Philip Melanchthon and the Cappadocians: A Reception of Greek Patristic Sources in the Sixteenth Century
This work offers a comprehensive examination of how Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560) — a great philologist, pedagogue, and theologian of the Reformation — used Greek patristic sources throughout his extensive career. The Cappadocian Fathers (here identified as Gregory Thaumaturgus, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory Nazianzen, and Gregory of Nyssa) were received through the medieval period to be exemplary theologians. In the hands of Melanchthon, they become tools to articulate the Evangelical-Lutheran theological position on justification by grace through faith alone, the necessity of formal education for theologians in literature and the natural sciences, the freedom of the will under divine grace, exemplars for bishops and even princes, and (not least) as models of Attic Greek grammar and biblical exegesis for university students. The book is organized around Melanchthon's use of Cappadocian works against his opponents: Roman Catholic, the Radical Reformers, the Reformed, and in Intra-Lutheran controversies. The author places Melanchthon within the context of the patristic reception of his time. Moreover, an appendix offers a sketch of the "Cappadocian canon" of the sixteenth century, with notation of the particular sources for Melanchthon's knowledge and the references to these works in modern scholarly sources. While often accused by his critics (past and present) of being arbitrary in his selection of patristic authorities, too free with his quotations, and too anxious for theological harmony, this work shows Melanchthon "at work" to reveal the consistent manner and Evangelical-Lutheran method by which he used patristic material to proclaim "Christ and his benefits" throughout his multifaceted career.
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Philip Melanchthon and the Cappadocians: A Reception of Greek Patristic Sources in the Sixteenth Century
This work offers a comprehensive examination of how Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560) — a great philologist, pedagogue, and theologian of the Reformation — used Greek patristic sources throughout his extensive career. The Cappadocian Fathers (here identified as Gregory Thaumaturgus, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory Nazianzen, and Gregory of Nyssa) were received through the medieval period to be exemplary theologians. In the hands of Melanchthon, they become tools to articulate the Evangelical-Lutheran theological position on justification by grace through faith alone, the necessity of formal education for theologians in literature and the natural sciences, the freedom of the will under divine grace, exemplars for bishops and even princes, and (not least) as models of Attic Greek grammar and biblical exegesis for university students. The book is organized around Melanchthon's use of Cappadocian works against his opponents: Roman Catholic, the Radical Reformers, the Reformed, and in Intra-Lutheran controversies. The author places Melanchthon within the context of the patristic reception of his time. Moreover, an appendix offers a sketch of the "Cappadocian canon" of the sixteenth century, with notation of the particular sources for Melanchthon's knowledge and the references to these works in modern scholarly sources. While often accused by his critics (past and present) of being arbitrary in his selection of patristic authorities, too free with his quotations, and too anxious for theological harmony, this work shows Melanchthon "at work" to reveal the consistent manner and Evangelical-Lutheran method by which he used patristic material to proclaim "Christ and his benefits" throughout his multifaceted career.
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Philip Melanchthon and the Cappadocians: A Reception of Greek Patristic Sources in the Sixteenth Century

Philip Melanchthon and the Cappadocians: A Reception of Greek Patristic Sources in the Sixteenth Century

by H Ashley Hall
Philip Melanchthon and the Cappadocians: A Reception of Greek Patristic Sources in the Sixteenth Century

Philip Melanchthon and the Cappadocians: A Reception of Greek Patristic Sources in the Sixteenth Century

by H Ashley Hall

Overview

This work offers a comprehensive examination of how Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560) — a great philologist, pedagogue, and theologian of the Reformation — used Greek patristic sources throughout his extensive career. The Cappadocian Fathers (here identified as Gregory Thaumaturgus, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory Nazianzen, and Gregory of Nyssa) were received through the medieval period to be exemplary theologians. In the hands of Melanchthon, they become tools to articulate the Evangelical-Lutheran theological position on justification by grace through faith alone, the necessity of formal education for theologians in literature and the natural sciences, the freedom of the will under divine grace, exemplars for bishops and even princes, and (not least) as models of Attic Greek grammar and biblical exegesis for university students. The book is organized around Melanchthon's use of Cappadocian works against his opponents: Roman Catholic, the Radical Reformers, the Reformed, and in Intra-Lutheran controversies. The author places Melanchthon within the context of the patristic reception of his time. Moreover, an appendix offers a sketch of the "Cappadocian canon" of the sixteenth century, with notation of the particular sources for Melanchthon's knowledge and the references to these works in modern scholarly sources. While often accused by his critics (past and present) of being arbitrary in his selection of patristic authorities, too free with his quotations, and too anxious for theological harmony, this work shows Melanchthon "at work" to reveal the consistent manner and Evangelical-Lutheran method by which he used patristic material to proclaim "Christ and his benefits" throughout his multifaceted career.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9783525550670
Publisher: V&R Academic
Publication date: 03/12/2014
Series: Refo500 Academic Studies (R5AS) , #16
Pages: 272
Product dimensions: 6.30(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.00(d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements and Dedication 5

