Living in the Light of Christ
Mystagogy in Cyril of Alexandria's Festal Letters
By (author) H. van Loon
Hardback (Published)
(March 2017)
ISBN: 9789042934245
Price: $105.00
On back order
While the original goal of the ‘festal letters’, written by the archbishops of Alexandria, was to announce the dates of Lent, Easter, and Pentecost, they developed into treatises with pastoral purposes, to be read out in the parishes and monasteries throughout Egypt and Libya. In this book, Hans van Loon studies the mystagogy of Cyril of Alexandria (ca. 378-444) as it can be descerned in his twenty-nine extant festal letters. After an introduction, which deals with the historical background of the festal letters and gives an overview of their contents, various aspects of Cyril’s mystagogy are discussed in detail: the centrality of the mystery of Christ; the role of the sacraments; the archbishop’s typological interpretation of the Old Testament, and his attitude towards Judaism; how he encourages the faithful to fast and to pray, and to live virtuous lives; and finally, how he envisages our relationship with God.
While the original goal of the ‘festal letters’, written by the archbishops of Alexandria, was to announce the dates of Lent, Easter, and Pentecost, they developed into treatises with pastoral purposes, to be read out in the parishes and monasteries throughout Egypt and Libya. In this book, Hans van Loon studies the mystagogy of Cyril of Alexandria (ca. 378-444) as it can be descerned in his twenty-nine extant festal letters. After an introduction, which deals with the historical background of the festal letters and gives an overview of their contents, various aspects of Cyril’s mystagogy are discussed in detail: the centrality of the mystery of Christ; the role of the sacraments; the archbishop’s typological interpretation of the Old Testament, and his attitude towards Judaism; how he encourages the faithful to fast and to pray, and to live virtuous lives; and finally, how he envisages our relationship with God.
- By (author) H. van Loon
"The book reads like a collection of essays by one author discussing various aspects of the theme of mystagogy. Overall, his book is well organized and his research approach is methodical and clear. He made excellent use of TLG resources." Farag, Lois, Church History, May 20, 2019
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Other Titles in this Series
Writing to Survive. A Commentary on Sidonius Apollinaris, Letters Book 7. Volume 1
The Episcopal Letters 1-11
Volume 2
Writing to Survive. A Commentary on Sidonius Apollinaris, Letters Book 7. Volume 2
The Ascetic Letters 12-18
Volume 14
Inside and Out
Interactions between Rome and the Peoples on the Arabian and Egyptian Frontiers in Late Antiquity
Volume 8
New Themes, New Styles in the Eastern Mediterranean
Christian, Jewish, and Islamic Encounters, 5th-8th Centuries
Volume 16
Apocalypticism and Eschatology in Late Antiquity
Encounters in the Abrahamic Religions, 6th-8th Centuries
Volume 17
L’écriture de l’histoire en syriaque
Transmissions interculturelles et constructions identitaires entre hellénisme et islam. Avec des répertoires des textes historiographiques en annexe
Volume 12
Empire, Church and Society in the Late Roman Near East
Greeks, Jews, Syrians and Saracens (Collected Studies, 2004-14)
Volume 10
En Route to the Confessions
The Roots and Development of Augustine's Philosophical Anthropology
Volume 6
New Approaches to Sidonius Apollinaris
With Indices on Helga Köhler, C. Sollius Apollinaris Sidonius: BriefeBuch I
Volume 7
The Ladder of Prayer and the Ship of Stirrings
The Praying Self in Late Antique East Syrian Christianity
Volume 22
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