International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Vladimir Cvetković
Niš, Serbia;
[e-mail]
Ἐπιστρεπτικὴ
ἀναφορά
and 
ἀντιστροφή
in the Thought of 
St Maximus the Confessor
The paper explores the way in which the seventh century Byzantine monk Maximus the 
Confessor employs the terms ‘converting transference’ (ἐπιστρεπτικὴ ἀναφορά) and ‘reversion” 
(ἀντιστροφή). It argues that Maximus transforms the Neoplatonic philosophical concept of 
‘conversion’ (ἐπιστροφή) into the notion of converting and hand-leading transference (ἐπιστρεπτική 
καί χειραγωγική ἀναφορά) in order to describe the process of creaturely deification as the mutual 
work of both God and creatures. Furthermore, it argues that the term ‘reversion” (ἀντιστροφή) 
has a broader sense than the term ‘converting transference’, because it refers not only to the double 
process of procession and conversion, but also to the final results of this double process. It finally 
provides evidence that the double process understood as hominization of God and deification of 
human beings is reciprocal.
Christophe Erismann
University of Vienna, Institute for Byzantine Studies, Vienna, Austria;
[e-mail]
Theodore of Raithu and Maximus the Confessor on Substance
Theodore, abbot of Raithu in the Sinai peninsula (b. approx. 570/80, d. probably before 638) 
composed an apologetic handbook known as the 
Praeparatio
(Προπαρασκευή) or 
Liber De Incarnatione 
(ed. Franz Diekamp, in 
Analecta Patristica. Texte und Abhandlungen zur griechischen Patristik
[OCA 
117], Rome 1938, 185-222). The 
Praeparatio
, the only work which can be attributed to Theodore with 
certainty, was particularly influential due to the fact that several of its paragraphs were subsequently 
incorporated into the anonymous seventh-century florilegium 
Doctrina Patrum de Incarnatione 

---

50
Verbi, 
a collection which also includes texts by Maximus the Confessor. Theodore’s 
Praeparatio
offers an analysis of Christological formulas of the Council of Chalcedon as well as a 
vade mecum
of 
philosophical terminology useful for arguing against doctrinal positions judged heretical, including 
definitions of the terms 
ousia
, 
hypostasis
and 
person
. In particular, Theodore offers a sophisticated 
elaboration of the notion of substance, which attests to a very good philosophical culture.
The goal of this contribution is threefold:
1. To reconstruct Theodore’s analysis of the concept of substance and the main tenets of his 
ontology. This will provide us with information about a hitherto neglected chapter in the long 
history of this crucial concept for both philosophy and theology.
2. To determine, as far as possible, the sources of Theodore’s reflections on substance – notably 
with respect to the Neoplatonic Alexandrian exegesis of the 
Categories
– in order to have a 
precise example of the sort of philosophical formation that could be found in a monastic author 
like Theodore. This will contribute to have a more detailed representation of the philosophical 
aspect of monastic culture in Sinai, Syria, and Palestine.
3. To compare Theodore’s contribution to the better known position on the question of substance 
formulated by Maximus the Confessor in his 
Opuscula Theologica et Polemica
and in his 
Letters
. 
This will lead to a clarification of the nature of the relationship between these two important 
thinkers of the seventh century.