"The Catechetical Homilies" of Theodore of Mopsuestia: the Publishing History and Their Contents

Abstract

The present article shows the history of the discovery and publishing the manuscript contained the only fully survived dogmatic writing of Theodore of Mopsuestia. Also, the article provides the short description of the homilies’ contents and denotes the significance of the discovered text for patrology and liturgical studies. Although the Greek text of the Catechetical Homilies is missed, the work is preserved in the Syriac translation and is available thanks to publication of Alphonse Mingana in 1932 and 1933. The full text of the Catechetical Homilies allows us to put the quotations which were the basis for Theodore’s condemnation on the Fifth Ecumenical Council in their original context and to clarify their meaning, making them sound more acceptable. The homilies help us rightly understand the vague and ambiguous places in other Theodore’s writings and have more complete idea of his christology. The author of the Catechetical Homilies rejects the doctrine of the “Two Sons” and affirms the unity of Christ’s Person. He teaches of imperishability of “the perfect union” of two natures, so the existence of Christ as “mere man” is seemed to be impossible. Moreover, the text of the Catechetical Homilies gives us the rich evidence of Theodore’s sacramental theology that was not much treated before Mingana’s discovery. The Catechetical Homilies is, in addition, a source for the history of Liturgy, because they contain a detailed description of the Sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist.

Keywords

• Patrology
• Catechism
• Theodore of Mopsuestia
• Catechetical Homilies
• Symbol of Faith
• Lord’s Prayer
• Sacrament of Baptism
• Sacrament of Eucharist
• Christology
• The Fifth Ecumenical Council