Предисловие Экклезиология Протоиерей Джон Бэр Мать и Невеста: экклезиология, христология и антроп... more Предисловие Экклезиология Протоиерей Джон Бэр Мать и Невеста: экклезиология, христология и антропология Д. М. Гзгзян Единство Церкви и вероучительный авторитет в книге протоиерея Сергия Булгакова «У стен Херсониса» А. Майнарди «Служение единству»: как правильно поставить вопрос о первенстве на универсальном уровне Ю. А. Штонда Образ христианского единства в богословской мысли Дитриха Бонхёффера Б. Я. Гроен Освящение мира-символ единства церкви? Basilius J. Groen Consecration of Chrism: Symbol of Ecclesial Unity? М. А. Наумова Происхождение и назначение церковных канонов в сочинениях Н. П. Аксакова Публикация источников По вопросу о юрисдикции Московской Патриархии (неутвержденный проект указа 1950 года). Подготовка текста к публикации, вступительная статья и комментарии А. А. Кострюкова Обзоры, рецензии, поздравления А. Б. Сомов Рецензия на книгу: Berg mann Claudia D. Festmahl ohne Ende: Apokalyptische Vorstellungen vom Speisen in der Kommenden Welt im antiken Judentum und ihre biblischen Wurzeln. Stuttgart : W. Kohlhammer, 2019. 310 S. (Beiträge zu Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament; Bd. 222) А. Б. Мазуров Рецензия на книгу: Сукина Л. Б. Поздняя осень русского Средневековья. Очерки культурной истории Московского государства (XVI-XVII вв.). Москва; Санкт-Петербург : Центр гуманитарных инициатив, 2021. 359 с. (Сиринъ. Голоса древнерусской цивилизации) И. Ю. Скоробогатова, Ю. А. Штонда Обзор конференции «Свидетель веры: памяти протопресвитера Александра Шмемана» (Москва, 11-13 декабря 2021 года) Я. Р. Пантуева Обзор конференции «Протоиерей Сергий Булгаков: Красота-София-Церковь» (Москва, 27 января 2022 года) Поздравление с защитой кандидатских диссертаций некролог Table of Contents
Chapter One explores the figure of John and his Gospel from historical testimony given in the sec... more Chapter One explores the figure of John and his Gospel from historical testimony given in the second and third century CE and as treated in contemporary scholarship. The John who wrote the Gospel, the chapter argues, was not the son of Zebedee, one of the twelve apostles, but the disciple of the Lord, the Elder who resided in Ephesus. The first part of this chapter also examines, on the basis of the historical evidence, the occasion for the writing of the Gospel, and argues for the unity of the Johannine corpus (including the Apocalypse). The second part of the chapter turns to the description given by Polycrates of Ephesus that John wore the ‘petalon’ in Jerusalem, that is, that he was the high priest of the temple, which, this chapter argues, refers to the fact that, in the Gospel of John, he alone amongst the disciples stood at the foot of the cross as the body of Jesus was lifted up upon the cross as the true Temple. It was, moreover, as this chapter shows, only the followers of...
Chapter Four demonstrates how Christ’s word from the Cross, ‘It is Finished’, refers back to the ... more Chapter Four demonstrates how Christ’s word from the Cross, ‘It is Finished’, refers back to the opening verses of Genesis, where, unlike every other aspect of creation, which is brought into existence by an imperative, a divine fiat—‘Let it be!’—the particular project of God is given in the subjunctive, ‘Let us make a human being’: a project only completed when Christ lays down his own life in an act of love, unwitting confirmed by Pilate, ‘behold the human being!’. The first part of the chapter shows how this theme is developed by John over the course of the Gospel, most notably in the ‘woman’ who appears in Cana and at the Cross, and in John 16, where she is in travail until a human being is born into the world. This theme is also traced in the Apocalypse, and in writers following on from John: Ignatius of Antioch writing on his way to martyrdom, Melito of Sardis in his Paschal celebration, and Irenaeus of Lyons as a fundamental feature of his account of the whole economy of God ...
