Two Replies to the Arians: A Comparison of the “Theological Orations” of Gregory of Nazianzus and the Hymns and Sermons “On the Faith” of Ephraem of Nisibis

Two Replies to the Arians: A Comparison of the “Theological Orations” of Gregory of Nazianzus and the Hymns and Sermons “On the Faith” of Ephraem of NisibisSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/S2TNR7QH/tei

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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.Paul S.RussellTwo Replies to the Arians: A Comparison of the “Theological Orations” of Gregory of Nazianzus and the Hymns and Sermons “On the Faith” of Ephraem of Nisibishttp://syriaca.org/cbss/S2TNR7QHhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/S2TNR7QHhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/S2TNR7QH1992Gregory of Nazianzus (329-389), who was functioning as bishop in the capital city of Constantinople, responded to the Arian challenge, particularly strong in that city, in five orations (27-31 in the collection of his orations) preached about 380, commonly called the Theological Orations. These are the foremost distillation of his thought on the Christological questions relating to the implications of professing belief in a Son consubstantial with the Heavenly Father, as well as his chief battleground with the contentions of those tending to side with Arius. Ephraem's two collections, the hymns and sermons On the Faith are the fruit of this same struggle. The sermons are thought to have been composed while he was in Nisibis (i.e. before 363) while the hymns are thought to stem from the last decade of his life which was spent in Edessa (363-373). This chronological profile of his works against the Arian viewpoint shows that the question was of interest to Ephraem over a period of time. It also makes clear that these two collections of pieces were produced very near in time to Gregory's orations. The purpose of this study is to set these two very important works more firmly in their contemporary settings and to discover the extent of the similarity between the methods and content of their arguments, always with attention to their context in the period leading up to the Council of Constantinople (381 AD). Ephraem's treatment of Scripture and his theological contribution have received very little attention. A comparative study is long overdue and will offer a unique picture of the true state of the Church's intellectual life at a crucial juncture in Christian history. In fact, this study shows a considerable congruency between the arguments offered by these writers and should provide a strong case for the removal of Ephraem from the theological ghetto where he has too often languished and his reintroduction into the scholarly picture of the Arian Controversy. Russell, Paul S. “Two Replies to the Arians: A Comparison of the ‘Theological Orations’ of Gregory of Nazianzus and the Hymns and Sermons ‘On the Faith’ of Ephraem of Nisibis.” Ph.D. dissertation, The Catholic University of America, 1992. Paul S. Russell, Two Replies to the Arians: A Comparison of the ‘Theological Orations’ of Gregory of Nazianzus and the Hymns and Sermons ‘On the Faith’ of Ephraem of Nisibis (Ph.D. dissertation, The Catholic University of America, 1992).ArianismEphremIV CEIV-VII CEheterodoxyhomilieshymnographypoetrypolemic