Aware of regional diversities of Aramaic dialects, he recorded that "the Osroënians, the Syrians, the people of the Euphrates, the Palestinians, and the Phoenicians all speak Syriac, but with many differences in pronunciation". To the persecuted Christians of Persian Armenia he sent letters of encouragement, and to the Carthaginian Celestiacus, who had fled the rule of the Vandals, he gave refuge. 16) of Theodoret's defence of Diodorus and Theodore (438-444) have been preserved.[18]. The court excluded Theodoret from the Second Council of Ephesus in 449 because of his antagonism to Cyril. It was during the journey to Rome that he wrote his famous letters that … The emperor at once gave plain indications of his adherence to true religion, and offered the first fruits of his kingdom to the Lord of all, by publishing an edict commanding the exiled shepherds to return, and to be restored to their flocks, and ordering the sacred buildings to be delivered to congregations adopting communion with Damasus. Theodoret, the monastic bishop of Cyrrhus (near Zeitounak, north of Afrin in modern Syria), composed the Religious History in 440.4 Its twenty-eight narratives celebrate ascetics active in northwest Syria since the early fourth century.5 Theodoret illustrates in terms both heroic and biblical the practice of In principle his exegesis is grammatical-historical; and he criticizes the intrusion of the author's own ideas. . They were most probably delivered to the cultured Greek congregation of Antioch, sometime between 431 and 435. A few extracts from the five orations on Chrysostom were preserved by Photius (codex 273). CHAPTER I. The truth is self-consistent where it is not obscured with error and approves itself as the power of life; philosophy is only a presentiment of it. [24][25] Theodoret himself belonged to the highly Hellenized urban landscape of Roman Syria,[26] but his Aramaic background,[27] accompanied with knowledge of Aramaic language (called Syriac among Greeks), enabled him to note several features of his ancestral language. The divine illumination affords the right understanding after the apostolic suggestion and the New Testament fulfilment. He played a pivotal role in many early Byzantine church controversies that led to various ecumenical acts and schisms. Theodoret stands out prominently in the Christological controversies aroused by Cyril of Alexandria. There are many lost works. He played a pivotal role in many early Byzantine church controversies that led to … Unlike most sermons, they are reasoned arguments, lectures rather than homilies on scriptural texts. Theodoret now composed the Eranistes (see below). Theodoret's sources are in dispute. Derek Krueger has noted the importance of imitation and Biblical precedents in the Religious History and its deep connections to Theodoret’s own life (Krueger 2004). Theodoret was compelled to leave Cyrrhus and retire to his monastery at Apamea. : from the twentieth year of Constantine down to the reign of Leo I, in whose reign he died.” 104. Other articles where Ecclesiastical History is discussed: patristic literature: The school of Antioch: …apologies against paganism, and his Ecclesiastical History, continuing Eusebius’s work down to 428. He thus illustrates that the overcoming of the Galenic paradigm is also proof that the holy men surpass the work of magicians. In the nineteenth century, A Ehrhard showed that these two works, though ascribed to Cyril, in fact present the doctrinal views of Theodoret; some fragments, quotations cited under Theodoret's name, prove that these are in fact works by Theodoret, not Cyril. Theodoret's last exegetical works were the interpretations of difficult passages in the Octateuch and Quaestiones dealing with the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, written about 452 to 453. He converted more than 1,000 Marcionites in his diocese,[8] besides many Arians and Macedonians;[9] more than 200 copies of Tatian's Diatessaron he retired from the churches; and he erected churches and supplied them with relics. Three collections survive, though there is some overlap between them. ISBN. Compared to the more than 500 letters known to Nicephorus Callistus in the fourteenth century, only about half that number had survived to the twentieth century. His aim is to avoid a one-sidedness of literalness as well as of allegory. Epist. zachary the rhetor cites a History of Chalcedon as written by Theodoret, but there is no trace of it; and the Libellus contra Nestorium ad Sporacium is not his. [12], An English translation of the surviving letters is part of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (2 ser., iii. ", "What was Theodoret's Mother Tongue? [5] Domnus II, the successor of John, took him as his counsellor. He paid weekly visits to Peter the Galatian, was instructed by Macedonius and other ascetics, and at an early age became a lector among the clergy of Antioch. Theodoret’s depiction of Galenic doctors in the Religious History … In 423 he left as he had been appointed Bishop of Cyrrhus, over a diocese about forty miles square and embracing 800 parishes, but with an insignificant town as its see city. Theodoret’s Religious History recounts the biographies of approximately 30 monks living in Northern Syria in the 4th and 5th centuries. 