
Cover -- Human Perfection In Byzantine Theology: Attaining The Fullness Of Christ -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- Chapter 1: Human Perfection In Orthodox Theological Anthropology: Retrieving The Christological Imperative -- 1. Method -- A Defence Of 'neo-patristic Synthesis' -- Approaching Theological Anthropology: Christ As Cornerstone -- 2. The Roots And Contours Of Modern Orthodox Theological Anthropology -- Orthodox Theology Of The Person/hypostasis -- Personalism And Orthodox Theology -- Forging The Rudiments Of An Orthodox Theological Personalism John Zizioulas And The Debate Over Hypostasis -- Deification As A Christocentric Doctrine -- The God-man Versus Godmanhood: Delineating Orthodox Approaches To Deification -- Chapter 2: Perpetual Progress Or Eternal Rest?: Contemplating The Eschaton In St Maximus The Confessor -- 1. Perpetual Progress And Its Discontents -- Epektasis As Normative -- Problems With Epektasis -- Perpetual Progress In Early Byzantine Theology: The Evidence -- 2. The Eschatology Of Maximus The Confessor -- Some Preliminaries -- Christocentric Deification And The Suspicion Of Change -- The Blessed Sabbath Born(e) Into The Age To Come -- From Ever-moving Rest To Undivided Union -- Inheritors Of His Holy Name -- The Stature Of The Fullness In The Mystery Of Love -- Chapter 3: Perfection Before Our Eyes: St Theodore The Studite On The Humanity Of Christ -- Theodore The Studite -- 1. The One Human Nature Of Christ, Of Mary, And Of Us -- Introduction -- Christ's Human Nature -- The Humanity Of Mary -- 2. From The Humanity Of Christ To The Humanity Of The Saints -- Our Corrupted Nature Raised Above The Heavens -- The Healing Of My Nature -- The Earthiness Of The Holy: Seeing Perfection In The Coenobium Chapter 4: I Am Called By Two Names, Human And Divine: Dogma And Deification In St Symeon The New Theologian -- Symeon The New Theologian -- 1. Mediocrity Routed -- The Threat Of A Mediocre Ideal -- Mediocrit
This work investigates the concept of human perfection within Byzantine theological anthropology, specifically focusing on how the Christological imperative shapes the understanding of deification. Alexis Torrance, a scholar of patristic and Byzantine theology, utilizes primary source analysis of key figures such as St. Maximus the Confessor, St. Theodore the Studite, and St. Symeon the New Theologian to construct a coherent framework of Orthodox personalism. The text argues that perfection is not a static state but a dynamic, Christ-centered process of union with the divine.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Scholars and theologians recognize this text as a rigorous contribution to the study of Byzantine anthropology and the development of Orthodox personalism. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which requires a foundational understanding of patristic terminology to fully grasp the arguments presented.
Page Count:
256
Publication Date:
2020-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press,
ISBN-10:
0192583980
ISBN-13:
9780192583987
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