The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Biblical Interpretation, 2019
This chapter examines the role of the cross in early Christianity, both in constituting Scripture... more This chapter examines the role of the cross in early Christianity, both in constituting Scripture as Scripture and as a privileged locus of scriptural interpretation. It is through the apocalyptic unveiling of Scripture by the cross that the meaning of Scripture is revealed, so that it can be read as Scripture, and the gospel proclaimed on its basis. The cross is also a particularly fertile image, expounded both through scriptural images, from the trees of Paradise to the wood that Elijah throws into the waters to recover the head of the axe; it is also an image that early Christians saw in the world around them, from the sign of Asklepios, to the imperial banners of the army, to the outstretched wings of birds. These two dimensions come together in the early paschal material, both celebrating the victory of the Cross and making Christ present in an immediate manner.
Chapter Two considers the ways in which the Gospel of John has come to be understood in ‘apocalyp... more Chapter Two considers the ways in which the Gospel of John has come to be understood in ‘apocalyptic’ terms, following John Ashton, suggesting instead that the Gospel of John is best understood as a ‘paschal gospel’ in an ‘apocalyptic’ key, noting the implications that this has for understanding the genre of the Gospel and its relation to the Apocalypse, as a two-part work. The chapter further explores what is meant by the term ‘apocalyptic’, especially the correspondence between above and below, and the beginning and the end, as a fundamental feature of Christian theology (‘on earth as it is in heaven’, Adam and Christ), and the modern debate about how apocalyptic thinking works, whether as an ‘eschatological invasion’ or an ‘unveiled fulfilment’, and so what is meant by ‘salvation history’, treating such figures as J. Louis Martyn and NT Wright. The chapter concludes by suggesting that early Christian exegesis, as practiced by the apostles themselves and then the Fathers, is best ...
On the basis of the analysis of the Gospel of John given so far, and in particular the celebratio... more On the basis of the analysis of the Gospel of John given so far, and in particular the celebration of Pascha that began with him, this chapter offers a radically new interpretation of the Prologue to the Gospel of John. Rather than a pre-existing hymn to the Word adopted and modified by the Evangelist, or a Prologue to the Gospel written by the Evangelist himself, explaining how the Word became flesh as the prelude to the narrative that follows, it is argued that the Prologue is best understood as a Paschal hymn in three parts. The first verse celebrates the one who is in first place, the crucified and exalted Jesus Christ, on his way to God, and as himself God. Verses 1:2—5 speak not of creation and the presence of the Word in creation before his sojourn on earth, but of how everything that occurs throughout the Gospel happens at his will, specifically the life that comes to be in him, a light which enlightens human beings, that is, those who receive and follow him. The third part,...
Christian theology, as we know it, is inconceivable without the Gospel of John and especially its... more Christian theology, as we know it, is inconceivable without the Gospel of John and especially its Prologue. The Word in the beginning, with God and as God, and the becoming flesh of this Word, stated here in simple and beautiful prose, are the key points that theology would grapple with in subsequent centuries, in controversies that resulted in imperially convoked worldwide councils which defined what we have come to think of as the chief articles of the Christian faith: Trinity and Incarnation. That the Prologue speaks of the becoming flesh of the Word is no doubt the reason why it has come to be the reading for the Nativity of Christ for most of Western Christianity. In the tradition of Eastern Orthodoxy, however, the Prologue is read on Easter night, at Pascha, and the reading of John continues throughout the Paschal season: it is the Paschal Gospel. Why is this so? What is the historical background for this, and does this indicate that perhaps we should be hearing this Gospel in a different key? 1 Within a century or so of its composition, the Gospel of John was described as "the spiritual Gospel" and in the following centuries its author was referred to simply as "the theologian." And yet for most of the last century, it has been assumed that the Gospel of John is an outlier compared to the Synoptic Gospels: its striking emphasis on the divinity of Christ and his preexistence (which led Käsemann to decried it as little more than "naïve Docetism" 2) and the claim that it is first commented on by Gnostic writers such as Ptolemy and Heracleon-all this led to the belief that it originated in Gnostic (or other outlying) circles, and that it was Irenaeus of Lyons who first appropriated the Gospel for Catholic Christianity. This conviction was held by a large part of twentieth-century scholarship. It has, however, been debunked over the last couple of decades. If the publication of Martin Hengel's book The Johannine Question delivered, in Charles Hill's words, a "spanking" to the guild of Johannine scholars, it was only received as a light lashing for they continued their work "almost unaffected"; Hill's own exhaustive and meticulous study, The Johannine Corpus in the Early Church, on the other hand, has surely administered the final flogging of the horses that by any academic standard should have been dead at the starting post, that is, the twin theories of "orthodox Johannophobia" and "gnostic Johannophilia." 3 The idea that the Gospel according to John originated in and was first used by heterodox circles and was initially viewed with suspicion by the orthodox Church, which remained silent about it until Irenaeus appropriated it for use by the Great Church, is not only debunked by Hill, but turned on its head: "there is no 'silence' which needs to be accounted for. On the contrary, instead of a silence one might better speak of a din, a relative tumult, an increasing uproar." 4 If there was a "Johannophobia" it was in point of fact amongst the "Gnostics," whose relationship to this Gospel was "critical or adversarial," before the Valentians attempted to appropriate the Gospel by a novel interpretation of its 1 This lecture is based on work done for my forthcoming book, John the Theologian and his Paschal Gospel: A Prologue to Theology; more information and details will be available therein.
