| This volume is intended to provide an introduction to the theological thinking of Saint Maximus the Confessor. I stress ‘thinking’, rather than just ‘thought’, as there is already a host of introductions to his thought. Maximus himself provided such introductions – notably his Centuries on Love and his Centuries on Theology and the Incarnate Dispensation of the Son of God. In these works Maximus presents his thoughts in pithy form as a series of propositions, or at best brief paragraphs. They have been very popular, and both of them are available in two different English translations. More recently others have provided introductions to Maximus’ thought, or aspects of it: most famously and influentially, the great Swiss Catholic theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar (Balthasar 1961, originally published in 1941). There is even an introduction to other people’s thinking about Maximus (Nichols 1993). But what has been lacking so far has been an introduction to Maximus’ thinking: and it is my hope that this book will help fill that gap. If it does, it will do that by providing, for the first time in English (or in many cases for any Western language save Latin and Romanian), translations of some of Maximus’ major theological treatises, drawn especially from his two collections of Ambigua, or Difficulties, in which Maximus does not simply present his conclusions, but displays a theological mind, drawing on Scripture and all that is meant in Orthodox Christianity by Tradition–the Fathers, the Councils, spiritual experience–and bringing this to bear on our understanding of God’s engagement with humankind, an engagement summed up in his assuming humanity itself in the Incarnation and overcoming the brokenness of fallen humankind in his death and resurrection. But the contrast between Maximus in his major treatises and in his condensed summaries is not at all that between ‘theology’ and ‘spirituality’ (despite the fact that the condensed summaries found a place in that great compendium of Orthodox spirituality, the Philokalia of St Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and St Makarios of Corinth), for, as we shall see, even in the densest of his theological treatises, Maximus’ concern for the life of prayer and engagement with God is still uppermost. The purpose of theology is to safeguard against misunderstandings that frustrate a Christian life of prayer. |
| Abstract Although much attention has been recently paid to different aspects of St Maximus’ anthropology, no complete and comprehensive overview of his doctrine of human nature within the hierarchical order of the world existence has been produced so far. In this article an attempt is made to trace main features of the human hierarchical nature incorporated in the creation in general. Man is considered as a binder of the material and spiritual worlds, as a hierarchical center of the created universe. Human dual nature is analyzed in terms of its original plan of God and distortion through the Fall. Christ oriented character of the anthropology of St Maximus is revealed. A very vivid antithesis of the corrupted body of Adam and the holy body of Christ is noted as a special contribution of st Maximus. Special place to the human mind, as the highest part of the soul possessing some unique functions is reviewed. It is discussed that the highest hierarchical priority is allotted by the Confessor to the concept of person or hypostasis in the man. The latter is defined as the highest integrative principle, unifying the human body and soul. The key characteristic of human likeness with God given in the anthropological heritage of rev. Maximus is claimed to be as follows: the key feature of the human conformity to God is the hypostasis-nature unity of the objective reality of a human. Such important features of st Maximus anthropology as Christo-centrism, multi-layerness, dynamics and subordination to the principles of the determined hierarchy as in the inner organization so in the involvement of the human nature in the hierarchy of the cosmic reality are underlined. On its highest level the hierarchical nature of the human includes in itself the uncreated Divine energies. Many scholars who have conducted research on the heritage of St Maximus the Confessor agree that he can be called the “father of Byzantine theology” 1 . He was the first to create principles of an integral system of understanding the world which, due to its unique systematized and integral character, came to be a significant alternative to Origenism. Christology and closely related to it Christian anthropology are the focus of St Maximus’s theological system. It is exactly this close link between Anthropology and Christology that becomes vital in St Maximus’s theology as he sees the Incarnation to be “the heart of the world existence – not only in terms of redemption but also in terms of the creation of the world” 2 . |
| Novelty of the Matter and Human Body Concepts in the Great Church Fathers Скачать epub pdf In this report I would like to highlight the main results of my doctoral thesis research performed at the Department of Theology of Post Graduate and Doctoral Center of Russian Orthodox Church (in the name of Saint Cyril and Methodius, Chair of Theology). It should be noted that investigation of Holy Fathers’ doctrines concerning matter was up until now a neglected area. ‘Theory of matter’ is usually considered to be a part of pure philosophy. Meanwhile directly or indirectly the majority of Christian dogmatic ideas are connected to the issue of matter. One of the main results of this research consists in the arrangement of the perceptions of matter among Holy Fathers and theologians of Alexandrian theological school, the Cappadocian Fathers, St. Cyril of Alexandria and Rev. Maximus the Confessor. Is it has been so far a conviction among Russian theologians and philosophers that Holy Fathers in their teaching of matter either repeatedly kept on affirmation of nonexistence of matter or were simply adjacent to Plato 1 . It’s been demonstrated that Holy Fathers’ view of matter couldn’t be considered as one repeating the ideas of Platonists. At the second half of the 20 th century there has appeared a range of writings of western theologians on issues quite close to ours. 2 Nevertheless, these investigations have narrow focus on works of certain representatives of heathen philosophy and Holy Fathers. Moreover, the doctrine of matter is rarely a logical center of analysis. Therefore the purpose of my research was to carry out the analysis of the concepts of matter as the tangible substance of the material world and the terminology employed to describe the matter and possible changes in it and human’s body in the church’s sacraments and in the Eschatological perspective in the works of ecclesiastical writers of Alexandrian theological tradition. It is well known that in the systems of the Middle Platonists, Philo of Alexandria and the Neo-Platonists a better future for the individual is considered as the abandonment of its earthly body and in the translation to the heavenly spheres for an incorporeal life. Even those Neoplatonist systems opposing a negative ontological status for matter did not suggest any eschatological perspective for it other than its necessary persistence in the universe as the ‘last’ (τν ντων σχατον), 3 ‘worst’ (χερων, Plotinus, Ammonius, Damascene, Olimpiodor, etc.) and ‘always in need’ (νδες, Plotinus, Simplicus) at the edge of being. As a whole, Neoplatonism preserved the tendency descending from Plato of a contemptuous attitude toward matter. 4 |
| Venerable Maximus the Greek Commemorated on January 21/February 3 Saint Maximus the Greek was the son of a rich Greek dignitary in the city of Arta (Epiros), and he received a splendid education. In his youth he travelled widely and he studied languages and sciences (i.e. intellectual disciplines) in Europe, spending time in Paris, Florence, and Venice. Upon returning to his native land, he went to Athos and became a monk at the Vatopedi monastery. And with enthusiasm he studied ancient manuscripts left on Athos by the Byzantine Emperors Andronicus Paleologos and John Kantakuzenos (who became monks). During this period the Moscow Great Prince Basil III (1505-1533) wanted to make an inventory of the Greek manuscripts and books of his mother, Sophia Paleologina, and he asked the Protos of the Holy Mountain, Igumen Simeon, to send him a translator. Saint Maximus was chosen to go to Moscow, for he had been brought up on secular and ecclesiastical books from his youth. Upon his arrival, he was asked to translate patristic and liturgical books into Slavonic, starting with the Annotated Psalter. Saint Maximus tried to fulfill his task, but since Slavonic was not his native language, there were certain imprecisions in the translations. Metropolitan Barlaam of Moscow highly valued the work of Saint Maximus, but when the See of Moscow was occupied by Metropolitan Daniel, the situation changed. The new Metropolitan ordered Saint Maximus to translate the Church History of Theodoritus of Cyrrhus into Slavonic. Saint Maximus absolutely refused this commission, pointing out that “in this history are included letters of the heretic Arius, and this might present danger for the semi-literate.” This refusal caused a rift between Maximus and the Metropolitan. Despite their differences, Saint Maximus continued to labor for the spiritual enlightenment of Rus. He wrote letters against Moslems, Roman Catholics, and pagans. He translated Saint John Chrysostom’s Commentaries on the Gospels of Matthew and John, and he also wrote several works of his own. |
| St Herman the Archbishop of Kazan Commemorated on November 6 Saint Herman, Archbishop of Kazan, lived during the sixteenth century. He was born in the city of Staritsa, and was descended from the old boyar nobility of the Polevi. In his youth Gregory (his baptismal name) was tonsured at the Joseph-Volokolamsk monastery under Igumen Gurias, who later became Archbishop of Kazan (December 5). (St Gurias was head of the monastery from 1542 to 1551). At the monastery St Herman occupied himself with copying books, and he was a close friend of St Maximus the Greek (January 21), who was living there in confinement. In 1551 the brethren of the Staritsa Dormition monastery, seeing his piety, chose him as their archimandrite. Taking up the governance of this monastery with a pastoral zeal, St Herman concerned himself with its internal and external order, for he himself was a model of humility and meekness. He exhorted all to observe their monastic commitment strictly, and he introduced into his monastery the Rule of St Joseph of Volokolamsk (October 18). But after two and a half years Archimandrite Herman left the Staritsa monastery, leaving its direction to the hieromonk Job (June 19), who afterwards was to become the first Patriarch of Moscow, and was an ascetic and sufferer for the Russian Land. St Herman’s love for solitary struggles brought him to return to his original Volokolamsk monastery, where he strove toward salvation as a simple monk. However, when the new heretic Matthew Bashkin (who refused to acknowledge the Holy Mysteries and denied faith in the Holy Trinity) appeared at Moscow, St Herman and his own father (who had received tonsure at the Volokolamsk monastery with the name Philotheus) were summoned to the Moscow Council of 1553. The Council censured the heretic Bashkin and resolved to send him for correction to St Herman at the Volokolamsk monastery, since St Herman was known for his holy life and zeal for the faith in Christ. In 1555, after the taking of Kazan, an archepiscopal See was established there. St Gurias, the former igumen of Volokolamsk monastery, was chosen as archbishop. He was entrusted with building the Dormition monastery in the city of Sviyazhsk for missionary purposes. By decree of St Gurias, St Herman was appointed as head of this new monastery in Sviyazhsk. A stone cathedral was built with a belltower and monastic cells. The igumen of the monastery lived very frugally in a cramped cell beneath the cathedral belltower. St Herman particularly concerned himself with acquiring a library for the monastery. |
| St. Maximus the Confessor Commemorated on January 21/February 3 Photo: http://days.pravoslavie.ru/ Saint Maximus the Confessor was born in Constantinople around 580 and raised in a pious Christian family. He received an excellent education, studying philosophy, grammar, and rhetoric. He was well-read in the authors of antiquity and he also mastered philosophy and theology. When Saint Maximus entered into government service, he became first secretary (asekretis) and chief counselor to the emperor Heraclius (611-641), who was impressed by his knowledge and virtuous life. Saint Maximus soon realized that the emperor and many others had been corrupted by the Monothelite heresy, which was spreading rapidly through the East. He resigned from his duties at court, and went to the Chrysopolis monastery (at Skutari on the opposite shore of the Bosphorus), where he received monastic tonsure. Because of his humility and wisdom, he soon won the love of the brethren and was chosen igumen of the monastery after a few years. Even in this position, he remained a simple monk. In 638, the emperor Heraclius and Patriarch Sergius tried to minimize the importance of differences in belief, and they issued an edict, the “Ekthesis” (“Ekthesis tes pisteos” or “Exposition of Faith), which decreed that everyone must accept the teaching of one will in the two natures of the Savior. In defending Orthodoxy against the “Ekthesis,” Saint Maximus spoke to people in various occupations and positions, and these conversations were successful. Not only the clergy and the bishops, but also the people and the secular officials felt some sort of invisible attraction to him, as we read in his Life. When Saint Maximus saw what turmoil this heresy caused in Constantinople and in the East, he decided to leave his monstery and seek refuge in the West, where Monothelitism had been completely rejected. On the way, he visited the bishops of Africa, strengthening them in Orthodoxy, and encouraging them not to be deceived by the cunning arguments of the heretics. |
