Evagrius and His Legacy

by Joel Kalvesmaki (Editor), Robin Darling Young (Editor)

Overview

Evagrius of Pontus (ca. 345-399) was a Greek-speaking monastic thinker and Christian theologian whose works formed the basis for much later reflection on monastic practice and thought in the Christian Near East, in Byzantium, and in the Latin West. His innovative collections of short chapters meant for meditation, scriptural commentaries in the form of scholia, extended discourses, and letters were widely translated and copied. Condemned posthumously by two ecumenical councils as a heretic along with Origen and Didymus of Alexandria, he was revered among Christians to the east of the Byzantine Empire, in Syria and Armenia, while only some of his writings endured in the Latin and Greek churches.

A student of the famed bishop-theologians Gregory of Nazianzus and Basil of Caesarea, Evagrius left the service of the urban church and settled in an Egyptian monastic compound. His teachers were veteran monks schooled in the tradition of Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Anthony, and he enriched their legacy with the experience of the desert and with insight drawn from the entire Greek philosophical tradition, from Plato and Aristotle through Iamblichus.

Evagrius and His Legacy brings together essays by eminent scholars who explore selected aspects of Evagrius's life and times and address his far-flung and controversial but long-lasting influence on Latin, Byzantine, and Syriac cultures in antiquity and the Middle Ages. Touching on points relevant to theology, philosophy, history, patristics, literary studies, and manuscript studies, Evagrius and His Legacy is also intended to catalyze further study of Evagrius within as large a context as possible.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780268033293
Publisher:	University of Notre Dame Press
Publication date:	02/15/2016
Edition description:	1
Pages:	414
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Joel Kalvesmaki is editor in Byzantine studies at Dumbarton Oaks.

Robin Darling Young is associate professor of theology and religious studies at Catholic University of America.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations vii

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction: The Ornament and Intellect of the Desert Robin Darling Young Joel Kalvesmaki 1

1 Evagrius and Cappadocian Orthodoxy Brian E. Dally 34

2 Thoughts that Cut: Cutting, Imprinting, and Lingering in Evagrius of Pontus Kevin Corrigan 49

3 Evagrius Ponticus, Exegete of the Soul Luke Dysinger 73

4 Evagrius and Authority Blossom Stefaniw 96

5 Evagrius Ponticus and Maximus the Confessor: The Building of the Self in Praxis and Contemplation Julia Konstantinovsky 128

6 The Role of Letters in the Works of Evagrius Robin Darling Young 154

7 Philoxenos of Mabbug and the Simplicity of Evagrian Gnosis: Competing Uses of Evagrius in the Early Sixth Century David A. Michelson 175

8 Evagrius beyond Byzantium: The Latin and Syriac Receptions Columba Stewart 206

9 Evagrius: East of the Euphrates Anthony J. Watson 236

10 Evagrius in the Byzantine Genre of Chapters Joel Kalvesmaki 257

11 Origenism and Anti-Origenism in the Late Sixth and Seventh Centuries Dirk Krausmüller 288

12 The Evagrian Heritage in Late Byzantine Monasticism Gregory Collins 317

Bibliography

Select Works of Evagrius 332

Select Editions and Translations of Ancient and Medieval Works 340

Other Primary and Secondary Studies 351

Contributors 377

Index 380

Editorial Reviews

"These rich essays, disrupting standard classifications of Evagrius as either 'monk' or 'heretic,' convincingly demonstrate the long reach—temporal and geographical—of his influence. This ground-breaking book opens new avenues in Evagrian scholarship and sets agendas for the future."

Elizabeth A. Clark

The indisputable merit of this book is that it presents, with impressive thoroughness, Evagrius’ reception in different ages of church history and in various geographical and linguistic environments. It contains studies that fill gaps by integrating the discoveries and results of research in the last decades.

Catholic Historical Review

"Evagrius and His Legacy is a collection of essays on the relatively little known, but nevertheless highly influential monastic writer, Evagrius of Pontus. This volume is an excellent and timely collection, both revising the historical picture of Evagrius Ponticus and offering implicit—though perhaps not always intentional—commentary on important issues in modern Christianity."

Reading Religion

"The scholarship on Evagrius Ponticus has seen a veritable explosion in the last ten to fifteen years. Now recognized as a major fourth-century intellectual figure, Evagrius and his role within contemporary networks continue to be reassessed. Evagrius and His Legacy is a valuable contribution to that effort; focused and excellently structured, this splendid volume represents the state of the art of Evagrian scholarship while leading the way toward further inquiry."

Susanna Elm

Joel Kalvesmaki, Robin Darling Young, and their colleagues have been leading a renaissance in the study of Evagrius of Pontus. These outstanding essays model an approach to Evagrius’s thought and its appropriation that moves beyond the categories of orthodoxy and heresy to a renewed appreciation for one of early Christianity’s most creative theologians. A collection that ranges as widely as its subject’s fertile mind. —David Brakke, Joe R. Engle Chair in the History of Christianity and Professor of History, The Ohio State University

David Brakke

"The scholarship on Evagrius Ponticus has seen a veritable explosion in the last ten to fifteen years. Now recognized as a major fourth-century intellectual figure, Evagrius and his role within contemporary networks continue to be reassessed. Evagrius and His Legacy is a valuable contribution to that effort; focused and excellently structured, this splendid volume represents the state of the art of Evagrian scholarship while leading the way toward further inquiry." —Susanna Elm, University of California, Berkeley

"Joel Kalvesmaki, Robin Darling Young, and their colleagues have been leading a renaissance in the study of Evagrius of Pontus. These outstanding essays model an approach to Evagrius’s thought and its appropriation that moves beyond the categories of orthodoxy and heresy to a renewed appreciation for one of early Christianity’s most creative theologians. A collection that ranges as widely as its subject’s fertile mind." —David Brakke, Joe R. Engle Chair in the History of Christianity and Professor of History, The Ohio State University

"These rich essays, disrupting standard classifications of Evagrius as either 'monk' or 'heretic,' convincingly demonstrate the long reach—temporal and geographical—of his influence. This ground-breaking book opens new avenues in Evagrian scholarship and sets agendas for the future." —Elizabeth A. Clark, John Carlisle Kilgo Professor of Religion, Emerita, Duke University

"Evagrius and His Legacy is a collection of essays on the relatively little known, but nevertheless highly influential monastic writer, Evagrius of Pontus. This volume is an excellent and timely collection, both revising the historical picture of Evagrius Ponticus and offering implicit—though perhaps not always intentional—commentary on important issues in modern Christianity." —Reading Religion

“This volume is an excellent and timely collection, both revising the historical picture of Evagrius and offering implicit—though perhaps not always intentional—commentary on important issues in modern Christianity. . . . The essays in Evagrius and His Legacy are incredibly diverse. . . . by and large the chapters. . . . are lucid, compelling, informative, and even entertaining.” —Reading Religion

“The indisputable merit of this book is that it presents, with impressive thoroughness, Evagrius’ reception in different ages of church history and in various geographical and linguistic environments. It contains studies that fill gaps by integrating the discoveries and results of research in the last decades.” —Catholic Historical Review

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