Holy Fools in Byzantium and BeyondOUP Oxford, 2006 M04 6 - 492 pages There are saints in Orthodox Christian culture who overturn the conventional concept of sainthood. Their conduct may be unruly and salacious, they may blaspheme and even kill - yet, mysteriously, those around them treat them with even more reverence. Such saints are called 'holy fools'. In this pioneering study Sergey A. Ivanov examines the phenomenon of holy foolery from a cultural standpoint. He identifies its prerequisites and its development in religious thought, and traces the emergence of the first hagiographic texts describing these paradoxical saints. He describes the beginnings of holy foolery in Egyptian monasteries of the fifth century, followed by its high point in the cities of Byzantium, with an eventual decline in the twelfth to fourteenth centuries. He also compares the important Russian tradition of holy fools, which in some form has survived to this day. |
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Page 11
... early in its growth it was grafted onto Hellenistic culture. We might logically suppose, therefore, that the phenomenon under investigation also has both Jewish and Hellenistic roots. Not that such 'roots' are likely to bear very close ...
... early in its growth it was grafted onto Hellenistic culture. We might logically suppose, therefore, that the phenomenon under investigation also has both Jewish and Hellenistic roots. Not that such 'roots' are likely to bear very close ...
Page 16
... early Christianity by devotees of the Cynical school of philosophy. The Emperor Julian asserted that Cynics and 'impious Galileans' had much in common (Oratio vii. 224b). Aelius Aristides aptly points out that Christians and Cynics both ...
... early Christianity by devotees of the Cynical school of philosophy. The Emperor Julian asserted that Cynics and 'impious Galileans' had much in common (Oratio vii. 224b). Aelius Aristides aptly points out that Christians and Cynics both ...
Page 18
... earliest Christian texts, therefore, even praise for foolishness entails a tacit acknowledgement of the primacy of reason. It is in this context that we should read the classic. 11 J. A. Kelso, 'Fool', Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics ...
... earliest Christian texts, therefore, even praise for foolishness entails a tacit acknowledgement of the primacy of reason. It is in this context that we should read the classic. 11 J. A. Kelso, 'Fool', Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics ...
Page 19
... Early Christian theologians, who put a fair amount of effort into commentating on the 'foolishness for Christ's sake' passages from the first Epistle to the. 12 A. Besanc ̧on Spencer, 'The Wise Fool (And the Foolish Wise)', Novum ...
... Early Christian theologians, who put a fair amount of effort into commentating on the 'foolishness for Christ's sake' passages from the first Epistle to the. 12 A. Besanc ̧on Spencer, 'The Wise Fool (And the Foolish Wise)', Novum ...
Page 20
... early Christianity the concepts of 'foolishness' and 'wisdom' each had two meanings: a secular meaning broadly accepted in the Hellenistic world, and a sacral meaning borrowed from Judaism. As Basil of Caesarea writes: 'the epithet ...
... early Christianity the concepts of 'foolishness' and 'wisdom' each had two meanings: a secular meaning broadly accepted in the Hellenistic world, and a sacral meaning borrowed from Judaism. As Basil of Caesarea writes: 'the epithet ...
Contents
1 | |
11 | |
2 Insane Saints | 49 |
3 Lechers and Beggars | 66 |
4 Holy Scandal | 104 |
5 The Second Edition of Holy Foolery | 139 |
6 The New Theologians | 174 |
7 Balancing at the Edge | 195 |
10 The Iurodivyi and the Tsar | 285 |
11 Iurodstvo in an Age of Transition | 311 |
12 Iurodstvo Meets Modernity | 345 |
13 The Eastern Periphery | 359 |
14 The Western Periphery | 374 |
Conclusion | 399 |
Bibliography | 415 |
Index | 457 |
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Common terms and phrases
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