Orthodox Readings of Aquinas: (Changing Paradigms in Historical and Systematic Theology)

This book is the first exploration of the remarkable odyssey of Thomas Aquinas in the Orthodox Christian world, from the Byzantine to the modern era. Aquinas was received with astonishing enthusiasm across the Byzantine theological spectrum. By contrast, modern Orthodox readings of Aquinas have been resoundingly negative, routinely presenting Aquinas as the archetype of as a specifically Western form of theology against which the Orthodox East must set its face. Basing itself primarily on a close study of the Byzantine reception of Thomas, this study rejects such hackneyed dichotomies, arguing instead for a properly catholic or universal construal of Orthodoxy - one in which Thomas might once again find a place. In its probing of the East-West dichotomy, this book questions the widespread juxtaposition of Gregory Palamas and Thomas Aquinas as archetypes of opposing Greek and Latin theological traditions. The long period between the Fall of Constantinople and the Russian Revolution, conventionally written off as an era of sterility and malformation for Orthodox theology, is also viewed with a fresh perspective. Study of the reception of Thomas in this period reveals a theological sophistication and a generosity of vision that is rarely accounted for. In short, this is a book which radically re-thinks the history of Orthodox theology through the prism of the fascinating and largely untold story of Orthodox engagement with Aquinas.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: 1354 and all that I: An Exercise in Multiple Perspective 1: Thomas Aquinas and the Greek East 2: Gregory Palamas and the Latin West II: Byzantine Readings of Aquinas 3: The First Phase 4: Further Readings III: Ottoman era and Modern Orthodox Readings of Aquinas 5: Responses to Thomas in the Early Modern Period 6: Readings of Aquinas in Modern Orthodox Thought 7: New Perspectives

About the Author :
Marcus Plested has taught, lectured, and published widely in the field of Orthodox Christian studies. His first book was The Macarian Legacy: The Place of Macarius-Symeon in the Eastern Christian Tradition (OUP, 2004).

Review :
`This book is an extraordinarily rich articulation and defense of Orthodox scholasticism ... Plesteds profoundly erudite study charts an exciting and compelling course' Matthew Levering University of Dayton `M. Plesteds Orthodox Readings on Aquinas ... deserves to take the succession of Losskys book [Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church] as setting a new paradigm regarding the identity and inner coherence of the Orthodox tradition' Antoine Levy in Nicolaus, Revisita di Teologia ecumenico-patristica `Marcus Plested has written a very important book ... finely researched and winsomely written survey ... Applying the technique of what he calls multiple perspective to the two figures who serve as the opposing archetypes of the East and West, Plested opens the study with two fascinating chapters, the first on Thomas Aquinas and his reception of the Greek East, the second on Gregory Palamas and his reception of the Latin West' Daniel A. Keating, Nove et Vetera `His book is both a revealing historical study of Orthodox attitudes to Aquinas and the West, and a significant contribution to ecumenical dialogue between Orthodox East and Latin West, which, despite Kipling, have met in the past and could do so again to their mutual profit.' Hugh Wybrew, Theology `An important theological contribution, a clarion call for the Orthodox Church to be herself rather than to be defined as merely the opposite of all things Western.' Matthew Briel, Theological Studies `A significant and much needed study.' Thomas G. Weinandy, The Journal of Theological Studies `A magnifcent book... The story the author tells is fascinating and holds many surprises for theologians of both Eastern and Western traditions.' Andrew Louth, First Things