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Maximus the Confessor

Born circa 580 in Constantinople; died Aug. 13, 662, in Lazica. Byzantine thinker and theologian.

Active in government in his youth, Maximus became a monk in 613 or 614. In 642 he became known as a leading opponent of the Monothelites, who were supported by the government. He was victorious in a dispute with the Monothelites in Carthage in 645; in 653 he was arrested; in 662 his tongue and right hand were cut off. He died in exile.

The philosophical views of Maximus the Confessor are colored by the strong influence of Aristotle, Neoplatonism, and, above all, the Areopagite, in the dissemination of whose works Maximus played a decisive role. The problem of man is at the center of Maximus the Confessor’s philosophical and theological thought. He divided the history of the world into two periods— the preparation for the incarnation of god, which ended with the birth of Christ, and the preparation for the deification of man. If man overcomes his self-alienation—brought on by original sin and the division into masculine and feminine and spiritual and animal—then the cosmos will be saved and creation will be reunited with the creator. For this reason, the main events in the life of Christ are at the same time symbols of cosmic processes. The ethics of Maximus are based on an original doctrine about the transformation of the energy of evil emotions into good emotions and includes subtle psychological observations. His ideas exerted a strong influence on Johannes Scotus Erigena and medieval mysticism.

WORKS

In J. P. Migne, Patrologiae cursus completus ser. graeca, vols. 90-91. Paris, 1860.

REFERENCES

Epifanovich, S. L. Prepodobnyi Maksim Ispovednik i vizantiiskoe bogoslovie. Kiev, 1915.
Epifanovich, S. L. Materialy k izucheniiu zhizni i tvorenii prepodobnogo Maksima Ispovednika. Kiev, 1917.
Balthasar, H. U. von. Kosmische Liturgie: Das Weltbild Maximus des Bekenners, 2nd ed. Einsiedeln, 1961.
Thunberg, L. Microcosm and Mediator: The Theological Anthropology of Maximus the Confessor. Copenhagen, 1965.

S. S. AVERINTSEV

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No references found	Could he also have learned from them about the great Greek father of the church, Maximus the Confessor, who was in his own day a bridge between Eastern and Western Christianity? Veiled & revealed: Bellini's art of incarnation by Imbelli, Robert / Commonweal The term 'tradition' is itself contentious, but following Shils we might take it to mean minimally that which is handed down from the past (11) or in the words of Maximus the Confessor tradition is received 'through succession from those who came before. Asceticism and the hopeful self: subjectivity, reductionism, and ... by Flood, Gavin / Cross Currents Hudson begins with an introductory chapter, sketching theosis in Gregory of Nyssa, Maximus the Confessor, and Pseudo-Dionysius, though she admits Nicholas had contact mostly with the works of Dionysius and only some acquaintance with Maximus. Becoming God: The Doctrine of Theosis in Nicholas Cusa by Miller, Clyde Lee / Renaissance Quarterly	maximum seek time maximum segment size maximum signal level maximum size of aggregate maximum sound pressure maximum subsidence maximum sustainable yield maximum temperature period maximum thermometer maximum thrust Maximum Transmission Unit maximum unambiguous range maximum undistorted power output maximum usable frequency maximum working area maximum working pressure maximum zonal westerlies Maximum, Law of The maximum-and-minimum thermometer maximum-minimum principle maximum-modulus theorem maximum-value theorem maximum-wind and shear chart maximum-wind level maximum-wind topography Maximus the Confessor Maximus the Greek Maximus, Magnus Clemens Maximus, Saint Maxis Software maxoplasia Maxthon Maxwell Maxwell body Maxwell bridge Maxwell distribution Maxwell effect Maxwell equal-area rule Maxwell equations Maxwell field equations Maxwell liquid Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge Maxwell primaries Maxwell relation Maxwell triangle Maxwell's coefficient of diffusion Maxwell's cyclic currents Maxwell's demon Maxwell's displacement current Maxwell's electromagnetic theory Maxwell's Equations	maximum-minimum principle maximum-minimum thermometer Maximum-modulus theorem Maximum-Output Selection Combining maximum-security Maximum-security prison Maximum-Shear-Stress Theory Maximum-Sum-Of-Subsets-Less Maximum-Tolerated Systemic Exposure Maximum-Tolerated Treatment Dose maximum-value theorem maximum-wind and shear chart maximum-wind level maximum-wind topography Maximum/Threshold Crossing maximums maximums maximums maximums Maximun Thermal Retention Maximus Maximus Confessor Maximus Decim Cumulative Update Maximus Decim Data Access Component Update Maximus Monachus Maximus of Constantinople, Saint Maximus Planudes Maximus the Confessor Maximus the Greek Maximus, Magnus Clemens Maximus, Saint Maxine Hall Health Center Maxine Hong Maxine Kumin Maxine Winokur maxing maxing maxing maxing Maxipad Maxipad Maxipime maxis maxis maxis Maxis Broadband Sdn. Bhd. Maxis Software Maxiskirt Maxiskirt Maxiskirt Maxiskirt Maxixe maxixes Maxmilien de Bethune Maxmillien Marie Isidore de Robespierre Maxmimal matching Maxmimal matching Maxmimal matching

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Could he also have learned from them about the great Greek father of the church, Maximus the Confessor, who was in his own day a bridge between Eastern and Western Christianity?

Veiled & revealed: Bellini's art of incarnation by Imbelli, Robert / Commonweal

The term 'tradition' is itself contentious, but following Shils we might take it to mean minimally that which is handed down from the past (11) or in the words of Maximus the Confessor tradition is received 'through succession from those who came before.

Asceticism and the hopeful self: subjectivity, reductionism, and ... by Flood, Gavin / Cross Currents

Hudson begins with an introductory chapter, sketching theosis in Gregory of Nyssa, Maximus the Confessor, and Pseudo-Dionysius, though she admits Nicholas had contact mostly with the works of Dionysius and only some acquaintance with Maximus.

Becoming God: The Doctrine of Theosis in Nicholas Cusa by Miller, Clyde Lee / Renaissance Quarterly

maximum seek time

maximum segment size

maximum signal level

maximum size of aggregate

maximum sound pressure

maximum subsidence

maximum sustainable yield

maximum temperature period

maximum thermometer

maximum thrust

Maximum Transmission Unit