Posted by Adamsen on October 1, 2009
Eugénia Scarvelis Constantinou (Jeannie Constantinou): Andrew of Caesarea and the Apocalypse In the Ancient Church of the East. Part 1: Studies on the Apocalypse Commentary of Andrew of Caesarea. Part 2: Translation of the Apocalypse Commentary of Andrew of Caesarea. Ph.D.-dissertation, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada, 2008. 271 + 242 pp. Available as an ebook in PDF-format.
I just learned about this Ph.D.-thesis, which is a very welcome work. It is very fortunate that Constantinou has made it available online. We should all be very grateful for that.
Part 1 “consists of an analysis of the commentary and an explanation of the Book of Révélation in the history of Eastern Christianity”, while part 2 “is an English translation of the commentary with extensive explanatory footnotes” (p. i and ii).
Andrew’s commentary, which according to Constantinou, was written in 611 A.D., is preserved in eighty-three complete manuscripts and “countless abbreviated versions” (iii). Andrew preserved the “totality of ancient Greek tradition for the interpretation of the Apocalypse”, which was independent of the Latin tradition (ibid.). Thus, Andrew’s commentary is extremely important. For this reason alone, it is very welcome that Constantinou has analysed and translated it. It was also very influential as regards the very text and the canonicity of Revelation.
Constantinou shows how important it is to have a complete translation of the entire commentary. Both Averky and Weinrich attributes the interpretation of Oecumenius on Revelation 1:4 to Andrew, but erroneously so. While Oecumenius interpreted Revelation 1:4 as a statement about the Trinity, Andrew attributes this formula to the Father (pp. iv-v). Constantinou also informs us that Andrew “was attempting to quell apocalyptic fears through his commentary, not inflame them” (p. v). I look forward to study this Ph.D.-thesis!
Constantinou’s translation is based on Josef Schmid\’s work. It will be published in the series The Fathers of the Church (according to this page, accessed October 1st, 2009).
Here is Constantinou’s own abstract:
Part 1, Studies on the Apocalypse Commentary of Andrew of Caesarea, consists of an analysis of the commentary and an explanation of the Book of Révélation in the history of Eastern Christianity.
Chapter 1 is an introduction to the commentary and to the historical context, audience, purpose and motivation for its composition.
Chapter 2 discusses the Book of Révélation in the canon of Eastern Christianity through an historical overview of the place of Révélation in the canon of the East from the second century through the présent day. The chapter considers which factors accounted for the early and immédiate appeal of Révélation, examines the attitudes toward it as revealed in primary sources, and demonstrates that the Apocalypse was consistently recognized as an apostolic document from the second century through the early fourth century. Révélation eventually came under attack due to its association with controversies such as Montanism and chiliasm. Doubts about its authorship were raised to discrédit it in order to undermine the controversial movements which relied upon it. It remained in an uncertain canonical status until relatively recently and is now presumed to be part of the New Testament by most Eastern Christians but the question of its status in the canon has never been “officially” resolved.
Chapter 3 explains the importance of the commentary from a text-critical perspective and for the purpose of studying the history of the Apocalypse text itself. A large percentage of Apocalypse manuscripts contain the Andréas commentary, which has preserved a text type of its own, and the study of the Andréas text type facilitâtes the analysis and évaluation of other text types by comparison. This chapter also discusses the dual textual transmission of the Book of Révélation, unique among the books of the New Testament, since manuscripts of Révélation are found both in scriptural collections as well as bound with a variety of spiritual and profane writings.
Chapter 4 discusses Andrew’s commentary in the context of the trajectory of other ancient Apocalypse commentaries, East and West, and how the interprétative history proceeded along a dual stream of tradition. The first commentators greatly influenced those who followed them, but only those who wrote in the same language. The Latin tradition did not influence Greek interpreters, nor vice-versa, and commonalities between Greek and Latin writers can be traced back to the earliest Fathers and to the perspectives, Scriptures, exegetical techniques and traditions common to both East and West from the first centuries of Christianity.
