International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Zaharia-Sebastian Mateiescu
University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland;
[e-mail]
Δύναμις
in Maximus the Confessor. A Medical Term?
In his classical study 
The Earlier Ambigua of Saint Maximus the Confessor and his refutation 
of Origenism
(Pontifical Institute, Rome 1955), P. Sherwood has brought to light the importance of 
the concept of motion (
κίνησις
) in Maximus’ thought. Yet, together with the triad 
genesis, kinesis, 
stasis
that defines Maximus’ rationale Sherwood also identified a corresponding triad: 
substance
, 
power
, 
operation
. And as with first triad, he allocated an Aristotelian and Neoplatonic origin to 
the latter too. This evaluation has become a common trend in the secondary literature of Maximus 
and the goal of this work is to challenge this view. The paper mostly draws on the middle term 
of the second triad, i.e. 
δύναμις
, aiming to show that its use by Maximus is in line with the one 
presented by ancient medicine. The argument will show that in 
Ambigua
and especially in his anti-
monothelite writings, Maximus interprets 
δύναμις
as an essential and thus identifier trait of being. 
This reading gets its support from the analysis of the problem posed by the activities of Christ: since 
Christ performs in a ‘unified way’ his divine and human works, two different conclusions could 
be reached: He either has a mixed or composed nature from which His special activity stems – the 
monothelite view – or, Maximus’ view – from contemplating Christ’s divine works performed as 
man one infers they originate in a divine power based on the divine nature that Jesus possesses. 

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We claim that the step from observing Christ’s works to the acceptance of corresponding powers of 
them based in Christ’ divine and human nature could be done if power is interpreted as an essential 
characteristic or constitutive element of the nature upon it ensues. Though present in Aristotle in 
a loose manner, and slightly elaborated in Neoplatonism this line of approach is widely developed 
in ancient medicine and especially in Galen. It goes down to Gregory of Nyssa and Nemesius of 
Emesa, two certain sources for Maximus and this, we claim, invites a reconsideration of the origin 
of one of Maximus’ central notions, that is 
δύναμις
.