∙ Earth scientists rocket to Mars, bearing a secret plan for future Martians. But the Martians have plans of their own. ∙ A devious AI runs amok. Mars's entire security apparatus can't pin it down. ∙ Through startling revelations, a lovelorn man uncovers the root of his wife's troubles. ∙ An old smartaleck Deadhead from Princeton University's maintenance garage harbours a top-secret story. ∙ A struggling artist finds unusual allies: bums and a witch. ∙ After 219 years, a warlock stumbles into his first love.
This study is an introduction to Catholic theology designed both for the theological student and for the general reader willing to make a certain effort. After introducing the idea of theology adn the virtues desirable in the budding theologian, the bulk of the book falls intro the five sections: (1) the tole of philosophy in theology; (2) the use of the Bible in theology; (3) the resources of tradition, liturgy and sacred art; Fathers, Councils and Creeds; the sense of the faithful; (4) two 'aids to discernment in short history of Catholic theology from the New Testament to the present day. The conclusion considers the features of pluralism and unity which should typify Catholic theology as a whole and suggests how unity may avoid becoming uniformity without pluralism becoming anarchy.
You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love, lovely like Jerusalem." — Song of Songs The highly regarded spiritual writer and theologian Fr. Aidan Nichols, O.P. presents an overview of the Old Testament by showing what it is and its relationship to the New Testament. He explains that it is essential for one to be familiar with the Old Testament in order to understand properly, and in a deeper way, the richness and message of the New. In particular, Fr. Nichols shows how important it is to grasp that connection in order to understand better and to believe in the message and the person of Christ. Ignorance of the Old Testament makes it impossible to comprehend the entire divine plan that stretches between the two Testaments. Nichols maintains that we are ill-equipped to read and understand the great theologians, saints, and Scripture commentators of the Christian era without a deep familiarity with the Old Testament. Even understanding and appreciating the art of the Church remains limited if the Old Testament is a closed book for us. Nichols made use of studies by biblical experts from various Christian denominations notably Evangelicals and Anglicans in writing this widely appealing work. He also drew on the Fathers and Doctors of the Church to help illuminate the beauty of the relationship between the two Testaments.
Maximus the Confessor (580–662), giant among early Byzantine theologians, stands at the summit of the Greek patristic tradition. He is spokesman of the Greek-speaking “East” in something of the way Thomas Aquinas came to speak for the Latin “West.” His extreme importance as a spiritual writer is evidenced by the huge space assigned to him in the Philokalia. Believing in the intimate link between dogma and prayer, Maximus opposed the heresies of his day with his own unmatched synthesis of Christian truth. For this, he was persecuted and mutilated, and died in exile. The modern rediscovery of Maximus, begun by Western Christian scholars such as Vittorio Croce, Pierre Piret, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Lars Thunberg, and Juan-Miguel Garrigues, has led to an ever-increasing use of his theology and insights by Orthodox and Catholic theologians throughout Europe and North America. Maximus has also become a central point of reference in Catholic-Orthodox dialogue. Aidan Nichols has provided the English-speaking reader with a reliable guide to the major studies on Maximus done in Europe in the past twenty-five years: the period of “rediscovery.” He reads Maximus through the eyes of those who have studied him in depth, and builds up a multi-faceted portrait of this prince among theologians, and a comprehensive overview of his theology, his “Byzantine Gospel.” Along with a brief biography, and an account of the history of the relevant scholarship, sufficient primary texts have been included to convey a sense of Maximus’ powers both as a summarizer of the previous tradition, and as an original theologian in his own right.
This study contributes to the revival of a more full-blooded Marian teaching and attempts to take the path set by ressourcement theology in recovering the robust voice of witness to Mary. Aidan Nichols, OP, works through the biblical, patristic, and medieval sources and introduces readers to the robust scriptural and theological bases for the Churchs celebration of Mary. He argues for the crucial relevance of Mary in the theological articulation of the gospel, the celebration and practice of the liturgy, and the sacramental life of the Church.
Students of Catholic theology are often presented with a choice between two great masters: Thomas Aquinas and Hans Urs von Balthasar. What starts as a cordial difference in form and method often morphs into a bitter rivalry. Dominican theologian Father Aidan Nichols sees no need for competition. Balthasar for Thomists gives a panoramic view of Balthasar's thought and spirituality, unearthing many of his innumerable debts to Aquinas and providing context for their points of divergence. The enormous cultural project of Balthasar, writes Father Nichols, differs too much from St. Thomas' pedagogical one "to count as a rival to Thomism on the latter's own ground (and, of course, vice versa)". While constituting an original form of faithful Catholic thought, Balthasar's approach may be regarded as a synthesis of the influences of Thomas and his Franciscan contemporary St. Bonaventure. In its breadth, Balthasar for Thomists serves as a general introduction to Balthasar for those unacquainted with his profound and wide-ranging theology.
