This volume of collected studies celebrates the scholarly achievements and legacy of Archbishop Alexander Golitzin (b. 1948). The book brings together eighteen contributions by students, friends and colleagues of Archbishop Golitzin and is carefully edited by Andrei Orlov—himself one of Golitzin's most prominent former students. The chapters cover a wide range of topics and are divided into four thematic sections that overlap with the primary areas of Golitzin's academic interests, as outlined in Orlov's brief Introduction (1–7).
Parts 1 and 3 best capture the research vision of Golitzin and that of the “Theophaneia School” he founded at Marquette University, as they investigate the inseparable links between Jewish and Eastern Christian spirituality and the common roots of these two traditions in the formative matrix of Second Temple Judaism. Based on a close reading of a Talmudic passage (y. Ber. 12) and a comparison with early Syriac Christian sources, Silviu N. Bunta singles out a few unconventional Rabbinic readings of Genesis 1:26–27 that may imply a tacit acceptance of a feminine aspect within the Godhead, as in later strands of Kabbalah (66–84). Using a similar approach, Bogdan Bucur excellently illustrates the unexpected convergence of Rabbinic and Patristic exegesis of the contentious Biblical verses Isaiah 63:9 and Daniel 7:13, both of which lent themselves to ditheistic interpretations (240–263). The same Danielic pericope about the “Son of Man” (Daniel 7:9–14) is at the core of Charles Gieschen's contribution (52–65), which rightly draws attention to the key importance of the Ethiopic Book of Enoch for understanding how this title is applied to Jesus in the Gospels. In a comparative study of Jewish and Iranian lore (85–96), James R. Russell reconsiders the likely Zoroastrian background of the bizarre birth narrative found in the Alphabet of Ben Sira, a Jewish esoteric text of uncertain date and origin. Andrei Orlov gives a detailed analysis of Flavius Josephus’ symbolic description of the Jewish high priest's sash and its connections to Biblical cosmology and the myth of the Leviathan (177–201).
The remaining chapters, including those in Parts 2 and 4, are mainly devoted to Patristic (Greek, Latin, Syriac) and Byzantine theology, other areas in which Golitzin has made key contributions over the past decades. April DeConick's chapter (11–51) is an impressive exploration of early Christian (including Gnostic) mysticism and its many varieties. Proposing a helpful new typology of these various forms of mysticism (sacramental, pedagogic, therapeutic, ascetic, martyrial, and so on), DeConick identifies “trauma, ecstasy and the (re)formation of the self” (47) as deeply rooted common experiences underlying all these phenomena. Robin Darling Young studies the figure of Moses as a symbol of spiritual priesthood and Christian gnosis in the writings of Evagrius of Pontus (202–225). Susan Ashbrook Harvey underlines the interwovenness of preaching, song, prayer and pedagogy in late antique Syriac liturgical poetry, using examples from the Life of Ephrem and the homilies of Jacob of Serugh (226–239). Sebastian Brock surveys how the Platonic image of the nous as a charioteer (ἡνίοχος) or helmsman (κυβɛρνήτης) was received in Syriac literature, especially in Narsai's metrical homilies and in the writings of the East Syriac mystics of the seventh and eighth centuries (358–375). Two chapters discuss Patristic reception history and historiography: Marcus Plested uncovers the lasting influence of John Chrysostom in the West from the early reception by Jerome and Augustine to the Anglican Church and the works of Cardinal Newman (144–155), while Michel René Barnes (337–357) deconstructs some misconceptions about Gregory of Nyssa's “Platonism” that were prevalent in twentieth-century scholarship (for example, Harold Cherniss).
Anthropology, eschatology, and the transformative vision of God's glory are recurring themes in Golitzin's writings and feature accordingly in the book, especially in the insightful chapters on Irenaeus of Lyons by Khaled Anatolios (99–117) and John Behr (118–127), as well as in Charles Stang's discussion of deification in Origen (128–143). With an eye to these fundamental themes, but also considering historical and biographical aspects, John McGuckin revisits the importance of mystical illumination in Symeon the New Theologian's deeply personal Hymns of Divine Eros (156–173).
Given Golitzin's influential work on Ps.-Dionysius, it is not surprising to find a final thematic cluster of studies devoted to the Corpus Dionysiacum. In an extensive and dense chapter (267–307), István Perczel offers a comprehensive account of Ps.-Dionysius’ Christian Platonism. Clarifying several points expressed in his earlier publications, Perczel explores new sides of the interrelationship between Proclus’ Platonic Theology and the Corpus, including works such as Ps.-Didymus’ De trinitate, which Perczel regards as part of the “wider Dionysian Corpus” (276–277, 303–304). Building upon Golitzin's studies on the liturgical dimension of the Corpus, Andrew Louth investigates the close connections between the Dionysian notions of love, hierarchy and symbol against the backdrop of the Christian and Neoplatonic traditions (308–324). Finally, Stephen Shoemaker examines the later elaborations of Ps.-Dionysius’ Divine Names III.2, an ambiguous passage which the Eastern Christian tradition interpreted as a reference to the Dormition of the Theotokos. Shoemaker analyzes and translates the little-known Letter of Dionysius to Titus (extant only in Armenian), one of the earliest texts to suggest that Dionysius the Areopagite was indeed present at the Dormition (325–336).
As with all Festschriften, the studies gathered here reflect the different interests of the contributors and highlight their (often very personal) connections to the celebrated author. As such, the resulting book cannot be expected to display the same coherence as other collected volumes dedicated to a specific research topic. Nevertheless, Jewish Roots of Eastern Christian Mysticism perfectly mirrors the multifaceted scholarly interests of Archbishop Golitzin and provides an inspiring collection of studies, with many valuable insights into the fields of Religious Studies, Jewish Studies, Theology, Patristics, Biblical exegesis, Byzantine and Eastern Christianity.
