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Homilies on the Life of Christ (review)
- Journal of Early Christian Studies
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 11, Number 2, Summer 2003
- pp. 240-241
- 10.1353/earl.2003.0032
- Review
- Additional Information
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Journal of Early Christian Studies 11.2 (2003) 240-241
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Proclus, Bishop of Constantinople Homilies on the Life of Christ Translated with an introduction and notes by Jan Harm Barkhuizen Early Christian Studies 1 Brisbane: Center for Christian Studies, Australian Catholic University, 2001 Pp. 221.
This book will be welcomed by all those searching for an extremely detailed work on the Homilies on the Life of Christ, written by the most accomplished preacher in the post-Chrysostom era in Constantinople.
The book begins with a two-page preface (vii-viii), a list of abbreviations (ix), a complete bibliography containing studies on Proclus (xi-xv), and a fifteen page introduction in which the author first presents Proclus's life and provides us with all the sources concerning his birth, family, and episcopate. He then sets forth Proclus's literary works, their extent, editions, ancient versions, and modern translations.
A study of homiletic art, soteriology, and christology represents the main part of the introduction. The portion devoted to homiletic art concentrates on the nature and general structure of the homilies, which are festal discourses (12). Their style is characterized by rhetorical features such as a rhythmic pattern of sentences and literary figures (e.g., anaphora and enumeration) as well as by three major interrelated themes revolving around God's oikonomia. The latter are Christ's incarnation (theme 1) and Christ's battle with the devil and with Death/Hades to effect our salvation from sin (themes 2 and 3).
The introduction also includes an examination of the exegetical method or approach used in the festal homily, i.e., "the concept of the inferiority or incapability of the discourse, the word, the tongue or mind of the homilist to interpret and convey the divine mystery to his audience" (33) as well as the relation between preacher and audience, the use of ethical imperatives, and the presence of polemic. The investigation of soteriology and Christology focuses on the following themes: our plight as human beings, our salviation, the Incarnation (the virgin womb, the miraculous birth, the person of Christ), the passion and resurrection (suffering and victory), and the final judgement. The introduction ends with Proclus's perspective on the Trinity.
The translation follows the Greek text closely. It is generaly accurate and literary enough to provide readers with a good sense of how the original runs. The author's aim to provide a readable and scholarly translation succeeds admirably.
The notes printed at the foot of the translation page make for an easy comparison of the English rendering with the original text. Principally focused on philological, historical, and religious themes, they facilitate a close reading of the text. The book concludes with an index of Biblical quotations (209-12), an index of Biblical allusions (213-16), an index of names (217-18), and an index of theological concepts (219-21). [End Page 240]
This admirable volume in the Early Christian Studies series will be warmly welcomed by theologians and historians alike.
Hélène Perdicoyianni-Paléologou,
Brookline, Massachusetts
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