Union and Distinction in The Thought of

384 REVIEWS
examination of the eucharist piece by piece, enabling the scholar

to examine the similarities and differences between different
sources. Considerable attention is given to Roman and eastern
influences: the widespread borrowing across the Mediterranean
and beyond is ample testimony to Christian travel and curiosity.
Smyth is less convincing when he tries to establish the ancient
roots of this liturgical family. As he shows, some of the material
may indeed pre-date Nicene Christianity, even in the eucharistie
prayers, which are, in virtually all the manuscripts, structured
around the comparatively late Sanctus and institution narrative.
However, links to remarks in Cyprian are tinged with optimism,
to say nothing about the claims of continuity with Justin or even
the Didache. But Smyth has ably demonstrated the rich seam
of evidence for the liturgy of Gaul and Spain, of considerable
importance in itself and also for understanding the Roman rite
which somehow is taken for granted as the standard western rite
but in other ways could be seen as a hybrid between eastern and
Gallican traditions.
doi:10.1093/jts/fln027 GORDON JEANES

Wandsworth
[email protected]
Union and Distinction in the Thought of St. Maximus the

Confessor. By M E L C H I S E D E C T Ö R Ö N E N . Pp. xvi + 222.
(Oxford Early Christian Studies.) Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2007. ISBN 978 o 19 929611 8. £ 4 0 .
' I N philosophical terms, Maximus' system overcomes dualism

without collapsing into monism; and his theology without falling
into pantheism presents, on the one hand, a "theophanic" onto-
logy, and without becoming Origenism commends, on the other
hand, a spirituality of deification' (p. 198). This is precisely what,
according to Melchisedec Törönen, Maximus' theology of simul-
taneous union and distinction achieves. Törönen's study is per-
suasive that this is really so.
Before espousing the thought of Maximus on union and
distinction Törönen first challenges two established opinions
among Maximian scholars after the Second World War. The first
finds the centre of Maximus' theology in the Chalcedonian
Definition. Törönen shows that Chalcedon should not be seen
as the great source of Maximus' theology. This should be found
© The Author 2008 Published by Oxford University Press All rights reserved
For Permissions, please email journals permissions@oxfordjournals org
REVIEWS 385
rather in the wider tradition up to his time. The second opinion
is the modern personalist reading of patristic authors. Törönen
argues persuasively against both claims in the introduction and
brings them up for discussion whenever it is relevant throughout
the book. A good example of this is the discussion whether
a mouse can be a person (p. 55) in the part on the Trinity.
On Törönen's reading union and distinction are the guiding
principle of all reality in Maximus. He puts this claim to the test
in six parts. In the first he examines Maximus' use of logic in
relation to union and distinction, pinpointing the tools and the
imagery he uses. In a small space Törönen manages to highlight
the crucial philosophical influences on Maximus, with a special
emphasis on Porphyry. Thus the first part of the book becomes
the tools and the imagery for the reader too, both as a key to
reading the rest of the book, and to reading Maximus' works
themselves. What follows is devoted to the dynamics of union
and distinction in the contexts of the Trinity, Christ, universe,
Church and Scripture, spiritual life, and human architecture.
As the argument develops Törönen is constantly keen not
to dismiss well-known features of Maximus' theology as self-
evident. On the contrary he takes time to engage with them,
either shedding more light on their understanding—the case with
the energies and the wills—or pointing to an alternative
interpretation—the case with έννπόστατον. This is especially
true in the establishing of the orthodoxy of Maximus over
against Neoplatonic interpretations of creation as pantheism or
emanationism, based on Sherwood's famous interpretation of
Ambiguum 7.
Commendable also is Törönen's refreshing use of literature
and poetry to bring into focus theological themes. It emphasizes
a topic dear to Maximus, God's incarnation in the world not
only in the Son, but through the universe, the Church, and the
Scripture too. In other words the quoted prose and poetry can be
seen as God's incarnation too.
Eventually Törönen brings us to the heart of the matter in
relation to union and distinction, the only principle which
allows human participation in God, which opens the way to
man's ultimate destiny—deification.
Törönen's style is minimalistic and yet condensed. The brev-
ity of the chapters lets the reader encompass the whole of the
argument at any moment of reading. At the same time this
causes one of the few shortcomings in the text. At times, espe-
cially towards the last third of the book, the argument is reduced
to a quotation of an original text of Maximus with a laconic
386 REVIEWS
comment on it. Also, in the discussion of the technical terms
το KOLvov and το Γδιον, Törönen omits to comment on the very
influential letter 38 attributed to Basil the Great. He overlooks
an important study that discusses the issue in quite some
detail, namely Johannes Zachhuber's Human Nature in Gregory
of Nyssa:Philosophical Background and Theological Significance
(Leiden: Brill, 1999).
Finally, this monograph makes a significant contribution
towards Maximian scholarship, covering a prominent topic in
Maximus' corpus hitherto researched only within the wider
context of his thought. With Törönen's work the concept of
union and distinction becomes one more elucidation that brings
into perspective the complex mosaic of Maximus' rich and
demanding way of writing.
doi:10.1093/jts/fln010 KOSTA MlLKOV

Advance Access publication 13 February 2008 Oxford
[email protected]
Petri Abaelardi Opera Theologica, Vol. 6: Sententie Magistri

Petri Abaelardi. Edited by DAVID LUSCOMBE. Liber
Sententiarum Magistri Petri. Edited by C O N S T A N T
J. M E W S . Pp. n o * + 1 9 9 . (Corpus Christianorum,
Continuatio Mediaeualis, 14.) T u r n h o u t : Brepols, 2006.
ISBN 978 2 503 03141 5. € 1 4 0 .
T H E latest volume of the critical edition of the works of Peter

Abelard contains two versions of the Sentences, which proved
a contentious part of his work during his life and have continued
to be a source of great if illusive interest since. It seems to be
agreed that these are records of opinions formulated in response
to oral questions raised about the text of Scripture and of the
Fathers during teaching sessions in the schools of Paris in the
mid-twelfth century. They are a way therefore of approaching
a part of the oral teaching of the Schools in their most dynamic
phase; in their final written form they belong to a later period,
as part of a more self-consciously systematizing world. For this
reason, they are less formal and cohesive than the longer trea-
tises, and may provide a closer look at Abelard as a teacher, as he
formulated his ideas and as he was heard by others.
This edition presents two forms of the Sentences:
Sententie Magistri Petri Abaelardi, edited by David Luscombe
© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
For Permissions, please email: [email protected]
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384 REVIEWS

examination of the eucharist piece by piece, enabling the scholar

doi:10.1093/jts/fln027 GORDON JEANES

Union and Distinction in the Thought of St. Maximus the

' I N philosophical terms, Maximus' system overcomes dualism

doi:10.1093/jts/fln010 KOSTA MlLKOV

Petri Abaelardi Opera Theologica, Vol. 6: Sententie Magistri

T H E latest volume of the critical edition of the works of Peter

The ATLA Serials (ATLAS®) collection contains electronic versions of previously

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