Peter Chrysologus is the first book to offer an introduction to the life of Peter Chrysologus and a selection of his most important sermons in translation, as well as his letter to Eutyches.
Bishop Peter of Ravenna preached before the imperial family for nearly two decades (c. 430-450) after the imperial capital was moved to Peter’s See of Ravenna in 402 by Emperor Honorius. With the Empire’s elite directly before him, Peter also had the problems of 5th century Monophysitism behind him. As such, his homilies stress the incarnate Christ’s ability to change lives by reuniting mortal humans with their life-giving God. The thorough introduction explores the figure of Peter, beginning with the obscure biographies telling of his early life, to his becoming Metropolitan of Ravenna, situating his elevation in the wider socio-political context of the powerful court of Valentinian III and the 5th century Roman West. It also looks at the significant influence his legacy had on future generations.
Translated into a modern idiom, this collection of sermons makes the preaching and pastoral wisdom of this key figure accessible to modern readers. It is an invaluable tool for anyone working on early Christian theology and the Early Church, as well as students of Late Antiquity and the Western Empire.
Part I: Introduction; 1. Life and Times; 2. Theological Themes; Part II: Sermons; 3. The Incarnate God and Mother Mary: 140, 140A, 141, 142, 143, 147, 148, 148A, 150, 151; 4. Jesus: Tempted, Teacher and Thaumaturge: s. 1, 4, 5, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18, 28, 54, 68, 121, 123, 124, 137, 167; 5. Passion, Crucifixion and the Victory of Easter: 72A, 72B, 74, 117; 6. Church, Creed, and the Communion of Saints 57, 108, 120, 121, 132, 133, 134, 154,155
Biography
David Vincent Meconi, S.J. holds the Pontifical License in Patrology (Liz. Theol.) from the University of Innsbruck as well as the D.Phil. in Ecclesiastical History from the University of Oxford. He is Professor of Patristic Theology and the Director of the Catholic Studies Centre at Saint Louis University, USA.
"After engaging with this selection, interested readers will surely feel encouraged to work on the texts in order to study their rhetorical structure and their effectiveness, to examine other significant themes and to try to search for the originality of Peter Chrysologus, who is attentive to the problems of his time, while inspired to read the remaining sermons. The translation is well done, careful to maintain the complex rhetorical form proper to the Latin of Peter." - The Classical Review
“Insgesamt betrachtet, stellt der Band „Peter Chrysologus“ einen kompakten, leicht fasslichen Zugang zu einem eher unbekannten Autor des fünften Jahr-hunderts dar. Mittels der kurzen Einleitung und der ausgewählten Predigten gelingt es, sich in Kürze einen Eindruck von Petrus Chrysologus zu verschaffen.” - Plekos
[Overall, the volume Peter Chrysologus represents a compact, easily comprehensible approach to a relatively unknown author of the fifth century. The short introduction and the selected sermons make it possible to get a brief impression of Petrus Chrysologus.]
