ACÉP RÉUNION / CSPS MEETING

Université Laval, Québec, QC, May 27-29, 2001

Abstracts

Saturday, May 26

Petit-déjeuner causerie avec/Breakfast with
Professeur James M. ROBINSON
Le professeur Robinson nous entretiendra, en français et en anglais,
des étapes marquantes de sa carrière.

Please confirm your presence by contacting : bcnh@ftsr.ulaval.ca

8:30-11:45 (DKN 1431)
CCSR Board Meeting

12:00-13:00 (VAC 3870)
Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion/
Assemblée annuelle de la Corporation canadienne des sciences religieuses

Extraordinary CSSR/CSPS Joint Session

Naming Religious Groups: Cooperative Seminars between the Buddhist Studies Group of the Canadian Society for the Study of Religion (CSSR) and the Canadian Society for Patristic Studies (CSPS)

Organizers: Theodore de Bruyn (Ottawa), Graeme MacQueen (McMaster University), and Kay Koppendrayer (Wilfrid Laurier University).

13:00-14:15 - Naming Religious Groups in Late Antiquity

Participants:
Harold Remus (Wilfrid Laurier University) on "pagans"
Steve Wilson (Carleton University) on "Jews"
Tim Hegedus (Waterloo Lutheran Seminary) on "Christians"
Louis Painchaud and Paul-Hubert Poirier (Université Laval) on "gnostics"
Kevin Coyle (Saint Paul University) on "Manichaeans"

14:30-15:45 - Naming Buddhists in Contemporary North America, continued discussions

Kay Koppedrayer (Wilfrid Laurier University)
Graeme MacQueen (McMaster University)
Mavis Fenn (St. Paul's United College, University of Waterloo)
Angie Danyluk (McMaster University)
Bruce Matthews (Acadia University)

16:00-17:15 - Joint session: Dialogue between Scholars of Late Antiquity and Contemporary Buddhism on the demands, delights and tyrannies of nomenclature

17:15-19:00 (Salle BNF-4423) Get together
Special Event for Students / Activité spéciale pour les étudiants
offerte par le Groupe de recherche en christianisme ancien (GRECA)
et l’Institut d’études anciennes de l’Université Laval
 

Sunday, May 27 - CSPS conference starts officially

8:30-8:45 Welcome/ Mot de bienvenue
Peter Widdicombe, President, CSPS/ACEP

8:45-10:45 - Session 1
Chairperson: Harold Remus, Wilfrid Laurier University

Geoffrey D. Dunn, Centre for Early Christian Studies, Australian Catholic University, "Censuimus: Cyprian and the Episcopal Synod of 253"

Catherine Conybeare, University of Manchester, "The potential of Augustine's De Genesi contra Manichaeos"

J. Kevin Coyle, St. Paul University, "La papaute et l'identite du christianisme nord-africain"

Louis Painchaud, Université Laval, « Les codices I, VII et XI de Nag Hammadi comme sous-collection »

10:45-11:00 Coffee break

11:00-12:30 - Session 2
Maximus the Confessor, Pope Martin I
Chairperson: Pauline Allen, Australian Catholic University

Daniel J. Sahas, University of Waterloo, "Maximus as a political Confessor"

Andreas Andreopoulos, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, University of Toronto, "The problem of apokatastasis in the thought of Maximus the Confessor"

Bronwen Neil, Centre for Early Christian Studies, Australian Catholic University, "Popes and Martyrs in the Monothelite Dispute: An Account of Pope Martin’s Exile (BHL 5592)"

12:30-13:30 Lunch (executive meeting CSPS/ACEP)

13:30-14:15 - Session 3
Instrumenta Studiorum
Chairperson: Lucian Turcescu

Pauline Allen, Centre for Early Christian Studies, Australian Catholic University

14:15-14:30 Coffee break

14:30-16:30 - Session 4: CAECS/CSPS Joint Session
Chairperson: TBA

CAECS Paper (TBA)

Lucian Turcescu, St. Francis Xavier University, "Person vs. individual and other modern misreadings of Gregory of Nyssa"

CAECS paper (TBA)

Vlad Niculescu, University of Toronto "Coping with the grief of ignorance"

16:30-18:00 CSPS/ACEP President’s Reception (CAU hall)

Monday, May 28

All sessions are held in 3170 CAU

8:45-10:45 - Session 5
Issues in Late Antiquity, Part I
Chairperson: Theo de Bruyn, Ottawa

Eleanor Irwin, University of Toronto, "‘Family values’ in the late second and early third centuries"

Harold Remus, Wilfried Laurier University, "‘Otherness,’ Conflict, and Persecution in Early Christianity: Social Aspects"

Lisa R. Holliday, University of Kentucky, "The Uses of Romance in Early Christian Literature: the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies"

Tim Pettipiece, Wilfrid Laurier University, "Eremos: The desert as a space of transformation in early Christian spirituality"

10:45-11:00 Coffee break

11:00-12:30 - Session 6
Issues in Late Antiquity, Part II
Chairperson: Pamela Bright, Concordia University

Theodore S. de Bruyn, Ottawa, "Philosophical Consolation versus Ritual Lament in Fourth-Century Christian Responses to Death"

Andrius Valevicius, Université de Sherbrooke, The "Twenty-four Homilies on the Statues" by John Chrysostom. A Careful Reading of the Catalogues Leads to Interesting Discoveries

Aurélie Goudal, Université de Montréal, "L'animalité du démon dans l'hagiographie byzantine primitive, du IVème au VIème siècle"

12:30-13:30 Lunch

13:30-15:00 - Session 7
Chairperson: Peter Widdicombe, McMaster University

Book Discussion: The Shaping of Christianity: The History and Literature of its formative centuries (100-800) (New York: Paulist Press, 1999)

