Filip Ivanovic

One of the questions that presented itself with the rise and development of the Christian faith was the problem of divine omnipotence. By resolving the problem of divine power, it became possible to explain many focal problems of mankind and the world, including, for example, the problem of the existence of evil, or of suffering. This article deals with two perspectives on this problem. Usually, the eleventh-century theologian Peter Damiani is pointed to as a pioneer and originator of the discussion of divine powers. But, St. Isidor 's considerations were developed five centuries before Damiani wrote his famous treatise De divina omnipotentia. On the other hand, the debate in Scholasticism emerged as a long and lively discussion of different ways of defining the problem. The distinction of potentia absoluta and potentia ordinata contributed greatly to debating the general question of divine omnipotence. However, although it was useful in the theological-philosophical sense, this distinction later on provoked political solutions which sometimes served the interest of only one man

One of the most important exponents of the School of Alexandria, Clement of Alexandria (ca. 150. – ca. 215.) is the author of a famous trilogy, consisting of Protrepticus, Paedagogus, and Stromata, which correspond to the three ways of acting of the Logos, namely to convert the pagans to the true faith, to cure the soul from passions, and to uplift the soul to the methodic and intellectual life of spiritual perfection. Logos thus acts through exhortation, training, and teaching. Clement considers himself to be the guardian of the Apostolic tradition and takes the task of conserving this tradition, which consists of cosmological and theological truths. With that goal in mind, the Alexandrian talks about the relation between pagan philosophy and Christianity, allegorical interpretation of the Scripture, the need of revealing and concealing the knowledge, which, in order to be correctly understood, has to be interpreted in accordance with the tradition. The intention of this short article is to point out these concepts and their connections in the way Clement sees them.

Desiring the Beautiful studies the concept of deification, theosis, in two of the most influential early Christian philosopher-theologians, who might be considered as theoretical consolidators of the idea of theosis, and argues that the proper understanding of their central soteriological concept must take into account its dimension of love and beauty. The core of the book consists of six chapters, each dedicated to the three central concepts in two thinkers, and while they can be considered as distinct studies, they are, however, elements which lead to the synoptic vision of the erotic-aesthetic dimension of deification. The three themes have been treated systematically, followed by a synthesis and comparison of convergence and divergence between Dionysus and Maximus. The core of the task stands, of course, in the texts and their interpretation, so the method employed was unavoidably hermeneutical as well. While Dionysius and Maximus are among the most studied Church fathers, the context in which love, beauty and deification relate has not been thoroughly examined so far, and thus Desiring the Beautiful complements existing studies by emphasizing this important aspect of deification as understood by its two chief advocates. Primarily intended for scholars of patristics and Byzantine philosophy, the book can serve as a substantial introduction to the overall thought of Dionysius and Maximus, so it will be of use also to readers interested in late antique and Byzantine studies, early Christian theology, and the relationship between Greek philosophy and Christianity.

The famous and mysterious fifth century author, who wrote his works known as the Corpus Dionysiacum under the pseudonym of Dionysius the Areopagite, is one of the most controversial characters in the history of philosophy. His thought is well known for the concepts of apophatic and cataphatic theologies and hierarchy, as well as for his understanding of eros, beauty, and deification, which all greatly influenced the Areopagite’s posterity. His system is a successful amalgam of ancient philosophy and Christian doctrines. The aim of this article is to examine one of these concepts, namely beauty, which will help in understanding Dionysius ’ aesthetics in its original terms, as well as in its connections to Neoplatonism. Concretely, the article focuses on the conception of the divine beauty, and is therefore articulated through two sections, which deal with beauty as an attribute of God, and the famous pair of good and beautiful.

The aim of the paper is to give a condensed presentation of the view on philosophy by one of the most important Church fathers and Byzantine thinkers, Maximus the Confessor. According to him the true Christian philosophizes three things, which are the commandments, the dogmas and the faith, so that “the commandments separate the mind from passions, the dogmas introduce it to the knowledge of beings, and the faith introduces it to the contemplation of the Holy Trinity”. In this way he defines the threefold spiritual development, which revolves around three kinds of philosophy: practical philosophy, natural philosophy and theological philosophy. These correspond to the participation in being, well-being and eternal-being, and play a core role on the goal of the Christian life; assimilation to God, i.e., deification. In addition, here the philosophy is seen as training for death, which was already present in ancient philosophizing, and thus these views of philosophy represent a connection between the ancient philosophical considerations and Christian faith which is the tradition to which Maximus eminently belongs.

This book contributes to the study of the notions of symbol and icon by examining two phenomena that greatly contributed to their development: the thought of Dionysius the Areopagite and the iconoclastic controversy. Different historical and philosophical-theological contexts are examined within the framework of the influence that Dionysius exerted on main protagonists in the controversy and the theology of icon. The reader will find a discussion of the main points of Dionysius' doctrine, the features of the iconoclastic controversy, and an elaboration of the Areopagite's aesthetic and symbolic theory with special reference to the theology of icon. Throughout the work Ivanovic seeks to offer broad insight relevant to many different disciplines, such as theology, philosophy, history, and art. Dionysian theory of symbols and apophatic theology, his concepts of light, icon, and visible things as "images of the invisible things" were the basis of the further development of the Orthodox theology of the icon, which constitutes one of the fundamental values of Christian theology. The analysis offered in this book incites further study of the doctrinal dimension of Christian iconology, as well as of Christian and Neoplatonic mysticism, Byzantine aesthetics, and of theological and cultural studies.

