The Sculptor and His Stone: Selected Readings on Hellenistic and Christian Learning and Thought in the Early Greek Fathers
This book argues, from a distinctly Eastern Orthodox perspective, for the inseparability of classical Hellenism from the Greek patristic tradition, postulating a common striving for truth in both domains and laying emphasis on the contributions of the ancients and Greek paideia to Christian learning and culture. The essays contained in the volume provide a fruitful strategy, in the spirit of the late Werner Jaeger, for looking anew at the Greek classical world and Christianity through the eyes of the Greek fathers, the direct inheritors of the ancient Greek worldview. Collectively, the author and contributors forcefully demonstrate that, conflated with the visionary insights of the Jewish prophets and of Jewish messianism, the wisdom of the ancients served to pave the way for the unfolding of the fullness of Christian teaching and its spiritually enlightening revelation.
"Archbishop Chrysostomos has not produced merely a simple
collection of texts. If one follows them step by step, he will
certainly decipher a golden thread that goes deeper into the
history of the birth of the Orthodox Christianity which was in time
to come to age as the Universal Orthodox Church. . . . The subject
matter is complex and difficult. Nevertheless [the book] commends
itself as an easy, fruitful, erudite, and spiritual reading."
--Remus Rus, Romania
"This fine book illustrates how early Christian thought synthesized
Jewish revelation with Greek philosophy and literature, integrating
intellectual knowledge with spiritual understanding. The articles
illustrate this synthesis with a number of topics, such as the
relationship between soul, body, and spirit. Metropolitan
Chrysostomos' clear Introduction encourages readers, in the current
anti-Christian culture, to understand the powerful truths and
insights of the early Christian writers."
--Jeffrey Burton Russell, Professor of History, emeritus,
University of California, Santa Barbara
"This engaging collection of essays, which explores the dynamic
relationship between Hellenistic thought and the writings of the
Greek Fathers, opens a double window on Christianity and the
classical world. What readers will find here are vistas certain to
inform their understanding of the link between the wisdom of Homer
and Sophocles, Plato and Aristotle, and the divine revelations of
patristic tradition."
--Christopher Merrill, author of Things of the Hidden God:
Journey to the Holy Mountain
"The publication of this new volume . . . is very welcome. The
possibility to study in greater depth the attitudes of the early
church fathers who wrote in the Greek language towards classical
learning is very important. . . . May this book be a source of
information, inspiration and encouragement for many people of good
will."
--Hieromonk Gorazd (Vopatrny), Director of the Institute of Eastern
Christianity, Hussite Faculty of Theology, Charles University in
Prague
"Archbishop Chrysostomos has not produced merely a simple
collection of texts. If one follows them step by step, he will
certainly decipher a golden thread that goes deeper into the
history of the birth of the Orthodox Christianity which was in time
to come to age as the Universal Orthodox Church. . . . The subject
matter is complex and difficult. Nevertheless [the book] commends
itself as an easy, fruitful, erudite, and spiritual reading."
--Remus Rus, Romania
"This fine book illustrates how early Christian thought synthesized
Jewish revelation with Greek philosophy and literature, integrating
intellectual knowledge with spiritual understanding. The articles
illustrate this synthesis with a number of topics, such as the
relationship between soul, body, and spirit. Metropolitan
Chrysostomos' clear Introduction encourages readers, in the current
anti-Christian culture, to understand the powerful truths and
insights of the early Christian writers."
--Jeffrey Burton Russell, Professor of History, emeritus,
University of California, Santa Barbara
"This engaging collection of essays, which explores the dynamic
relationship between Hellenistic thought and the writings of the
Greek Fathers, opens a double window on Christianity and the
classical world. What readers will find here are vistas certain to
inform their understanding of the link between the wisdom of Homer
and Sophocles, Plato and Aristotle, and the divine revelations of
patristic tradition."
--Christopher Merrill, author of Things of the Hidden God:
Journey to the Holy Mountain
"The publication of this new volume . . . is very welcome. The
possibility to study in greater depth the attitudes of the early
church fathers who wrote in the Greek language towards classical
learning is very important. . . . May this book be a source of
information, inspiration and encouragement for many people of good
will."
--Hieromonk Gorazd (Vopatrny), Director of the Institute of Eastern
Christianity, Hussite Faculty of Theology, Charles University in
Prague
Product Details
- Title : The Sculptor and His Stone: Selected Readings on Hellenistic and Christian Learning and Thought in the Early Greek Fathers
- Author: Chrysostomos, Archbishop
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications
- Publication Date: 2016
- ISBN: 9781498231237
The Most Reverend Chrysostomos is Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies.