The Luminous Eye

by Brock, Sebastian P.

• ISBN13: 9780879076245
• ISBN10: 0879076240
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1992-09-01
• Publisher: LITURGICAL PRESS

Summary

Sebastian Brock is Reader in Syriac Studies in the University of Oxford, where he is also a Fellow of Wolfson College. He has written extensively on Syriac subjects and served on the translation panel which produced The Psalms: A New Translation for Worship (1977). He is a member of the Editorial Board of Sobornost/Eastern Churches Review, and is curator of the Mingana Collection of Manuscripts at the Selly Oak Colleges, Birmingham. Before taking up his present position, Dr. Brock taught in the Department of Theology at the University of Birmingham and in the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Cambridge.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction	13	(10)
Saint Ephrem as a Meeting Point between East and West	13	(2)
Life	15	(2)
Writings	17	(1)
Ephrem's Triple Heritage	18	(3)
Mode of Procedure	21	(2)
Saint Ephrem's Theological Approach	23	(30)
The Poet as Theologian	23	(2)
Some Basic Concepts and Themes	25	(13)
Creator-Creation	26	(1)
The Hidden and the Revealed	27	(2)
The Primacy of Faith	29	(1)
The Two Times	29	(1)
The One and the Many	30	(1)
The Pattern of Salvation	31	(3)
Free Will	34	(2)
The Value of the Body	36	(2)
Imagery	38	(2)
The Divinity as Fire	38	(1)
Clothing	39	(1)
Conception and Birthgiving	39	(1)
The Eye, Light and Mirror	39	(1)
Medical Imagery	40	(1)
Other Images	40	(1)
The Three Modes of Divine Self-revelation	40	(3)
The Prerequisties for Theological Enquiry	43	(3)
The Interpretation of Scripture	46	(7)
The Ladder of Symbols: Divine Descent	53	(14)
Types and Symbols	53	(7)
The Garment of `Names'	60	(7)
The Ladder of Symbols: Human Ascent	67	(18)
The Initial Response	67	(4)
The Luminous Eye	71	(8)
Symbols Perceived	79	(6)
The Robe of Glory	85	(14)
The Primordial Robe	86	(1)
The Recovery of the Robe	87	(3)
The Baptism of Christ and Christian Baptism	90	(4)
The Wedding Garment	94	(5)
The Medicine of Life	99	(16)
The Medicine of Life	99	(4)
The Coal of Fire	103	(3)
The Pearl	106	(2)
Incarnation and Epiclesis	108	(7)
The Bridal Chamber of the Heart	115	(16)
Israel as the Betrothed	116	(6)
The Church as Bride	122	(4)
Mary as Bride	126	(1)
The Bridal Chamber of the Heart	127	(4)
The Ascetic Ideal: Saint Ephrem and Proto-Monasticism	131	(12)
Syrian `Proto-monasticism': A Forgotten	131	(8)
Tradition Motivation	139	(4)
Saint Ephrem Among the Fathers	143	(16)
Saint Ephrem and the Greek Fathers	143	(2)
Saint Ephrem and the Cappadocian Fathers	145	(3)
Divinization (theosis)	148	(6)
Saint Ephrem and Later Monastic Tradition	154	(5)
Saint Ephrem Today	159	(16)
Saint Ephrem as a Representative of Asian Christianity	159	(1)
Poetry as a Vehicle for Theology	160	(1)
The Interpretation of Scripture within the Context of Faith	161	(3)
Saint Ephrem's Ecological Vision	164	(4)
The Role of the Feminine	168	(4)
Conclusion	172	(3)
NOTES	175	(8)
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY	183	(12)
INDEXES	195	(1)
Biblical References	195	(2)
Passages in Ephrem	197	(5)
Syriac and Greek Writers	202	(2)
Names and Subjects	204	(4)
Greek, Hebrew, and Syriac Terms	208