Presentation by author: Gérard Vallée, McMaster University
Response: Harry Maier and Tim Hegedus
General Discussion

15:00-15:30 Coffee break

15:30-17:00 Annual General Meeting

18:30-21:00 CSPS/ACEP Banquet
RESTAURANT L'ÉCHAUDÉ
73 RUE DU SAULT-AU-MATELOT
QUÉBEC
TEL. 418-692-1299
FAX. 418-692-1133

Tuesday, May 29

All sessions are held in 3170 CAU

8:45-10:45- Session 8
Chairperson: Anne Pasquier, Univ. Laval

Pamela Bright, Concordia University, "The Church as the House of Truth in the letters of Antony of Egypt"

Serge Cazelais, Université Laval "Le Logos androgyne dans l'Adversus Arium de Marius Victorinus"

Pierre Boglioni, Universite de Montreal, "Le thaumaturge et le magicien dans l’hagiographie latine du IVe-VIe s. Éléments d’une problématique"

Laurence Broadhurst, University of Toronto, "The Quartodecimans, Melito of Sardis and Rome"

10:45-11:00 Coffee break

11:00-12:00 - Session 9
Student Prize Essays
Chairperson: M. Eleanor Irwin, Univ. of Toronto

Mona LaFosse, Wilfrid Laurier University, "Montanist Women: A Threatening Image for the Early Church"

Mark Mealey, Wycliffe College, Toronto, "The structure and argument of Leontius of Jerusalem’s Contra Monophysitas"

12:00-13:00 Lunch

13:00-14:30 - Session 10
Chairperson: Wendy Mayer, Australian Catholic University

Patrick T. R. Gray, York University, "The Quest for the Historical Eutyches"

Anne Pasquier, Université Laval, «L'Homme» et «le Fils de l'Homme»: étude des titres appliqués au Sauveur dans le traité d'Eugnoste (NH III, 3 et V, 1)

Peter Widdicombe, McMaster University, "The wounds and the glorified body"

14:30-15:00 Coffee break

15:00-16:30 - Session 11
Chairperson: Kenneth Steinhauser, St. Louis University

Wendy Mayer, Centre for Early Christian Studies, Australian Catholic University, "'The Future of Chrysostom Studies' Reconsidered"

Andrei S. P. Brennan, Wilfrid Laurier University, "Poverty and the Poor in the Writings of Chrysostom"

Eduard Frunzeanu, Universite de Montréal, "Aphupnopsis : sur les degrés du sommeil de conversion"
 

CSPS/ACEP Paper Abstracts, 2001

Pauline Allen, Centre for Early Christian Studies, Australia Catholic University

In this paper I would like to outline the genesis of the Centre for Early Christian Studies at Australia Catholic University, to give some idea of its early vicissitudes, and of the vision and hopes which the members of the Centre have for the future of Patristics worldwide. Wendy Mayer, Bronwen Neil, and Geoffrey Dunn will be presenting papers at this conference on their own work in progress, while I will be linking their work with that of other members and describing the large research projects which are current. In addition I will be speaking about one of the most important functions of the Centre, namely the organisation of local and international conferences with Patristic themes. The impact which the transfer of the General Secretariat of the AIEP/IAPS from Rome to the Centre has had will also be discussed.

Andreas Andreopoulos, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, University of Toronto, "The problem of apokatastasis in the thought of Maximus the Confessor"

The problem of the fate of evil in the last things and the question of whether the post-Apocalyptic equilibrium will allow for the possibility of the restoration of all sinners, including the Devil, have been recurrent throughout Patristic tradition. Maximus the Confessor has addressed this issue in his writings, and has stressed the eschatological restoration of the powers of the soul, especially the restoration and transformation of the gnomic will. A careful examination of Maximus' writings on the restoration of all, as well as of his writings on the gnomic will, can shed some light on the way Maximus understood the final apokatastasis and connected it with his cosmic theology. This paper will discuss some of Maximus' most enigmatic passages on the gnomic will, and will raise some questions about the conventional understanding of the restoration of all within the Maximian thought.

Pierre Boglioni, Universite de Montreal, "Le thaumaturge et le magicien dans l’hagiographie latine du IVe-VIe s. Éléments d’une problématique"

Cette communication se propose d’esquisser un premier inventaire des données qui concernent l’opposition entre la figure et l’action du magicien et celles du thaumaturge dans l’hagiographie latine des IVe-VIe s., de la Vita Ambrosii de Paulin de Milan aux Dialogi des Grégoire le Grand. Après un bref rappel du contexte général de ce problème et de l’historiographie qui le concerne, seront abordés notamment les aspects suivants: terminologie, thèmes, dynamique de la confrontation.

Andrei S. P. Brennan, Wilfrid Laurier University, "Poverty and the Poor in the Writings of Chrysostom"

In recent years, the issues of social justice and theories of social ethics have been of considerable interest and controversy, particularly in ecumenical Christian and interfaith dialogue. Many of the current social problems in the Canadian context, while vastly different in detail due to historical and economic particulars, do in fact parallel social difficulties in the early Byzantine empire. As part of an overall project to elucidate an Eastern Orthodox Christian voice in Canadian social justice dialogue, I am preparing a major research paper examining the social ethics of St. John Chrysostom, particularly on the subject of poverty and the poor, as contained in his various homilies. Drawing on one part of this larger project, I propose to present a paper focussing on Chrysostom's scriptural exegesis of related Biblical passages to this subject, with a limited consideration of secondary sources, concluding with some thoughts on how St. John's exegetical witness might inform our current Canadian social consciousness.