Chapter One explores the figure of John and his Gospel from historical testimony given in the sec... more Chapter One explores the figure of John and his Gospel from historical testimony given in the second and third century CE and as treated in contemporary scholarship. The John who wrote the Gospel, the chapter argues, was not the son of Zebedee, one of the twelve apostles, but the disciple of the Lord, the Elder who resided in Ephesus. The first part of this chapter also examines, on the basis of the historical evidence, the occasion for the writing of the Gospel, and argues for the unity of the Johannine corpus (including the Apocalypse). The second part of the chapter turns to the description given by Polycrates of Ephesus that John wore the ‘petalon’ in Jerusalem, that is, that he was the high priest of the temple, which, this chapter argues, refers to the fact that, in the Gospel of John, he alone amongst the disciples stood at the foot of the cross as the body of Jesus was lifted up upon the cross as the true Temple. It was, moreover, as this chapter shows, only the followers of...
The aim of Brazos Press' s new commentary series, Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible, is ... more The aim of Brazos Press' s new commentary series, Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible, is simple and praiseworthy: to provide a theologically informed reading of the books of Scripture. After a sojourn through the desert of modernity, hopefully now having learned how to use the tools of the Egyptians to good effect rather than being enthralled by them, we are now able to return to the way that Christians read Scripture for the first millennium and more: standing within a living tradition and supported (rather than encumbered) by doctrine so as to be able to read the Scriptures in such a manner as to encounter the Word of God addressed to us now. Doctrine is not, as the editors of the series put it, "a moldering scrim of antique prejudice obscuring the Bible, but instead a clarifying agent, an enduring tradition of theological judgment that amplifies the living voice of Scripture" (13). Doctrine provides a pedagogical framework within which the reader of Scripture acquires a sanctified vision, a discipline or habit of mind, enabling the searching of Scripture to bear fruit. Yet because of the reigning academic climate-"theology without exegesis and exegesis without theology" (15)-the apparently straightforward objective of the series is provocative and innovative. As such the editors invited as contributors those who have been trained in the discipline of theology, rather than "biblical scholars in the conventional, modern sense of the term," and asked them to turn again to the Scriptures to produce a "theological commentary." Needing to recover this
Journal of French and Francophone Philosophy, 2018
From the early centuries, the Evangelist John has been referred to as “the theologian.” And right... more From the early centuries, the Evangelist John has been referred to as “the theologian.” And rightly so, for Christian theology, as we have come to know it, is inconceivable without his Gospel and especially its Prologue. Its words have provided the vocabulary for theological reflection thereafter, and it seems certain that, until the middle to the end of the second century, the annual celebration of Christ’s Passion, Pascha, was only celebrated by those who recalled how John had worn the distinctive headdress of the high priest in Jerusalem: the only disciple to remain at the foot of the cross, John was, for them, the high priest of the paschal mystery. It is thus perhaps not surprising that it was especially in John, and his words about the revelation of Christ, the Word and Life, that Michel Henry found a vision of Christianity that resonated with the phenomenology that he had been investigating from his initial magnum opus, The Essence of Manifestation, through to his final Chris...
