Orthodox Christianity

I examine the history of the term canon and its use as a list of books making up the bible. This preprint is a section from a book I've written on the Apocrypha: "Hidden in Plain Sight." The book is available from Amazon.com.
<https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692747915>

The identification of deviant burials as those of ‘vampires’ is a feature of excavated skeletons from sites across Eastern, Central and Southern Europe as well as the Balkans. Based on a close reading of historic and folkloric sources researchers have sought to match features of excavated sites with narrative descriptions drawn from vampire legend and myth. This study critically reviews the recent claims based on sites in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Poland and Slovakia. Whilst it is found that there was a widespread belief in vampires across Europe, it is argued that it is difficult to make absolute claims for ‘vampire’ burials on archaeological grounds as in most cases there are alternate and equally compelling interpretations of the data.

KEYWORDS
ARCHAEOLOGY, HISTORY, SIXTEENTH CENTURY, SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, VAMPIRE, DEVIANT BURIAL, PLAGUE, BLACK DEATH, FOLKLORE, PAGAN, BURIAL, WITCH, BALKANS, EASTERN EUROPE, CENTRAL EUROPE, SOUTHERN EUROPE, BULGARIA, CZECH REPUBLIC, POLAND, GREECE, ITALY, SLOVAKIA, LESBOS, VENICE, APOTROPAIC, VAMPIRIDZHIJA, PERPERIKON, SOZOPOL, PROSTEJOV, CELAKOVICE, DRAWSKO, GLIWICI, SOUTHWELL, KILTEASHEEN, LAZZARETTO NUOVO, NACHTZEHRER, KAMIEN POMORSKI

2018-2023 TOP 2% IN ACADEMIA.EDU ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Jewish-Christian relations emerge out of a complex trajectory that originates in Jewish-Gentile relations within the Jesus movement. The Jewish-Christian saga originates in later misperceptions about a conflict among followers of Jesus with varying degrees of Jewish, Pagan, and Gnostic affinities, affiliations, and inclinations.

Jewish-Christian relations did not emerge out of a first century conflict between ‘Judaism’ and ‘Christianity.’ The main thrust behind the “parting of the ways” is best characterized as a controversy about Judaism within the Jesus movement (not as a conflict with Judaism).

The anti-Jewish, anti-Pagan, and anti-Gnostic biases of the Christian canonical and authoritative texts are the result of complex and layered trajectories, and should be understood to reflect, for the most part, debates within the Jesus movement—not struggles with external religious communities. Despite a complexity and a variety of contexts, Judaism, Gnosticism, and Paganism were not participants in this struggle. They were the subjects of a debate, (mostly) among Gentile believers, about what belief in Jesus should be. The crisis was about Judaism, not with Judaism.

The anti-Jewish polemic in the New Testament reflects debates between Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus - not a polemic between Christians and Jews. Thus, the New Testament texts do not reflect a struggle between 'Christians' and 'Jews' but rather a heated dispute about Judaism and about Torah observance among Jesus' early followers. However, with the passage of time, loss of context, and later agendas, the tensions and trauma produced by this crisis came to be understood by later believers as reflective of a Jewish-Christian conflict.

The future of Judeo-Christian relations and the future of the Christian self-perception depend on which meta-narrative on the Christian origins and on Jewish-Christian relations will be eventually embraced, taught and internalized by scholars, institutions and believers. Each of the relevant meta-narratives or models; the traditional thesis, the competition thesis of Simon, and the thesis advocated in this monograph, have implications of great importance and scope.


"I am in fundamental agreement with Bibliowicz's thesis (that the anti-Jewish polemic in the New Testament reflects debates between Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus - not a polemic between Christians and Jews), and with the implications which he has drawn for Christian theology... May this book find a wide readership among people devoted to the cause of the healing of memories between Jews and Christians."

- Peter C. Phan, Professor, Chair of Catholic Social Thought, Georgetown University, President of the Catholic Theological Society of America


"Standing on a brilliant and insightful reconstruction of Paul, and on a quite shocking (but perhaps compelling) reading of Mark - the author offers a number of original and in some cases quite compelling theoretical reconstructions of the context and purposes of early Christian texts... a work of sublime moral passion."

- David P. Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics, Director, Center for Theology and Public Life, Mercer University. President, American Academy of Religion. Author of Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context


"An intrepid excursion into the Christian discourse… The quest of an intellectual, a humanist… Interesting and, in fact overwhelming...A timely and honest engagement of the Christian texts, authors, and scholars by a Jewish intellectual."

