“John Damascene: Christology”, Part 1, “Mystical Theology”, Special Edition, with Prof. C. Veniamin

Series: Mystical Theology, Special Edition
Episode 3: “John Damascene: Christology”, Part 1

Introducing the theology and spiritual life of the Orthodox Church, with particular reference to the Holy Bible and the witness of the Church Fathers, past and present.

In “John Damascene: Christology”, Part 1, Episode 3 of our Special Editions, we begin our exploration of the Person of Jesus Christ, our Lord, God and Saviour, through Book III of the Damascene’s Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith. Based on the translation in to English by S.D.F. Salmond, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Christian Fathers, Series II, vol. ix (New York & Oxford, 1899), pp. 45–73, we shall also consult the Greek text for deeper insights. Some of the themes covered in this podcast are listed in the Timestamps below.

Q&As related to Special Edition Episode 3 available in The Professor’s Blog: https://mountthabor.com/blogs/the-professors-blog

Recommended background reading: Christopher Veniamin, ed., Saint Gregory Palamas: The Homilies (Dalton PA: 2022); The Orthodox Understanding of Salvation: "Theosis" in Scripture and Tradition (2016); The Transfiguration of Christ in Greek Patristic Literature: From Irenaeus of Lyons to Gregory Palamas (2022); and Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos, Empirical Dogmatics of the Orthodox Catholic Church: According to the Spoken Teaching of Father John Romanides, Vol. 1 (2012), Vol. 2 (repr. ed. 2020).

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction
• 1:02 Christ in Old Testament
• 2:19 Man image of God
• 3:56 Incarnate Logos
• 4:49 Holy Spirit reveals Christ
• 6:18 Introduction to St. John Damascene
• 11:45 The Fount of Wisdom
• 13:45 St. John Damascene and Scholasticism
• 16:28 Mystical Theology
• 18:08 St. Augustine
• 20:14 Influences on St. John Damascene
• 25:39 Books of "The Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith"
• 27:55 Progressive revelation of the West
• 29:34 Revelation same since Pentecost
• 32:00 Apostolic Fathers missing key
• 33:17 Augustine exception in early Church
• 33:32 Origen’s intellectualistic approach
• 36:42 Hypostasis absent in modern Western theology
• 37:28 St. Sophrony theologian of the Hypostasis
• 38:57 Book 3 On the Incarnation
• 45:27 Correction of translation and conclusion