Chapter 5 commences an évaluation of the commentary itself, including Andrew’s purpose, motivation and orientation, as well as a discussion of the structure, style and characteristics of the commentary. This chapter also explains Andrew’s methodology, techniques and use of sources.
Chapter 6 explores Andrew’s theology, including his doctrine, view of prophecy, history, eschatology, angelology and salvation.
Chapter 7 reviews Andrew’s influence on subséquent Eastern commentators, the translation of his commentary into other ancient languages, its impact on the réception of the Book of Révélation into the Eastern canon and the commentary’s lasting prééminence and importance.
HT: Andrew of Caesarea, Commentary on Revelation online and Tommy Wassermann @ Evangelical Textual Criticism
Posted by Georg S. Adamsen on August 28, 2009
English Translation of Prigents Opus Magnum
Pierre Prigent’s French opus magnum, L’Apocalypse de Saint Jean. Rev. and exp. ed. (Commentaire du Nouveau Testament, 14). Genève: Labor et Fides, 2000. 507 pp. – mentioned in the comments on this post – may be inaccessible if you do not read French.
However, I just noticed in the recent commentary by Resseguie that there is an English translation. It is still in print. Here is the details:
Prigent, Pierre: Commentary on the Apocalypse of St. John. Translated from the French edition by Wendy Pradels. Study edition. Re-binding. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2004. XIV + 717 pages. ISBN 978-3-16-148453-7. € 69.00. A few more details.
The cover is just as scholarly as the content!
Posted by Georg S. Adamsen on July 15, 2009
Resseguie's Narrative Commentary
Professor James L. Resseguie is the author of Revelation Unsealed. Last year I mentioned that a commentary was in the making (see http://www.revelation-resources.com/2008/07/10/resseguie-revelation-a-narrative-commentary/. Today Resseguie’s commentary arrived. So far I have only had time to flip the pages, but it seems very interesting. From the outset I like Resseguie’s approach, as will be clear to those who have flipped the pages of my thesis.
Due to a very welcome grant, I will finally be able to complete the final revision of my own commentary by mid-September. Professor Resseguie’s commentary will be a very welcome preparation for that.
Professor Resseguie offers a 40+ page introduction to his narrative approach. I will post more about it shortly.
By the way, Resseguie’s commentary is less than 300 pages, 288 in total. And it is available for less that $15 in the US or £10 in Great Britain. ISBN: 978-0-8010-3213-4.
Posted by Georg S. Adamsen on July 10, 2008
Backus, Irena Dorota. Reformation Readings of the Apocalypse: Geneva, Zurich, and Wittenberg. Oxford Studies in Historical TheologyOxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. xx + 182 pp.
About the book
Backus, Professor at the Université de Genève, Institute of Reformation History, shows that most important sixteenth-century reformed commentators of Revelation”remained heavily indebted to their patristic and medievas sources and were conservative in their estimation of the text’s eschatological significance.”
“… reformed commentators paid much greater attention to the trials and tribulations of the church, past and present, than to the imminence of the Last Judgment. Lutheran commentators, on the other hand, were more overtly future-oriented and emphasized the importance of the text for their era.”
“Backus also offers new and significant information about methods of commenting on [Revelation] …”
Backus focuses on the commentaries of
- Antoine du Pinet
- Leo Jud
- Theodore Bibliander
- Heinrich Bullinger
- Nicolas Colladon
- David Chytraeus
- Nicolaus Selnecker
Table of Contents
The Problem of Canonicity 3
Antoine du Pinet and His Models 37
Augustin Marlorat and Nicolas Colladon 61
The Apocalypse and the Zurich Reformers 87
The Lutheran Counterpoint: David Chytraeus and Nikolaus Selnecker 113
Conclusion 135
Notes 139
Bibliography 169
Index 175
Significance
This book is, so says the publisher, “essential reading for scholars of theology, Reformation history, the history of biblical exegesis, and anyone interested in the Apocalypse of John and its reception in the West.” Indeed.
