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The Classics of Western Spirituality
Maximus the Confessor: Selected Writings (Classics of Western Spirituality
Maximus is called the Confessor because of his sufferings and labors for the true faith. During the seventh century when the monothelite heresy (belief that Christ had only one will-----a divine one) plagued the Church, Maximus eloquently demonstrated that Christ had both human and divine natures.
Writing in the introduction to this volume Jaroslav Pelikan highlights the relevance of Maximus' writings for today: "It was the genius of Maximus Confessor that, in a measure that has been granted only to a few, he was fully bilingual, affirming by means of negation and speaking both the language of spirituality and the language of theology with equal fluency.
From the looks of things within both Western and Eastern Christendom-------and beyond------that gift of being bilingual is one that people of faith will need more than ever in the years to come."
240 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1985
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561 people want to read
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Maximus the Confessor
37 books86 followersMaximus the Confessor (Greek: Μάξιμος ὁ Ὁμολογητής) also known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople (c. 580 – 13 August 662) was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar.
In his early life, Maximus was a civil servant, and an aide to the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius. However, he gave up this life in the political sphere to enter into the monastic life. Maximus had studied diverse schools of philosophy, and certainly what was common for his time, the Platonic dialogues, the works of Aristotle, and numerous later Platonic commentators on Aristotle and Plato, like Plotinus, Porphyry, Iamblichus, and Proclus. When one of his friends began espousing the Christological position known as Monothelitism, Maximus was drawn into the controversy, in which he supported an interpretation of the Chalcedonian formula on the basis of which it was asserted that Jesus had both a human and a divine will. Maximus is venerated in both Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity. His Christological positions eventually resulted in the mutilation of his tongue and right hand, after which he was exiled and died on August 13, 662 in Tsageri, Georgia. However, his theology was upheld by the Third Council of Constantinople and he was venerated as a saint soon after his death. He is almost unique among saints in that he has two feast days: the 13th of August and the 21st of January. His title of Confessor means that he suffered for the Christian faith, but was not directly martyred. The Life of the Virgin is commonly, albeit mistakenly, attributed to him, and is considered to be one of the earliest complete biographies of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
In his early life, Maximus was a civil servant, and an aide to the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius. However, he gave up this life in the political sphere to enter into the monastic life. Maximus had studied diverse schools of philosophy, and certainly what was common for his time, the Platonic dialogues, the works of Aristotle, and numerous later Platonic commentators on Aristotle and Plato, like Plotinus, Porphyry, Iamblichus, and Proclus. When one of his friends began espousing the Christological position known as Monothelitism, Maximus was drawn into the controversy, in which he supported an interpretation of the Chalcedonian formula on the basis of which it was asserted that Jesus had both a human and a divine will. Maximus is venerated in both Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity. His Christological positions eventually resulted in the mutilation of his tongue and right hand, after which he was exiled and died on August 13, 662 in Tsageri, Georgia. However, his theology was upheld by the Third Council of Constantinople and he was venerated as a saint soon after his death. He is almost unique among saints in that he has two feast days: the 13th of August and the 21st of January. His title of Confessor means that he suffered for the Christian faith, but was not directly martyred. The Life of the Virgin is commonly, albeit mistakenly, attributed to him, and is considered to be one of the earliest complete biographies of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 21, 2022
Everything about Saint Maximus the Confessor suggests a synthesis or reconciliation of dualities. He is a major figure in both the eastern and western Christian traditions. As both a theologian and a monk, he combined intellectual rigor and ascetical practice—not that he would have distinguished between Christian thought and Christian life, or between theology and prayer. He defended Dyothelitism—the orthodox doctrine that Christ has two wills, one divine and one human—preserving the full humanity of Jesus in conjunction with His divinity, and, by extension, defending the possibility of divinization (theosis), which depends upon the capacity of human nature to presence the fullness of divinity. For defending the orthodox position against the Monothelitism of the emperor Constans II, Maximus had his tongue and right hand severed and was sent into exile; but he was vindicated shortly after his death by the Sixth Ecumenical Council and honored with the title of “Confessor” for the suffering he endured for the faith.
Within his writings, Maximus is likewise constantly identifying dualities and explaining how they are transcended and integrated by the Christian mystery. He maintains that the obstacles to our spiritual development are primarily either irascible or concupiscible in nature; that is to say, virtually all sin stems from anger or lust, which reinforce one another and keep humanity trapped within the satanic fiefdom. Anger and lust, for their part, are correlated with the male and female principles, which together represent the cycle of corruption and generation that characterizes the fallen world (and following the Genesis account, in which Eve receives her name after the expulsion from Paradise, Maximus insists that corruption precedes generation). The male/female duality, along with those between Jew and Greek, slave and free, and circumcised and uncircumcised as identified in Galatians and Colossians, is transcended by Christ, who “is all, and is in all.”
