Man and the Cosmos: The Vision of St. Maximus the Confessor

by Lars Thunberg

Lars Thunberg, the author of the excellent study Microcosm and The Theological Anthropology of St Maximus the Confessor, provides in this text a shorter, more popular study on this famous Byzantine theologian. While preserving the essence of his earlier work, he makes accessible to the general reader the thought of Maximus on the cosmos, the nature of man, man's relationship with God and the world, Christology, the liturgical and sacramental dimension, history and eschatology. Included also is an excellent appendix on 'Symbol and Christ's Eucharistic Presence. 'According to Thunberg, what concerns Maximus most of all is 'the central fact [of] the reciprocity between God and man. On the ontological level, this reciprocity is one between an archetype and its image. It should become manifest on the existential level through a double God's movement toward men in the Incarnation...and man's movement toward God in the imitative process of deification... The reciprocity between God and man for Maximus implies a natural capacity, and even will, to move in the direction of the other.'

Genres: Theology, Nonfiction

184 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1997

Reviews

[David Withun · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

I generally am not a great fan of the writings of Maximus as they are dense writings and beyond my interest and education. That being said, there were a number of thoughts and ideas that this book made clear to me which caused me to appreciate the book. I was able at a few points to at least glimpse into Maximus' genius, even if his work in general is beyond my interest. The books comments on Maximus's understanding of the Liturgy were very eye-opening. Maximus was not clergy. In his commentary on the Liturgy he does not even mention the anaphora, which Thunberg thinks is explainable by the fact that not being clergy and being in the church at the time when clergy did silent prayers, they were not part of his experience of the Liturgy. That in itself seems to me to be a serious deficiency in Orthodoxy. Thunberg also mentions Maximus makes very little comment on his understanding of the nature of Holy Communion - real or symbolic. Again, probably the reason is few in his day were going to Communion. So he formed an elaborate symbolic meaning for the Liturgy but without much reference to the Anaphora or Communion. I must admit I far prefer Fr Schmemann's vision of the Liturgy and of Orthodoxy.

[Kristofer Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book wasn't entirely what I expected, but it turned out to be more profound than I'd hoped. This is not simply a book regarding Theological Anthropology, nor as the Protestants put it, a book on the Doctrine of Man. Maximus the Confessor did not have a systematic theology in the sense used in Western scholasticism, but is rather an integrated whole. This book is rich with the theological insights of Maximus, and I highly recommend it.

[Paul Tish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too theologically technical for me. I will read it again later in life and hopefully be able to "get it".