Andrew Louth - Syriac Christian Church

NOTES 215
3 The ‘earth of the heart’ is imagery stemming ultimately from the
Macarian Homilies: see, e.g., Collection I.3.3.8–9 (Berthold [1973], 31–
2).
4 Cf. Luke 12:49.
5 In Opusc. 3 (below), this reference to the coldness of the Monophysite
and Monothelite heresies appears to be derived from the name Severus
and the region of the north which seems to be associated with that name
(the region of the north is surely alluded to here as well). Could Maximus
possibly be deriving Severus’ name from the Slavonic word for the
north, sever? It is quite unclear how Maximus might have known this,
but during his days as protoasecretis he must have had some knowledge
of the Slav tribes that by then had been settling south of the Danube in
the Sklaviniae for some decades.
6 Perhaps an allusion to James 2:8.
7 An allusion to two of the ‘Chalcedonian’ adverbs.
8 Although this passage has clear allusions to the Chalcedonian
Definition, there seem to be even clearer allusions to the language of
both the Alexandrian Pact of Union and the Ecthesis itself.
9 Here, not Theotokos but Theomêtêr.
10 The Chalcedonian Definition asserted that Christ is known ‘in two
natures’. The original draft had ‘out of two natures’, and this is
preserved in most of the Greek manuscripts. Maximus characteristically
combines them, and often adds a straight assertion of identity (‘from
which and in which and which he is): see Piret (1983), 203–39.
11 The Monophysites conceded that in Christ two natures came together,
but that after the union they became a single composite nature, and so
were no longer two.
12 The Fathers universally held that the idea that Christ’s humanity preexisted
and descended with the Word in the Incarnation was a corollary
of Apollinarianism, though it seems clear that Apollinaris intended no
such thing (see Grillmeier [1975], 330–3). Maximus repeats the calumny
against his Monophysite and Monothelite opponents, with probably as
little justification.
13 Maximus probably has in mind Rom. 11:16.
14 For the Ecthesis, see the introduction.
15 Quoted by Sophronius: Synodical Letter (PG 87:3173B). It has not been
found in Gregory of Nyssa’s extant works.
16 Much closer to Luke 22:42 than the other Gospels, but not exact.
17 Cyril, Commentary on St John’s Gospel, book 10, on John 14:21 (Pusey
[1872], II. 493), cited in session 10 of the sixth Ecumenical Council
(Riedinger [1990], 326).
18 Athanasius, On the Incarnation and against the Arians 21. Some doubt
has been expressed as to whether this treatise is genuine, but it still has
its defenders. It was cited at the 10th session of the sixth Ecumenical
Council (Riedinger [1990], 298).
19 Athanasius here conflates the words of Jesus’ prayer to the Father
(Matt. 26:39) with his words to the sleeping disciples (Matt. 26:41).