Pamela Bright, Concordia University, "The Church as the House of Truth in the letters of Antony of Egypt"

The re-discovery of the Seven Letters of St. Anthony of Egypt has generated considerable interest among scholars in the past decade. One of the most controversial questions concerns the legacy of Origenian thought in the monastic literature in fourth century Egypt. The presentation will focus on Anthony's understanding of the Church as the "House of Truth in the letters of Anthony of Egypt."

Laurence Broadhurst, University of Toronto, "The Quartodecimans, Melito of Sardis and Rome"

Our evidence for the "great discussion about the Passover" (H.E. 4.26.3) that occurred between Rome and Asiatic Christian leaders in the second century is almost exclusively limited to the fleeting references in Eusebius. One leader among the so-called Quartodecimans, Eusebius tells us more than once, was Melito, bishop of Sardis in Asia Minor. More tantalizing still is the fact that of the twenty-odd writings Eusebius attributes to Melito, the one that survives more or less intact is a sermon specifically on the pascha. This paper reviews the early Easter controversy and Melito’s role in it and then reads the Peri pascha as the treatise of a typical, Asiatic Quartodeciman. Lurking behind the discussion is an assessment of the argument that it is the character and reputation of Melito as a Quartodeciman that helps to explain the particularly vehement anti-Judaism of his sermon (i.e., that Melito is implicitly countering the charge that he is a judaizer by condemning Israel).

Theodore S. de Bruyn, Ottawa, "Philosophical Consolation versus Ritual Lament in Fourth-Century Christian Responses to Death"

The funeral lament was an integral part of Greco-Roman death rituals throughout antiquity. It was also a practice that authorities—including Christian bishops—tried to restrain. The bishops' approach to death was shaped by the tradition of philosophical consolation, a tradition profoundly different in both discourse and action from customary laments. My paper compares Christian philosophical consolation and customary laments in light of the Roy Rappaport's theory of ritual and Nadia Seremetakis' analysis of laments. I argue that the two traditions—philosophical consolation and customary laments—were at cross purposes in several ways: in the structure of the response to death, in the identity and community created by the response, and in the capacity of the response to signify the meaning of death.

Serge Cazelais, Université Laval "Le Logos androgyne dans l'Adversus Arium de Marius Victorinus"

Le livre IB de l'Adversus Arium de Marius Victorinus se termine par une exégèse philosophique de Genèse 1, 26-27 : L'Homme est "Iuxta imaginem et similitudinem dei". Pour Victorinus, l'Homme est l'Âme ; âme intérieure à l'image du Logos qui est "Être, Vivre et Penser" et âme extérieure à l'image du Logos qui est mâle et femelle. Le Logos est mâle et femelle puisque, selon Victorinus, "il fut pour lui-même son propre Fils" (IB, 64, 26-27) en tant qu'il est mouvement de descente (la Vie) et mouvement de remontée (la Sagesse). Nous nous proposons dans cette communication d'exposer le raisonnement de Victorinus qui le mène à ce concept de Logos androgyne qui, selon Pierre Hadot, "reste un problème inexpliqué" ('Porphyre et Victorinus : Questions et hypothèses', Res Orientales IX (1996), p.124). Nous chercherons ensuite à proposer quelques pistes pour la recherche des sources philosophiques et religieuses qui, selon Hadot, "supposent nécessairement une influence gnostique" (Ibid.).

Catherine Conybeare, University of Manchester, "The potential of Augustine's De Genesi contra Manichaeos"

This paper will be a celebration of the potential for new work on this relatively unexplored treatise, which has been opened up by the recent scholarly edition of Dorothea Weber. But it will also treat of 'potential' in a more metaphysical sense, showing how Augustine mobilizes the notion of potentiality to move from a residual Manichaean dualism to a nascent Trinitarianism - that is, to bridge, complicate, or challenge binary concepts. For example, both Augustine's defence of creation ex nihilo and his account of Gn 1:2 rely on the displacement of conventional spatio-temporal relationships in favour of a notion of what could, potentially, come to be. I shall conclude by observing that this bridging move is one, significantly, made repeatedly in different ways in Augustine's early and experimental works, and by offering a few illustrations of this phenomenon.

Kevin Coyle, St. Paul University, "Identifying self-identity: the case of North African Christianity"

It seems to me that "mainstream" Christianity in North Africa was on its way to becoming what today we would call a "separate rite" within the Christian Oikumene - that is, it had its own history, canonical traditions, a long-standing theological and hagiographical literature peculiar to itself, and particular liturgical practices. Were North African Christians aware of this particular identity as *African* Christians, and how did they express it. More to the point, what would the criteria be for answering such questions? The answers to all of these would not be without application to current discussion the relationship between unity within confessions versus their regional and cultural diversification.

Geoffrey D. Dunn, Centre for Early Christian Studies, Australian Catholic University, "Censuimus: Cyprian and the Episcopal Synod of 253"

Much thought and attention has been given over the years to the history and content of the synods over which Cyprian of Carthage presided in the middle of the third century. Not as much attention has been given to the processes and dynamics of these gatherings. In a series of papers I am investigating each of these synods to reappraise Cyprian's model of pastoral ministry in tems of his relationship with other bishops. In this paper the focus is on the third of these synods, that of 253, the details of which we find in Cyprian's Ep. 57. After an overview of the events which surrounded this meeting and the decisions that were made at it, the remainder of the presentation looks at why Cyprian felt it necessary to seek the support of other bishops in changing policy with regard to the readmission to communion of the lapsi. The possibility of a new outbreak of persecution once again threatened to challenge the security of Cyprian's position in Carthage and a collegial approach not only ensured a common pastoral response throughout the North African provinces but helped to cement Cyprian's standing within his own community.