3. His writings were encyclopaedic in range, but the most memorable perhaps are his Remedy for Greek Maladies, the last of ancient apologies against paganism, and his Ecclesiastical History, continuing Eusebius’s work down… Among apologetic writings was the Ad quaestiones magorum (429-436), now lost, in which Theodoret justified the Old Testament sacrifices as alternatives in opposition to the Egyptian idolatry,[20] and exposed the fables of the Magi who worshipped the elements (Church History v. 38). His conduct shows (though hindered from a statement to that effect) that he performed this with his previous reservation; namely, without application beyond the teaching of two sons in Christ and the denial of the theotokos. These letters provide glimpses of rural Christianity in northern Syria, as well as insight into episcopal relationships; hints of the development of Christological issues between the Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon can be seen; there are letters of consolation and commendation; throughout there is revealed the generous and sensitive soul of a pastor. As such, it forms one of the last Apologies written, since in an age when Christianity was dominant, the need for apologies gradually died out. Instead of a "union according to hypostases," he would accept only one that "manifests the essential properties or modes of the natures." [16] He detects Apollinarianism in Cyril's teaching, and declines a "contracting into one" of two natures of the only begotten, as much as a separation into two sons (Epist. Excepting the commentary on Isaiah (fragments preserved in the catenae) and on Galatians ii.6-13, the exegetical writings of Theodoret are extant. Theodoret mentions having written against Arius and Eunomius,[19] probably one work, to which were joined the three treatises against the Macedonians. Chapter 11, “Theodoret in the Religious History ” (130-142), takes on the hagiographical aspect of Theodoret’s presentation of his own life in the Religious History. His philanthropic and economic interests were extensive and varied: he endeavoured to secure relief for the people oppressed with taxation; he divided his inheritance among the poor; from his episcopal revenues he erected baths, bridges, halls, and aqueducts; he summoned rhetoricians and physicians, and reminded the officials of their duties. 179 letters were edited by J Sirmond in the seventeenth century. De providentia, or Ten Discourses on Providence, consists of apologetic discourses, proving the divine providence from the physical order (chapters i-iv), and from the moral and social order (chapters vi-x). Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus (Greek: Θεοδώρητος Κύρρου; c. 393 – c. 457 AD) was an influential author, theologian, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus (423–457). The Epistle of Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria to Alexander, Bishop of Constantinople. He is considered blessed by the Eastern Orthodox Church. This bar-code number lets you verify that you're getting exactly the right version or edition of a … Source. PROLOGUE. He understood Syriac as well as Greek, but was not acquainted with either Hebrew or Latin. To understand these, we need to have some knowledge of his own biography, for which, indeed, the scattered data of the Religious History are a prime source. He was educated in the monastery of St. Euprepius, near Antioch, ordained a deacon by Bishop Porphyrius, and elected bishop of Cyrus in 420 and 423. by Baxter in 1847. Theodoret shared in the petition of John I of Antioch to Nestorius to approve of the term theotokos ("mother of God"), and upon the request of John wrote against Cyril's anathemas. After the death of Cyril, adherents of the Antiochian theology were appointed to bishoprics. He played a pivotal role in several 5th-century Byzantine Church controversies that led to various ecumenical acts and schisms. To the condemnation of Nestorius he could not assent. His Eranistes is notable for its marginal indications of speakers' names, and his Pauline commentaries (see paul, st) for their notion of psychagōgia (winning of souls). [6] When he was twenty-three years old and both parents were dead, he divided his fortune among the poor (Epist. However, Theodoret supplied numerous additional details from unknown sources. His representation of orthodox doctrine consists of a collocation of Scripture passages. His correspondents included the sophists Aerius and Isokasius. Many of Theodoret's dogmatic works have perished; five, however, have survived. For example, Urbainczyk examines how Theodoret’s mother functions in the narrative only to disappear when she is no long useful. The Ecclesiastical History Of Theodoret by Theodoret (Author) 2.0 out of 5 stars 1 rating. His Ecclesiastical History takes a strong apologetic and anti-heretical (mainly anti-Arian) tone. This use of florilegia heralds a new stage in doctrinal development, in that it creates a new authority for Christian theology: that of the 'Fathers'. God is immutable also in becoming man, the two natures are separate in Christ, and God the Logos is ever immortal and impassive. The only thing known concerning him following the Council of Chalcedon is the letter of Leo charging him to guard the Chalcedonian victory (PG, lxxxiii. The last noteworthy Antiochene, Theodoret of Cyrrhus (c. 393– c. 458), in Syria, was also an elegant stylist. Hence he protests against the attributing of The Song of Songs to Solomon and the like as degrading the Holy Spirit. Ecclesiastical History: a History of the Church in 5 Books from A.D.322 to the Death of Theodore of Mopsuestia, A.D.427 by Theodoretus Bishop of Cyrus a New Tr...With a Memoir of the Author Theodoret of Cyrrhus, a key player in the political and theological controversies between Alexandria and Antioch in the fifth-century CE, produced massive amounts