Introduction 13

The Cappadocian Fathers Identified 16

The Serpent and the Cross 18

Chapter 1 Melanchthon's Understanding of Patristic Authority 23

1 Introduction 23

2 The Patristic Revival of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries 25

2.1 On Humanism and Scholasticism 25

2.1.1 Christian Humanist and the Reformation 28

3 Melanchthon: "Between" Humanism and Reform? 32

3.1 Melanchthon and Erasmus 35

3.2 Melanchthon and Luther 36

4 Melanchthon and Patristic Authority 39

5 Melanchthon's Method for Reading Patristic Sources 41

5.1 Melanchthon and History 41

5.2 Melanchthon's Understanding of Tradition 45

5.3 The Necessary Distinction between the Law and the Gospel 47

5.4 The Interplay between Gospel, Scripture, and Tradition 51

6 Toward Greater Clarity Concerning Key Phrases and Concepts 53

6.1 Consensus Antiquitatis 53

6.2 Scriptores puriores 57

6.3 Chain of Teachers 58

6.4 The Church as a School 60

6.5 A Theological Grammar 61

7 Why the Cappadocians? 65

Chapter 2 Melanchthon and Greek Patristic Sources 67

1 Introduction 67

2 Greek Patristic Sources in Italy: Byzantine Editors and Translators 68

2.1 The Aldine Press 69

3 Christian Humanism in German Universities 70

3.1 University of Heidelberg 70

3.2 University of Tübingen 71

3.3 University of Wittenberg 72

3.3.1 Greek and Rhetoric at Wittenberg 74

4 Melanchthon's Education and Early Career 75

4.1 Early Education 75

4.2 Melanchthon's University Education 77

4.3 Professor of Greek and Rhetoric and Student of Theology 79

5 Melanchthon's Patristic Lectures and Knowledge of Cappadocian Material 82

6 Melanchthon's Evaluation of Basil and Gregory Nazianzen 86

6.1 De Ecclesia et De Autoritate Verbi Dei, 1539 86

6.1.1 Criticisms of the Cappadocians 87

6.2 De Basilio Episcopo, 1545 91

6.3 Postilla, On Basil, 1555/1549 94

6.4 De Gregorio Nazianzeno, 1558 97

6.5 Images of Melanchthon Associated with the Basil and Nazianzen 100

6.5.1 Melanchthon and Basil; Cranach the Younger, 1559 100

6.5.2 Melanchthon and Gregory Nazianzen; Cranach Workshop, 1560 102

7 Conclusion 103

Chapter 3 Use of the Cappadocians Against the Radical Reformers 105

1 Introduction 105

2 The Radical Reformers 106

2.1 The Zwickau Prophets 109

3 Theological Criticisms of Radicalism 113

3.1 On the Merit of Theological Studies: The Unity of Church and Academy 113

3.2 A Defense of Philosophy and the Natural Science 119

3.3 Cappadocians as Exemplary Learned Theologians 120

4 Melanchthon against the Anti-Trinitarians 122

4.1 Defense of "Logos" as "Word" 124

4.1.1 Biblical Testimony 124

4.1.2 The Patristic Testimony 125

5 Cappadocian References to Christological and Trinitarian Doctrines in Didactic Works 129

5.1 Augmented Sections in Subsequent Editions of the Loci Communes 129

5.1.1 The Loci Communes, 1535 132

5.1.2 The Loci Communes, 1543 135

5.1.3 Heubtartikel Christlicher Lere, 1553 137

6 Defense of Christological and Trinitarian Formulations in Other Works 139

6.1 On the Divinity of the Holy Spirit Proven through Baptism 139

6.2 The Holy Spirit at Creation 141

7 Conclusion 142

Chapter 4 Use of the Cappadocians against Roman Catholic Arguments 143

1 Introduction 144

2 The Doctrine of Justification by Grace through Faith Alone 145

2.1 Appeals to St. Paul and St. Augustine 145

3 St. Basil on Grace 149

3.1 Melanchthon and St. Basil on Justification 150

4 On Bishops and Councils 155

4.1 On the Power of the Papacy 158

4.2 Basil on Episcopal Oversight 160

4.3 Basil as Model for the Princes 160

4.4 Gregory Nazianzen on Councils 161

5 Melanchthon on Basil's Confrontation with the Emperor 164

6 On Monasticism 165

7 On the Eucharist and the Sacrifice of the Mass 169

7.1 The Liturgies of Sts. Basil and John Chrysostom 171

7.2 Melanchthon's Appeals to the Greek Canon 172

8 Conclusion 180

Chapter 5 Use of the Cappadocians against the Reformed and in Intra-Lutheran Conflicts 183

1 Introduction 183

2 Melanchthon's Study of the Cappadocians in the Eucharistic Debates 185

3 Melanchthon's Citation of the Cappadocians in the Debate Over Free Will 197

3.1 The Loci communes of 1543 198

4 Melanchthon's Citation of St. Basil in the Controversy over Grace 207

5 Melanchthon's Citation of St. Gregory Nazianzen in the Controversy over Grace 208

5.1 The Controversy over Grace during the Augsburg Interim (1548) 209

6 Melanchthon's Appeals to St. Gregory Nazianzen for the Virtue of Forgiveness 214

7 Conclusion 217

Appendix: The Reception of Cappadocian Texts in the Sixteenth Century 219

1 Introduction 219

2 The Cappadocians: Formation of an Image 221

2.1 Oration 43 of Gregory Nazianzen 221

3 The Cappadocians in Early Hagiographies and Church Histories 224

3.1 Euscbius of Caesarea, Historiu ecclesiastica 225

3.2 St. Jerome, De viris illustrious 225

3.3 Rufinus of Aquileia, Historia ecclesiastica 227

3.4 Socrates, Historia ecclesiastica 228

3.5 Sozomen, Historia ecclesiastica 230

3.6 Theodoret of Cyrrhus and Cassiodorus 232

3.7 Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend 234

4 Feast Day 235

5 The Cappadocian Canon: History of Text Reception in the Sixteenth Century 236

5.1 Modern Studies in the Textual Reception of Cappadocian Material 238

5.2 Gregory Thaumaturgus and Gregory of Nyssa 240

5.3 Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nazianzen 246

5.4 The Wittenberg University Catalogue of 1536 253

6 Patristic Anthologies in the Sixteenth Century 255

Abbreviations 257

Index 259

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