| Not everyone can be a “Christian philosopher,” not everyone may “philosophize about God.” “The subject is not so cheap or low,” declared St Gregory the Theologian. “Let me add, not always, nor to all, but only sometimes, with some, among a few. Only those who have been examined and made strides in theoria, and before this have been purified, or, at the very least are being purified in body and soul” (Ora. XXVII, i, 2 PG 36 13CD). If a Christian wishes, nevertheless, to “philosophize,” let him “philosophize about the world and worlds, concerning matter, souls, rational natures, what is better and what is worse, the resurrection, judgment, about reward, and the passions of Christ.” He will do well to “attack the Platonic Ideas, and the transmigrations and courses of our souls, and reminiscences, the unlovely loves of the soul for lovely bodies... For in these subjects to miss the mark is not useless, and to miss it not dangerous” (Theol. Ora. I, 10 PG 36 24B–25A). Evidently, the Christian philosopher may operate on two levels – the level of transcendence, theologically, “philosophizing about God,” that is, revealed wisdom, revealed by His Energies if not by His Person; and, at the level of the divine economy, which invites regenerate reason, dianoia, to examine and discourse upon various subjects, such as the Platonic Ideas, metempsychosis, anamnesis, etc. These are of interest the Christian philosopher largely in his refutation of error and his defense of the divine truth. To those Fathers who won their fame as teachers of Christian theology (i.e., discourse on God in Himself, triadology), the Church has often given the title “theologian,” while those who have treated topics dealing with the benefits of Providence and the divine Economy were often called “philosophers.” The difference between the “theologian” and the “philosopher” is not always clear, for “the knowledge of God,” theognosis, is dependent upon the divine Action, which takes more than one form. Curious to some is the fact that, although St Gregory the Theologian referred to St Basil the Great as the “model of the Christian philosopher,” he did not gain the cognomen, “philosopher,” as did St Justin Martyr, St Heron of Alexandria (about whom St Gregory the Theologian wrote a eulogy), St Leontius of the St Sabbas Monastery in Jerusalem, or St Constantine (Cyril) who, together with his brother, St Methodius, was “the Apostle to the Slavs.” Remarkable, too, is the fact that St Gregory of Nyssa himself was never called “the Philosopher,” as proficient as he was in both secular and sacred thought. Yet, it cannot be said that Sts Justin, Heron, Leontius and Constantine were well known for their treatises on theology; and, perhaps, they were styled “philosopher” because they were trained in secular wisdom, or even because they put their “philosophical learning” so well to the service of Christianity. St Gregory of Nyssa was, in fact, both a “philosopher” and a “theologian” but won no titles. |
| The Council of Constantinople (Synod in Trullo, 691) represented the entire Orthodox Church of the Eastern Roman Empire in the late 7th century. In its second conciliar canon the council listed the following canons as mandatory for the whole Orthodox Church: the Canons of the Apostles; the Canons of the Ecumenical Councils (Nicea (325), Constantinople (381), Ephesus (431), Chalcedon (451)); the Canons of significant local councils (Ancyra (314), Neo-Caesarea (ca. 314), Gangra (ca. 340), Antioch (ca. 330), Laodicea (between 342 and 381), Sardica (343), Carthage (419), Constantinople (394)); MajorCanons of the HolyFathers(St. Cyprian of Carthage (d. 258), St. Dionysius of Alexandria (d. 265), St. Gregory of Neo- Caesarea (d. 270), St. Peter of Alexandria (d. 311), St. Athanasius of Alexandria (d. 373), St. Basil of Caesarea (d. 379), St. Gregory of Nazianzen (d. ca. 390), St. Gregory of Nyssa (d. ca. 394), St. Amphilochios of Ikonion (d. after 394), Timothy of Alexandria (d. 385), Theophilos of Alexandria (d. 412), St. Cyril of Alexandria (d. 444), and Gennadios of Constantinople (d. 471)). The collection known as the Corpus of Synagoge in 50 Titles was rearranged in Constantinople around 580 and thereafter received the title Syntagma in 14 Titles, since it was structurally composed in 14 chapters. Another important civil collection known today as the Collectio Tripartita was probably appended to it. In the early 7th century canons from the Syntagma in 14 Titles and civil material (mostly the Tripartita materials) were incorporated into the collection known as the Nomokanon in 14 Titles. The content of this edition in turn became the basis of that of Canon 2 of the Synod in Trullo. In 883 under St. Patriarch Photios the canons encompassed by this collection were expanded with material drawn from the Council of Trullo, together with the edicts of the Seventh Ecumenical Council (787), and also of the 861 and 879 Synods of Constantinople, and along with the Epistle of St. Tarasios (d. 806). This 883 corpus later came to be, by general consensus, accepted as the core canonical corpus of the Orthodox Church. |
