The main sources for our knowledge about the opposition against Chalcedon in the Eastern Roman Empire in the fifth century are the hagiographic works of the Palestinian monk John Rufus, priest at Antioch and disciple of the great anti-Chalcedonian leader Peter the Iberian at Gaza. There are, in all, three works preserved from him, each work contributing in its own way to our understanding of the underlying motives behind the anti-Chalcedonian movement: the Life of Peter the Iberian, the Commemoration of the Death of Theodosius, and the Plerophories. The present study is an attempt to read the...

"Blessed is He who has brought Adam from Sheol" Christ's descent to the dead in the Theology of Saint Ephrem the Syrian is an examination of the theological use of the doctrine of Christ's descent to the dead in the works of Saint Ephrem the Syrian (ca. 306-373 C.E.). In the ancient Christian church, it was believed, taught, and confessed that in the interval between his crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus Christ descended to the abode of the dead. Christ's descent to the underworld was nowhere earlier, more elaborately, or more influentially expressed than within cultural milieu of Syriac...

The prayer of the heart is an early Christian contemplative tradition of striking profundity and beauty. In this work, the inherently embodied, communal nature of this ancient teaching is explored, and its relevance to contemporary mystical seekers is addressed.

Jacob of Serugh's vision of 'Salvation in Christ', in its exegetical, theological, catechetical, liturgical and pastoral aspects, is reviewed in this monograph. Jacob's mode of symbolic-mystical-silence approach to the mystery of Christ is explained. This treatise gathers up Jacob's typological and symbolic thought-patterns, in his own language, categories, terminologies, and imageries.

This volume contains an English translation and introduction to Hippolytus of Rome's Commentary on Daniel and his Chronicon. Both works are the first writings of their kind. The commentary is the earliest extant Christian commentary on a book of the Bible and the Chronicon is the first extant Christian historical work.

This book serves to correct the now accepted understanding of Irenaeus’s theodicy. This assumption of Hick’s theodicy as legitimately “Irenaean” remains due the gulf between Irenaean scholarship and discussion of the problem of evil. The present work offers a bridge between the two to allow for the continued discussion of both theologian’s distinct views.

The 3rd century theologian Origen of Alexandria has traditionally been famous for his belief in universal salvation. Yet, Origen is also famous for his insistence on moral autonomy, the fact that God allows each creature to freely choose to move in the direction of good or evil. How can these two beliefs not result in a paradox or logical inconsistency in Origen’s theology, as many contemporary scholars suggest they do? This book explores the intersection between moral autonomy and God’s foreordained universal salvation in Origen’s writings. Origen was, in fact, aware of the apparent...