Christ the Logos unites heaven and earth, divinity and humanity, the universal and the particular, the relative and the absolute, body and soul, contemplation and action, history and eternity, reason and revelation; and in Him—or perhaps, with Him indwelling in each of us—the full human nature is both restored and sanctified, all people are united while retaining their uniqueness as divine inflections, and creation, like the burning bush, is infused with divine fire while remaining unconsumed. In the Holy Spirit, the eternal Church becomes a presence in time while remaining outside of it, reconciling all things to Christ, Who is their Author and End, and Whose eternal Cross diversifies their unity and unifies their diversity, reifying all things in their splendor and consummating the Kingdom of God in the Heavenly Banquet. Thy Kingdom come. Amen.
Within his writings, Maximus is likewise constantly identifying dualities and explaining how they are transcended and integrated by the Christian mystery. He maintains that the obstacles to our spiritual development are primarily either irascible or concupiscible in nature; that is to say, virtually all sin stems from anger or lust, which reinforce one another and keep humanity trapped within the satanic fiefdom. Anger and lust, for their part, are correlated with the male and female principles, which together represent the cycle of corruption and generation that characterizes the fallen world (and following the Genesis account, in which Eve receives her name after the expulsion from Paradise, Maximus insists that corruption precedes generation). The male/female duality, along with those between Jew and Greek, slave and free, and circumcised and uncircumcised as identified in Galatians and Colossians, is transcended by Christ, who “is all, and is in all.”
Christ the Logos unites heaven and earth, divinity and humanity, the universal and the particular, the relative and the absolute, body and soul, contemplation and action, history and eternity, reason and revelation; and in Him—or perhaps, with Him indwelling in each of us—the full human nature is both restored and sanctified, all people are united while retaining their uniqueness as divine inflections, and creation, like the burning bush, is infused with divine fire while remaining unconsumed. In the Holy Spirit, the eternal Church becomes a presence in time while remaining outside of it, reconciling all things to Christ, Who is their Author and End, and Whose eternal Cross diversifies their unity and unifies their diversity, reifying all things in their splendor and consummating the Kingdom of God in the Heavenly Banquet. Thy Kingdom come. Amen.
November 20, 2016
A strong introduction to a mystical practice and spirituality that is steeped in explicitly Christian concepts. For St. Maximos, the Christian life is made up of two directions - incarnation and ascension. Incarnation, insofar as the Christian must bring the Logos into life and the world through virtue and prudence. Ascension, insofar as the Christian must raise the mind above passionate and intelligible realities to silently rest in the contemplation of God.
St. Maximos focuses on the ascendant side of Christian spirituality, and others must do the work of explaining a Christian ethic more adequately. But where St. Maximos shines is in providing a contemplative theology that is thoroughly Christian. In contrast to the Platonic language and framing on which the giant Pseudo-Dionysius relies, St. Maximos explicitly grounds his writing in Scripture, creed, and liturgy. He reconciles the flight into simplicity with Christian dogmatic orthodoxy. He is far less susceptible to post-Christian distortion than are some of the (outstanding, but sometimes-abused) Christian mystics with whom he's conversing.
For one seeking a deeper, and still authentically Christian, spirituality, the saint is an excellent guide.
St. Maximos focuses on the ascendant side of Christian spirituality, and others must do the work of explaining a Christian ethic more adequately. But where St. Maximos shines is in providing a contemplative theology that is thoroughly Christian. In contrast to the Platonic language and framing on which the giant Pseudo-Dionysius relies, St. Maximos explicitly grounds his writing in Scripture, creed, and liturgy. He reconciles the flight into simplicity with Christian dogmatic orthodoxy. He is far less susceptible to post-Christian distortion than are some of the (outstanding, but sometimes-abused) Christian mystics with whom he's conversing.
For one seeking a deeper, and still authentically Christian, spirituality, the saint is an excellent guide.
January 29, 2009
This is not so much a read-through all at once book, but it was nice to use as part of my devotions. I especially enjoyed his 400 Chapters on Love and the Commentary on the Our Father, although his discussion of "Thy Kingdom Come" was a tough plow.
Read
March 21, 2023Excellent stuff. Most complex theologian I’ve read. Now further.
October 21, 2013
Magnificent. In the ancient and medieval church, nearly all theologians also wrote on ascetic and spiritual themes at some point or other, and vice-versa. But rarely do we find a world-class ascetic theologian who is also a world-class doctrinal theologian. Maximus is one of the few, and this anthology contains most of his early spiritual writings.