| As the years went by, the Orthodox Christian Faith continued to spread among the people of Gaul. Then, at the end of the 6th century, this process of national conversion received a new impetus from an unexpected source — the monastics and saints of Ireland. 4. The Irish missionaties to the continent Perhaps the best known exemplar of the Irish monastic missionaries was St. Columbanus of Luxeuil, who initiated these “migrations” to the European continent. St. Columbanus and his disciples began their journeys in 590, traveling through Brittany into the heart of Frankish Gaul. By the time St. Columbanus arrived, the political and social conditions in Gaul were altogether deplorable. St. Columbanus and his disciples engaged in some itinerant preaching before approaching the aforementioned St. Guntrumnas, King of Burgundy, and receiving permission to establish a monastery. St. Columbanus chose a location far from the court, in the foothills of the Vosges mountains, at a place called Annegray. Shortly afterward two more foundations arose — those of Luxeuil and Fontaines. St. Columbanus was abbot of all three. For about ten years all went well; the region was deeply and permanently affected by the monasteries and almost all the inhabitants therein were baptized. Then he ran afoul of Queen Brunhilda and was exiled from Burgundy. Though cast out of Burgundy, St. Columbanus was welcomed by other Frankish kings, who were also becoming increasingly alienated from Burgundy. Eventually St. Columbanus and his monks settled at Bregenz, at the eastern end of Lake Constance, in what is now Switzerland. Leaving one of his close disciples there, Columbanus was inspired to preach to the Lombards and crossed the Alps into Italy, eventually settling at Bobbio near the river Po, where he reposed in 615. Other missionary monastics from Ireland included Sts. Killian, Colman and Totnan of Wurzburg in Germany, St. Gall of Switzerland, St. Ursus of Aosto in Italy, and St. Foillan of the Brabant. Throughout Europe the Irish monks established guest houses for pilgrims and travelers in addition to their monastic hermitages, and wherever they went they brought with them — and continued to produce — works of great beauty. Western Europe had suffered a vast loss of learning from the violence of the preceding centuries. The Irish who came to the Continent carried in their satchels copies of ancient texts, some of which only Irish eyes had seen for centuries. Thus, these monks returned to Europe the lost treasures of classical learning, patristic thought, biblical commentary, and poetry by befriending the barbarian Germanic peoples and then converting them by their love and example. |
| 288-289. Further reading on Athenagoras: The Oxford Dictionary of the Church. Edited by F. L. Cross, Oxford, 1985, p. 102-103. Archimandrite Kiprian (Kern), Athenagorus. Anthropology of St. Gregory Palamas. Moscow, Palomnik, 1996; p. 94. Homer speaks of death and sleep as twin brothers in connection with the heroic death of the Lycian king Sarpedon, who was killed in combat with Patroclus, the closest friend of Achilles, the main hero of the Trojan war.//Homer, The Iliad (Ode XVI, 672), Translation into Russian by N. Gnedich, Iliad – Odyssey, Moscow; Khudozhestvennaya Literatura, 1967; p. 283). Professor N.I. Sagarda and professor A.I. Sagarda. Full collection of lectures on Patristics. St. Petersburg: Voskresenie, 2004; p. 417. Further reading on Irenaeus of Lyons: Orthodox Theological Encyclopaedia edited by A.P. Lopukhin. Volume 5, Petrograd 1904; p. 1017-1021.//S. A. Fedchenkov St. Irenaeus of Lyons: His Life and Literary Works, St. Petersburg: published by Oleg Obyshko, 2008; p. 522-563. St. Irenaeus of Lyons: Works: Five books of denunciation and refutation of false knowledge. Book 3 (XXIII, 6). Moscow, Palomnik, 1996; p. 310. Clement of Alexandria, Stromata , Book 2, 19 (98), St. Petersburg, Published by Oleg Abyshko, 2003; p. 312.//Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Greeks [ Protrepticus ]. Chapter 10 (CI). St. Petersburg: Published by Oleg Abyshko, 2009; p. 126.//Further reading on Clement of Alexandria: Drczkowski Franciszek, Klemens Aleksandryjski. Encyklopedia Katolicka , Lublin, 2002. p. 98-102. Further reading on Tertullian: Tertullian. Apologeticum, herausgegeben von Carl Becker, Koesel-Verlag, Muenchen, 1961, p. 14-18. Tertullian, On the Soul, Chapter LII (2), St. Petersburg, Published by Oleg Abyshko, 2008; p. 127. Further reading on St. Hippolytus: : Roy N., Hippolytus of Rome, St., New Catholic Encyclopedia, v. 6. Thomson, 2003. P. 859. See Metropolitan Macarius (Oksiyuk), Eschatology of St. Hippolytus of Rome.//Eschatology of St. Gregory of Nyssa, Moscow, Palomnik, 1999; p. |
