Research Article

The Relationship Between the Holy Spirit and Human Perfection in the Baptismal Theology of Gregory of Nazianzus: Examined with Reference to Christian Arabic Literature

Number: 39 March 30, 2018
TR EN

The Relationship Between the Holy Spirit and Human Perfection in the Baptismal Theology of Gregory of Nazianzus: Examined with Reference to Christian Arabic Literature

Abstract

Gregory of Nazianzus (ca. 329-390) is one of the church fathers who played a significant role in the formulation of the Christian faith and the development of Christian theology. He was also one of the theoreticians and practitioners of Christian ascetic life. He was a Late Antique writer who not only expressed his views on Christian education and culture but also took active part in matters relating to these areas. It is possible to say that despite his Theological Orations by which he became the second person after John the Evangelist who was given the title “Theologian” and his active role especially against the Arians during his archbishopric of Constantinople, Gregory has been neglected and seen by Western Christianity only as a Byzantine literary figure. It is interesting to learn that in the 10th century Antiochene Melkite Church, a need arose to introduce or remind the Melkite community of Gregory in Arabic. The texts chosen by the Arabic speaking translators of the Melkite Church to be translated from Greek into Arabic were mainly ethical and intellectual in character. It is important to note that intellect and spirit (and heart) are given equal attention in the emphasis of these texts on human perfection and salvation. As the father of the doctrine of theosis or human perfection, Gregory teaches that the Holy Spirit is the power that leads and even unites with both intellect and spirit. This paper examines the role attributed to the Holy Spirit by the Arabic translations of Gregory’s orations –particularly his Oration on Baptism – on human perfection in the context of Christian Arabic theology and literature.

Keywords

References

  1. Bahkou, Abjar, “Kitāb al-kāfī fī al-ma'nā al-ṣāfī (The Complete Book of the Proper Mean-ing): The Christian Apology of Gerasimus”, Parole de l’Orient, 34 (2009): 309-343.
  2. Barth, Karl, Church Dogmatics, I/I, ed. G.W. Bromiley and T.F. Torrance, Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1975.
  3. Beaumont, Mark I., Christology in Dialogue with Muslims: A Critical Analysis of Christian Presentations of Christ for Muslims from the Ninth and Twenties Centuries, Cumbria: Paternoster, 2005.
  4. Beeley, Christopher A., Gregory of Nazianzus on the Trinity and the Knowledge of God: In Your Light We See Light, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
  5. Blau, Joshua, A Handbook of Early Middle Arabic, Jerusalem: Max Schloessinger Memorial Foundation, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2002.
  6. Brock, Sebastian P., “A Short Melkite Baptismal Service in Syriac”, Parole de l’Orient 3, (1972): 119-130.
  7. Brock, Sebastian P., The Holy Spirit in the Syrian Baptismal Tradition, Bronx, N.Y.: Ford-ham University, 1979.
  8. Cheikho, Louis, ed., Vingt traités théologiques d'auteurs arabes chrétiens (ixe-xiiie siècles), Beirut, 1920.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Religious Studies

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

March 30, 2018

Submission Date

August 5, 2017

Acceptance Date

February 23, 2018

Published in Issue

Year 2018 Number: 39

APA
Tokay, E. (2018). The Relationship Between the Holy Spirit and Human Perfection in the Baptismal Theology of Gregory of Nazianzus: Examined with Reference to Christian Arabic Literature. İslam Araştırmaları Dergisi, 39, 55-88. https://doi.org/10.26570/isad.409836
AMA
1.Tokay E. The Relationship Between the Holy Spirit and Human Perfection in the Baptismal Theology of Gregory of Nazianzus: Examined with Reference to Christian Arabic Literature. İslam Araştırmaları Dergisi. 2018;(39):55-88. doi:10.26570/isad.409836
Chicago
Tokay, Elif. 2018. “The Relationship Between the Holy Spirit and Human Perfection in the Baptismal Theology of Gregory of Nazianzus: Examined With Reference to Christian Arabic Literature”. İslam Araştırmaları Dergisi, nos. 39: 55-88. https://doi.org/10.26570/isad.409836.
EndNote
Tokay E (March 1, 2018) The Relationship Between the Holy Spirit and Human Perfection in the Baptismal Theology of Gregory of Nazianzus: Examined with Reference to Christian Arabic Literature. İslam Araştırmaları Dergisi 39 55–88.
IEEE
[1]E. Tokay, “The Relationship Between the Holy Spirit and Human Perfection in the Baptismal Theology of Gregory of Nazianzus: Examined with Reference to Christian Arabic Literature”, İslam Araştırmaları Dergisi, no. 39, pp. 55–88, Mar. 2018, doi: 10.26570/isad.409836.
ISNAD
Tokay, Elif. “The Relationship Between the Holy Spirit and Human Perfection in the Baptismal Theology of Gregory of Nazianzus: Examined With Reference to Christian Arabic Literature”. İslam Araştırmaları Dergisi. 39 (March 1, 2018): 55-88. https://doi.org/10.26570/isad.409836.
JAMA
1.Tokay E. The Relationship Between the Holy Spirit and Human Perfection in the Baptismal Theology of Gregory of Nazianzus: Examined with Reference to Christian Arabic Literature. İslam Araştırmaları Dergisi. 2018;:55–88.
MLA
Tokay, Elif. “The Relationship Between the Holy Spirit and Human Perfection in the Baptismal Theology of Gregory of Nazianzus: Examined With Reference to Christian Arabic Literature”. İslam Araştırmaları Dergisi, no. 39, Mar. 2018, pp. 55-88, doi:10.26570/isad.409836.
Vancouver
1.Elif Tokay. The Relationship Between the Holy Spirit and Human Perfection in the Baptismal Theology of Gregory of Nazianzus: Examined with Reference to Christian Arabic Literature. İslam Araştırmaları Dergisi. 2018 Mar. 1;(39):55-88. doi:10.26570/isad.409836