a lot of fronts and the next two look equally busy. What that has meant over the last few weeks has been that I've had less time for reflection and reading than I have in a while. That is fine, of course. Family and gainful employment take precedent over study and always will in my life. As shocking as it sounds, blogging isn't my main priority in life.
Along with this busyness, though, I've been missing the Fathers in my reading. Part of that is the fact that I've spent most of the last few months reading allowance reading N.T. Wright's Jesus and the Victory of God. It is, I note, an exceptionally good academic book and, as an academic book, it is extremely dense and tightly argued. So, working through the 661 pages has been a time-consuming, if rewarding exercise. The result has been that I've not been reading as much Fathers as I'd like. And I find I miss their voices.
That is an odd admission to make, but, in many ways, over the last few years of reading the Fathers, I've become used to their Scripture-immersed, faithful, occasionally strident voices urging their culture (and our as well) to, finally, confess Jesus and to consider what that confession meant. They, in many ways, do a better job doing that than many contemporary theologians (N.T. Wright being something of an exception) in conveying the immediacy of the Christian faith. In our modern academic-based theology, we are rather too polite and afraid of causing offense. A dose of the Fathers is bracing and reminds us of a time when we weren't ashamed of being distinctive in the society around us.
The Fathers aren't for everyone, I know. I find myself drawn to them because I understand something of the Graeco-Roman society with which they were interacting. My background in Classics has helped me with their culturally distinctive mindsets, although I would fight shy of claiming anything close to expertise in the area.
Over the March Break, I was reading Os Guinness' The Call, which focuses on vocation outside of ordained ministry. One of the more memorable things he said was that it is possible to have a vocation and only be able to pursue it as an amateur. That, I think is true here because I feel that I'm pursuing a teaching vocation in the Church through this blog. He also had a sobering comment that, sometimes, being an amateur means admitting that you can't do the 'best' job at the subject you love. I have to admit that I was, first, annoyed at this comment; then, I had to recognize its truth. I am not going to be able to read all the Fathers, all the Reformation theologians (a side interest of mine is the use of the Fathers by the Reformers) and all modern theologians in order to create some kind of patristic-Reformation-post-modern synthesis or some kind of masterwork in Christian historical writing. All I can do is to tend my corner of the patristic garden and do my best to contribute to the patristic revival we've all heard about.
With that in mind, I've been thinking about future directions. I'm thinking that a series on Cyprian wouldn't be the worst idea at this time. I'm thinking especially about the upcoming General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada; a synod which has to reflect on some serious theological and ecclesiological matters in early June. Reflecting on Cyprian may be helpful for me as I think over what it means to be the church and how we should relate to the world. In all likelihood, these reflections will not impact on the church I joined fifteen years ago (although a little dose of Cyprian would do wonders!), but, perhaps, it will help me with seeing the path ahead.
But, next week, we're back with St. Martin!
Peace,
Phil
Along with this busyness, though, I've been missing the Fathers in my reading. Part of that is the fact that I've spent most of the last few months reading allowance reading N.T. Wright's Jesus and the Victory of God. It is, I note, an exceptionally good academic book and, as an academic book, it is extremely dense and tightly argued. So, working through the 661 pages has been a time-consuming, if rewarding exercise. The result has been that I've not been reading as much Fathers as I'd like. And I find I miss their voices.
That is an odd admission to make, but, in many ways, over the last few years of reading the Fathers, I've become used to their Scripture-immersed, faithful, occasionally strident voices urging their culture (and our as well) to, finally, confess Jesus and to consider what that confession meant. They, in many ways, do a better job doing that than many contemporary theologians (N.T. Wright being something of an exception) in conveying the immediacy of the Christian faith. In our modern academic-based theology, we are rather too polite and afraid of causing offense. A dose of the Fathers is bracing and reminds us of a time when we weren't ashamed of being distinctive in the society around us.
The Fathers aren't for everyone, I know. I find myself drawn to them because I understand something of the Graeco-Roman society with which they were interacting. My background in Classics has helped me with their culturally distinctive mindsets, although I would fight shy of claiming anything close to expertise in the area.
Over the March Break, I was reading Os Guinness' The Call, which focuses on vocation outside of ordained ministry. One of the more memorable things he said was that it is possible to have a vocation and only be able to pursue it as an amateur. That, I think is true here because I feel that I'm pursuing a teaching vocation in the Church through this blog. He also had a sobering comment that, sometimes, being an amateur means admitting that you can't do the 'best' job at the subject you love. I have to admit that I was, first, annoyed at this comment; then, I had to recognize its truth. I am not going to be able to read all the Fathers, all the Reformation theologians (a side interest of mine is the use of the Fathers by the Reformers) and all modern theologians in order to create some kind of patristic-Reformation-post-modern synthesis or some kind of masterwork in Christian historical writing. All I can do is to tend my corner of the patristic garden and do my best to contribute to the patristic revival we've all heard about.
With that in mind, I've been thinking about future directions. I'm thinking that a series on Cyprian wouldn't be the worst idea at this time. I'm thinking especially about the upcoming General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada; a synod which has to reflect on some serious theological and ecclesiological matters in early June. Reflecting on Cyprian may be helpful for me as I think over what it means to be the church and how we should relate to the world. In all likelihood, these reflections will not impact on the church I joined fifteen years ago (although a little dose of Cyprian would do wonders!), but, perhaps, it will help me with seeing the path ahead.
But, next week, we're back with St. Martin!
Peace,
Phil
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)