Ever-Moving Repose

by Sotiris Mitralexis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Foreword by)

Overview

Sotiris Mitralexis offers a contemporary look at Maximus the Confessor's (580-662 CE) understanding of temporality, logoi, and deification, through the perspective of contemporary philosopher and theologian Christos Yannaras, as well as John Zizioulas and Nicholas Loudovikos. Mitralexis argues that Maximus possesses both a unique theological ontology and a unique threefold theory of temporality: time, the Aeon, and the radical transformation of temporality and motion in an ever-moving repose. With these three distinct modes of temporality, a Maximian theory of time can be reconstructed, which can be approached via his teaching on the logoi and deification. In this theory, time is not merely measuring ontological motion, but is more particularly measuring a relationship, the consummation of which effects the transformation of time into a dimensionless present devoid of temporal, spatial, and generally ontological distance—thereby manifesting a perfect communion-in-otherness. In examining Maximian temporality, the book is not focusing on only one aspect of Maximus' comprehensive Weltanschauung, but looks at the Maximian vision as a whole through the lens of temporality and motion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781532607035
Publisher:	Cascade Books
Publication date:	04/14/2017
Series:	Veritas , #24
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Sotiris Mitralexis is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the City University of Istanbul and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Winchester. During Lent term of 2017, he was Visiting Fellow at the University of Cambridge and Visiting Senior Research Associate at Peterhouse, Cambridge. He holds a doctorate in Philosophy from the Freie Universitat Berlin and a degree in Classics from the University of Athens. He has taught Philosophy at Boğazici University (Istanbul), and in Athens and Berlin.

Table of Contents

Foreword Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew vii

Acknowledgements ix

Abbreviations xi

Introduction xv

Part 1 Introducing Maximus the Confessor-and Our Contemporary Perspective

1 Maximus the Confessor 3

2 Hermeneutic Tools in Approaching Maximus: Christos Yannaras' Ontology 16

3 Ontological, Epistemological, Anthropological Themes in Maximus 42

4 Maximus' "Logical" Ontology: The λογοι of Beings 76

Part 2 Maximus the Confessor's Understanding of Motion and Temporality

5 Motion and Time in Aristotle's Physics as a Precursor to Maximus' Definition of Time 93

6 Maximus' Philosophy of Motion 109

7 Introducing Maximus' Conception of Time 125

8 The Fundamentals of Temporality, Spatiality, and Motion: Sections 35-40 from the Tenth "Difficulty" 134

9 Inverted Temporality: The Aeon 164

10 Ever-Moving Repose 192

Concluding Remarks: Reconstructing Maximus the Confessor's Theory of Time 215

Bibliography 221

Index 233

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"In this remarkable book, Dr. Mitralexis seeks more than an exposition of a central notion in St. Maximus the Confessor's metaphysical vision, but rather a genuine fusion of the horizons, in a Gadamerian sense, so that his understanding of Maximus is informed by the development of a relational ontology by the likes of Zizioulas and Yannaras, whose own thought has been inspired by their reading of Maximus. The result is a bold and original contribution to ontology and metaphysics."
—Andrew Louth, FBA, Professor Emeritus of Patristic and Byzantine Studies, Durham University

"This book, written by a young and promising Maximus scholar, is an interesting study of a central set of notions in Maximus' writings, namely, the notions of time, the Aeon, and eternity. These notions have been studied by others as well, but never as extensively as by Mitralexis. He finds the roots of Maximus' notion of time in Aristotle, but has a quite original hermeneutical approach since he tries to unravel the Confessor's philosophy from the vantage point of the Greek modern philosopher Christos Yannaras, thus seeking to make Maximus' thought relevant for our own age. The depth of Mitralexis' knowledge of the sources and his grasp of modern scholarship on Maximus is impressive. I highly recommend this book."
—Torstein Theodor Tollefsen, Professor of Philosophy, University of Oslo

"This is a really welcome addition to the fast-growing literature on Maximus the Confessor. It is a first-class study of the original texts, but is distinctive in its willingness to bring Maximus' thought into fruitful conversation with contemporary philosophical discussions, so that the implications of this study will be of interest to many more than Byzantine specialists."
—Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College, University of Cambridge

Editorial Reviews

"In this remarkable book, Dr. Mitralexis seeks more than an exposition of a central notion in St. Maximus the Confessor's metaphysical vision, but rather a genuine fusion of the horizons, in a Gadamerian sense, so that his understanding of Maximus is informed by the development of a relational ontology by the likes of Zizioulas and Yannaras, whose own thought has been inspired by their reading of Maximus. The result is a bold and original contribution to ontology and metaphysics."
—Andrew Louth, FBA, Professor Emeritus of Patristic and Byzantine Studies, Durham University

"This book, written by a young and promising Maximus scholar, is an interesting study of a central set of notions in Maximus' writings, namely, the notions of time, the Aeon, and eternity. These notions have been studied by others as well, but never as extensively as by Mitralexis. He finds the roots of Maximus' notion of time in Aristotle, but has a quite original hermeneutical approach since he tries to unravel the Confessor's philosophy from the vantage point of the Greek modern philosopher Christos Yannaras, thus seeking to make Maximus' thought relevant for our own age. The depth of Mitralexis' knowledge of the sources and his grasp of modern scholarship on Maximus is impressive. I highly recommend this book."
—Torstein Theodor Tollefsen, Professor of Philosophy, University of Oslo

"This is a really welcome addition to the fast-growing literature on Maximus the Confessor. It is a first-class study of the original texts, but is distinctive in its willingness to bring Maximus' thought into fruitful conversation with contemporary philosophical discussions, so that the implications of this study will be of interest to many more than Byzantine specialists."
—Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College, University of Cambridge

From the Publisher