Eduard Frunzeanu, Universite de Montréal, "Aphupnosis : sur les degrés du sommeil de conversion"

L’état de sommeil dans lequel Christ tombe au moment de la traversée du lac vers le territoire des Géraséniens est exprimé dans le récit de Luc (8, 23) par un verbe qui connaît peu d’occurrences dans l’histoire de la langue grecque : aphupnosis. La particularité du mot semble avoir échappé aux traducteurs médiévaux des Évangiles en latin, qui oscillent dans leurs équivalences entre dormire et obdormire. Toutefois, le contexte de son utilisation a suscité des questionnements parmi les Pères de l’Église (Ambroise, Grégoire le Grand, Bède) qui en adoptant la variante obdormire ont essayé d’expliquer ses connotations. En poursuivant l’appropriation du sens de ce terme dans quelques commentaires médiévaux sur l’Évangile de Luc, on essaiera de circonscrire un champ sémantique qui permettra, dans un deuxième volet, de rapprocher ce verbe descriptif des théories concernant les dispositions de sommeil et d’éveil. Implicitement, on mettra en évidence l’impact de longue durée qu’a eu le choix de traduction de saint Jérôme (obdormire au lieu de dormire) sur les interprètes de la Bible.

Aurélie Goudal, Université de Montréal, "L'animalité du démon dans l'hagiographie byzantine primitive, du IVème au VIème siècle"

Cette recherche se base sur la terminologie employée par les hagiographes, selon les régions et les époques de rédaction, pour mettre en scène le diable et les démons, sous forme animale. Axée sur une vingtaine de sources et reposant sur une liste des animaux dressée au cours de ces lectures, elle s'inscrit dans le cadre général de l'étude des mentalités et des croyances à l'époque proto-byzantine.

Patrick T. R. Gray, York University, "The Quest for the Historical Eutyches"

Eutyches’ reputation suffered an unhappy fate: condemned by the Standing Synod of Constantinople in 448, exonerated by the "Latrocinium" in 449, then disowned by Dioscorus and re-condemned by all at Chalcedon, he was ever after included in the lists of heretics by orthodox and monophysites alike for, they said, believing in the confusion of the divine and human in Christ. The historical Eutyches was, however, condemned on charges that deliberately left him, a conservative of the tradition of Cyril, ill-equipped to defend himself. By a fortunate accident of history, we are left with an account of the accusations Eutyches actually expected to be brought against him, and through them we are able to reconstruct the central beliefs for which he was willing to go to the ramparts, namely, his belief that the body of Christ, experienced as life-giving in the Eucharist, had to be the body of the life-giving Word itself.

Lisa R. Holliday, University of Kentucky, "The Uses of Romance in Early Christian Literature: the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies"

As a literary form, the Greek romance has enjoyed a long career which spans from the second century BCE to modern times. The romance’s continued attraction is evident in its complex structure and exciting plots. In the late first and second centuries, the romance was adopted by Christian writers. Though somewhat altered, it retained its traditional structure. To fit the romance into a Christian context, authors substituted or removed certain elements, such as replacing physical marriage with baptism. Pseudo-Clement’s use of the romance is a continuation of his anti-Greek stance which he established in the dialogue of Clement with Appion. He manipulates the traditional romance, juxtaposing it with a Christian revision. Through this, he demonstrates the superiority of a Christian lifestyle.

Eleanor Irwin, University of Toronto, "‘Family values’ in the late second and early third centuries"

Children born within marriage provided the next generation of citizens and heirs in the Greco-Roman world while the early Christian church relied on conversion and new birth for its survival and growth. Instead of the social safety net the family provided for its vulnerable members, the church offered support for the needy and those divided from their relatives by allegiance to Christ.

The imperial family since Augustus had been held up as a model whose welfare was intricately bound up with the welfare of their subjects. Coinage and sculpture presented its public face while gossip and historical events suggested a different private reality. In contrast, early Christians did not use the human family of Jesus as a model for family life. Nativity scenes were uncommon and Joseph was absent.

Early Christians had an ambivalent attitude to marriage and sexual relationships: some chose virginity or decided not to remarry after a spouse’s death. The expectation of Christ's imminent return and the destabilizing effect of persecution were doubtless factors but perhaps more, ascetic suspicion of even lawful pleasures. Clement of Alexandria argued that marriage should be encouraged and that the Christian family was an important source of growth for the church.

Wendy Mayer, Centre for Early Christian Studies, Australian Catholic University, "'The Future of Chrysostom Studies' Reconsidered"

A little over thirty years ago at the symposium on John Chrysostom in Thessaloniki, Robert Carter reflected on the state of Chrysostom studies and the tasks that lay ahead. Today, while some of the requirements of the field are unchanged, others are substantially different as a result of recent challenges to traditional views of the chronology of John's corpus, of his thought and actions, and of the relationship between his output and his life. At the beginning of the new millennium it is timely to reflect on what has been achieved since the last assessment of the field, on where the field is currently heading, and on some of the tasks, unimagined at the time of Carter's reflection, that now lie ahead. Particular attention will be paid to recent research conducted in Australia and a new project which was embarked on in January this year.

Bronwen Neil, Centre for Early Christian Studies, Australian Catholic University, "Popes and Martyrs in the Monothelite Dispute: An Account of Pope Martin’s Exile (BHL 5592)"

This paper is an introduction to my postdoctoral research project, an edition of the Latin text of the Narrationes de exilio of Pope Martin I (649-653 CE), stalwart opponent of the monothelite doctrine promulgated under the rule of Emperors Heraclius and Constans II. The translationof Anastasius Bibliothecarius is the sole surviving source for the Commemoration of Pope Martin, and four letters from the pope’s hand, all originally composed in Greek. They provide a first-hand account of the arrest of the pope, his trial in Constantinople and his sufferings during his exile in Cherson, up until his death in 655. Collectively called the Narrationes de exilio sancti Martini (BHL 5592), these documents throw significant light on the fraught relations between the eastern and western churches throughout the monothelite controversy, and on the role of hagiography in its aftermath.

