Description
Book SynopsisReconciling contrasting philosophical strands to unify aesthetics and philokalia in Orthodox theology
Trade ReviewAn important and very engaging book that reads as a deep intellectual dialogue. Stamoulis has re-aligned the philosophical and theological debate around aesthetics with a delightfully fresh stance re-presenting Byzantine Orthodox traditions in a way that is neither obscurantist or triumphalist but energised in a presentation that shows the Christian ancients as significant heirs of Aristotle, and the moderns as acute conversational partners with Marx. Prof. John A. McGuckin, Faculty of Theology, Oxford University Stamoulis' work is a window into an Orthodox vision of philokalic aesthetics, in which beauty is tethered to dogmatic theology. He also, however, welcomes non-Orthodox theologians to the discussion table of ancient and modern voices. They, too, may pull up a chair and glean from observations regarding a beauty which is united to truth and goodness and is revealed in the grandeur of creation. Paul A. Hartog, Professor of Theology, Faith Baptist Seminary Holy Beauty is a profound and intricate presentation of a holistic Eastern Orthodox understanding of aesthetics. Refusing false dialectics - aesthetics vs philokalia, East vs West - this study critically searches in the Fathers of the Church to rediscover a full picture of divine beauty, anchored in the goodness of creation, and presents a fascinating survey of contemporary writers and artists who exemplify how a theology of divine beauty may be expressed today. A precious gift to all. Dr. Daniel Keating, Professor of Theology, Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit MI
Table of ContentsTranslator's Introduction Author's Preface Part I. Philokalia or Aesthetics? The 'Dilemma' of Contemporary Orthodoxy 1. Kostas Zouraris: 'What We Call "Philokalia" Is Not the Same as Western Good Taste' 2. Father Alexander Schmemann: 'One Cannot Banish the Senses' 3. Nikos Matsoukas: 'Aesthetics Is a Lasting Victory over Distraction and Fragmentation' Part II. Orthodoxy's Philokalic Aesthetics: The 'Both Together' of Patristic Teaching 4. 'Supra-Substantial Good': Dionysius the Areopagite and the Church Fathers on the Holy Trinity 5. 'Where Has Your Beauty Gone?': Anthropological Notes on the Beauty Lost by the Fall 6. 'The Heavens Tell of the Glory of God': The Orthodox Doctrine of Creation and the Problem of the Environment Part III. 'Unutterable Beauty': Examples of a Philokalic Reading of Ecclesial Life 7. Nikos Gabriel Pentzikis: A Walk 'by the Seashore' and the Boundaries of the Church 8. The Elder Sophrony of Essex: The Remembrance of Death and the 'Conflict' with a Passion for Painting 9. The Elder Porphyrios, the Nightingale and the Current Debate on Aesthetics: Parallel Readings of the Elder's Discourses and Theodor W. Adorno's Aesthetic Theory Afterword: Saints and Poets Perhaps . Who's Who Select Bibliography Index
