Maximus Confessor, known as one of the most profound thinkers of the Early Church, once claimed that “the word of God . . . wills always and in all things to actualize the mystery of the Incarnation.” What did Maximus mean by this?
To answer this question, author Jordan Daniel Wood first analyzes Maximus’s writings using both the intellectual traditions of the Early Church fathers and contemporary philosophy. He then explores relevant topics ranging from the relationship between God’s act of creation and the Word’s historical Incarnation and the analogy of being and Christology to theological predication and grace.
The Whole Mystery of Christ: Creation as Incarnation in Maximus Confessor is a thorough examination of Maximus’ theological vision and will be of particular interest to scholars of patristics, theology, and the Byzantine studies. As David Bentley Hart, author of You Are Gods, observes, “Wood’s ingeniously original interpretation demonstrates that Maximus is still as revolutionary and enigmatic a Christian thinker now as he ever was, and that the real Maximus needs to be rescued from the sort of scholarship that has too often sought to tame his exorbitant genius.”
The new paperback edition is available for purchase on the Notre Dame Press website.
Jordan Daniel Wood received his doctorate from Boston College and is currently translating Maximus’s letters.
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