Vlad Niculescu, University of Toronto "Coping with the grief of ignorance"

The essay concentrates on the theme of the distance between God and humanity in Evagrius Ponticus’s thought. According to Evagrius the theme of the distance between God and humanity is closely connected to the disciple’s awareness of "the grief of the rational soul condemned to ignorance"(Gnosticus 36). Understanding this grief implies a double analysis, namely that of the Scriptural evidence regarding the fall of the intellects from the initial beatitude and that of the gnostic reception of this evidence. I have tried to show that, for Evagrius, the gnostic reception of the evidence regarding the primordial fall leads to a successful internalization of grief and to the correct diagnosing of one’s own spiritual condition.

Louis Painchaud, Université Laval, « Les codices I, VII et XI de Nag Hammadi comme sous-collection »

Il est désormais généralement admis que la collection de douze ou treize codices découverte à Nag Hammadi en 1945 est secondaire, c’est-à-dire qu’elle a été formée de la réunion de collections antérieures. Une de ces sous-collections est constituée des codices I, VII et XI, rattachés par les scribes qui en ont exécuté la copie. Cette sous-collection présente un certain nombre de caractéristiques linguistiques et doctrinales à partir desquelles on essaiera de cerner la nature du milieu qui l’a réunie et de mettre en lumière certains aspects de la transmission des textes de Nag Hammadi.

Anne Pasquier, Université Laval, «L'Homme» et «le Fils de l'Homme» : étude des titres appliqués au Sauveur dans le traité d'Eugnoste (NH III, 3 et V, 1)

Le Fils de l'Homme chez Eugnoste rappelle par certains aspects la figure qui est décrite «comme un fils d'homme» dans la littérature apocalyptique juive (Daniel 7:13, I Enoch) : la royauté, la cour céleste des anges appelés «saints». Eugnoste porte cependant certains traits distinctifs de la conception du Fils de l'Homme dans le Nouveau Testament. Entres autres, l'expression est devenue un titre, ce n'est pas un personnage futur comme dans le judaïsme, il se manifeste aujourd'hui, il se révèle comme Sauveur avec 12 envoyés. Mais, comme dans plusieurs écrits gnostiques, cette figure est liée à celle de l'Homme céleste. C'est une caractéristique du gnosticisme que de faire la synthèse entre ce qui s'avère être deux traditions. Pourquoi trouve-t-on les deux figures et quelle est leur fonction respective ? c'est ce que nous voudrions explorer à partir d'un texte particulier.

Tim Pettipiece, Wilfrid Laurier University, "Eremos: The desert as a space of transformation in early Christian spirituality"

The desert was the site of a new and transformative spiritual movement that began in Late Antiquity. It functioned as a symbol on many different levels and within many different contexts. On one level, the desert was a place of social and political protest. On another, it was the sacred space in which the individual could struggle against the oppressive elements of the cosmos, renouncing the conventions of urban existence in exchange for a life of simplicity and dependence on God. Most importantly, however, the desert was a space in which a total spiritual transformation could occur, and where the mystery of the Incarnation could be realized in the purification and perfection of the human being. This paper examines the various ways in which the desert was represented in Early Christian sources such as the Historia monachorum and the Apophthegmata patrum, and explores some of its spiritual and theological implications as a space of transformation.

Harold Remus, Wilfried Laurier University, "‘Otherness,’ Conflict, and Persecution in Early Christianity: Social Aspects"

Drawing on various social theorists, this paper looks at various ways in which early Christians were "other" (and not "other") in ancient Mediterranean society, how their "otherness" led to conflicts and persecutions, and how those conflicts changed as Christianity, Empire, and society changed on into Late Antiquity and what some of the consequences were.

Daniel J. Sahas, University of Waterloo, "Maximus as a political Confessor"

Maximus the Confessor (580-662), the monastic theologian and philosopher, was reportedly tried for having "alone betrayed Egypt and Alexandria and Pentapolis and Tripoli and Africa to the Saracens"! Less than a century later another staunch orthodox theologian, John of Damascus (ca.655 - ca. 749), was condemned as "Saracen-minded" and "conspirator against the empire". Prima facie Maximus appears as a most unlikely victim of political persecution, or an agent for understanding the political psychology of the Byzantine empire during his time. It is widely acknowledged that the title "Confessor" he has gained is for his dyothelite vis a vis the prevalent, and official, monothelite theology of his times; but this may not be the full justification of such a title. This paper will present various vitae, not all of them friendly disposed towards him, and especially the record of his so-called trial as evidence of political motivations working against him, especially in the context of the rise of Islam and in conjunction with the earliest Byzantine-Muslim relations. Considering that Maximus' life overlaps with the times of Muhammad (570/1-632), the caliphate of the Rashidûn, and especially the earliest Arab conquests of the coveted provinces of Palestine, Syria and Egypt, Maximus becomes a particularly attractive candidate for such an examination.

Lucian Turcescu, St. Francis University, "Person vs. Individual and Other Modern Misreadings of Gregory of Nyssa"

In this paper I propose to look at Orthodox theologian John Zizioulas’s use of the Cappadocian insights, especially those of Gregory of Nyssa, to shape his own concept of person. I will attempt to demonstrate that although very creative in his own personalistic ontology by trying to integrate the Greek patristic tradition with the modern concerns about person, Zizioulas ends up using modern insights of person which he then tries to foist on the Cappadocian Fathers.