| Prof. Fedotov liked to speak of the kenotic ideal of Russian monasticism, which was of course incarnated by St. Sergius as well as many other Russian saints . This also recalls the way St. Theodosius used to administrate the Kiev Caves Lavra. The miracle of the loaves of bread which were sent by the Divine Providence through an unknown benefactor after the prayer of Sergius when his brethren were starving reminds us of a similar episode in the Vita of St. Theodosius in the Kiev Caves Paterikon while teaching us about Christian patience and hope . We can see many other similar episodes speaking of simplicity, openness, humility and charity between the lives of St. Sergius and St. Theodosius, the founder of Russian coenobitism, modelled after the Studion of Constantinople. As Prof. Fedotov has pointed out, “the model of Theodosius is manifestly reflected in him (Sergius), only more refined and spiritualized” . We read also in the Vita that St. Sergius was blessed by the Patriarch Philotheos (Kokkinos) of Constantinople who had heard about him and sent him a letter asking him to follow the coenobite rule in his monastery . To encourage him in his further ascetic labours, Patriarch Philotheos had also sent him a cross and many other gifts. The Vita of St. Sergius does not credit him with scholarship. He is not presented as a writer. The Vita even recalls the miraculous gift of learning which he received in his childhood through eating a piece of prosphora presented to him by an elder . Nevertheless, St. Sergius popularised among his disciples the great Byzantine Hesychast legacy, inheriting the best monastic traditions of Mount Athos and Sinai through the teachings of St. Gregory Palamas and St. Gregory of Sinai. Among his disciples, the future hegumenos Athanasios of the Vysotsky Monastery, spent twenty years in Constantinople to study and copy manuscripts. His other disciple and hagiographer, Epiphanios the Wise with Pachomios Lagothet undertook a considerable hagiographic edition. Soon, the library of Holy Trinity Lavra contained translations of St. Gregory of Sinai dating to the XIV-XV centuries as well as translations of the works of St. Symeon the New Theologian — both great classics of Byzantine Hesychast literature . Thus, Sergius had rooted the spiritual life of his disciples in the great heritage of Byzantine Hesychasm. |
| §3. Biographies and Authorities for the Life of St. Ambrose. (a.) Ancient. Many of his own writings.–Life of St. Ambrose by Paulinus, 6 a deacon of the Church of Milan.–St. Augustine, Confessions, V. 23, 24; VI. 1–6; IX. 13–16; and many other passages in his writings.–St. Jerome, De Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis, c. 134.–Rufinus, Ecclesiastical History, XI, 11, 15, 16, 18.–Socrates, Eccl. History, IV. 30; V. 11.–Sozomen, Eccl. History, VI. 24; VII. 13, 25. (b.) Modern. Baronius, Annals, a.d. 397, n. 25–35; Life of St. Ambrose in the prolegomena to the Roman Edition of his works.–The Life of St. Ambrose gathered from his own writings, in the Benedictine Edition (excellent).–Hermant, Vie de St. Ambroise, Paris, 1678.–Tillemont, Mémoires, etc., Tome X. St. Ambroise [pp. 78–386], and notes, pp. 729–770.–Ceillier, Histoire générale des Auteurs sacrés, Tome V. pp. 328 ff. Ed. 2, Paris, 1860.–Dupin, Tome ii. pp. 438–515. [This writer says that the text of St. Ambrose is more corrupt than that of any other Father. See Alzog, Patrologie, p. 296. Ed. i.]–Cave, Hist. Lit. Vol. I. 262.–Schœneman, Biblíotheca historica PP. Lat. I. 388–419.–Silbert, Leben des heiligen Ambrosius, Vienna, 1841–Baunard, Histoire de St. Ambroise, Paris, 1872 [translated into German, Freiburg, 1873].–Life of St. Ambrose, by Archdeacon Thornton, London, and other shorter sketches.–Fessler [Jungmann], Institutiones Patrologiæ, I. 655 [also Patrologies of Mœhler, Alzog, etc.]