San Massimo il Confessore. L’uso di una analogia per avvicinarsi a Dio
Saint Maximus the Confessor. Using analogy in order to get closer to God

Summary/Abstract: Man’s bipolar constitution has served throughout the centuries as an analogy for the manner in which the divine and the human were united in Christ the Lord, the Son of God and the Son of Man. Based on an idea expressed by Apollinaris of Laodicea, this analogy served as the theoretical basis both for Chalcedonians and for non-Chalcedonians, as a source of arguments illustrating various Christological views. With St. Maximus the Confessor, the debate around the possibility of using this analogy to explain the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word came to an end. Hermeneutically speaking, any analogy is limited and limiting in relation to the object or the subject to which one refers. Respecting the Mystery, St. Maximus discovers circumscrivable truth, in so far as this is possible to man, as the starting point of the Incarnation. A scientific exegesis and prayer as encounter with the One who became incarnate for the sake of mankind’s salvation, the solution of St. Maximus represents a model of dialogue in Truth on inconvenient yet highly topical issues.

• Details
• Contents