Byzantine Engagement with Augustine and Aquinas
6:21
What the video says
The speaker explains that Augustine is a recognized church father in Orthodoxy but is read within the broader patristic symphony, not as infallible. Aquinas, though not a church father, was valued by Byzantines for his rational arguments useful against Islam and his mastery of Greek philosophy and the Greek fathers.
Demetrius Cydones translated the Summa contra Gentiles in 1354 and admired Aquinas's clarity and use of Aristotle. Later, Gennadius Scholarius, the first patriarch after 1453, became Aquinas's greatest admirer in East or West while rejecting his positions on the Filioque, papal claims, purgatory, and the essence-energies distinction.
This Byzantine approach shows a mature Orthodoxy that can engage Western theology robustly without total rejection, contrasting with the uniformly negative 20th-century Orthodox view of Aquinas.
Key moments
- Byzantines liked Aquinas for arguments based on reason that could be used against Muslims.
- Augustine is recognized as a church father in the councils; Orthodox listen to him in the broader patristic symphony without expecting infallibility.
- Demetrius Cydones translated the Summa contra Gentiles into Greek on 24 December 1354 at 3:00 PM; he was prime minister of the Byzantine Empire and learned Latin to read Aquinas.
- Cydones admired Aquinas for his use of Greek philosophy, especially Aristotle, his engagement with the Greek fathers, and his clarity and method.
- The encounter with Islam made Aquinas's rational arguments particularly valuable to the Byzantines.
- Gennadius Scholarius, first patriarch after the 1453 fall, used Cydones's translations and carried Aquinas summaries with him after the sack.
- Gennadius declared himself Aquinas's greatest fan in East or West but disagreed on the Filioque, papal claims, purgatory, and the essence-energies distinction.
- This Byzantine model shows a mature Orthodoxy that engages Western theology robustly while maintaining firm disagreements, unlike the uniformly negative 20th-century Orthodox reception of Aquinas.
Prof. Marcus Plested of Marquette University examines how the Byzantine East received Western theological figures. Orthodox councils recognize Augustine as a church father but read him within the broader patristic symphony alongside Athanasius, the Cappadocians, and Maximus the Confessor, not as an infallible authority. Byzantine thinkers studied Thomas Aquinas seriously, though they did not consider him a Father of the Church.
Demetrius Cydones, prime minister of the Byzantine Empire, learned Latin specifically to read Aquinas and translated the Summa contra Gentiles into Greek on 24 December 1354 at 3:00 PM. He admired Aquinas for his mastery of Greek philosophy, especially Aristotle, his engagement with the Greek fathers, and his clarity and theological method.
The encounter with Islam made Aquinas's rational arguments particularly valuable to the Byzantines. Gennadius Scholarius, the first patriarch after the 1453 fall of Constantinople, used Cydones's translations and carried Aquinas summaries with him after the sack of the city. Scholarius declared himself Aquinas's greatest admirer in East or West while firmly rejecting Western dogmas including the Filioque, papal claims, purgatory, and the essence-energies distinction.
This Byzantine approach demonstrates an Orthodoxy confident enough to engage Western theology discerningly without surrendering its dogmatic integrity, contrasting with the uniformly negative reception of Aquinas that characterized twentieth-century Orthodox thought.
Main points
- Orthodox councils recognize Augustine as a church father but read him within the broader patristic symphony, not as infallible
- Byzantine thinkers studied Thomas Aquinas for his rational arguments and philosophical mastery though he is not a Father of the Church
- Demetrius Cydones translated the Summa contra Gentiles in 1354, valuing Aquinas's use of Aristotle and theological clarity
- Gennadius Scholarius, first patriarch after 1453, called himself Aquinas's greatest admirer while rejecting the Filioque, papal claims, purgatory, and essence-energies distinction
- The Byzantine model shows mature Orthodoxy engaging Western theology discerningly, unlike the uniform twentieth-century rejection of Aquinas