- Burton L. Mack, Professor of Early Christianity, Claremont School of Theology, California, Author of A Myth of Innocence: Mark and Christian Origins


"An important work…Sensitive and deeply researched… In the deepest sense, a profound theological work."

- Clark M. Williamson, Professor, Christian Theological Seminary, Indiana, Author of Way of Blessing, Way of Life: A Christian Theology


“There is great merit to Bibliowicz's approach... I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the Jewish-Christian dialogue.... Scholars may disagree with a number of Bibliowicz' conclusions, as I do with his interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews.  But even in disagreeing, scholars in the field of Jewish-Christian studies, will learn new ways of challenging and thinking about old presumptions."

-Eugene J. Fisher, Distinguished Professor of Theology, Saint Leo University. Former consultor to the Vatican Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews and member of the International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee representing the Holy See.


"…An original and plausible claim that goes beyond most of modern scholarship… a solid contribution to the study of anti-Judaism in early Christianity."

- Joseph B. Tyson, Professor, Religious Studies, Southern Methodist University, Author of Marcion and Luke-Acts: A Defining Struggle


“I very much appreciated the depth and scope of the scholarship, accompanied by the kind and humble spirit of the author. It may also prove to be one of the formidable and formative scholarly contributions of the decade for both biblical and historical scholars.”

—Michael Thompson, Professor. Religious Studies – Oklahoma State University


"Impressive work...With this impassioned study available to us, it will no longer be possible for us to ignore the unintended ways the unthinkable came to be and still say 'we did not know.'"

- Didier Pollefeyt, Professor, Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, co-author of Anti-Judaism and the Fourth Gospel and Paul and Judaism


"A meticulous study…a mammoth endeavor… goes beyond others in his interpretation of the evidence, tracing and documenting distinctions and tensions in the early Jesus movement."

- N. A. Beck, Professor of Theology and Classical Languages, Texas Lutheran University and author of Mature Christianity in the 21st Century: The Recognition and Repudiation of the Anti-Jewish Polemic of the New Testament.


"The topics Bibliowicz engages are complex. Although some of his interpretations are controversial... Gentile Christians should set aside apologetical agendas and honestly ponder the challenges put forward by the author."

- Dale C. Allison, Jr., Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Author of Constructing Jesus: History, Memory, and Imagination


"In methodical and precise fashion Bibliowicz takes the reader through the relevant ancient Christian texts bearing on the question at hand. In so doing, he proposes an intriguing, compelling thesis. The book should prove to be a major voice in the ongoing debate."

- Brooks Schramm, Professor, Biblical Studies, Lutheran Theological Seminary


"A detailed and insightful exploration of the writings of the early Jesus movement… argues convincingly that the origins of Christian anti-Judaism are to be found among early non-Jewish followers of Jesus who were in conflict with Jesus' disciples and first followers … a must read."

- Tim Hegedus, Professor of New Testament, Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada


"Well-researched and thorough. Intelligent and thoughtful... accessible, the argumentation compelling."

- M. Murray, Professor, Bishop's University, Canada, Author of Playing a Jewish Game: Gentile Christian Judaizing in the First and Second Centuries C.E.


"Bibliowicz uses solid scholarship to engage large and difficult topics while managing to be balanced and clear... invites Christians to walk a deep journey towards truth ... and suggests a compelling nuance; that the conflicts in the early texts were between Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus, not between Jews and Christians."

- David L. Coppola, Professor, Executive Director, Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding, Sacred Heart University

This essay was published in The Bible and Early Trinitarian Theology, edited by Christopher A. Beeley and Mark E. Weedman, for the CUAP Studies in Early Christianity (Washington DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2018); this is the uncorrected proofs. Exploring the humanity and divinity of Jesus, the Son's relation to the Father, and the agency of the Holy Spirit, it is one of five essays suggesting Johannine contributions to trinitarian discussions in the early church.