Dionysius the Areopagite between Orthodoxy and Heresy aims to explore the thought of one of the most controversial characters of Christian history, Dionysius the Areopagite, and put it in a correct context, between pagan (namely Neoplatonic) philosophy on the one side, and Christian theology, on the other. In significant part, the book examines Dionysius’ Neoplatonic sources, but it also offers insights into the original points of his philosophy and theology, thus showing how he managed to achieve a masterful integration of pagan thought and newly revealed faith. The chapters of the book, taken together, try to offer a broad insight into the Areopagite’s thought, through examining not just his intellectual background and milieu, but also some of the crucial features of his work, such as notions of hierarchy, deification, apophatic and cataphatic theologies, icon, and others. This work is of a multidisciplinary character, since Dionysius’ thought has been studied from different points of view, so the contributions range from philosophy and theology to history and art history. Dionysius the Areopagite between Orthodoxy and Heresy is intended for both specialists and non-specialists. Apart from being a collection of specific studies, it can also serve as an introduction to the Areopagite’s thought, and will be useful to all those interested in late antique and early Christian philosophy and theology, patristics, and cultural studies in general.

Dionysius claims that the divine attributes ‘can be fashioned from material things to symbolise what is intelligible and intellectual’. As a matter of fact, sense perceptions are ‘echoes of wisdom’, because they manifest the intelligible. God’s majesty is intermingled in sensible things, which help the human mind to ascend to the ineffable divinity. Thus, sensible things are a concession to human nature, and serve as the mind’s vehicle in its ascent to God. Dionysius constructs an aesthetic soteriology, which centres around deification and union with God, that cannot be completed without the aid of sensible things. This chapter explores these ideas and puts them in the context of Dionysian thought, in addition to offering some insights into Dionysius’ influence on the doctrine of icons.

This article explores the ecclesiological views of Dionysius the Areopagite through the examination of his Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, where he discusses the hierarchical ranks and sacraments, and of his Letter VIII to monk Demophilus, which is important for Dionysius's understanding of hierarchical organisation and discipline. These issues are put in the context of other important questions of the Areopagite's thought, such as his symbolic theory, the character of deification and the role of knowledge in it. Although the Areopagite is one of the most famous among early Christian Greek thinkers, his ecclesiology is somewhat less familiar, especially in the West. This article tries to fill in that gap, hence it represents a general, introductory outline of Dionysius's ecclesiology, with the aim of making it more accessible to the broader Western readership and to incite further research on the subject.

The article situates itself within the debate on ecological issues by emphasizing the importance of philosophical and theological approach to the questions at stake, and focusing on the contributions of Byzantine thought, which has been rather neglected in this context. With this in mind, the article offers a panoramic view of several Byzantine authors’ ideas on the environment and the relationship between human beings and the rest of the creation. By examining the thought of Maximus the Confessor, Dionysius the Areopagite, John Damascene, and John Chrysostom the author highlights their views on deification, unity of creation, and environmental/animal ethics in order to conclude that the mainstream Byzantine vision of nature was not its exploitation, but affirmation of the created world and crucial responsibility of human beings in it.

Ivanović analyzes Dionysius’ thought in order to gain insight into his understanding of the body and matter, with a special emphasis on deification. Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite reflected on beauty as a divine name, discussed the pairing of the Good and the Beautiful, elaborated on beauty in heaven and earth as a glimpse of divine beauty, and showed the importance of material symbols for one’s elevation to God. If humans are composite beings, made of both soul and body, and if they are created in the image and likeness of God, then the body cannot be ugly or evil.

This article deals with the aesthetics of Dionysius the Pseudo- Areopagite, a mysterious early Christian author, whose writings show a combination of Christian and philosophical, especially Neoplatonic, influences. Dionysius’ main preoccupation is absolute and true beauty seen as the beauty which is in itself and by itself always beautiful, and which is the cause of all beauty in the world. The beauty of the world, therefore, is a manifestation of the invisible divine beauty, and such aesthetics did not find its place in the philosophical and theological tradition only, but also in medieval architecture and iconography.

The contribution considers three themes, Hesiod as the precursor of scientific philosophy and ethics, Plato’s political thought and its importance in our days, and the continuity of Greek thought in Byzantine philosophy. It deals with Hesiod’s works Theogony and Works and Days, Plato’s Republic, and it examines the formation of main formulations of Byzantine-Christian doctrines (God’s essence and nature, iconoclastic debate, etc.), through the use of methods and terms of ancient Greek philosophy.

This paper challenges the widespread Enlightenment view of Byzantium as a monster of human spirit showing that much of this bias is due to the generalizations drawn from unfounded analogies between the religious anti-intellectualism in the Latin West and its supposed counterpart in the Byzantine orthodoxy. It points to the first university that was founded in Constantinople and others that soon followed in other cities of Byzantium. Paideia represented the main thread of continuity with ancient antiquity, and it played a central role in the shaping character and it contributed to understandings across a diversity of peoples; its cultivation in open schools and research centers (providing a channel for upward mobility) was unequalled until modern times.

One of the thinkers who intellectually consolidated deification and gave it a solid doctrinal basis, which has remained fundamentally important until today, was (Pseudo)-Dionysius the Areopagite. His entire thought was dedicated to the deification of all creation, and ultimate goal was "the cloud of unknowing", in which the soul, following the ascending path of apophatic theology, reaches mystical union with God. The ascending process starts with material objects, symbols, through which God manifests Himself to humanity. Given the reality of the human person, who is called upon to receive the revelation, the Divinity cannot be perceived without the help of mediators that, for Dionysius, were "sacred veils" beneath which the divine light is hidden. The aim of this article is to highlight the role of visual elements (material objects, symbols) as the starting point in the process of deification, and in the context of the aesthetic elements of Christianity and the Church’s doctrine of deification, which owes its foundation to the Areopagite.