| Georgian archbishop says, investigations prove that the relics of St. Maximus the Confessor are in Georgia Tbilisi, October 27, 2015 With the blessing of His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia the Fifth International Theological Conference was held in Tbilisi. This year scientists, researchers, and Church figures from Serbia, Greece, Russia, the UK and Australia took part in the conference which was dedicated to the life and activity of St. Maximus the Confessor (c. 580-c. 662; feast: August 13/26). At the conference the results were announced of the investigations lasting several years that were dedicated to the authenticity of the saint’s relics uncovered in Georgia in 2010. Archbishop Stephan of Tsageri and Lentekhi, Metropolitan Anania of Manglisi and Tetritskaro as well as clergy and scholars were present at the meeting. The excavation pit with the saint’s relics, 2010. The investigation results were read out and it was announced that the relics which had been found in 2010 in Tsageri indeed belonged to St. Maximus the Confessor and are a precious treasure of the Georgian Church. “There has always been a Church tradition in Georgia that the relics of St. Maximus the Confessor rest in the St. Maximus Monastery at the base of the Muri fortress near Tsageri, under the altar of the now restored little church,” related Archbishop Stephan in as early as 2012. “When I was a student I already knew that this saint was buried somewhere near Tsageri. With time I started familiarizing myself with this question, with the sources, theological research, the archaeological excavation results of 1914. Undoubtedly, I used the works by Prof. Korneli Kekelidze (a prominent Georgian scholar: 1879-1962), Alexander Brilliantov (a famous Russian Orthodox theologian: 1867-1933), Prof. Sergei Epifanovich (a patrologist and researcher of St. Maximus the Confessor’s life: 1886-1918) as well as several others. The expedition of 1914 carried out archaeological excavations not inside the church, but only around it. According to the expedition’s results, the church was old and there had been a monastery there, but no evidence directly connected with St. Maximus was found. Then the First World War began followed by the Revolution, so the works were halted.” |
| The Church’s Unity According to Saint Maximus the Confessor Source: Metropolitan Paul Yazigi's site Metropolitan Paul (Yazigi) 11 February 2016 Metropolitan Paul (Rami) Yazigi In both writings referred to, St Maximus does not literally mention the church’s unity between Christians. Nevertheless, he was one of the champions defending the truth on behalf of the one catholic (καθολικ) church and its unity. As we are gathered in a Christian meeting, I would like to mention, shortly but clearly, St Maximus’ idea about unity. The world cannot be real and united unless in God. If unity between scattered parts means that they come to union with God in order to unite between themselves, then unity between Christians is achieved in ‘Orthodoxy’, understood here as truthfulness of faith rather than having any congregational connotation. The ‘catholicity’ of the church can not be accomplished without ‘orthodoxy’: the church is one and unique, and is catholic meaning that she bears the fullness and plenitude of truth, without any lack in the truthfulness of faith. It is well known that St Maximus, when he was informed of the new confession of faith (ομολογα) that all the bishops had signed (τμος) thereby accepting false statements, responded boldly: “I am the catholic apostolic church”. For the church is Christ and cannot be determined by quantity. The power of the church is Truth and not some worldly criteria varying between different confessions and communities. Truth in the Orthodox tradition is not ideology, but the way of life. Orthodoxy is the Way, the Truth and Life in its fullness in spirit with God. St Maximus’ position is not far from the example that St Dorotheos provides: men are like points of a circle. Whenever these points go far away from the center, they are more separate between themselves, but whenever each point draws closer to the center of the circle, it gets closer to the other points. Communion with God is the ground on which people gather. Unity in Christ brings out our unity. The Church’s unity is neither a confederation where each member conserves what he has, nor a Christian ‘cooperative’. |