. Articles in the Freiburg Kirchen-Lexikon, the Dictionary of Christian Biography, and other encyclopædias. II. Notes on Secular and Church History During the Latter Part of the Fourth Century. After the Council of Nicæa, a.d. 325, the faith of the Catholic Church was established, but a considerable time was to elapse, and the tide of heterodoxy was to ebb and flow many times before peace should finally ensue. The “conversion” of the Emperor Constantine, though not followed, till he was dying, by baptism, led not merely to the toleration but to the protection and, as it were, the “establishment” of the Christian religion. This very naturally was followed by a large influx of worldliness into the Church, and bishops began to be time-servers and courtiers. St. Ambrose, however, was not of this number, but whether in defence of the Catholic faith, of the property of the Church, or, as in his legations to Maximus, for the protection of those in peril or anxiety who sought his aid, he braved every danger, even that of death itself. |
| In the company of a multitude of people, they bore the relics with fitting honor to the great Church of the Life-creating Trinity, and there, in the narthex, positioned the reliquary, in the year of our Lord 1659, on the twenty-ninth day of August. Then did a vast multitude of people afflicted with diverse ailments receive healing, for St. Job was in this life adorned with every virtue; and thus, after death, ceased not to do good unto them that approached him with faith” (cf. The Service of the Venerable Job and His Life, Jordanville, NY). After the unification of Muscovite and Kievan Russia, Russiá " s saints should then have been referred to as “saints of all Russia” – both those of Northern and Western Russia. This was in fact the practice, though it was not until 1762 that a decree was published by the Holy Synod permitting the insertion of the names of Kievan saints into the general monthly listings at Moscow, and allowing their services to be printed in the Menaion. This decree was repeated twice thereafter. In the Synodal period, the following saints were glorified for the veneration of the whole Church (they are presented in chronological order, according to the dates of their glorifications): St. Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov; St. Innocent, first Bishop of Irkutsk; St. Metrophanes, first Bishop of Voronezh; St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, Bishop of Voronezh; St. Theodosius, Archbishop of Chernigov; St. Seraphim of Sarov; St. Joasaph, Bishop of Belgorod; St. Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow; St. Pitirim, Bishop of Tambov; St. John, Metropolitan of Tobolsk; St. Joseph, Bishop of Astrakhan. There were also local glorifications of saints during the Synodal period. But even for this era there are no accurate lists or reliable facts concerning the circumstances and dates of their glorification, as the decisions for local canonization were made without formal proclamation in the general record of the Holy Synod " " s decrees, for until the appearance of the official publications of the Synod – The Church Register and the Diocesan Registers – these were not published at all. |
| Accept The site uses cookies to help show you the most up-to-date information. By continuing to use the site, you consent to the use of your Metadata and cookies. Cookie policy Delegation of Abbots and Monks from Egyptian Monasteries Comes to Russia On 23rd August 2021, at the invitation of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus Kirill, a delegation of abbots and monks of monasteries of the Coptic Church arrived in Moscow intending to go on pilgrimage to the Orthodox monastic houses of Russia. The present visit is coming at a time of growing dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church within the framework of the relevant commission for inter-church dialogue and is part of a programme of mutual visits realized in recent years by representatives of Russian and Coptic monasticism. The delegation consisted of: His Grace Bishop Bigol, Abbot of the Elmeharic Monastery in Asyut – head of the delegation; His Grace Bishop Sawerous, Abbot of the St. Tomas & St. Baktor Monastery in El Khataba; His Grace Bishop Metawas, Abbot of the St. Virgin Mary Mountain Monastery in Akhmim; His Grace Bishop Aghabios, Regent of the St. Bishoy the Great Monastery in Wadi El Natrun; His Grace Bishop Mekhail, General Vicar in Cairo; Rev. Hieromonk Kyrillos Anba Bishoy, Secretary to His Holiness Pope and Patriarch Tawadros II (St. Bishoy Monastery in Wadi El Natrun); Rev. Hieromonk Tawadros Elmoharraqy, Elmeharic Monastery in Asyut; Rev. Hieromonk Dawoud El Antony, Representative of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the Russian Federation; Monk Macarius El Thomasy, St. Tomas & St. Baktor Monastery in El Khataba; Monk Youssef El Akhmimy, St. Virgen Mary Mountain Monastery in Akhmim; Monk Botros El Makary, St. Macarius the Great Monastery in Wadi El Natrun; Monk Zeus El Makary, St. Macarius the Great Monastery in Wadi El Natrun; Monk Mercurius El Makary, St. Macarius the Great Monastery in Wadi El Natrun; Monk Markos El Makari, monk of St Macarius the Great Monastery; Dr. Anton Milad, Special Representative of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate. |
