International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Aleksandar
Stojanović
, 
Συμβολή στην ερμηνεία της θεολογίας των νηπτικών πατέρων: 
περί του ακραιφνούς ορθοδόξου φρονήματος του Μεγάλου Βαρσανουφίου στην ανέκδοτη 
ερωταπόκριση
Athanasios Glaros
, 
Θεία Ιατρεία στο Βυζάντιο. Ρήσεις και διδασκαλίες των Αγίων Πατέρων 
για την αντιμετώπιση του ψυχικού άλγους
Neacșu Ovidiu-Mihai
, 
Τὸ φρόνηµα τῆς σαρκὸς (Rom 8:6) – A Neptic Perspective
Marius Portaru, 
Divine Paradigms and Divine Activities in Gregory Palamas
Milan Đordević
, 
Deideologizing Palamas: A Hesychast Defense of Rationality
José Maksimczuk, 
Early Reception of the 
Florilegium Coislinianum
: 
Its Relationship with the Brief Anthology of MSS Par. Gr. 852 and Vatop. 36

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454
Damian Liviu
University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania; 
[e-mail]
Rethinking Athanasius and Historiography. Athanasius as a Christian Thinker: 
Theologian, Philosopher, Historian
The aim of this paper is to reconsider the skeptical historiography and theology of athanasian 
studies fed with philosophical speculation and to provide some insights into the debate. In the recent 
years, Athanasius was the focus of various scholarly studies with an explicit tone of condemning 
Athanasius for innovating and defending a foreign theology (Bart D. Ehrman, Paula Fredriksen, et 
al.), namely the Nicene theology, also carrying out his political ecclesiastical agenda by a reprovable 
political behavior (Timothy D. Barnes, R. C. P. Hanson, et al.). Very briefly, firstly, I outline a few 
aspects in support of the theological, as an argument, then, secondly, an emphasis on the fact that 
Athanasius did not innovate in his post-Nicene theology using political means, strengthening this 
point making the case that he began his theological career as an important thinker (which means 
that he won by argument), and thirdly, I evoke the relative importance of seeing his “vocation” as a 
historian in the polemical writings that he produced.