Palladius of Helenopolis: The Origenist Advocate by Demetrios S. Katos (review)

Palladius of Helenopolis (ca. 363–430) is the author of two works—the Dialogue on the Life of St. John Chrysostom and the Lausiac History—both of which shed light on leading figures, movements, and controversies at the turn of the fifth century. Yet Palladius himself is a largely neglected figure. In this accessible and well-written study, Katos seeks to remedy this deficiency by offering readers the first extensive monograph on the life and thought of Palladius (henceforth, P).

Chapter one chronicles P’s life from his time as a monk in Palestine to his episcopacy in Helenopolis, and underscores the elaborate network of ascetics and bishops in which he circulated. Toward the end of the chapter, Katos turns to the Dialogue, contending that it ought primarily to be seen as a defense of John Chrysostom with the aim of having his name restored to the diptychs in Constantinople. This chapter sets the tone for much of what follows. Katos challenges P’s self-portrait as a “mere peripatetic monk” and shows him to be a “pugnacious ecclesiastical statesman who passionately supported the causes of his network in the controversies of his day” (4). The next two chapters examine the Dialogue, and in particular, P’s advocacy for John.

In order to make sense of the puzzles surrounding the structure, content, and purpose of the Dialogue, Katos contends that this work is best seen not as history or biography, but as legal argument. One of the main concerns in Katos’s assessment of the Dialogue is the unrealistic expectation for accuracy that scholars have attached to this work. This expectation is to some extent mitigated by recognizing how principles of late antique judicial rhetoric shaped this treatise. Thus, Katos highlights the courtroom or forensic features of the Dialogue, building upon the earlier work of, among others, Caroline Humfress (Orthodoxy and the Courts in Late Antiquity [Oxford: 2007]). Katos persuasively demonstrates, for instance, how the four-part arrangement of judicial speech, as outlined in the anonymous Art of Political Speech, also structures P’s Dialogue. The remainder of chapter two focuses on P’s narrative of John’s life. Katos carefully illustrates how numerous narratival conventions outlined in ancient rhetorical theory also surface in this work. Chapter three continues this line of inquiry by turning to the “argumentation” section in the Dialogue. Katos draws upon Hermogenean stasis theory to identify P’s argumentative strategies for defending John against a wide range of criticisms, including the seemingly innocuous charge that he “ate alone.” The intent of this analysis is to show that the Dialogue was a “sophisticated composition and historically valuable” (97), but also “partisan” (96). Katos convincingly demonstrates that courtroom rhetorical conventions shaped the terminology, themes, and organization of the Dialogue. This is arguably the most important contribution of the study.

The second half of the book turns to P’s advocacy for Origen. In chapters four through six, Katos examines the Lausiac History to demonstrate the significance of Origen and the Origenist legacy in P’s life and thought. The History, Katos argues in chapter four, was not written according to the conventions of late-antique historiography, but is better seen as a polemical work (110). While some modern scholars think P softened his Origenist tendencies in this work, the History is rather a critique of P’s long-standing foe, Jerome, as well as an “apologia on behalf of Origenists and their ascetic program” (6). Isidore of Alexandria, Didymus the Bind, Melania, and Evagrius loom large in the History.

Chapters five and six turn to themes in P’s theology. In chapter five the focus is on the spiritual life, especially physical asceticism, scriptural exegesis, and prayer. With G. Bunge and others, Katos insists that we see Evagrius’s spiritual practices not through the lens of later condemnations, but as part of the larger Catholic tradition, of which P was a representative. In chapter six, Katos examines...