The principal editor of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, presents the sources of meditation on the mystery of God's human face from the great Masters of early Christianity. Artists and theologians have meditated upon the mystery of God's human countenance and tried to express it. This book seeks to present the great sources of this meditation--sources which today are widely unknown, or have become foreign or obscure. These sources are above all the great masters of early Christianity. In their meditation upon Christ, Bishop Schonborn seeks the sources of the art on the Icon. The reader will find not only an engaging introduction to the meaning and beauty of Icons, but an invitation to draw closer to the One who inspired these Masters of theological expression and holy art. Includes beautiful color Icon illustrations.

The early centuries of the Christian era were marked by a variety of theological ideas in differing stages of development. Numerous theologians emerged with proposals about what the Christian church should believe and how theological ideas related to each other. Some of these theologians gained more prominent status and their ideas became sources on which others built. Patristic theology is thus a formative period, a yeasty time in which theological doctrines took on many stages of complexity. This outstanding handbook by a leading specialist in Patristic Theology provides students and scholars with easy access to key terms, figures, socio-cultural developments, and controversies of this period, extending to the ninth-century. McGuckin's introductory essay outlines the main intellectual issues in the early church. His concluding Bibliographic Guide Essay and General Bibliography also features a Website Resources Guide to assist readers with additional ways to study this period. The entries are written to help those with no previous theological knowledge understand the major dimensions of each topic. The result is an eminently useful, reliable, and unique resource.

Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376 - 444) was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444. He was enthroned when the city was at the height of its influence and power within the Roman Empire. Cyril wrote extensively and was a leading protagonist in the Christological controversies of the later 4th and 5th centuries. He was a central figure in the First Council of Ephesus in 431, which led to the deposition of Nestorius as Patriarch of Constantinople.Cyril is counted among the Church Fathers and the Doctors of the Church, and his reputation within the Christian world has resulted in his titles Pillar of Faith and Seal of all the Fathers, but Theodosius II, the Roman Emperor, condemned him for behaving like a "proud pharaoh", and the Nestorian bishops at the Council of Ephesus declared him a heretic, labelling him as a "monster, born and educated for the destruction of the church."Cyril is well-known due to his dispute with Nestorius and his supporter Patriarch John of Antioch, whom Cyril excluded from the Council of Ephesus for arriving late.

This text is one of the most important and yet approachable works produced by Cyril. It was written after the Council of Ephesus (431) to explain his doctrine to an international audience. Cyril argues for the single divine subjectivity of Christ, and describes how it encompasses a full and authentic humanity in Jesus - a human experience that is not overwhelmed by the divine presence, but fostered and enhanced by it. Christology becomes then, for St Cyril, a paradigm for the transfigured and redeemed life of the Christian. There is an introduction to the historical and theological background of the time, of the text and to St Cyril himself.

A Scientific Theology is a groundbreaking work of systematic theology in three volumes: Nature, Reality and Theory. Now available as a three volume set.

This book is a collection of the selected proceedings of the 4th International Conference “Human Being in Contemporary Philosophical Conceptions,” which was held under the patronage of UNESCO at Volgograd State University (Russia) on May 28–31, 2007. In the letter to the organizers, Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura wrote: “I should like to congratulate you on this important initiative to promote philosophical reflection, which is one of the central objectives of UNESCO’s Intersectoral Strategy on Philosophy.” There is an interesting fact: the 19th World Congress of Philosophy in Moscow (1993) had no session on philosophical anthropology, the next Congress in Boston (1998) had one such session, the 21st Congress of Philosophy in Istanbul (2003) had already four sessions, and the 22nd World Congress of Philosophy in Seoul (2008) had six sessions on philosophical anthropology. Obviously, we may observe a new anthropological renaissance in contemporary thought. This book serves the philosophical anthropology becoming as well. Perhaps an idea of integral studies is the most attractive trend in the contemporary philosophy and science. The book presents an experience in integral philosophy of human being. Also, the development of philosophical anthropology is closely connected with practical tasks. Our political activities, welfare projects and educational programs can become really useful only when we are guided by knowledge of what human being is, what we are able to do, what are own needs, and what we must become. Philosophical anthropology could correctly define the research purposes of all human sciences. This volume includes various reflexions and styles of thinking. By this, all the papers demonstrate metaphysics of respect for human being. The contributors, scholars from the different countries, are open for free discussions and fresh ideas.