The author
Irena Backus is D.Phil. from Oxford University (1976) and Dr.theol. Hab. from Bern (1988). She was awarded a honorary Doctory of Divinity-degree from Edinburgh (2001) and a Doctor of Divinity from Oxford.
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Posted by Georg S. Adamsen on
Alexander, Charles David. Revelation Spiritually Understood. [New ed.] Trelawnyd [UK]: K&M Books, 2001. 565 pp. Distributed by Tentmaker Publications
The commentary is a one-volume edition of twenty-five pamphlets, lightly edited.
K and M Books:
Charles David Alexander was born in Liverpool on january 1 1904, of Scottish parentage. he grew up in the city and was saved by God’s grace on 7th March 1921 at the age of 17, although he often related in his later life how that he did not know but that he had possibly been converted at his mother’s knee.
Perhaps his greatest contribution was the work, which has been published here, ‘Revelation Spiritually Understood’, originally published in pamphlet form in 25 parts it has been of tremendous blessing to many of God’s saints. It is a powerful attack on the twin errors of Dispensationalism and Post-millennialism, and is a compulsive and compelling defence of the Amillennialist position.
HT: Nicholas T. Batzig
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Posted by Georg S. Adamsen on
In 2009 Baker will publish a commentary by James L. Resseguie, the author of Revelation Unsealed and Narrative Criticism of the New Testament: An Introduction.
Unlike many recent commentaries, Resseguie’s The Revelation of John: A Narrative Commentary is neither very long (about 300 pages) nor very expensive (RRP $24.99, but you can order it now for only $19.99 at BakerBooks or $16.49 at Amazon).
In his commentary “James Resseguie applies the easily understandable tools introduced in his primer on narrative criticism to this challenging book. He shows how Revelation uses such features as rhetoric, setting, character, point of view, plot, symbolism, style, and repertoire to construct its meaning. This literary approach draws out the theological and homiletical message of the book and highlights its major unifying themes: the need to listen well, an overwhelmingly God-centered perspective, and the exodus to a new promised land. Here is a valuable aid for pastor and serious lay reader alike.”
James L. Resseguie (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is the J. Russell Bucher Professor of New Testament at Winebrenner Theological Seminary in Findlay, Ohio. See more on Reseguie here.
More information at BakerBooks.
HT: Otto N.
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Posted by Georg S. Adamsen on July 3, 2008
Drobner, Hubertus R. Lehrbuch der Patrologie. 2nd revised and expaned ed. Frankfurt am Main; New York: P. Lang, 2004. 532 pp.
Drobner, Hubertus R. The Fathers of the Church: A Comprehensive Introduction: With Bibliographies Updated and Expanded for the English Edition by William Harmless, and Hubertus R. Drobner. Translated by Siegfried S. Schatzmann. English ed. ed. Originally published as Lehrbuch der Patrologie. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 1994. Repr. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2007. lvi + 632 pp.
Drobner’s textbook is not a comprehensive dictionary, perhaps not even a comprensive introduction. It is a textbook as the German title indicates. Drobner provides very helpful introductions to the first eight centuries and to the most important Church fathers. A number of those who have written on Revelation are not included, however, e.g., Victorinus of Petovio and Caesarius of Arles.
The English edition is more than a translation, as the subtitle states. A helpful review by Vilhelm Pratscher (pdf) is published by Review of Biblical Literature. The Table of Contents of the English edition is provided by the Library of Congress.
In his amazon.com review, Dr. William Varner, the author of The Way of the Didache: The First Christian Handbook, questions whether it is really “a comprehensive introduction,” as most entries on the church fathers are covered in only one or two pages.
Nevertheless, Varner concludes:
This volume will become THE source to be consulted for “further reading” about the Fathers. But if the reader is looking for an introduction to the thought of the fathers, he can be better served by the old classic, Patrology by Johannes Quasten, or even better by the recent two volume work by Moreschini and Norelli, Early Christian Greek and Latin Literature.
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