Divine Energies And Divine Action – David Bradshaw

However, the two contrasts do not map neatly onto one another, for items that are distinguished kat’ epinoian can both exist in actuality. This is in fact essential to neo-­Chalcedonian Christology. Thus Leontius of Byzan- tium, immediately after affirming that the humanity and divinity of Christ are separated in epinoia, adds that they nonetheless exist in actuality.51 Pamphilius Theologicus makes a similar observation.52 Leontius of Jerusalem observes (by way of reductio) that if Christ’s human nature existed only in thought (ἐπινοίᾳ), he could possess that nature only in thought and not in reality (πράγματι).53 The appearance of these two contrasts—one a distinction between ways of thinking or considering something, the other between types of reality— among a variety of authors in the sixth century naturally gives rise to the ques- tion of philosophical influence.

It is well known that Christian theology of this era was permeated by the influence of the Aristotelian commentaries of Ammonios, son of Hermeias, who lectured in Alexandria from around 480 to the 520s, and his students and successors.54 Although the Christian tradition already contained internal developments that would have led in the direc- tions we have noted, it seems likely that there was also some influence from the Aristotelian commentary tradition. Already in the Metaphysics, Aristotle had noted that truth and falsity are not in things (πράγματα) but in thought (διανοίᾳ), since they arise from mental operations of combination and divi- sion.55 He also frequently observes that two things may be separable in defi- nition (λόγῳ) but not spatially or in their being (τὸ εἶναι), such as the same surface viewed as convex and concave, or the road from Athens to Thebes and from Thebes to Athens, or a given act of learning and the corresponding Wesche, On the Person of Christ: The Christology of Emperor Justinian (Crestwood, NY: St. Vlad- imir’s Seminary Press, 1991), 174.

51. Leontius of Byzantium, Solution to the Objections of Severus (PG 86: 1937C). 52. Pamphilius Theologicus, Panoplia Dogmatica 9.4, cited in G. W. H. Lampe, A Patristic Greek Lexicon, s.v. epinoia 3. 53. Leontius of Jerusalem, Aporiae 58 (PG 86: 1800D); trans. Patrick T. R. Gray, Leontius of Jerusalem: Against the Monophysites (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 217, slightly modified. 54.

Divine Energies and Divine Action Divine Energies and Divine Action Exploring the Essence-­Energies Distinction David Bradshaw Published in the United States of America by IOTA Publications with the support of the Theology Department at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota. IOTA Publications is a part of the International Orthodox Theological Association (IOTA).

IOTA is a community of scholars, clergy, and professionals dedicated to the dissemination of knowledge within the context of the Orthodox tradition. IOTA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, registered in the State of Illinois. ©2023 IOTA Publications, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA iota-­web.org This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of IOTA Publications.

First published 2023. Text and cover design: Klaas Wolterstorff /kwbookdesign.com Cover image: St. Peter Raising Tabitha, Palatine Chapel, Palermo, Sicily Paul Williams–funkyfood London / Alamy Stock Photo Divine Energies and Divine Action: Exploring the Essence-­Energies Distinction / by David Bradshaw. ISBN: 978-­1-­7352951-­5-­2 (paperback) ISBN: 978-­1-­7352951-­6-­9 (e-­book) IOTA Publications has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-­party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

v Contents Contents Foreword vii Preface xi Acknowledgments xv Abbreviations xvii 1. The Concept of the Divine Energies 1 2. The Divine Energies in the New Testament 27 3. The Divine Glory and the Divine Energies 57 4. Essence and Energies: What Kind of Distinction? 81 5.

The Divine Processions and the Divine Energies 119 6. Perceiving Nature as It Is: The Divine Logoi and the Divine Energies 133 7. In Defense of the Essence-­Energies Distinction: A Reply to Critics 151 8. Afterword: Of Essence, Energies, and Computer Programs 171 Bibliography 205 Index 219 vii Foreword Foreword In contemporary Orthodox theology, the essence-­energies distinction is of- ten mentioned, but rarely understood. Even rarer is the work that treats the celebrated distinction with clarity, grace, and philosophical sophistication.

David Bradshaw’s groundbreaking work will reward even the most demand- ing reader in all three respects. The book is lucidly and elegantly written.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: f2741c5eede646ca
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 5,872,042 bytes (5.6 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 247
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 510.62 minutes
• Total Words: 102,125
• Total Characters: 629,063
• Average Words per Page: 413.46
• Average Characters per Page: 2546.81

Most Frequent Words

divine (1120), god (715), energies (585), one (483), essence (449), distinction (321), see (311), energy (265), also (245), palamas (228), gregory (226), between (192), nature (177), energeia (167), things (167), action (165), aristotle (162), two (162), new (161), way (146), john (138), greek (132), sense (132), glory (129), press (128), theology (120), even (119), although (118), power (117), thought (117), another (115), spirit (115), aquinas (112), university (109), human (107), activity (107), different (106), natural (106), first (102), view (101), maximus (101), god’s (99), like (99), east (98), form (97), act (97), point (95), within (94), trans (94), concept (92), himself (92), present (92), good (92), christ (92), ousia (91), west (91), christian (90), made (90), names (90), true (89), meaning (89), since (89), fathers (88), life (87), paul (85), among (85), creatures (85), however (85), basil (85), say (84), oxford (84), work (83), yet (82), light (82), itself (82), much (81), terms (81), epinoia (81), father (79), works (79), attributes (78), passage (77), vision (75), bradshaw (74), thus (73), without (72), kind (71), active (71), something (70), real (70), mind (70), edited (70), question (69), case (69), philosophy (68), ways (67), use (66), acts (66), testament (65), well (65).

PDF Download