St. Maximus the Confessor's "Questions and Doubts"
Abstract
This translation of the Quaestiones et Dubia presents for the first time in English one of the Confessor's most significant contributions to early Christian biblical interpretation. Maximus the Confessor (580–662) was a monk whose writings focused on ascetical interpretations of biblical and patristic works. For his refusal to accept the Monothelite position supported by Emperor Constans II, he was tried as a heretic, his right hand was cut off, and his tongue was cut out. In his work, Maximus the Confessor brings together the patristic exegetical aporiai tradition and the spiritual-pedagogical tradition of monastic questions and responses. The overarching theme is the importance of the ascetical life. For Maximus, askesis is a lifelong endeavor that consists of the struggle and discipline to maintain control over the passions. One engages in the ascetical life by taking part in both theoria (contemplation) and praxis (action). To convey this teaching, Maximus uses a number of pedagogical tools including allegory, etymology, number symbolism, and military terminology. A rich historical and contextual background is provided in the introduction to help ground and familiarize the reader with this work.
This paper examines the impact of Proclus’ notion of divine descent, i.e., κατάβασις, on the formation of core theological doctrines in Pseudo-Dionysius and Maximus the Confessor. The notion of κατάβασις was originally employed by pagan Proclus to explain the downward providence of gods toward humans, emphasizing the dominant role of gods for human perfection. In his exegesis on Alcibiades I, Proclus identified Socrates as the incarnation of divine providence, a divinely inspired lover in charge of Alcibiades’ conversion to philosophical life. Pseudo-Dionysius adapted the Proclean notion of κατάβασις by supplementing it with the Christian notion of God’s ecstatic love, understood as God’s providential act toward His creation. In the Celestial Hierarchy and Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, Dionysius endeavored to reveal the reciprocal-ecstatic union between God and humans made possible by His ecstatic κατάβασις during the liturgy. Maximus adapted and further developed the Dionysian notion of κατάβασις. While stressing the crucial role of the κατάβασις for human salvation, he gave it a new meaning by synthesizing it in the context of his anthropology, which stressed the holistic transformation of the human body and soul as a result of the divine descent.
The study of Maximus the Confessor’s thought has flourished in recent years: international conferences, publications and articles, new critical editions and translations mark a torrent of interest in the work and influence of perhaps the most sublime of the Byzantine Church Fathers. It has been repeatedly stated that the Confessor’s thought is of eminently philosophical interest. However, no dedicated collective scholarly engagement with Maximus the Confessor as a philosopher has taken place—and this volume attempts to start such a discussion. Apart from Maximus’ relevance and importance for philosophy in general, a second question arises: should towering figures of Byzantine philosophy like Maximus the Confessor be included in an overview of the European history of philosophy, or rather excluded from it—as is the case today with most histories of European philosophy? Maximus’ philosophy challenges our understanding of what European philosophy is. In this volume, we begin to address these issues and examine numerous aspects of Maximus’ philosophy—thereby also stressing the interdisciplinary character of Maximian studies.
Sometimes, one finds in the Maximian corpus passages that reprimand gender, womanhood, marriage, sexuality, and pleasure. Analyzing some relevant texts, mainly from his Ambigua, this article proposes that the Confessor did not dismiss gender-related themes. Drawing on Paul, Gregory of Nyssa, and his own experience of holiness, Maximus was concerned with the misuse of gender in humanity’s sinful condition, and with its virtuous restoration. He worked within a holistic, realistic, and spiritual framework, which led him to construe the spiritual lifestyle not as an abolishment of gender, marriage, and pleasure, but as a dispassionate and compassionate experience of human life.
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