March 10, 2020
Excellent as usual. This translation is fantastic.
"Four Hundred Chapters on Love" and "Chapters on Knowledge" are wonderful, thought-provoking.
"The Church's Mystagogy" describes the symbolism and inner meaning of the Church and the Divine Liturgy.
Maximos has brought me closer to Christ through his writings.
"Four Hundred Chapters on Love" and "Chapters on Knowledge" are wonderful, thought-provoking.
"The Church's Mystagogy" describes the symbolism and inner meaning of the Church and the Divine Liturgy.
Maximos has brought me closer to Christ through his writings.
Read
February 1, 2021'Every cloud has a silver lining' brought to an extremely detailed relief, in the monastic view of the church. Although this isn't St. Maximus' unique contribution to theology, or anywhere near the only topic discussed here.
March 17, 2021
While I at times wish St. Maximus had spent a little less time on crafting maxims (it's not easy to read them, one after another) I must confess that there is so much light and beauty in this anthology that it is simply overwhelming.
March 28, 2012
A dense, masterful work of Orthodox theology. Even making sure I paid careful attention to all I read there is a vast amount I do not, and perhaps never will, understand.
July 26, 2012
Another Classic of Western Spirituality purchased for study, but have not had a chance to read from cover to cover yet. Looking forward to reading my many treasures when I complete my Masters.
October 12, 2022
*Note: I only read The Four Hundred Chapters on Love
I had the pleasure of writing an essay on this text and on Maximus the Confessor's story. Both are incredible. Maximus lost his hand and tongue for refusing to renounce what he believed to be orthodoxy. His four hundred chapters are a beautiful combination of mysticism, practical advice, quotes, allusion to Fathers and mystics, and exhortations. The interaction and organization of these 'chapters' allows for continual interpretation and influence. It is a beautiful text, and one that I will return to time and again.
I had the pleasure of writing an essay on this text and on Maximus the Confessor's story. Both are incredible. Maximus lost his hand and tongue for refusing to renounce what he believed to be orthodoxy. His four hundred chapters are a beautiful combination of mysticism, practical advice, quotes, allusion to Fathers and mystics, and exhortations. The interaction and organization of these 'chapters' allows for continual interpretation and influence. It is a beautiful text, and one that I will return to time and again.
January 20, 2025
Took me over three months to plow through the dense thought of Chalcedon's Dyothelite defender.
There is beauty here, especially wonderful thoughts about what it means to love vs. to know, and how in Christ all love and all knowledge are one and the same.
Maximus' vision of the cosmological Christ, uniting all differences into himself, is thoroughly redemptive. Again, as with so many early church writings, we find the vision of man as microcosm of all creation, and Christ, consubstantial with man, being the cosmos Himself.
Glorious stuff, but dense.
There is beauty here, especially wonderful thoughts about what it means to love vs. to know, and how in Christ all love and all knowledge are one and the same.
Maximus' vision of the cosmological Christ, uniting all differences into himself, is thoroughly redemptive. Again, as with so many early church writings, we find the vision of man as microcosm of all creation, and Christ, consubstantial with man, being the cosmos Himself.
Glorious stuff, but dense.
September 6, 2016
[I am writing this review having read the Four Centuries on Love but little of the rest. I may update the review when I read some of the other selections, particularly the apophatic Chapters on Knoweledge.]
Maximus represents an interesting development and systematiziation of the thought of the Cappadocian Fathers along with other elements of early Christian thought in both west and east, which he combines in creative synthesis. It is possible that he had read Augustine, but there is no evidence for this--more's the pity, as it would have had benefits for the future of the unity of the Church if there had been a greater dose of the greatest Latin Father. Maximus lived just before the rise of Byzantine scholasticism and so despite his carefulness and need to balance a number of historical predecessors, his theological work remains creatively and vitally concerned with important, unanswered questions.
Maximus is known above all for his role in answering the question of whether Christ had one will (divine) or two wills (human and divine), a question that even in his time seemed baroque and unimportant to many but that, upon examination, turns out to have wide-ranging implications for how we understand incarnation and redemption. So important did this question come to seem that Maximus was put on trial and ultimately punished by having his right hand and tongue cut off, so that he might cease expounding his views, and sent into exile, where he died. But Maximus's view ultimately prevailed when the Church declare monthelitism (the view that Christ had a divine will only and no human will) a heresy, leading to his being accorded the title "the Confessor" for his refusal to cease confessing the true view even under severe threat to his life and well-being.