Andrius Valevicius, Université de Sherbrooke, The "Twenty-four Homilies on the Statues" by John Chrysostom. A Careful Reading of the Catalogues Leads to Interesting Discoveries

In this paper I would like to report on my on-going research on the "The Homilies on the Statues" by John Chrysostom. Tradition had it that there were 21, sometimes 22 homilies. I believe there are twenty-four. This breaks with four hundred years of editing tradition. My hypothesis is that the first editor of the text, John Harmar at Oxford in 1590, said that there are 21 homilies and since then he had been blindly followed by all my predecessors: Savile, Fronton du Duc, Montfaucon, even by the editors of the Codices Chrysostomici Graeci, experts like Michel Aubineau and Sever Voicu. How I came upon this discovery and I how I am building my hypothesis is the subject of my paper.

Peter Widdicombe, McMaster University, "The Wounds and the Glorified Body"

Does the glorified body of Christ retain the marks of the wounds? An examination of whether and in what ways the Fathers and others dealt with the question of the resurrected and ascended body.

Note on the Programme: This year’s programme has also been printed, along with the programmes of other member societies of the Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion, as part of a new initiative sponsored by the Corporation. If you were a CSPS/ACEP member in good standing as of March 1, 2001, you should receive a hard copy of the combined programme which I edited. That programme is also available on the Corporation’s website at: http://www2.ccsr.ca/ (The Editor)

There were four submissions for the CSPS/ACEP essay prize. The essays judged to be prizeworthy this year were two: Mona LaFosse, Wilfrid Laurier University, "Montanist Women: A Threatening Image for the Early Church" and Mark Mealey, Wycliffe College, Toronto, "The structure and argument of Leontius of Jerusalem’s Contra Monophysitas" .  Here is what the evaluator had to say about the two winning essays:

"Although quite distinct in subject matter and approach each essay, in my opinion, is deserving of the reward:

[Mona Lafosse's] “Montanist Women: A Threatening Image for the Early Church” extends Margaret MacDonald’s research on Early Christian Women and Pagan Opinion (Cambridge University Press, 1996) significantly into Montanism.  It is no news that women in leadership roles in Montanism were perceived as a threat to the larger church.  The author, through close textual and social-scientific analysis and with reference to the contexts of the larger church and society in general, demonstrates just how and why that was the case.  In Clifford Geertz’s terminology, she provides illuminating “thick description” of what was going on.

[Mark Mealey's] “The structure and argument of Leontius of Jerusalem’s Contra Monophysitas” is a quite different piece:   close textual and structural analysis of Leontius’ piece and its place–and his place--in Chalcedonian-anti-Chalcedonian debates of the sixth centuries.  Like a hound on the trail, the author doggedly [sic] pursues the intricacies of the text, the question of whom Leontius is addressing at which point in the argument and how he is doing it and why; the author relates his findings to the debates of the time, concluding that Leontius was not a “neo-Chalcedonian” who “wishes in a muddled way to have his cake and eat it too” and whose distinction between signs and things would likely have been more acceptable to Leontius’ Cyrillian opponents than it would be to moderns and postmoderns.  (Anyone who can digest that sentence is presumably well-positioned to read Leontius with understanding.)   The author extends, quite significantly, Patrick Gray’s work on Leontius."

For those of you who have not yet made travel, registration and accommodation arrangements for Edmonton, the information is available at the following websites: http://www.hssfc.ca/cong/CongressInfoEng.html (for information in English) and http://www.hssfc.ca/cong/CongressInfofr.html (pour des renseignments en Français).

KEVIN COYLE (St. Paul University) published, "Le role du "bon ordre" dans l'organisation de l'Eglise des premiers siecles" in Marie-Anne Vannier, Otto Wermelinger et Gregor Wurst (eds.), Anthropos Laikos. Melanges Alexandre Faivre a l'occasion de ses 30 ans d'enseignement (Paradosis, 44), Fribourg: Editions universitaires, 2000, pp. 68-79. He also presented a paper entitled "The Self-Identity of North African Christians at Augustine's Time" at a Colloque international sur Augustin: Africanite et universalite in Algiers (April 1 to 7).

NICOLA DENZEY (Skidmore College) has published "Genesis Traditions in Conflict?: The Use of Some Exegetical Traditions in the Trimorphic Protennoia and the Johannine Prologue" in Vigiliae Christianae 55 (2001): 20-44. She has also published a shorter, teaching oriented piece entitled "New Testament Scholarship and the Jesus Seminar" in Teaching Theology and Religion 4/1 (2001): 23-26.

ANNE PASQUIER (Université Laval) présenteras une communication intitulé "La tradition théologique des dénominations de Dieu (epinoiai) dans le gnosticisme. Comparaison avec Origène" au Colloquium Origenianum Octavum, à Pise en Italie (27-31 August 2001): Origen and the Alexandrian Tradition.

HAROLD REMUS (Wilfrid Laurier University) has published "Apuleius to Symmachus (and Stops in Between): Pietas, Realia, and the Empire" in S. G. Wilson and M. Desjardins, eds., Text and Artifact in the Religions of Mediterranean Antiquity (Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2000), pp. 527-50; "Health and Illness" in Erwin Faulbusch et al., eds., Encyclopedia of Christianity, vol. 2 (Leiden: Brill and Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001), pp. 504-05.

DANIEL J. SAHAS (University of Waterloo) published "Bartholomeus of Edessa on Islam. A polemicist with nerve!" in the Proceedings of the Sixth International Congress of Graeco-Oriental and African Studies, ed. by V. Christides and T. Papadopoulos, (Nicosia, 2000), pp. 467-483; "Why did Heraclius not defend Jerusalem, and fight the Arabs?. Échos de l' Orient 24 (1999) 79-97. He participated with a paper on "Byzantine monastic response to the event of Islam" in the Byzantine Monasticisms Conference, St. Michael's College, University of Toronto, 30 March-1 April, 2001.