Предисловие Экклезиология Протоиерей Джон Бэр Мать и Невеста: экклезиология, христология и антроп... more Предисловие Экклезиология Протоиерей Джон Бэр Мать и Невеста: экклезиология, христология и антропология Д. М. Гзгзян Единство Церкви и вероучительный авторитет в книге протоиерея Сергия Булгакова «У стен Херсониса» А. Майнарди «Служение единству»: как правильно поставить вопрос о первенстве на универсальном уровне Ю. А. Штонда Образ христианского единства в богословской мысли Дитриха Бонхёффера Б. Я. Гроен Освящение мира-символ единства церкви? Basilius J. Groen Consecration of Chrism: Symbol of Ecclesial Unity? М. А. Наумова Происхождение и назначение церковных канонов в сочинениях Н. П. Аксакова Публикация источников По вопросу о юрисдикции Московской Патриархии (неутвержденный проект указа 1950 года). Подготовка текста к публикации, вступительная статья и комментарии А. А. Кострюкова Обзоры, рецензии, поздравления А. Б. Сомов Рецензия на книгу: Berg mann Claudia D. Festmahl ohne Ende: Apokalyptische Vorstellungen vom Speisen in der Kommenden Welt im antiken Judentum und ihre biblischen Wurzeln. Stuttgart : W. Kohlhammer, 2019. 310 S. (Beiträge zu Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament; Bd. 222) А. Б. Мазуров Рецензия на книгу: Сукина Л. Б. Поздняя осень русского Средневековья. Очерки культурной истории Московского государства (XVI-XVII вв.). Москва; Санкт-Петербург : Центр гуманитарных инициатив, 2021. 359 с. (Сиринъ. Голоса древнерусской цивилизации) И. Ю. Скоробогатова, Ю. А. Штонда Обзор конференции «Свидетель веры: памяти протопресвитера Александра Шмемана» (Москва, 11-13 декабря 2021 года) Я. Р. Пантуева Обзор конференции «Протоиерей Сергий Булгаков: Красота-София-Церковь» (Москва, 27 января 2022 года) Поздравление с защитой кандидатских диссертаций некролог Table of Contents
Chapter One explores the figure of John and his Gospel from historical testimony given in the sec... more Chapter One explores the figure of John and his Gospel from historical testimony given in the second and third century CE and as treated in contemporary scholarship. The John who wrote the Gospel, the chapter argues, was not the son of Zebedee, one of the twelve apostles, but the disciple of the Lord, the Elder who resided in Ephesus. The first part of this chapter also examines, on the basis of the historical evidence, the occasion for the writing of the Gospel, and argues for the unity of the Johannine corpus (including the Apocalypse). The second part of the chapter turns to the description given by Polycrates of Ephesus that John wore the ‘petalon’ in Jerusalem, that is, that he was the high priest of the temple, which, this chapter argues, refers to the fact that, in the Gospel of John, he alone amongst the disciples stood at the foot of the cross as the body of Jesus was lifted up upon the cross as the true Temple. It was, moreover, as this chapter shows, only the followers of...
Chapter Four demonstrates how Christ’s word from the Cross, ‘It is Finished’, refers back to the ... more Chapter Four demonstrates how Christ’s word from the Cross, ‘It is Finished’, refers back to the opening verses of Genesis, where, unlike every other aspect of creation, which is brought into existence by an imperative, a divine fiat—‘Let it be!’—the particular project of God is given in the subjunctive, ‘Let us make a human being’: a project only completed when Christ lays down his own life in an act of love, unwitting confirmed by Pilate, ‘behold the human being!’. The first part of the chapter shows how this theme is developed by John over the course of the Gospel, most notably in the ‘woman’ who appears in Cana and at the Cross, and in John 16, where she is in travail until a human being is born into the world. This theme is also traced in the Apocalypse, and in writers following on from John: Ignatius of Antioch writing on his way to martyrdom, Melito of Sardis in his Paschal celebration, and Irenaeus of Lyons as a fundamental feature of his account of the whole economy of God ...
