The Idea of Nicaea in the Early Church Councils, AD 431-451

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Theology, Christianity, Church
Cover of the book The Idea of Nicaea in the Early Church Councils, AD 431-451 by Mark S. Smith, OUP Oxford
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Mark S. Smith ISBN: 9780192572158
Publisher: OUP Oxford Publication: December 13, 2018
Imprint: OUP Oxford Language: English
Author: Mark S. Smith
ISBN: 9780192572158
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication: December 13, 2018
Imprint: OUP Oxford
Language: English

The Idea of Nicaea in the Early Church Councils examines the role that appeals to Nicaea (both the council and its creed) played in the major councils of the mid-fifth century. It argues that the conflict between rival construals of Nicaea, and the struggle convincingly to arbitrate between them, represented a key dynamic driving—and unsettling—the conciliar activity of these decades. Mark S. Smith identifies a set of inherited assumptions concerning the role that Nicaea was expected to play in orthodox discourse—namely, that it possessed unique authority as a conciliar event, and sole sufficiency as a credal statement. The fundamental dilemma was thus how such shibboleths could be persuasively reaffirmed in the context of a dispute over Christological doctrine that the resources of the Nicene Creed were inadequate to address, and how the convening of new oecumenical councils could avoid fatally undermining Nicaea's special status. Smith examines the articulation of these contested ideas of 'Nicaea' at the councils of Ephesus I (431), Constantinople (448), Ephesus II (449), and Chalcedon (451). Particular attention is paid to the role of conciliar acta in providing carefully-shaped written contexts within which the Nicene Creed could be read and interpreted. This study proposes that the capacity of the idea of 'Nicaea' for flexible re-expression was a source of opportunity as well as a cause of strife, allowing continuity with the past to be asserted precisely through adaptation and modification, and opening up significant new paths for the articulation of credal and conciliar authority. The work thus combines a detailed historical analysis of the reception of Nicaea in the proceedings of the fifth-century councils, with an examination of the complex delineation of theological 'orthodoxy' in this period. It also reflects more widely on questions of doctrinal development and ecclesial reception in the early church.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The Idea of Nicaea in the Early Church Councils examines the role that appeals to Nicaea (both the council and its creed) played in the major councils of the mid-fifth century. It argues that the conflict between rival construals of Nicaea, and the struggle convincingly to arbitrate between them, represented a key dynamic driving—and unsettling—the conciliar activity of these decades. Mark S. Smith identifies a set of inherited assumptions concerning the role that Nicaea was expected to play in orthodox discourse—namely, that it possessed unique authority as a conciliar event, and sole sufficiency as a credal statement. The fundamental dilemma was thus how such shibboleths could be persuasively reaffirmed in the context of a dispute over Christological doctrine that the resources of the Nicene Creed were inadequate to address, and how the convening of new oecumenical councils could avoid fatally undermining Nicaea's special status. Smith examines the articulation of these contested ideas of 'Nicaea' at the councils of Ephesus I (431), Constantinople (448), Ephesus II (449), and Chalcedon (451). Particular attention is paid to the role of conciliar acta in providing carefully-shaped written contexts within which the Nicene Creed could be read and interpreted. This study proposes that the capacity of the idea of 'Nicaea' for flexible re-expression was a source of opportunity as well as a cause of strife, allowing continuity with the past to be asserted precisely through adaptation and modification, and opening up significant new paths for the articulation of credal and conciliar authority. The work thus combines a detailed historical analysis of the reception of Nicaea in the proceedings of the fifth-century councils, with an examination of the complex delineation of theological 'orthodoxy' in this period. It also reflects more widely on questions of doctrinal development and ecclesial reception in the early church.

More books from OUP Oxford

Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of Corpus Phonology by Mark S. Smith
Cover of the book Chains of Finance by Mark S. Smith
Cover of the book Overlapping Intellectual Property Rights by Mark S. Smith
Cover of the book Cosmology and Self in the Apostle Paul by Mark S. Smith
Cover of the book Postmodernism: A Very Short Introduction by Mark S. Smith
Cover of the book Images of Empiricism by Mark S. Smith
Cover of the book Axial Spondyloarthritis by Mark S. Smith
Cover of the book Vanity Fair and the Celestial City by Mark S. Smith
Cover of the book Galileo: A Very Short Introduction by Mark S. Smith
Cover of the book The Eusebian Canon Tables by Mark S. Smith
Cover of the book Independence and Legitimacy in the Institutional System of the European Union by Mark S. Smith
Cover of the book Revisiting The Polite and Commercial People by Mark S. Smith
Cover of the book Multinational Enterprises and the Law by Mark S. Smith
Cover of the book Oxford Handbook of Expedition and Wilderness Medicine by Mark S. Smith
Cover of the book Maximus the Confessor by Mark S. Smith
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy