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THEODORET

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Originally appearing in Volume V26, Page 768 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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THEODORET , See also:

bishop of Cyrrhus, an important writer in the domains of exegesis, dogmatic See also:theology, See also:church See also:history and ascetic theology, was See also:born in See also:Antioch, See also:Syria, about 386. At an See also:early See also:age he entered the See also:cloister; and in 423 he became bishop of Cyrrhus, a small See also:city in a See also:wild See also:district between Antioch and the See also:Euphrates, where, except for a See also:short See also:period of See also:exile, he spent the See also:remainder of his See also:life. The date of his See also:death is uncertain, but it must have been at least six or seven years later than the See also:council of See also:Chalcedon (451). Although thoroughly devoted to the ideals of See also:monasticism, he discharged his episcopal duties with remarkable zeal and fidelity. He was diligent in the cure of souls, labouring hard and successfully for the See also:conversion of the numerous Gnostic communities and other heretical sects which still maintained a footing within the See also:diocese. He himself claims to have brought more than a thousand Marcionites within the See also:pale of the church, and to have destroyed many copies of the Diatessaron of See also:Tatian, which were still in ecclesiastical use; and he also exerted himself to improve the diocese, which was at once large and poor, by See also:building See also:bridges and aqueducts, beautifying the See also:town, and by similar See also:works. As an exegete Theodoret belongs to the Antiochene school, of which Diodorus of See also:Tarsus and See also:Theodore of Mopsuestia were the heads. He was not actually the See also:personal See also:disciple of either, but he adopted their methods, though without the consistency and boldness of the first-named. His extant commentaries (those on See also:Canticles, on the Prophets, on the See also:book of See also:Psalms and on the Pauline epistles—the last the most valuable) are among the best performances of the fathers of the church. They are brief, yet not wanting in that See also:element of See also:practical edification on which See also:Chrysostom See also:lays See also:special See also:weight as characteristic of the Antiochenes. In addition to these See also:complete commentaries, we have fragments of some others (of that on See also:Isaiah, for example), principally met with in catenae. There are also special elucidations of some difficult Scripture texts.

Theodoret's See also:

chief importance is as a dogmatic theologian, it having fallen to his See also:lot to take See also:part in the Nestorian controversy and to be the most considerable opponent of the views of See also:Cyril and Dioscurus of See also:Alexandria. For more than twenty years he maintained the struggle against the Alexandrian dogmatic and its formulae (Owi.6.sos, Evwais KaO' inrharaacv, µla &ir6araacs, ;moats Ova-mil, and the like), and taught that in the See also:person of See also:Christ we must strictly distinguish two natures (hypostases), which are See also:united indeed in one person (prosopon), but are not amalgamated in essence. For these years his history coincides with that of the Eastern Church from 430 to 451, and for this very See also:reason it is impossible to See also:sketch it even briefly here (see See also:Hefele, Conc.-gesch., vol. ii.). The issue was not unfavourable to Theodoret's cause, but See also:melancholy enough for Theodoret himself: the council of Chalcedon condemned monophysitism, but he unhappily yielded to pressure so far as also to take part in pronouncing ' See also:anathema upon See also:Nestorius, and upon all who See also:call not the See also:Holy Virgin See also:Mother of See also:God, and who See also:divide the one Son into two." As Theodoret had previously been a See also:constant defender of Nestorius it was impossible for him to concur in this See also:sentence upon his unfortunate friend with a clear See also:conscience, and in point of fact he did not See also:change his own dogmatic position. It is painful, therefore, to find him in his subsequent See also:Epitome classing Nestorius as a heretic, and speaking of him with the utmost hostility. Some of Theodoret's dogmatic works are no longer extant: of his five books IIEpi EvapOpuin aEWs, for example, directed against Cyril after the council of See also:Ephesus, we now possess fragments merely. A See also:good See also:deal of what passes under his name has been wrongly attributed to him. Certainly genuine are the refutation ('Avarporit) of Cyril's twelve avaBEparorµoi of Nestorius, and the 'Epastssns, or IIoXimopoos, (written about 446), consisting of three dialogues, entitled respectively "ArpErros, 'Aotvy uros, and 'AraBits, in which the monophysitism of Cyril is opposed, and its Apollinarian See also:character insisted on. Among the apologetico-dogmatic works of Theodoret must be reckoned his ten discourses IIEpi rpovotas. Theodoret gives a valuable exposition of his own dogmatic in the fifth book of his AiperLKcs KaropwOiae tor,TOpn, already re- ferred to.' This, the latest of his works in the domain of church history (it was written after 451), is a source of See also:great though not of See also:primary importance for the history of the old heresies. In spite of the investigations of Volkmar and See also:Hilgenfeld, we are still somewhat in the dark as to the authorities he used. The chief uncertainty is as to whether he knew See also:Justin's Syntagma, and also as to whether he had See also:access to the Philosophumena of See also:Hippolytus in their complete See also:form.