| The Incredible Story of a Missionary Baptized Roman Catholic, later becoming an Episcopal priest and missionary, and three years ago having been received with his family into the Holy Orthodox Church, he is a zealous Orthodox missionary and evangelist currently preparing for ordination to priesthood at Saint Tikhon’s Seminary, South Canaan, Pennsylvania. MAXIMUS REGIS URBANOWICZ – The Incredible Story of a renowned Orthodox missionary… Baptized Roman Catholic, later becoming an Episcopal priest and missionary, and three years ago having been received with his family into the Holy Orthodox Church, he is a zealous Orthodox missionary and evangelist currently preparing for ordination to priesthood at Saint Tikhon’s Seminary, South Canaan, Pennsylvania. Maximus has been involved in various church ministries including Foundation Park –a ministry for the poor, Strike force –strength ministry for teens, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes . He served three years as head counselor at Mid-Atlantic Teen Challenge , a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program for teenagers. In addition, as part of his Masters degree at Regent University, he spent three dynamic summers ministering in Germany, the United Kingdom and Africa in connection with the evangelistic ministry of Christ for all Nations. After graduation in 1990, Maximus was invited to join the ministry of “Christ for all Nations,” (CfaN) as an associate evangelist. He moved to Kenya, East Africa, and eventually lived, traveled and ministered in nineteen African nations and eventually led evangelization efforts in various parts of the world including India, Philippines, Russia, and Madagascar. In 1997, Maximus became part of the “Minus to Plus” evangelistic project in North America – a ministry of CfaN dedicated to placing an evangelistic booklet about the cross of Christ into every home in North America. He became Executive Director of the multi–million dollar project as well as Executive Director of the U.S. branch of the Christ for all Nations ministry, placing 10 million booklets into homes across North America, meeting and working with the top evangelical church leaders across North America. |
| Relics of St. Nicholas of Japan placed in St. Tikhon’s Monastery, St. Sergius Chapel Source: OCA With the blessing of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, Archimandrite Sergius, Abbot of Saint Tikhon’s Monastery, South Canaan, PA and Hierodeacon Maximus visited the Orthodox Church in Japan in July 2016. An early 20th century Japanese icon of St. Nicholas. During their visit, Archimandrite Sergius was given relics of Saint Nicholas of Japan , which have been placed in the Monastery Church of Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk and Saint Sergius of Radonezh Chapel at the Orthodox Church in America Chancery, Syosset, NY. “Saint Nicholas was a great Apostle to Japan and tireless laborer working for the people of Japan and for the Lord,” said Archimandrite Sergius. The first Orthodox missionary to and Bishop of Japan, Saint Nicholas spent several years mastering the Japanese language, after which he translated the Old and New Testaments and numerous liturgical and related works. By the time of his repose in 1912, he had brought some 33,000 individuals into the Orthodox Faith, had trained and ordained a number of indigenous Japanese clergy, and had established parishes across the country. He also built Tokyo’s impressive stone Holy Resurrection Cathedral , popularly known as “Nikolai-Do,” or “Nicholas’ House,” which remains one of the city’s most prominent architectural sites. In a letter to His Eminence, Metropolitan Daniel of Toyko and All Japan, dated September 12, 2016, Metropolitan Tikhon his gratitude and that of the OCA for the relics. Divine Liturgy at Tokyo’s “Nikolai-Do”—from left, Deacon Iliya Toru, Archimandrite Sergius, Metropolitan Daniel, and Hierodeacon Maximus. “I would like to thank you for the gift of the relics of Saint Nicholas of Japan,” Metropolitan Tikhon wrote. “Having the relics of Saint Nicholas will not only be a joy, comfort and strength to our people who will venerate them, but the presence of these holy relics of Saint Nicholas will serve as a bridge and a reminder of the brotherhood that exists between the Orthodox Church in America and the Orthodox Church in Japan.” |
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