About the Contributor(s): Aidan Nichols, OP, is a member of the Dominican community at Blackfriers, Cambridge, and the author of numerous books on Eastern and Western theology and Church history.
I . . . find these Fathers to be, in words of William Butler Yeats, 'singing-masters of my soul'. Anyone who prays through the year the Office of Readings in the Roman Liturgy of the Hours will understand why." — Fr. Aidan Nichols, From the Introduction TheSinging-Masters, written by the author of Rome and the Eastern Churches, is a passionate, personalized account of the theological achievement of eighteen of the Church Fathers. Ten come from the Greek East: Irenaeus, Origen, Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory of Nazianzus, Basil the Great, Cyril of Alexandria, Denys the Areopagite, Maximus the Confessor, and John Damascene. Eight come from the Latin West: Tertullian, Cyprian, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, Leo the Great, Gregory the Great, and Bede the Venerable. The Fathers chosen here are those who have been especially authoritative for Catholic doctrine or particularly influential in Church life. While giving a dramatic, humanized account of patristic thought, colored by biographical detail, Aidan Nichols, O.P., draws the reader into a serious discussion of the Fathers' complex theological doctrines. The Singing-Masters offers a holistic and loving introduction to the figures who most shaped Christian thought, both in the East and in the West.
This volume completes Aidan Nichols's presentation of the great theological trilogy of Hans Urs von Balthasar. The book offers a summary and interpretation of Balthasar's logic and considers the way in which The Truth of the World points forward to theological aesthetics and dramatics.
From St Augustine in the sixth century to Rowan Williams in the twenty-first, the archbishops of Canterbury have provided leadership for the English Church. Those called to the office have included saints and scholars, men of faith and men of action. More than a hundred archbishops of Canterbury have offered spiritual leadership and political influence, whether in co-operation with the secular power or as its critics. Royal dynasties have come and gone, but the succession of the Canterbury primates has provided a remarkably continuous thread running through the history of England. The Mitre and the Crown draws upon a wealth of recent scholarly literature to relate the story of the archbishops against a backdrop of more than fourteen centuries of English ecclesiastical history. It examines the social and cultural experiences that shaped the holders of the archiepiscopal office, together with the personal talents they brought to the service of both Church and State.
In the second edition of this major work, Dominican theologian Aidan Nichols provides a systematic account of the origins, development and recent history—now updated—of the relations between Rome and all separated Eastern Christians. By the end of the twentieth century, events in Eastern Europe, notably the conflict between the Orthodox and Uniate Churches in the Ukraine and Rumania, the tension between Rome and the Moscow patriarchate over the re-establishment of a Catholic hierarchy in the Russian Federation, and the civil war in the then federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia, brought attention to the fragile relations between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, which once had been two parts of a single Communion. At the start of the twenty-first century, in the pontificate of Benedict XVI, a papal visit to Russia—at the symbolic level, a major step forward in the ‘healing of memories’— appears at last a realistic hope. In addition, the schisms separating Rome from the two lesser, but no less interesting, Christian families, the Assyrian (Nestorian) and Oriental Orthodox (Monophysite) Churches, are examined. The book also contains an account of the origins and present condition of the Eastern Catholic Churches—a deeper knowledge of which, by their Western brethren, was called for at the Second Vatican Council as well as by subsequent synods and popes. Providing both historical and theological explanations of these divisions, this illuminating and thought-provoking book chronicles the recent steps taken to mend them in the Ecumenical Movement and offers a realistic assessment of the difficulties (theological and political) which any reunion would experience.