The Four Centuries on Love, however, are written before this controversy arose, and seem to be more concerned with the providing a complete picture of the Christian life as defined by love for God (and love for neighbor, which in Maximus's view arises from and cannnot arise without love for God). The book is actually a narrower than this; although devoted to explaining the Christian life of love, it is especially concerned with the instruction of Maximus's fellow monastics, and many of its four hundred "chapters" (which may be sentences or paragraphs, but never longer than this) are addressed to the specific problems faced by monks and other contemplatives.
At the heart of the work is an intriguing combination of apophatic theology ("negative theology"), contemplative prayer (itself made very interesting through its combination with apophasis and the idea that in pure prayer the mind no longer has either matter or form), inner freedom or detachment, all of these wrapped up together with a single vision of the whole of life focused in love for God and for all human beings equally. This is manifested in an ongoing war with the "passions," which are something like irrational emotional responses either of desire or hatred or pride. Maximus is far from being opposed to all that we would call passion, and in fact is extremely interested in the ways that the passions he identifies as the enemies of love can be "converted" into the love for God and love for neighbor that is central to his ethic.
I hope, at some point, to work out a clear picture of Maximus's understanding of salvation and redemption. I found his basic conception of the matter confused, in the sense that Protestants generally find the Eastern understanding of salvation confused -- justification and sanctification are unseparated and frequently run into one another, the synergy of grace and free will is never explained so clearly as to make out the distinct role of each, and it seems uncertain whether the coming of Christ is after all a good thing or not, for it is quite unclear how many (if any!) will be saved if salvation is as Maximus describes it. There are statements that suggest one conclusion and others that suggest another. Since Maximus is a sharp thinker, I hope to try to get to the bottom of this at some point. Reading it directly after reading Luther's Commentary on Galatians was highly instructive, because the reader finds the seeds of all the things that Luther would later declaim, but not yet corrupted to the state that Luther found them in. Maximus's constant invocation of grace and concern with the vanity and vainglory of those who believe that they are making spiritual progress as monks, for example, show that he was as aware as Luther of the potential for certain kinds of problems within the monasteries.
There is also some interest in working out the relationship between Maximus and Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky's vision of the Christian life of love, as presented in Brothers Karamazov, both appropriates and takes aim at several elements of the Christian life as presented by Maximus the Confessor, and in particular his conception of monasticism. The criticisms are obvious (excessive asceticism, over concern with demonic forces, in general -- the preference for the vita contemplativa over the vita activa), but working out the positive relationship requires getting a firmer understanding of the relationship between the incarnation and redemption than I have yet for either author, Maximus or Dostoevsky.
Maximus represents an interesting development and systematiziation of the thought of the Cappadocian Fathers along with other elements of early Christian thought in both west and east, which he combines in creative synthesis. It is possible that he had read Augustine, but there is no evidence for this--more's the pity, as it would have had benefits for the future of the unity of the Church if there had been a greater dose of the greatest Latin Father. Maximus lived just before the rise of Byzantine scholasticism and so despite his carefulness and need to balance a number of historical predecessors, his theological work remains creatively and vitally concerned with important, unanswered questions.
Maximus is known above all for his role in answering the question of whether Christ had one will (divine) or two wills (human and divine), a question that even in his time seemed baroque and unimportant to many but that, upon examination, turns out to have wide-ranging implications for how we understand incarnation and redemption. So important did this question come to seem that Maximus was put on trial and ultimately punished by having his right hand and tongue cut off, so that he might cease expounding his views, and sent into exile, where he died. But Maximus's view ultimately prevailed when the Church declare monthelitism (the view that Christ had a divine will only and no human will) a heresy, leading to his being accorded the title "the Confessor" for his refusal to cease confessing the true view even under severe threat to his life and well-being.
The Four Centuries on Love, however, are written before this controversy arose, and seem to be more concerned with the providing a complete picture of the Christian life as defined by love for God (and love for neighbor, which in Maximus's view arises from and cannnot arise without love for God). The book is actually a narrower than this; although devoted to explaining the Christian life of love, it is especially concerned with the instruction of Maximus's fellow monastics, and many of its four hundred "chapters" (which may be sentences or paragraphs, but never longer than this) are addressed to the specific problems faced by monks and other contemplatives.
At the heart of the work is an intriguing combination of apophatic theology ("negative theology"), contemplative prayer (itself made very interesting through its combination with apophasis and the idea that in pure prayer the mind no longer has either matter or form), inner freedom or detachment, all of these wrapped up together with a single vision of the whole of life focused in love for God and for all human beings equally. This is manifested in an ongoing war with the "passions," which are something like irrational emotional responses either of desire or hatred or pride. Maximus is far from being opposed to all that we would call passion, and in fact is extremely interested in the ways that the passions he identifies as the enemies of love can be "converted" into the love for God and love for neighbor that is central to his ethic.