The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Biblical Interpretation, 2019
This chapter examines the role of the cross in early Christianity, both in constituting Scripture... more This chapter examines the role of the cross in early Christianity, both in constituting Scripture as Scripture and as a privileged locus of scriptural interpretation. It is through the apocalyptic unveiling of Scripture by the cross that the meaning of Scripture is revealed, so that it can be read as Scripture, and the gospel proclaimed on its basis. The cross is also a particularly fertile image, expounded both through scriptural images, from the trees of Paradise to the wood that Elijah throws into the waters to recover the head of the axe; it is also an image that early Christians saw in the world around them, from the sign of Asklepios, to the imperial banners of the army, to the outstretched wings of birds. These two dimensions come together in the early paschal material, both celebrating the victory of the Cross and making Christ present in an immediate manner.
Chapter Two considers the ways in which the Gospel of John has come to be understood in ‘apocalyp... more Chapter Two considers the ways in which the Gospel of John has come to be understood in ‘apocalyptic’ terms, following John Ashton, suggesting instead that the Gospel of John is best understood as a ‘paschal gospel’ in an ‘apocalyptic’ key, noting the implications that this has for understanding the genre of the Gospel and its relation to the Apocalypse, as a two-part work. The chapter further explores what is meant by the term ‘apocalyptic’, especially the correspondence between above and below, and the beginning and the end, as a fundamental feature of Christian theology (‘on earth as it is in heaven’, Adam and Christ), and the modern debate about how apocalyptic thinking works, whether as an ‘eschatological invasion’ or an ‘unveiled fulfilment’, and so what is meant by ‘salvation history’, treating such figures as J. Louis Martyn and NT Wright. The chapter concludes by suggesting that early Christian exegesis, as practiced by the apostles themselves and then the Fathers, is best ...
On the basis of the analysis of the Gospel of John given so far, and in particular the celebratio... more On the basis of the analysis of the Gospel of John given so far, and in particular the celebration of Pascha that began with him, this chapter offers a radically new interpretation of the Prologue to the Gospel of John. Rather than a pre-existing hymn to the Word adopted and modified by the Evangelist, or a Prologue to the Gospel written by the Evangelist himself, explaining how the Word became flesh as the prelude to the narrative that follows, it is argued that the Prologue is best understood as a Paschal hymn in three parts. The first verse celebrates the one who is in first place, the crucified and exalted Jesus Christ, on his way to God, and as himself God. Verses 1:2—5 speak not of creation and the presence of the Word in creation before his sojourn on earth, but of how everything that occurs throughout the Gospel happens at his will, specifically the life that comes to be in him, a light which enlightens human beings, that is, those who receive and follow him. The third part,...
Christian theology, as we know it, is inconceivable without the Gospel of John and especially its... more Christian theology, as we know it, is inconceivable without the Gospel of John and especially its Prologue. The Word in the beginning, with God and as God, and the becoming flesh of this Word, stated here in simple and beautiful prose, are the key points that theology would grapple with in subsequent centuries, in controversies that resulted in imperially convoked worldwide councils which defined what we have come to think of as the chief articles of the Christian faith: Trinity and Incarnation. That the Prologue speaks of the becoming flesh of the Word is no doubt the reason why it has come to be the reading for the Nativity of Christ for most of Western Christianity. In the tradition of Eastern Orthodoxy, however, the Prologue is read on Easter night, at Pascha, and the reading of John continues throughout the Paschal season: it is the Paschal Gospel. Why is this so? What is the historical background for this, and does this indicate that perhaps we should be hearing this Gospel in a different key? 1 Within a century or so of its composition, the Gospel of John was described as "the spiritual Gospel" and in the following centuries its author was referred to simply as "the theologian." And yet for most of the last century, it has been assumed that the Gospel of John is an outlier compared to the Synoptic Gospels: its striking emphasis on the divinity of Christ and his preexistence (which led Käsemann to decried it as little more than "naïve Docetism" 2) and the claim that it is first commented on by Gnostic writers such as Ptolemy and Heracleon-all this led to the belief that it originated in Gnostic (or other outlying) circles, and that it was Irenaeus of Lyons who first appropriated the Gospel for Catholic Christianity. This conviction was held by a large part of twentieth-century scholarship. It has, however, been debunked over the last couple of decades. If the publication of Martin Hengel's book The Johannine Question delivered, in Charles Hill's words, a "spanking" to the guild of Johannine scholars, it was only received as a light lashing for they continued their work "almost unaffected"; Hill's own exhaustive and meticulous study, The Johannine Corpus in the Early Church, on the other hand, has surely administered the final flogging of the horses that by any academic standard should have been dead at the starting post, that is, the twin theories of "orthodox Johannophobia" and "gnostic Johannophilia." 3 The idea that the Gospel according to John originated in and was first used by heterodox circles and was initially viewed with suspicion by the orthodox Church, which remained silent about it until Irenaeus appropriated it for use by the Great Church, is not only debunked by Hill, but turned on its head: "there is no 'silence' which needs to be accounted for. On the contrary, instead of a silence one might better speak of a din, a relative tumult, an increasing uproar." 4 If there was a "Johannophobia" it was in point of fact amongst the "Gnostics," whose relationship to this Gospel was "critical or adversarial," before the Valentians attempted to appropriate the Gospel by a novel interpretation of its 1 This lecture is based on work done for my forthcoming book, John the Theologian and his Paschal Gospel: A Prologue to Theology; more information and details will be available therein.
