Thesis advisor: Khaled Anatolios / Within the context of his controversy with Eunomius of Cyzicus, Gregory of Nyssa articulated a distinctly pro-Nicene conception of the perfection of God. Gregory identified divine perfection with the philanthropic goodness that is manifested in the economic activity of God and that is witnessed most vividly in the saving incarnation and death of Jesus Christ. Yet, while this particular understanding of divine perfection served Gregory’s defense of Nicene trinitarian theology, its influence was not limited to that element of his theology alone. To the contrary, Gregory’s pro-Nicene conception of the nature of divine perfection finds a perfect corollary in his discussion of the nature of human perfection. Thus, in his anthropological writings, Gregory interprets humanity as a living and active mirror of the characteristic goodness and love of divine power. Similarly, in his ascetical literature, he suggests that the goal of the Christian life is the attainment of godlikeness through participation in divine perfection, and that the form which this participation takes is an imitation of the virtues of Jesus Christ. And in his writings on the spiritual ascent of the soul, Gregory identifies the summit of the virtuous life as active participation in the philanthropic goodness of God. Christian virtue, therefore, is nothing other than imitation of and participation in the perfection of the one whom Gregory calls “the God of the gospel,” the God of Nicaea, the God made known in the person of Jesus Christ. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

Thesis advisor: Brian Dunkle / Caius Marius Victorinus (c. 285-c.365CE), the famed professor of rhetoric in Rome who brought Neoplatonic philosophy into the Latin theological tradition, wrote several treatises of trinitarian theology shortly after his conversion late in life. The uniqueness and sophistication of his homoousian trinitarian thought has been recognized. His contribution to pro-Nicene theologies of the Holy Spirit has likewise been noticed in patristic scholarship, but has received little direct scholarly attention. The key contention of my dissertation is that in Book Three of Adversus Arium (written c. 361) Victorinus expounds a sophisticated pneumatology consonant with the developments in pro-Nicene theology. The true purport of his pneumatology is difficult to grasp because of Victorinus’s complex and fluid use of language which has led some scholars to consider his theology incoherent and his argumentation obscure. A careful reading of Adv. Ar. III allows us to assess his doctrine of the Holy Spirit for its precocious and idiosyncratic assertions while making a contribution to scholarship on early Christian thought, especially as relates to pro-Nicene Trinitarian theology and pneumatology before Constantinople I (381). / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

The last three decades have produced a number of publications devoted to the revision of Athanasius of Alexandria's "Arian Controversy". The fruits of this re-evaluation highlight the complexities of post-Nicene theology long ignored in the shadow of Athanasius' crude "Arian" versus "orthodox" binary. It is now widely accepted in patristic studies that "Arian" was not a self-designation nor was the presbyter who lent his name to the heresy all that crucial a figure. A handful of scholars have moved beyond these helpful developments to revise the "Arian Controversy" out of existence. For some, "Arianism" was a rhetorical construct of a power hungry and abusive bishop who indiscriminately branded his personal opponents. Likewise, this revisionist thesis dismisses the activity of any "Eusebians", opting for the complete rejection of conflicting "parties". What remains is not alternate theologies and a genuine dispute, but a phantasmal "Athanasian Arianism". This dissertation analyzes this re-shaping of the post-Nicene years and offers a modest remonstrance to the most extreme aspects of the "Arian Controversy" revision. The study does not want to return to a place of Athanasian hagiography, but rather argue that "Arian" served as a useful polemical heuristic to identify a distinct theology that the bishop (and others) found unacceptable. After outlining the erosion of the "Arian Controversy", the thesis marshals evidence supporting a substantive theological dispute over which divergent networks clashed. In this vein, the work wants to recapture a genuine historical theology in that not everything is reducible to politics. The thesis argues that there is a responsible way of reading Athanasius' charged polemic.

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The argument of this paper is that certain salient passages in the New Testament concerning Christology, as it was defined in the Nicene creed in A.D. 325, reflect such orthodoxy better in the Textus Receptus Greek texts and the English translations made from them than do the Alexandrian texts. Arian theology, which was condemned as heretical at Nicea, is examined. Patristic quotations, historical texts, and arguments of the scholars are cited and traced, along with a comparison of Christological verses.

The present thesis deals with the Byzantine Empire at the beginning of the 13th century. The text concentrates on events following the conquest of Constantinople by the crusader army in 1204 and the response of Byzantine elites to the new political reality. The main attention is paid to Theodore I Laskaris and his actions concerning the emerge of Empire of Nicaea. The Nicene Empire is compared to the Empire of Trebizond and the Despotate of Epirus. The purpose of the thesis is to analyze differences of these state units and their relation to the political and cultural tradition of the Byzantine Empire as well as to determinate main elements of the Byzantine statehood. The significant amount of both continuity of social processes and cultural traditions within the Byzantine society is emphasized. The Empire of Nicaea is evaluated as an integral and important part of the history of the Byzantine Empire.