T. ALLAN SMITH (University of St. Michael’s College) informs us that the Byzantine Monasticisms Conference (30 March – 1 April 2001), sponsored by the Faculty of Theology, attracted thirty-five participants from Europe and North America. Dr. Alice-Mary Talbot, Director of the Byzantine Research Centre at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington DC, and acclaimed scholar of Byzantine women's monasticism, delivered the keynote address, "Laying the Groundwork for a History of Byzantine Monasticism: Recent and Current Projects in Europe and North America." Sixteen papers on the themes of people, philanthropy, forms of asceticism, and monasticizing space and time explored in more depth the varieties of ascetical life and experience which characterize the Byzantine monastic world. Prominent participants included Dr. Robert Jordan of Queen's University, Belfast, and Dr. Demetrios Constantelos of Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. Canadian Byzantinists of note were well represented and included Dr. Richard Greenfield (Queen's), Dr. Daniel Sahas (Waterloo), Dr. Franziska Shlosser (Concordia), and Dr. John Wortley (Manitoba). Greg Peters (PhD cand.) of the Faculty of Theology read his paper "Christodoulos of Patmos: Servant of Christ, Lover of Humankind?" Early registrants enjoyed the commentary of Dr. Sheila Campbell (PIMS) as she guided us through an exhibit at the University Arts Centre, "Orthodox Religious Engravings 18^th – 20^th Centuries." The conference permitted ample opportunity for discussion and exchange of information, both during the formal sessions and in more informal settings. Allan wishes to thank the Dean Brian Hogan for providing financial assistance, and the following doctoral students of the Faculty of Theology for their contributions: Greg Peters for helping to organize the conference from its inception, Michael Attridge for designing the poster, and Brenda Ihssen for helping with registrations and welcoming participants to the conference.

ANDRIUS VALEVICIUS (Université de Sherbrooke) has published "Les 24 homélies De statuis de Jean Chrysostome. Recherches nouvelles" in the Revue des Études Augustiniennes, 46 (2000), 83-91." Andrius also informs us that the Université de Sherbrooke is now offering a specialization in Orthodox Theology in its theology programmes at the Master's and Ph.D. levels. Andrius writes: "Our Certificate in Orthodox Theology at the bachelor's level has been a great success and has fueled a renewed interest in patristics at our faculty. Each semester we have between 50 and 60 students enrolled in our courses at Longueuil. The tradition of the Fathers is very strong among the Orthodox. For our doctoral seminar in the Fall of 2001, we are making arrangements to invite the Very Reverend Professor George D. Dragas of the the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts. Professor Dragas is also editor the of the Greek Orthodox Theological Review."

MARK VESSEY (University of British Columbia) was visiting holder of the Augustinian Endowed Chair in the Thought of St. Augustine at Villanova University, Philadelphia in the fall of 2000, where he gave a series of public lectures entitled "Mediterranean and Atlantic: Augustine of Hippo between His World and Ours," and organized a symposium on "Augustine and the Disciplines." One set of papers from the symposium (Peter Brown, Robert Markus, James J. O'Donnell) will appear shortly in Augustinian Studies. Another is destined for a separate volume, in preparation. On his return to UBC, Vessey took up a Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in "Christianity and Culture" for a research programme on "The Scriptures of Modernity," which will include work on Renaissance and contemporary literature and culture as well as a patristic component.

PASSAGE: Germain Hudon died on January 7, 2001 at 80.  He was a former CSPS president.

On October 26, 2000 at the Campus of the Université de Sherbrooke in Longueuil, Quebec, there was a second meeting of the Institut Sources Chrétiennes Amérique, Inc. Father Dominique Bertrand, S.J. of the Institut des Sources Chrétiennes in Lyon came to Canada for the occasion. The meeting was called in order to define the relationship between our two institutions. Our Canadian organization will be dedicated to the formation of editors of texts. With time, we plan to organize seminars in paleography, codicology and ecdotics. The seminars will be taught by members of the Sources Chrétiennes team in Lyon, invited by us to Sherbrooke, and these seminars will be open to all interested students and scholars, free of charge. The Canadian Society of Patristics Studies is welcome to contribute to the organization of these seminars. We would also like to provide grants for people working on critical editions, permitting them to go and work in the respective European archives, depending on where their needed manuscripts are. Our main project is to provide funding for a Canadian doctoral or post-doctoral candidate to spend three years at Sources Chrétiennes in Lyon in order to learn all the details of the sophisticated art of editing medieval manuscripts. Our Canadian institution does not intend to publish texts. Scholars can present their texts to Sources Chrétiennes in Lyon for publication in the well-known series. Currently, Sources Chrétiennes has published 450 volumes, but the ultimate goal is to publish 2000 volumes (in order to do justice to all the existant patristic literature), so there is enough work for everyone who wants to be involved. We are also in close association with the newly planned series, Library of Early Christian Texts of the Catholic University of America Press, in the organization of this project and mostly, in the formation of future editors, of which there is a grave shortage on this continent. On October 31, 2000 Father Bertrand and Andrius Valevicius had a second meeting with our Washington counterparts at the CUA. Our Canadian institution, which is a charity, now has received its registration numbers and is able to issue both federal and Quebec provincial income tax receipts for all donations."
 

In other news...

The following report highlights some of the key issues that were discussed during the Annual General Meeting. More detailed reports, including those of the workshops and of the electoral colleges, will be posted on the listservs in the coming weeks. On the whole, the meeting generated intense discussions on the needs and aspirations of the associations and universities. The Federation also brought forward, for discussion, a Communications Strategy designed to enhance the links between HSSFC and its members.