From the moment Patti Smith burst onto the scene, chanting "Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine," the irreverent opening line to Horses, her 1975 debut album, the punk movement had found its dissident intellectual voice. Yet outside the recording studio—Smith has released eleven studio albums—the punk poet laureate has been perhaps just as revelatory and rhapsodic in interviews, delivering off-the-cuff jeremiads that emboldened a generation of disaffected youth and imparting hard-earned life lessons. With her characteristic blend of bohemian intellectualism, antiauthoritarian poetry, and unflagging optimism, Smith gave them hope in the transcendent power of art. In interviews, Smith is unfiltered and startlingly present, and prescient, preaching a gospel bound to shock or inspire. Each interview is part confession, part call-and-response sermon with the interviewer. And there have been some legendary interviewers: William S. Burroughs, Thurston Moore (of Sonic Youth), and novelist Jonathan Lethem. Her interview archive serves as a compelling counternarrative to the albums and books. Initially, interviewing Patti Smith was a censorship liability. Contemptuous of staid rules of decorum, no one knew what she might say, whether they were getting the romantic, swooning for Lorca and Blake, or the firebrand with no respect for an on-air seven-second delay. Patti Smith on Patti Smith is a compendium of profound and reflective moments in the life of one of the most insightful and provocative artists working today.
Based on diaries and his published works, Nichols presents an account of Adrian Fortescue's developing personality with an interpretative overview of his writing. Beginning with Fortescue's family background, it looks at his reactions to clerical training, and the wider scene, in Rome and Austria-Hungry at the end of the nineteenth century and the attempts of a widely read and imaginative man to adjust to the limits of priestly life in the East End of London, and the home counties in the Edwardian epoch.
Maximus the Confessor (580–662), giant among early Byzantine theologians, stands at the summit of the Greek patristic tradition. He is spokesman of the Greek-speaking “East” in something of the way Thomas Aquinas came to speak for the Latin “West.” His extreme importance as a spiritual writer is evidenced by the huge space assigned to him in the Philokalia. Believing in the intimate link between dogma and prayer, Maximus opposed the heresies of his day with his own unmatched synthesis of Christian truth. For this, he was persecuted and mutilated, and died in exile. The modern rediscovery of Maximus, begun by Western Christian scholars such as Vittorio Croce, Pierre Piret, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Lars Thunberg, and Juan-Miguel Garrigues, has led to an ever-increasing use of his theology and insights by Orthodox and Catholic theologians throughout Europe and North America. Maximus has also become a central point of reference in Catholic-Orthodox dialogue. Aidan Nichols has provided the English-speaking reader with a reliable guide to the major studies on Maximus done in Europe in the past twenty-five years: the period of “rediscovery.” He reads Maximus through the eyes of those who have studied him in depth, and builds up a multi-faceted portrait of this prince among theologians, and a comprehensive overview of his theology, his “Byzantine Gospel.” Along with a brief biography, and an account of the history of the relevant scholarship, sufficient primary texts have been included to convey a sense of Maximus’ powers both as a summarizer of the previous tradition, and as an original theologian in his own right.
This is a daily prayer book for the Ordinariate those former Anglicans who have recently become a distinct part of the Roman Catholic Church. In creating the Ordinariate, Pope Benedict recognised the treasures that Anglicans brought with them from their own tradition and this book is replete with the riches of Anglican patrimony. It contains material from the Anglican tradition, adapted according to the Roman rite including: an order for morning, evening and night prayer throughout the year spiritual readings for the Christian year the minor offices calendar and lectionary tables For use throughout the English speaking world, this unique volume will fill an immediate need.
The new "Catechism of the Catholic Church," the first since the Council of Trent four centuries ago, will play a major part in shaping the consciousness of Roman Catholic Christians of the foreseeable future. Not only will it remain the foundational text for teaching Catholic doctrine for years to come, but it successfully consolidates the achievements of the Second Vatican Council, and presents the definitive modern synthesis of the Church's ever-living Tradition.Aidan Nichol's study introduces the reader to the doctrinal teaching of this massive text of almost three thousand clauses. Commenting on the vital first part of the Catechism section by section, he succeeds in highlighting its principal themes while drawing attention to the significance of the way they have been handled.More sympathetic to the intentions of the Catechism's authors than some other recent commentators, Nichols is sensitive to the nuances of this magisterial text, and its immense theological import.
Over the course of a distinguished theological career, Aidan Nichols has produced an array of masterful contributions to the fields of systematic theology, ecclesiology, theological aesthetics, ecumenism, liturgy, and Scripture. Now, inChalice of God, he attempts to synthesize a lifetime of research, teaching, and scholarly reflection in a book that is both rigorously academic and intensely personal. This is Nichols' theological manifesto for the twenty-first century. Drawing together the insights of high scholasticism, the mid-twentieth-century ressourcement movement, a holistic reading of Scripture typical of the best patristic exegesis, and the liturgical tradition and iconography of both East and West, he presents a sound architecture for contemporary Catholic theology. Chalice of God promises to enrich and challenge those who engage in the enterprise of theology for years to come.
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