From Ousia to Sophia: The Patristic and Classical Background to Twentieth-Century Essentialism and Personalism
Both Classical Greek philosophy and the early Christian theology that often drew upon it reflected a tension in their understanding of essence (οὐσία). Was it a concrete thing, something that could assume agency and be related to, or did it refer only to the shared characteristics that reflect thing...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
[2021]
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| In: |
International journal of systematic theology
Year: 2021, Volume: 23, Issue: 1, Pages: 57-67 |
| IxTheo Classification: | KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history KDF Orthodox Church NBF Christology TB Antiquity VA Philosophy |
| Online Access: |
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| Summary: | Both Classical Greek philosophy and the early Christian theology that often drew upon it reflected a tension in their understanding of essence (οὐσία). Was it a concrete thing, something that could assume agency and be related to, or did it refer only to the shared characteristics that reflect things and persons of a common kind? In this article I first establish that this question pertains, mutatis mutandis, to the Platonic forms, as well as to Christian concepts of essence and nature. I then argue that the Christian theology of the conciliar period sided against the reification of essence/nature, noting that their misplaced concreteness resulted in problematic doctrines. In conclusion I briefly explore how this same dynamic plays out in twentieth-century Orthodox theology, as expressed by Sergius Bulgakov, Vladimir Lossky and John Zizioulas. |
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| ISSN: | 1468-2400 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: International journal of systematic theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1111/ijst.12457 |