Chapter One explores the figure of John and his Gospel from historical testimony given in the sec... more Chapter One explores the figure of John and his Gospel from historical testimony given in the second and third century CE and as treated in contemporary scholarship. The John who wrote the Gospel, the chapter argues, was not the son of Zebedee, one of the twelve apostles, but the disciple of the Lord, the Elder who resided in Ephesus. The first part of this chapter also examines, on the basis of the historical evidence, the occasion for the writing of the Gospel, and argues for the unity of the Johannine corpus (including the Apocalypse). The second part of the chapter turns to the description given by Polycrates of Ephesus that John wore the ‘petalon’ in Jerusalem, that is, that he was the high priest of the temple, which, this chapter argues, refers to the fact that, in the Gospel of John, he alone amongst the disciples stood at the foot of the cross as the body of Jesus was lifted up upon the cross as the true Temple. It was, moreover, as this chapter shows, only the followers of...
The aim of Brazos Press' s new commentary series, Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible, is ... more The aim of Brazos Press' s new commentary series, Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible, is simple and praiseworthy: to provide a theologically informed reading of the books of Scripture. After a sojourn through the desert of modernity, hopefully now having learned how to use the tools of the Egyptians to good effect rather than being enthralled by them, we are now able to return to the way that Christians read Scripture for the first millennium and more: standing within a living tradition and supported (rather than encumbered) by doctrine so as to be able to read the Scriptures in such a manner as to encounter the Word of God addressed to us now. Doctrine is not, as the editors of the series put it, "a moldering scrim of antique prejudice obscuring the Bible, but instead a clarifying agent, an enduring tradition of theological judgment that amplifies the living voice of Scripture" (13). Doctrine provides a pedagogical framework within which the reader of Scripture acquires a sanctified vision, a discipline or habit of mind, enabling the searching of Scripture to bear fruit. Yet because of the reigning academic climate-"theology without exegesis and exegesis without theology" (15)-the apparently straightforward objective of the series is provocative and innovative. As such the editors invited as contributors those who have been trained in the discipline of theology, rather than "biblical scholars in the conventional, modern sense of the term," and asked them to turn again to the Scriptures to produce a "theological commentary." Needing to recover this
Journal of French and Francophone Philosophy, 2018
From the early centuries, the Evangelist John has been referred to as “the theologian.” And right... more From the early centuries, the Evangelist John has been referred to as “the theologian.” And rightly so, for Christian theology, as we have come to know it, is inconceivable without his Gospel and especially its Prologue. Its words have provided the vocabulary for theological reflection thereafter, and it seems certain that, until the middle to the end of the second century, the annual celebration of Christ’s Passion, Pascha, was only celebrated by those who recalled how John had worn the distinctive headdress of the high priest in Jerusalem: the only disciple to remain at the foot of the cross, John was, for them, the high priest of the paschal mystery. It is thus perhaps not surprising that it was especially in John, and his words about the revelation of Christ, the Word and Life, that Michel Henry found a vision of Christianity that resonated with the phenomenology that he had been investigating from his initial magnum opus, The Essence of Manifestation, through to his final Chris...
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