Studia Patristica. Vol. CII - Including Papers Presented at the Seventh British Patristics Conference, Cardiff, 5-7 September 2018

This volume contains fifteen papers presented at the seventh BritishPatristics Conference, held in Cardiff (Wales, UK) from 5 to 7 September2018. The theme of the conference was Religion in Late Antiquity. Thepapers address topics such as transformation and innovation, interrelations between religions, and between religions and other areasof culture: philosophy, education, politics and science. Some deal withaspects of the pre-history of religion in late antiquity, others withthe reception of late-antique religion in later periods of history.Consequently, alongside papers that treat more 'traditional' topics ofPatristic Studies there are papers applying approaches and methodologiessuch as identity formation and reception theory.
The volume thusoffers a cross section of topics related to religion in late antiquityfrom the second to the thirteenth century and reflects the current stateof research in this wide field.
The papers are grouped in foursections, I. Ancient Philosophy, Early Christianity and Judaism; II.Christianity in its Cultural Context from the Second to the FourthCentury; III. Augustine and His Age; IV. The End of Antiquity andBeyond.
Part I contains papers by Ilaria Ramelli, who comparespagan and Christians concepts of the 'Logos/Nous One-Many' in pagan andChristian philosophers of the second to fourth century, David LloydDusenbury, who explores the concept of the World City in the thought ofNemesius of Emesa, and Susanna Towers, who compares the 'Demoness' foundin eastern Manichaean texts with the pre-Rabbinic Jewish concept ofYetzer Hara.
Part II begins with a paper by Josef Lössl onthe juxtaposition of Greek and Barbarian Paideia in Tatian's AdGraecos. This is followed by a new discussion of the Centoattributed to Faltona Betitia Proba, in which Nicholas Baker-Briansituates the work firmly in the reign of Julian the Apostate andunderstands its criticism of Constantius II in this context. A thirdpaper, by Zachary Esterson, compares the oeuvres of Victorinus of Pettauand Fortunatianus of Aquileia. A fourth, by James Wellington, offers anew, ontological, reading of Gregory of Nyssa's refutation of slavery inIn Ecclesiasten Homiliae IV; and in a final piece entitled 'ATale of Two Councils', Sara Parvis compares the two Councils ofConstantinople of 360 and 381.
With Augustine, Part III moves fromthe fourth to the fifth century. In it, Philip Brown shows howAugustine's sixth tractate on John contains an emerging 'theology offriendship'. Georgiana Huian explores notions of 'Deification' in Sermo23B (Mainz 13) also known as 'Sermo Dolbeau 6'. Math Osseforth studiesan example of intertextuality in the Confessions, the Vergilian conceptof the Underworld. Marcin Wysocki compares strategies of survival inapocalyptic times in late-antique letter collections (Paulinus of Nola, Augustine, Jerome).
Part IV contains papers from 'the end ofantiquity and beyond'. Georgios Siskos writes on Maximus the Confessor'scritique of Monothelitism, Michael Muthreich on an excerpt of EpistleVIII of the Dionysian corpus in Syriac, Helen Dayton on NikitasStithatos main work, 300 Kephalaia, and Andrej Kutarna on Theosis inJohn of Damascus and Thomas Aquinas.