Michael Servetus (1508 - 1553) and Emanuel Swedenborg (1688 - 1772) are both considered heretics. They share many concepts about the nature of God, especially their rejection orthodox Nicene and Chalcedonian theology. This thesis explores their respective theologies relating to the Trinity and Christology, with speculation of what sources they may have had in common. While attention is paid to Ignatius, Irenaeus and Tertullian, particular attention is paid to Tertullian, whose work Adversus Praxean lays the foundation of Servetus' ideas and has much in common with Swedenborg's theology. In light of their similarity to Tertullian, the question is asked if Servetus and Swedenborg would have been called heretics prior to Nicaea. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th. (Church History)

My thesis examines relations among practitioners of various religions, especially Christians and Jews, during the era when Jesus’ project went from being a Galilean sect, to a persecuted minority, to religio licita status, and eventually to imperial favor, all happening between the first century resurrection of Jesus and the fourth century rise of Constantine. There is an abiding image of the Church in wider public consciousness that it is unwittingly and in some cases antagonistically exclusionist. This is not a late-developing image. I trace it to the period that the church developed into a formal organization with the establishment of canons and creeds defined by Church councils. This notion is so pervasive that an historical retrospective of Christianity of any period, from the sect that became a movement, to the Reformation, to the present day’s multiple Christian iterations, is framed by the late Patristic era. The conflicts and solutions reached in that period provided enduring definition to the Church while silencing dissent. I refer here to such actions as the destruction of books and letters and the banishment of bishops. Before there emerged the urgent perceived need for doctrinal uniformity, the presence of Christianity provided a resilient non-militant opponent to and an increasing intellectual critique of all religious traditions, including that of the official gods that were seen to hold the empire together. When glaringly manifest cleavages in the empire persisted, the Emperor Constantine sought to use the church to help bring political unity. He called for church councils, starting with Nicaea in 325 CE that took no account for churches outside the Roman Empire, and many within, even though councils were called “Ecumenical.” The presumption that the church was fully representative without asking for permission from a broader field of constituents is just that: a presumption. This thesis studies the ancient world of Christianity’s growth to explore whether, in that age of new and untested toleration, there was a more advisable way of responding to the invitation to the political table. The answer to this can help us formulate, and perhaps revise, some of our conduct today, especially for Christians who obtain a voice in powerful places. / Christian Spirituality, Church History & Missiology / D. Th. (Church History)

Michael Servetus (1508 - 1553) and Emanuel Swedenborg (1688 - 1772) are both considered heretics. They share many concepts about the nature of God, especially their rejection orthodox Nicene and Chalcedonian theology. This thesis explores their respective theologies relating to the Trinity and Christology, with speculation of what sources they may have had in common. While attention is paid to Ignatius, Irenaeus and Tertullian, particular attention is paid to Tertullian, whose work Adversus Praxean lays the foundation of Servetus' ideas and has much in common with Swedenborg's theology. In light of their similarity to Tertullian, the question is asked if Servetus and Swedenborg would have been called heretics prior to Nicaea. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th. (Church History)

My thesis examines relations among practitioners of various religions, especially Christians and Jews, during the era when Jesus’ project went from being a Galilean sect, to a persecuted minority, to religio licita status, and eventually to imperial favor, all happening between the first century resurrection of Jesus and the fourth century rise of Constantine. There is an abiding image of the Church in wider public consciousness that it is unwittingly and in some cases antagonistically exclusionist. This is not a late-developing image. I trace it to the period that the church developed into a formal organization with the establishment of canons and creeds defined by Church councils. This notion is so pervasive that an historical retrospective of Christianity of any period, from the sect that became a movement, to the Reformation, to the present day’s multiple Christian iterations, is framed by the late Patristic era. The conflicts and solutions reached in that period provided enduring definition to the Church while silencing dissent. I refer here to such actions as the destruction of books and letters and the banishment of bishops. Before there emerged the urgent perceived need for doctrinal uniformity, the presence of Christianity provided a resilient non-militant opponent to and an increasing intellectual critique of all religious traditions, including that of the official gods that were seen to hold the empire together. When glaringly manifest cleavages in the empire persisted, the Emperor Constantine sought to use the church to help bring political unity. He called for church councils, starting with Nicaea in 325 CE that took no account for churches outside the Roman Empire, and many within, even though councils were called “Ecumenical.” The presumption that the church was fully representative without asking for permission from a broader field of constituents is just that: a presumption. This thesis studies the ancient world of Christianity’s growth to explore whether, in that age of new and untested toleration, there was a more advisable way of responding to the invitation to the political table. The answer to this can help us formulate, and perhaps revise, some of our conduct today, especially for Christians who obtain a voice in powerful places. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Church History)