I hope, at some point, to work out a clear picture of Maximus's understanding of salvation and redemption. I found his basic conception of the matter confused, in the sense that Protestants generally find the Eastern understanding of salvation confused -- justification and sanctification are unseparated and frequently run into one another, the synergy of grace and free will is never explained so clearly as to make out the distinct role of each, and it seems uncertain whether the coming of Christ is after all a good thing or not, for it is quite unclear how many (if any!) will be saved if salvation is as Maximus describes it. There are statements that suggest one conclusion and others that suggest another. Since Maximus is a sharp thinker, I hope to try to get to the bottom of this at some point. Reading it directly after reading Luther's Commentary on Galatians was highly instructive, because the reader finds the seeds of all the things that Luther would later declaim, but not yet corrupted to the state that Luther found them in. Maximus's constant invocation of grace and concern with the vanity and vainglory of those who believe that they are making spiritual progress as monks, for example, show that he was as aware as Luther of the potential for certain kinds of problems within the monasteries.
There is also some interest in working out the relationship between Maximus and Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky's vision of the Christian life of love, as presented in Brothers Karamazov, both appropriates and takes aim at several elements of the Christian life as presented by Maximus the Confessor, and in particular his conception of monasticism. The criticisms are obvious (excessive asceticism, over concern with demonic forces, in general -- the preference for the vita contemplativa over the vita activa), but working out the positive relationship requires getting a firmer understanding of the relationship between the incarnation and redemption than I have yet for either author, Maximus or Dostoevsky.
February 24, 2023
Chapters on love is brilliant.
Want to read
March 21, 2025The four hundred chapters on love were great. The rest was incomprehensible to me
July 22, 2020
"Now nothing is either so fitting for justification or so apt for divinization, if I can speak thus, and nearness to God, as mercy offered with pleasure and joy from the soul to those who stand in need... And if the poor man is God, it is because of God's condescension in becoming poor for us and in taking upon himself by his own suffering the sufferings of each one and 'until the end of time,' always suffering mystically out of goodness in proportion to each one's suffering" (212).
There are few theologians of the ancient Church that combined a dazzling theological brilliance with such deep and personal spirituality, such effortless command of philosophy with such mystical piety. Maximus (580 - 662) called "Confessor" for the pains he suffered for defending the Gospel, is one of them. This Early Byzantine monk and theologian was the major authority appealed to by the council fathers during the Sixth Ecumenical Council (680-681) for his robust defense of the two wills/energies of Christ. As an opponent of "Monothelitism," Maximus incurred the wrath of Emperor Constans II and suffered punishment which led to his death in exile on the Black Sea.
Maximus' command of the Scriptures is impressive, and biblical images and quotations permeate his writing. His major influences include the Cappadocians and especially Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite.
Maximus wrote a variety of devotional and ascetical works, several of which are collected in this volume. His writing tends to be exceptionally dense, and his "chapters" (more like short statements or aphorisms on various spiritual topics) are very subtle. All of his work deserves to be read and re-read, for it will always reward closer inspection and meditation.
There are few theologians of the ancient Church that combined a dazzling theological brilliance with such deep and personal spirituality, such effortless command of philosophy with such mystical piety. Maximus (580 - 662) called "Confessor" for the pains he suffered for defending the Gospel, is one of them. This Early Byzantine monk and theologian was the major authority appealed to by the council fathers during the Sixth Ecumenical Council (680-681) for his robust defense of the two wills/energies of Christ. As an opponent of "Monothelitism," Maximus incurred the wrath of Emperor Constans II and suffered punishment which led to his death in exile on the Black Sea.
Maximus' command of the Scriptures is impressive, and biblical images and quotations permeate his writing. His major influences include the Cappadocians and especially Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite.
Maximus wrote a variety of devotional and ascetical works, several of which are collected in this volume. His writing tends to be exceptionally dense, and his "chapters" (more like short statements or aphorisms on various spiritual topics) are very subtle. All of his work deserves to be read and re-read, for it will always reward closer inspection and meditation.
May 31, 2008
I am reading the Church's Mystagogy and The Chapters on Knowledge for a paper this semester in my Sacramental Ethics class. Maximus the Confessor's idea of the liturgy all creation as logoi coming back to unity through the tropos of Christ, while still remaining diverse ... and how this plays out whenever the liturgy is celebrated is mind-bogglingly wonderful. Love it.
February 11, 2017
Last Read:
27 December 2012-7 January 2013
27 December 2012-7 January 2013
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