It is frequently acknowledged that, despite Jung's disclaimers concerning the mutually exclusive boundaries between empirical science and metaphysics, analytical psychology does have important theological ramifications. Christian theology has been a historical antecedent to modern psychology, and can continue to be of relevance in this field through the scholarly exploration of its anthropological teachings in a contemporary academic and pastoral context. The primary purpose of this study is to outline a metatheoretical approach to discuss the interface between analytical psychology and Christian theology. As a secondary theme, it attempts to formulate, investigate and explore a theoretical rationale for adopting a depth-psychological approach to working with countertransference dynamics in both psychotherapy and spiritual direction, by including and valuing the spiritual dimension of experience. The concept of ‘creative suffering’ is utilized as a way of describing the process through which personal suffering, when experienced creatively, becomes more than the isolated pathological source of the therapist’s private emotional wounds, being transformed to provide the main psychological background through which deep healing of the client's own trauma may occur on a personal and transpersonal level. It is, therefore, argued that creative use of the countertransference implies ongoing, active reflection by the therapist on the meaning and purpose of personal suffering, as occurs in some spiritual disciplines. This practice is adumbrated through a framework of conceptualisation derived from Orthodox Christian spirituality, employing the Jungian archetype of the ‘Wounded Healer’ in parallel to theological claims concerning the suffering of Jesus Christ, and the broader significance of suffering and evil in Christian theology. Parallels, similarities and differences between religious and psychological imagery and concepts are suggested throughout, which may prompt further exploration of areas of convergence and divergence between analytical psychology and Christian theology in particular, and between psychology and religion in general.

More than 20 years after presenting his first interpretation of the mosaic from the House of Aion in a paper entitled “Uwagi na temat mozaiki z Domu Aiona w Nea Paphos (Cypr)” (Meander 9/10, 1987, p. 421-438, in Polish, and translated to English: « The Immortality of the Human Soul and the Dionysiac Mysteries in the 4th Century Allegory [in Connection with the Interpretation of the Mosaic from the “House of Aion” at Paphos in Cyprus]»), where he proposed reading the five mythological panels (1. Leda and Zeus; 2. Dionysus on Mount Nysa; 3. The Dionysian thiasos; 4. Apollo and Marsyas; 5. The Apotheosis of Cassiopeia) as an allegory of the destiny of the human soul and body, starting with conception and ending with the liberation of the soul and its apotheosis, the author now enhances his initial interpretation with numerous reflections concerning the historical context of this work of art, created in the years 320-360.
If, according to the author, the mosaic is a “Hymn” in honour of the pagan gods, Man (his soul) and his place in the (pagan) universe, then at the same time it polemicises with the Christian faith and its God, Jesus Christ.
The author puts forward numerous new solutions relating to the mosaic’s iconography and iconology. Analysis of the mosaic also leads him to propose a solution to the as-yet unanswered question regarding the absence of images of the crucified Christ in Christian art of the 3rd and 4th centuries, up until 420/430, when the first images of Christ on the cross appear.
CONTENTS:
Introduction
1. Research to-date (recap)
2. Description of mosaic (recap)
2.1. Composition of five mythological scenes
2.2. Brief iconographic description of mythological panels
2.3. Outline of individual iconographic elements and their respective roles
2.4. The pagan gods’ air of majesty and dignity as an expression of piety
3. A few words about the pagan reaction
4. An apology of pious human life according to pagan principles and a polemic on the Christian model of Man and his theological idol, Jesus Christ
4.1. Divine intervention in the act of human conception (allusion to/polemic on the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary)
4.2. The Epiphany of Dionysus (an allusion to the Epiphany of Christ – Theou Pais)
4.3. The procession and dissemination of Dionysian order (allusion to/polemic on Christ’s entry into Jerusalem)
4.4. The error of Marsyas (polemic on/allusion to the error of Jesus the Messiah): arrest, sentencing for arrogance and lack of piety (asebeia) and condemnation to a martyr’s death
4.5. The anabasis (or anagoge psyches) of a ‘beautiful soul’ (allusion to/polemic on the Ascension of Christ)
5. A few words on the mosaic programme prior to final conclusions
Final conclusions
Key words: mythological mosaic, House of Aion, Nea Paphos, Late Antiquity, Roman art, allegorical narrative, allusive language of mythological pictures, wordplay (Marsyas-Messias), Jesus Christ, anti-Christian polemic, Dionysos, Cassiopeia, Apollon, Nereides, Abstract Personifications, Greek Mythology, ΚΥΠΡΟΣ

