Gregory of Nyssa: On the Human Image of God
Published on 9. March 2023
Book
Hardback
382 pages
978-0-19-284397-5 (ISBN)
Description
This book presents the first modern critical edition of the work of Gregory of Nyssa, On the Human Image of God (formerly known as On the Making of Man, De hominis opificio) and the first English translation since the nineteenth century. This treatise is one of the most important of Gregory's texts. Paralleling the structure of Plato's Timaeus, Gregory's work begins by offering two analyses of the human being. The first presents the human being as the culmination of the ascent made by nature through the various levels of life, and as made, body and soul, in the image of God. The second considers why this is not immediately apparent, the need for time to be able to grow, individually and collectively, to this status, as the body of Christ, the image of God, and the role of sexuality within this growth. The third part of the work brings both analyses together, to see the same movement in the life-span of each person. The extensive introduction provided in this volume examines the philosophical and theological background of Gregory's text, beginning with Anaxagoras, Plato (the Timaeus), Philo, and Origen, and also compares aspects of Gregory's work with that of Irenaeus of Lyons and Maximos the Confessor.
Reviews / Votes
The volume will be useful to the patristic scholar,...Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. * Choice * The treatise is offered to an interlocutor, Peter, as a gift. In conveying so vividly Gregory's wonder, illuminating groundbreaking textual parallels and relating this difficult treatise in accessible terms, Behr offers readers another. * Times Literary Supplement * Bringing into attention both an author and a work that are relevant for the contemporary theological space: Gregory of Nyssa, On the Human Image of God, Oxford edition from 2023 realized by John Behr is not only an interesting and necessary book for the Christian space, but also for the contemporary universal culture. * Iuliu-Marius Morariu, Anuario de Historia de la Iglesia * Bringing into attention both an author and a work that are relevant for the contemporary theological space: Gregory of Nyssa, On the Human Image of God, Oxford edition from 2023 realized by John Behr is not only an interesting and necessary book for the Christian space, but also for the contemporary universal culture. * Iuliu-Marius Morariu, Anuario de Historia de la Iglesia * This edition is recommended as compulsory reading for the contemporary study of On the Human Image. * Sophia Theodoratos, Phronema 39 * Behr is to be thanked for making this important text available in considerably improved form and for giving important clues for its interpretation. It is to be hoped that scholars will make ample use of this resource. Gregory's treatise is one of the most remarkable products of late ancient Christian anthropology and deserves careful and sustained study. * Johannes Zachhuber, The Thomist * This volume is highly recommended to patristic scholars and those with a penchant for mystical theological reflection. * Owen Kelly, Southeastern Theological Review *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
714 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-284397-5 (9780192843975)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
02/2023
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€164.99
Available for download
Person
John Behr is the Regius Professor of Humanity at the University of Aberdeen, having previously taught at St Vladimir's Seminary, where he served as Dean for a decade. He is also a part-time Professor at Radboud University, the Netherlands. He has published numerous monographs with OUP, most recently an edition and translation of Origen's On First Principles, together with an extensive introduction (2017), and a study of the Gospel of John, John the Theologian and his Paschal Gospel, (2019); he has also published various works aimed for a more general audience, such as his more poetic and meditative work entitled Becoming Human: Theological Anthropology in Word and Image (SVS Press).
Content
Abbreviations
Introduction
1: The Text, Manuscripts, and Editions
1.I: Manuscripts used in this Edition
1.II: Title
1.III: Headings and Divisions
2: Philosophical and Theological Background
2.I: Anaxagoras
2.II: Plato
2.III: Philo
2.IV: Origen
3: Gregory's Treatise On the Human Image of God
3.I: The Letter to Peter
3.II: The Human Image of God (1-15)
3.III: The Prevision and Provision of God (16-29)
3.IV: The Life of the Human Being (30)
3.V: The 'Fall' and 'Male and Female'
Manuscripts, Abbreviations, Sigla, and Translation
Gregory of Nyssa, On the Human Image of God
Appendix
Bibliography
Index of Ancient Sources
Index of Modern Authors Cited
Introduction
1: The Text, Manuscripts, and Editions
1.I: Manuscripts used in this Edition
1.II: Title
1.III: Headings and Divisions
2: Philosophical and Theological Background
2.I: Anaxagoras
2.II: Plato
2.III: Philo
2.IV: Origen
3: Gregory's Treatise On the Human Image of God
3.I: The Letter to Peter
3.II: The Human Image of God (1-15)
3.III: The Prevision and Provision of God (16-29)
3.IV: The Life of the Human Being (30)
3.V: The 'Fall' and 'Male and Female'
Manuscripts, Abbreviations, Sigla, and Translation
Gregory of Nyssa, On the Human Image of God
Appendix
Bibliography
Index of Ancient Sources
Index of Modern Authors Cited