Highlights

Communications Strategy (Co-Chairs: President Patricia Clements and University of Alberta representative, Pat Demers.  Members: Noreen Golfman, Peter Suedfeld, Lee Elliott, Susan Bennett, Pierre-Yves Mocquais)

The Communications Plan reviewed the strengths and weaknesses in the Federation's communications with association and university members and with external communities, and it presented recommendations designed to improve two-way communication and to achieve three strategic goals: 1. to strengthen the associations; 2. to bring the Federation to life on
campuses; 3. to intensify and expand the Federation's advocacy activities. It also proposed measures to strengthen and clarify the links between the Federation and the granting councils and to open new avenues of discussion with a greater public in order to raise the profile of the social sciences and the humanities in Canadian society.  The plan concentrates on the strategies and tools associations and universities require to take a pro-active role in the development of issues that are crucial to our disciplines.  Its overall goal is to support the Federation's purpose of strengthening research and connecting communities.

SSHRC Tri-Council Policy on the Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans The President of the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Council, Dr Marc Renaud, addressed the plenary on the subject of funding for the granting council. He discussed  the funding increases received by SSHRC, and encouraged members of the Federation to lobby for even greater funding so social scientists and humanists could benefit from the same success rate as their colleagues applying to the two other granting councils. This kind of proposal would require an additional federal investment of $100 million in the Council's base budget.

Janet Halliwell and Ned Ellis met with the Executive Committee to discuss the priorities of SSHRC for the coming year.  Discussions were held about the on-going relationship between the Federation and the Council and about the renewal of Connections.

Thérèse De Groote and Dr John Adair reported to the plenary on the implementation of the Tri-Council Policy on the Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans. At the outset, researchers in the social sciences and humanities had expressed the concern that the policy was too medically driven.  A year or so after the beginning of its implementation on campuses, SSHRC proposes that an asymmetrical approach be developed and adopted by the Research Ethics Boards. The Council has asked the Federation to conduct a consultation with universities to obtain feedback on the impacts of the implementation.
 
Canada Research Chairs

The Executive Director of the Canada Research Chairs, Dr René Durocher, outlined the various aspects of the programme. Members voiced their concerns about the implementation of the programme, about the allocation formula and, echoing Marc Renaud's comments, about the percentage of Chairs allocated to the social sciences and humanities. Dr Durocher made it clear
that all these issues would be scrutinized in the evaluation planned for the third year that will involve a thorough consultation with the community.

Workshops

Two workshops were held, one for the universities and one for the associations. The workshop for university representatives focussed on the type of information and the manner in which the Federation can support representatives in championing the humanities and social sciences at the university and local levels.  Representatives were extremely forthcoming with ideas and examples of actions and practices already in existence. HSSFC will compile the list and send each representative a copy along with logistical information about lobbying and outreach activities.

The workshop for member associations focussed on best practices in the areas of membership development and retention, association administration and web-based communication and service possibilities. Discussions and actions were planned to increase exchange among associations, to share information and expertise and to collaborate on common services.
 
Electoral Colleges

On Sunday, members met in electoral colleges to discuss the communications plan.  The document generated exciting exchanges and valuable information. The needs were obviously great and the solutions creative. The rapporteurs' reports will be assembled and posted on the electoral colleges' listservs.

New Members

Two new members were voted in: the University of Northern British Columbia and the Canadian Population Society.

Fee Increase

A motion to increase associations' fees was passed.  Detailed information about the fee structure and the rationale for the increase will be provided very shortly.

New Executive - 2000-2001

President - Dr Patricia Clements;
Past-President, Dr Louise Forsyth;
Vice-President External Communications, Mme Denise Pelletier;
Chairperson, ASPP Management Board, Dr Judith Scherer Herz;
Vice-President Research Dissemination, Dr Michael Owen;
Vice-President Women's Issues, Dr Wendy Robbins.

New Board of Directors - 2000-2001
The Board of Directors is composed of: the members of the Executive
Committee; five directors from large societies; four directors from medium
sized societies; three directors from small societies; and five directors
from universities and colleges.

Susan Bennett  (University of Calgary)
Donald Fisher (CSSE/SCEE)
Noreen Golfman (ACCUTE/APACUC)
Ian MacLachlan (University of Lethbridge)
Iain McDougall (CAC/SCEC)
Jennifer McRobert (CPA/ACP)
Anthony Northey (CAUTG/APAUC)
James Ogloff (CPA-Psych/SCP)
Robert O'Kell (University of Manitoba)
Claude Paradis (Université Laval)
Carlos Prado (Queen's University)
Ronald Rompkey (ACS/AEC)
David Seljak (CSSR/SCER)
Mary Vipond (CHA/SHC)
John Williams (CTS/STC)
Gurli Woods (AASSC/AAESC)

Book Prizes

Dr Judith Herz unveiled the activities planned to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Aid to Scholarly Publications Programme  in 2001 and announced the 1999-2000  HSSFC Scholarly Book Prize Winners:

Raymond Klibansky Prize, Humanities
French: Esther Trépanier for Peinture et Modernité au Québec, 1919-1939 (Nota Bene).
English: Donald S. Hair, Robert Browning's Language, University of Toronto Press.

Prix Jean-Charles-Falardeau, Social Sciences, French
Bernard Allaire, Pelleteries, manchons et chapeaux de castor: Les fourrures canadiennes à Paris, 1500-1632, Septentrion.

Harold Adams Innis Prize, Social Sciences, English
Michael Ornstein and Michael Stevenson, Politics and ideology in Canada: Elite and Public Opinion in the Transformation of a Welfare State, McGill-Queen's University Press.