Du M ba rton oa k S r e S e a rCH l i br a ry a n D Col l eC t ion © 2015 Dumbarton oaks research library and Collection trustees for Harvard university Washington, D.C. all rights reserved. printed in the united States of america. L i br a ry of Congr ess C ata logi ng -i n-Pu bl ic at ion Data Saints and sacred matter: the cult of relics in byzantium and beyond / edited by Cynthia Hahn and Holger a. klein. -First [edition]. pages cm. -(Dumbarton oaks byzantine symposia and colloquia) includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-88402-406-4 (alk. paper) 1. relics-byzantine empire. 2. byzantine empire-religious life and customs. i. Hahn, Cynthia J. (Cynthia Jean), editor. ii. klein, Holger a., editor. bv890.s24 2015 235�.2-dc23 2015000615 managing editor: Joel kalvesmaki Text design and composition: Melissa tandysh www.doaks.org/publications

Nearly two billion Christians and over 1.5 billion Muslims believe in him, yet Jesus is perhaps the most misunderstood and misrepresented person in history.
This book explores and demystifies Jesus – his life, teachings, personality and mission. It highlights commonalities but also examines differences between Christianity and Islam.

This book explains where and how the Qur’an challenges the traditional Church narrative.In doing so, it presents the reader with a compelling and clear understanding of Jesus and his true message.

The book also demonstrates why the Qur’an is the ‘missing link’, that all important ‘bridge’ connecting Judaism and Christianity, uniting all of the Abrahamic faiths.

Fully referenced and packed with up-to-date research, yet written in a readable style, this book will change your perspective on Jesus and his message forever!

Bulgakov’s psychological and spiritual evolution can be reckoned as representative for his entire generation. Moving from Marxism to Idealism and finally conceiving his best known theory, namely Sophiology, he was considered by many one of the most influential and sometimes controversial Orthodox thinkers of the 20th century. The theory of Sophiology, his most disputed premise which lies at the center of his theological vision, is considered “a systematic attempt to work out the basis on which political action and policy could be seen as philosophically – and, eventual, theologically - legitimate” . If we reflect on our present cultural and political context we will find a renewed relevance in studying the evolution of Bulgakov’s theological and politic thought, due to the similarities of both periods. Just like in the last turn of the century, we also face issues of legitimacy of the political action, a new cultural paradigm and an economical crisis.

In the era prior to the Great Schism of 1054, Christianity was one Church composed of two culturally distinct elements: the Greek East and Latin West. The Greek and Latin halves of the Church each possessed their own independent liturgical and cultural customs which were part of the dispute that lead to the Great Schism, effectively separating the Church into independent Greek and Latin sides. While the West had retained liturgical expressions that differed from the majority Western Rite (in the form of the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church, which remained in communion with Rome after the official break with Constantinople), the Christian East was exclusively composed of Churches celebrating the Byzantine Rite for approximately nine hundred years. This changed in the latter half of the nineteenth century with the conversion of Julius Joseph Overbeck to the Russian Orthodox Church in London. Since that time, there have been attempts and successes in establishing a Western Rite in the Eastern Church. This thesis approaches Western Rite Orthodoxy as an established phenomenon in Eastern Christianity, especially as a facet of Orthodoxy in countries where Orthodoxy constitutes a minority. While previous short studies have attempted to substantiate or discredit the legitimacy of Western Rite Orthodoxy as a movement, this thesis accepts the reality of the Western rite and seeks to understand Western Rite Orthodoxy by documenting its history thoroughly, the investigating peculiarities of the Orthodox Western rite compared to other Western liturgies, exposing potential problems (spiritual and canonical) of the current rite and devotions when compared to accepted Orthodox theology and spirituality, and by evaluating some of the criticisms which are often employed against Western Rite Orthodoxy. To complete this critical evaluation, there are some important areas of consideration. Though there have been some studies of Western Rite Orthodoxy, there has been little historical documentation of the movement since the middle part of the twentieth century. Part of Western Rite Orthodoxy’s development has been the alteration of liturgical texts to bring them into conformity with the theology and spirituality of the Eastern Church. There is some question, both in academic and ecclesiastical circles, about how thoroughly these changes were implemented, whether there are still elements requiring further correction, and even if the Western liturgies can be brought into conformity with Eastern theology and practice in any instance. Furthermore, there is are ecumenical implications to the presence of Western Rite Orthodoxy that have yet to be addressed, particularly in the Western Rite Orthodox rejection of post-Vatican II liturgies used by the majority of Western Christianity, and the effect this might have on a future reunion between a Western Church and Orthodoxy. With this critical framework established, there is a greater opportunity to fully understand Western Rite Orthodoxy in the twentieth century, both as it affects the Orthodox Church itself and as it affects external relationships between the Orthodox and other Christian churches. Secondarily, the thesis provides a more complete history in terms of documentation and contextualization of Western Rite Orthodoxy than is presently available through any other medium.

