Dionysius the Areopagite between Orthodoxy and Heresy aims to explore the thought of one of the most controversial characters of Christian history, Dionysius the Areopagite, and put it in a correct context, between pagan (namely Neoplatonic) philosophy on the one side, and Christian theology, on the other. In significant part, the book examines Dionysius’ Neoplatonic sources, but it also offers insights into the original points of his philosophy and theology, thus showing how he managed to achieve a masterful integration of pagan thought and newly revealed faith.

The chapters of the book, taken together, try to offer a broad insight into the Areopagite’s thought, through examining not just his intellectual background and milieu, but also some of the crucial features of his work, such as notions of hierarchy, deification, apophatic and cataphatic theologies, icon, and others. This work is of a multidisciplinary character, since Dionysius’ thought has been studied from different points of view, so the contributions range from philosophy and theology to history and art history.

Dionysius the Areopagite between Orthodoxy and Heresy is intended for both specialists and non-specialists. Apart from being a collection of specific studies, it can also serve as an introduction to the Areopagite’s thought, and will be useful to all those interested in late antique and early Christian philosophy and theology, patristics, and cultural studies in general.

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Prior to the middle of the fourth century, the exegesis of St. Paul had been monopolized by Greek and Syriac commentators. Then, in the space of half a century (c. 360 – c. 409), there appeared no less than 52 commentaries by six different Latin authors. This sudden flurry of literary activity has been dubbed the western “Renaissance of Paul.” Jerome’s commentaries on four Pauline epistles (Galatians, Ephesians, Titus, Philemon), which he composed in 386 shortly after establishing himself in Bethlehem, occupy a central place in this relatively short but prolific segment of the history of Pauline exegesis in Latin.

Jerome was the greatest biblical scholar of the ancient Latin church, and his Commentary on Galatians is one of the crowning achievements of his illustrious career. It far outclasses the five other contemporary Latin commentaries on Galatians in its breadth of classical and patristic erudition, Hebrew and Greek textual criticism of the Bible, and expository thoroughness. It is unique also because it is the only one of the Latin commentaries to make the Greek exegetical tradition its main point of reference. Jerome’s Commentary in fact preserves, in one form or another, a treasure-trove of otherwise lost Greek exegesis, particularly Origen’s Commentary on Galatians, from which he worked very closely when composing his own work.

Jerome’s Commentary on Galatians is presented here in English translation in its entirety. The introduction and notes situate the Commentary in its historical, exegetical, and theological contexts and also provide extensive coverage of ancient and modern scholarly debates about the interpretation of Paul’s epistle.

ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR:

Andrew Cain is associate professor of classics at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has published widely on Jerome and other late Latin writers. He has authored The Letters of Jerome: Asceticism, Biblical Exegesis, and the Construction of Christian Authority in Late Antiquity and has co-edited Jerome of Stridon: His Life, Writings, and Legacy as well as The Power of Religion in Late Antiquity.

[From the publisher]: St. Jerome is regarded as one of the four great doctors of the western Christian Church. Termed by the Council of Trent, “the greatest doctor in explaining the Scriptures,” the Latin Church regards St. Jerome as its preeminent scriptural commentator. Nevertheless, much of his prodigious exegetical output has never been translated into English. In this volume, Thomas Scheck provides the first translation in English (and in any modern language) of Jerome’s important commentary on Galatians, with two shorter commentaries on Titus and Philemon.

Thomas P. Scheck is assistant professor of classics and theology at Ave Maria University. He is the author of Origen and the History of Justification: The Legacy of Origen’s Commentary on Romans (Univ. of Notre Dame Press, 2008).

Book Contents:

Brendan Leahy (St Patrick’s College, Maynooth), The Holy Spirit in the theology of Irenaeus

Janet E. Rutherford, Clement and Origen in context

Juliette Day (Blackfriars Hall, Oxford), Cyril of Jerusalem on the Holy Spirit

Lewis Ayres (U Durham), Didymus the Blind’s de Spiritu Sancto and the development of Nicene pneumatology

Thomas O’Loughlin (U Nottingham), St Augustine on the place of the Holy Spirit in the formation of the Gospels

Finbarr Clancy SJ (Milltown Institute), The Holy Spirit in St Fulgentius of Ruspe’s Ad Moninum

Serafim Seppälä (U Joensuu, Finland), The Holy Spirit in Isaac of Ninevah and East Syrian Mysticism

Andreas Andreopoulos (U Wales Lampeter), The Holy Spirit in the ecclesiology of Photios of Constantinople

Gregory Collins OSB (Glenstal Abbey), Three modern ‘fathers’ on the filioque: good, bad, or indifferent?

Patrick Mullins OCarm (Milltown Institute), The Holy Spirit and the Marian typology of St Ambrose at Vatican II.

D. Vincent Twomey SVD is professor emeritus of moral theology, St Patrick’s College, Maynooth. Janet E. Rutherford is the hon. secretary, Patristic Symposium, Maynooth.

Christian identity construction in the early imperial period is is a focus of this study.

The author reports the following about the book: The book is on Scripture authority in post-Apostolic Church. One of its main conclusions is that the primary sources argue against community theology in favour of a religous experience or sense of revelation.