Asceticism and Philosophy in Medieval Asia Minor and Central and South Eastern Europe
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Romanian Institute of Orthodox Theology and Spirituality of New York
Organizer Name
Theodor Damian
Organizer Affiliation
Metropolitan College of New York
Presider Name
Daniela Anghel
Presider Affiliation
Romanian Institute of Orthodox Theology and Spirituality of New York
Paper Title 1
Interdisciplinary Endeavors in Gregory of Nazianzus's Poetry
Presenter 1 Name
Theodor Damian
Paper Title 2
The Ascetic Agenda of Nilus of Ancyra
Presenter 2 Name
Clair McPherson
Presenter 2 Affiliation
General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church
Paper Title 3
Radical Incarnation: The Body in the Hesychast Tradition
Presenter 3 Name
Alina N. Feld
Presenter 3 Affiliation
General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church
Start Date
12-5-2017 3:30 PM
Session Location
Bernhard 209
Description
Some of the most educated leaders of the Christian church, for example the Cappadocian Fathers who successfully graduated from the most famous schools of the time, local and international, considered asceticism and the contemplation of the beauty in God’s creation as the highest level of philosophy.
Asked where he got his acknowledged wisdom, Socrates responded: “From the things that do not lie;” in other words, not from people but from the contemplation of “things”, of the created order.
This session intends to encourage scholars in both fields, theology and philosophy, to take a new look at the relation between theology and philosophy, a relation of incompatibility according to some, and of compatibility and consistency according to others, and eventually to discover or rediscover that the beauty of philosophy is not limited to intellectual sophistry, but that it targets the daily life of a person giving him or her guidance in terms of how to live this life in order to make sure that one reaches the next level of existence in God’s communion.
Theodor Damian
Asceticism and Philosophy in Medieval Asia Minor and Central and South Eastern Europe
Bernhard 209
Some of the most educated leaders of the Christian church, for example the Cappadocian Fathers who successfully graduated from the most famous schools of the time, local and international, considered asceticism and the contemplation of the beauty in God’s creation as the highest level of philosophy.
Asked where he got his acknowledged wisdom, Socrates responded: “From the things that do not lie;” in other words, not from people but from the contemplation of “things”, of the created order.
This session intends to encourage scholars in both fields, theology and philosophy, to take a new look at the relation between theology and philosophy, a relation of incompatibility according to some, and of compatibility and consistency according to others, and eventually to discover or rediscover that the beauty of philosophy is not limited to intellectual sophistry, but that it targets the daily life of a person giving him or her guidance in terms of how to live this life in order to make sure that one reaches the next level of existence in God’s communion.
Theodor Damian