| Naturally, because they always act more legally» 151 Despite these ongoing tensions, Toth continued to act as an apologist for the Orthodox Church among his fellow Carpatho-Rusyn immigrants. Although Toth endured these tensions, every single other Eastern Catholic priest who had joined Toth, including his own brother, Victor, later returned to the Eastern Catholic Church. Likely, their reasons included tiring of the lay-dominated parishes, the related issue of poor clergy compensation, and tensions with the Russian Orthodox clergy. For Alexander Dzubay, the tensions with the Russian Orthodox clergy certainly proved to be too much. Dzubay attended the clergy meeting on October 29, 1890, which Toth chaired, and later followed Toth into the Orthodox Church. Alexander Dzubay would even be consecrated the bishop of Pittsburgh in 1916, but in 1923, he returned to the Catholic Church with the expectation of being made a bishop to serve Carpatho-Rusyn Eastern Catholics. His expectations remained unfulfilled and he died defrocked in a monastery rest home in 1933. 152 In the case of Victor Toth, he left because he refused to change his alcoholic ways. Alexis Toth, who occasionally provided statements that demonstrate an aversion to hard liquor and heavy drinking, drew a hard line with his brother. On the one hand, Alexis Toth reacted negatively to the embarrassing write-up his brother received in the Amerikanski Pravoslavny Viestnik, which described Victor Toth " s necessary removal from priestly service. Why does the entire world have to know, that he is a drunk, it is sorrowful to admit, that we have people like him?... Meanwhile we have had even worse matters happen... their " sicknesses» were also not described as tragically as my brother " s was!... Fr. Hotovitsky [the editor] is a nice young man, but he does not have experience – not for a cent! 153 On the other hand, Alexis Toth refused to provide communion to his censured brother (apparently because Victor continued living a reprobate life even after being removed from ministry). |
| Philoponus. Against Proclus’s «On the eternity of the world»/M. Share (transl.). N.-Y.: Cornell University Press, 2005. Photius. Bibliotheca//R. Henry. Photius. Bibliothèque. 8 vols. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1: 1959; 2: 1960; 3: 1962; 4: 1965; 5: 1967; 6: 1971; 7: 1974; 8: 1977: 1:1–191; 2: 8–203; 3: 8–227; 4: 8–174; 5: 8–201; 6: 8–194; 7: 8–228; 8: 8–214 (TLG). Photius. Homiliae//B. Laourdas. λληνικ 12 Παρρτημα. Thessalonica, 1966: 1–186 (TLG). Plato. Cratylus//J. Burnet. Platonis opera. Vol. 1. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1900 (repr.: 1967): St I. 383a–440e (TLG). Plato. Gorgias//J. Burnet. Platonis opera. Vol. 3. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903 (repr.: 1968): St I. 447a–527e (TLG). Plato. Leges//J. Burnet. Platonis opera. Vol. 5. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907 (repr.: 1967): St II. 624a 969d (TLG). Plato. Phaedo//J. Burnet. Platonis opera. Vol. 1: St I. 57a 118a (TLG). Plato. Phaedrus//J. Burnet. Platonis opera. Vol. 2. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1901 (repr. 1967): St III. 227a 279c (TLG). Plato. Philebus//Ibid.: St II. 11a 67b (TLG). Plato. Politicus//J. Burnet. Platonis opera. Vol. 1: St II. 257a 311c (TLG). Plato. Sophista//Ibid.: St I. 216a 268d (TLG). Plato. Symposium//J. Burnet. Platonis opera. Vol. 2: St III. 172a 223d (TLG). Plato. Timaeus//J. Burnet. Platonis opera. Vol. 4. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1902 (repr.: 1968): St III. 17a 92c (TLG). Plato. Theaetetus//J. Burnet. Platonis opera. Vol. 1: St I. 142a 210d (TLG). Plotinus. Enneades//P. Henry, H.-R. Schwyzer. Plotini opera. 3 vols. [Museum Lessianum. Series philosophica 33–35. Leiden: Brill, 1: 1951; 2: 1959; 3: 1973]: 1: 48–142, 145–253, 255–417; 2: 3–258, 260–427; 3: 2–328 (TLG). Plutarchus. De animae procreatione in Timaeo//C. Hubert. Plutarchi moralia. Vol. 6. 1. Leipzig: Teubner, 1954 (repr.: 1959): 143–188 (TLG). Plutarchus. De E apud Delphos//W. Sieveking. Plutarchi moralia. Vol. 3. Leipzig: Teubner, 1929 (repr.: 1972): 1–24 (TLG). Plutarchus. De fato [Sp.]//W. Sieveking. Plutarchi moralia. Vol. 3. Leipzig: Teubner, 1929 (repr.: 1972): 445–460 (TLG). |
|
|