of literature. Contact information. In the final two chapters (XXIX and XXX), he records the lives of three women: NULL and Cyra (XXIX) and NULL (XXX). Exegetical material on the Gospels under his name in the catenae may have come from his other works, and foreign interpolations occur in his comments on the Octateuch. John, reconciled to Cyril by the emperor's order, sought to bring Theodoret to submission by entrenching upon his eparchy. In the Old Testament everything has typological significance and prophetically it embodies already the Christian doctrine. He was the child of a prosperous Antiochene couple who had been childless for many years. Of the twenty-seven orations in defence of various propositions, the first six agree in their given content with Theodoret. Without excluding other potential motives behind the writing of the Religious History, this one has received the least attention. Next that on the Psalms was completed before 436; and those on Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the Pauline Epistles (including Hebrews), before 448. [23], In several works, Theodoret demonstrated an interest for linguistic issues related to translations of sacred texts and theological works, with emphasis on literary exchange between two languages, Greek and Syriac. These florilegia provide evidence of Theodoret's considerable learning, with 238 texts drawn from 88 works, including pre-Nicene writers such as Ignatius, Irenaeus and Hippolytus, as well as theologians such as Athanasius and the Cappadocian Fathers. After Chalcedon, he lived in Cyrrhus until his death, which may have been in 460.[10][11]. Eventually, Theodoret's birth was promised by a hermit named Macedonius the Barley-Eater on the condition of his dedication to God, whence the name Theodoret ("gift of God").[4]. Even a cursory look into Theodoret’s writings suffices to show that his engagement with Hellenism—understood as both a set of religious traditions and cultural and literary expressions—lasted throughout his life. In this, her second book, Theresa Urbainczyk demonstrates how one collection of saints' lives—the Religious History of Theodoret, bishop of Cyrrhus—both prescribes and describes the relationship between ascetics and the early church. Though he speaks of Diodore of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia as his teachers, this is improbable - though it was certainly their theological tradition in which he was brought up. According to Valesius these were mainly Socrates and Sozomen; Albert Guldenpenning's thorough research placed Rufinus first, and next to him, Eusebius of Caesarea, Athanasius, Sozomen, Sabinus, Philostorgius, Gregory Nazianzen, and, least of all, Socrates. Then he was constrained (October 26, 451) by the friends of Dioscurus to pronounce the anathema over Nestorius. Theodoret was born, probably in 393, of a well-to-do, though not aristocratic, Antiochene family. Theodoret, the Church historian says he was consecrated bishop by St. Peter, who was at first bishop of Antioch before going to Rome. [29][30], Influential 5th century Christian theologian of the School of Antioch, biblical commentator and bishop of Cyrrhus, This article is about the theologian. This was preserved among the writings of Justin Martyr. The man united to God was born of Mary; between God the Logos and the form of a servant a distinction must be drawn. Featuring the Church Fathers, Catholic Encyclopedia, Summa Theologica and more. Upon this he was declared orthodox and rehabilitated. By the unavoidable imperfection of the translations, he states, the understanding is encumbered. [772] Julianus Sabas (i.e. In vain were his efforts at court at self-justification against the charges of Dioscurus, as well as the countercharge of Domnus against Eutyches of Apollinarism. It contains many sources otherwise lost, specially letters on the Arian controversy; however, the book is extremely partisan, the heretics being consistently blackened and described as afflicted with the 'Arian plague'. [28] Theodoret′s regional (provincial) differentiation of Aramaic dialects included an explicit distinction between the "Syrians" (as Aramaic speakers of Syria proper, western of Euphrates), and the "Osroenians" as Aramaic speakers of Osroene (eastern region, centered in Edessa), thus showing that dialect of the "Syrians" (Aramaic speakers of proper Syria) was known to have somewhat different pronunciation from that of the "Osroenians" (speakers of Edessan Aramaic). The narrative is more compressed than in the other historians, and Theodoret often strings documents together, with only brief comments between. The Religious History, with an appendix on divine love, contains the biographies of thirty (ten living) ascetics, held forth as religious models. trans. An Eng. Theodoret, the most religious bishop, came up into the midst and said: `I have offered petitions to the most godlike, most religious and Christ-loving masters of the world, and I have related the disasters which have befallen me, and I claim that they shall be read.' Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co.. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. 1319 sqq.). - Is the Question Open or Closed? Theodoret, the most reverend bishop, passed into the midst, and said: "I have made my petition to the most divine and religious Emperor, and I have laid documents before the most reverend bishops occupying the place of the most sacred Archbishop Leo; and if you think fit, they shall be read to you, and you will know what I think.' 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