Regnum Studies in Mission are born from the lived experience o f Christians and Christian communities in mission, especially but not solely in the fast growing churches among the poor o f the world. These churches have more to tell than stories o f growth. They are making significant impacts on their cultures in the cause o f Christ. They are producing 'cultural products' which express the reality o f Christian faith, hope and love in their societies.

In his extant letters and speeches, Emperor Constantine often referred to God. However, these references were seldom theological elaborations on the concept of God. Instead, they were usually limited to the use of certain ambiguous titles of God. Accordingly, this article examines the emperor’s concept of God with the help of the so-called title-theology. Arguably, Constantine’s understanding of God developed from inclusive “pagan” henotheism to a qualified Christian monotheism, yet so that it retained the promise of accommodating various views of God. Vagueness in theological matters served the purpose of establishing the widest possible religious consensus in the Roman Empire. At the same time, this calculated vagueness also enabled different interpretations of Constantine’s theological utterances and perhaps contributed indirectly to the Trinitarian controversies within the Christian church. A comparison between Constantine’s concepts of God and that of Nicaea shows both a significant agreement and the existence of different underlying incentives.

In this paper I will explore three different visions of ecumenism found in three Orthodox thinkers of the last century, Nikolai Berdyaev, Fr Sergius Bulgakov and Vladimir Lossky. With the exception of Bulgakov, they are not the most frequently cited figures in relation to the ecumenical movement, and yet they all were deeply engaged in conversations and cooperation with Christians from other churches, and tried to spell out what these relationships meant for them and in what sense they made visible both already existing and desired unity. As they all are related to the controversial figure of Vladimir Solovyov, I will first briefly turn to him. Then I turn to Berdyaev's discovery of creative and free Orthodoxy, which should be instrumental in overcoming the divided life of the Christian world, followed by Bulgakov's sophianic and pastoral concepts of unity, and finally to Lossky's mystical-eschatological reading of the Christian sources and his devotion to various saints which did not follow divisions into confessional camps. In the conclusion I will ask what of these ecumenical visions could be fruitfully revived to provide inspiration in our search for unity, and strengthen our focus on what is experientially real.

The Divine Liturgy of Saint Tikhon, a Eucharistic Liturgy of substantially Anglican origin, was approved for use within the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America in 1977. It was adopted to be used by communities of Anglo-Catholic converts to the Orthodox Church who desire to retain all such aspects of their liturgical life and piety as are judged to be consonant with the Orthodox Faith.

In 1904, the Russian Holy Synod handed down the first official Orthodox statement on the Anglican Book of Common Prayer (in its 1892 American form). This was in response to a query by Saint Tikhon Bellavin, Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox missionary Archdiocese in North America, as to the possibility of allowing the use of the Liturgy in communities of Anglican converts to Orthodoxy. It was on the basis of this official Russian Synodal response that the Antiochian Archdiocese, in 1977, revised and adopted a form of the Anglican Liturgy as commonly celebrated within Anglo-Catholic parishes of the American Episcopal Church.

This thesis traces the development of the Anglican Liturgy from its controversial origins in the sixteenth century until its adoption within the Orthodox Church. Far from being the product of one man, one age, or one party, the Anglican Liturgy underwent a long and complex history of constant reinterpretation, revision, and enrichment and by Anglican High Churchmen (Elizabethan, Caroline, Non-Juring, Scottish, American, Tractarian and Anglo-Catholic) in light of the writings of the Church Fathers and the Liturgies of the ancient Church.

The main aim of this essay is to offer a critical survey of the development of Greek collective identities, between 1453 and 1913. That period witnessed dramatic transformations, and the arrival of a modernising and Westernising wave, which crashed onto the Greek shores in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The ensuing clash between Western and modern ideas of nationalism on the one hand, and timehonoured local mentalities nurtured by Orthodoxy and the Ottoman millet system, on the other, was intense. This paper attempts to chart some salient aspects of that struggle, to discuss the evolution of concepts and words, such as "Hellene" [OEÏÏËÓ·˜], "Hellenism" [∂ÏÏËÓÈÛÌfi˜], "Roman" [ƒˆÌÈfi˜] and "Romiosyne" [ƒˆÌÈÔÛ ‡ÓË], and to place them within their changing historical context.

Mount Athos experienced a spectacular material and spiritual revival in the 2nd half of the 20th century. Previous scholarship has hinted at the emergence of some charismatic figures, especially Elder Joseph the Hesychast and his disciples, as the main cause of this revival. However, a precise and detailed explanation of the connection between the two is still lacking. This thesis argues that a form of mutated hesychasm (neo-hesychasm), practised unconventionally in coenobia, alongside a new approach toward the Jesus Prayer, can convincingly fill the gaps in the 'charismatic elders explanation,' by specifying the exact means through which such a dramatic revival could occur in such a short period of time.

An Account of the Norman Conquest of England (1043-1086) from an Orthodox Christian point of view, arguing that the Conquest was not only a political but also a spiritual event, being the destruction of Orthodox Christianity in England and its replacement by Roman Catholicism

This monographic essay is dedicated to one of the most mysterious protagonists of the patriarchal style (hyphos) Petros Peloponnesios. Despite the many colourful anecdotes, we only know very few facts about Petros Peloponnesios’ life before he came to Constantinople in 1764. Analysing Petros’ contribution to the hyphos, this essay does not rely on the well-known transcriptions as they were distributed by the print editions in different languages. Recent research has already proved that many ascriptions to Petros are not trustworthy. On the other hand, readers might discover less known compositions by Petros, like his second week cycle and the long oktoechos cycle of cherouvika, which have rarely been printed. They will also be surprised that his composition of the idiomela for the «Doxastarion syntomon» are quite different from the official transcriptions according to the New Method. Another mystery is Petros’ close relationship to the Mevlevi dervishes of Pera (Beyoğlu), where he was adored as Hoca and Hırsız (“teacher and thief”), and his exceptional contribution to Ottoman music by numerous transcriptions of historical makam compositions and more than 100 original makam compositions, sometimes made over a Greek text. The article proves that Petros did not invent the exegetic use of notation nor the transcription of makam music into Greek neume notation. It also proves that many of the works and innovations were officially wrongly attributed to him. Nevertheless, he must be regarded as one of the most remarkable and most gifted Greek Ottoman musicians who did wonders during his short life span between 1764 and his early death during the disastrous plague of 1778.

This dissertation argues that martial virtues and images of the soldier’s life represented an essential aspect of early Byzantine masculine ideology. It contends that in many of the visual and literary sources from the fourth to the seventh centuries CE, conceptualisations of the soldier’s life and the ideal manly life were often the same. By taking this stance, the dissertation challenges the view found in many recent studies on Late Roman masculinity that a Christian ideal of manliness based on extreme ascetic virtues and pacifism had superseded militarism and courage as the dominant component of hegemonic masculine ideology.

In the course of this work, we will discuss a number of cases and examples related to the monk-king ideal, within the history of Ethiopia in the Middle Ages. Firstly, we will start by introducing the development of the monastic movement, outlining the tight linkage between the monastic institution and the kingship. Subsequently, we will carefully analyze the role of the Gadl – Ethiopian hagiography – within the context of this period of time, pointing out the relevance these hagiographies for the reconstruction of the history of Medieval Ethiopia. By considering these factors, I will present the most relevant “monk-kings” that assisted us to discuss and analyze this ideal.

This paper seeks to clear the way for new historical-theological research into the corpus of St Gregory Palamas and his followers in late Byzantium. While recognizing the immense impact and the extraordinary contribution of pioneering scholars such as Fr John Meyendorff, this paper examines the methodological and hermeneutic questions that dominated Neo-Palamite scholarship in the twentieth century.

This study examines the theology of St. John of Damascus on images in the context of the Byzantine iconoclastic controversies. Following a brief outline of the historical, political and theological difficulties relevant to this phenomenon, the Christological and ontological dimensions of John's iconology are presented. John's iconological thought is Christ-centered and develops the teaching of the Church on Christ's person and two natures. He formulates an iconological realism based on the Incarnation. This study also analyzes the role of matter as charged with divine energy and grace, the function of the icon as symbol, and the development of a cognitive theory in John's treatises on images. Lastly, John's theology regarding the sixth kind of image, namely the natural icon, is contextualized within the metaphysical/cosmological chain of images he constructs. This contributes an ontological dimension to his theological discourse and grounds its fundamental importance for Christian faith, which he viewed as threatened by the conflict under discussion.