Besides this See also:

work Theodoret has also See also:left us a church history in five books, from 324 to 429, which was published shortly before the council of Chalcedon. The See also:style is better than that of See also:Socrates and See also:Sozomen, as See also:Photius has remarked, but as a contribution to history the work is inferior in importance. Its author made use of See also:Eusebius's Life of See also:Constantine, and of the histories of See also:Rufinus, Socrates and Sozomen, and probably of Philostorgius as well. He also used other See also:sources, and made a thorough study of the writings of See also:Athanasius, but apart from some documents he has preserved, See also:relating to the Arian controversy, he does not contribute much that is not to be met with in Socrates. As regards See also:chronology he is not very trustworthy; on the other See also:hand, his moderation towards opponents, not excepting Cyril, deserves recognition. The 'E).A71PLK&P BEpa7rcVTLKh raO7iparon' (De Curandis Graecorum Affectionibus)—written before 438—is of an See also:historical and apologetic character, very largely indebted to See also:Clement of Alexandria and Eusebius; it aims at showing the advantages of See also:Christianity as compared with " the moribund but still militant " See also:Hellenism of the See also:day, and deals with the assaults of See also:pagan adversaries. The superiority of the See also:Christian faith both philosophically and ethically is set forth, the chief stress being laid on monachism, with which See also:heathen See also:philosophy has nothing to compare. Much prominence is also given to the cult of See also:saints and martyrs. On this See also:side of his character, however, Theodoret can best be studied in the See also:thirty ascetic See also:biographies of his 'LA60Eos kropia. This collection, which has been widely read, is a See also:pendant to the Historia Lausiaca of See also:Palladius and the monkish tales of Sozomen. For the See also:East it has had the same importance as the similar writings of See also:Jerome, Sulpicius See also:Severus and Cassian for the See also:West. It shows that the " sobriety " of the Antiochene scholars can be predicated only of their exegesis; their style of piety was as exaggerated in its devotion to the ideals of monasticism as was that of their monophysite opponents.

Indeed, one of the See also:

oldest leaders of the school, Diodorus of Tarsus, was himself among the strictest ascetics. 181 letters of Theodoret have come down to us, partly in a See also:separate collection, partly in the Acta of the See also:councils, and partly in the Latin of See also:Marius See also:Mercator; they are of great value not only for the See also:biography of the writer, but also for the history of his diocese and of the church in See also:general. The edition of See also:Sirmond (See also:Paris, 1642) was afterwards completed by See also:Garnier (1684), who has also written See also:dissertations on the author's works. Schulze and Nosselt published a new edition (6 vols., See also:Halle, 1769–74) based on that of their predecessors; a glossary was afterwards added by See also:Bauer. The reprint will be found in vols. lxxx.–Ixxxiv. of See also:Migne, and considerable portions occur in Mansi. The church history has been published frequently in connexion with the histories of Socrates, Sozomen and others, e.g. by Valesius (1693) and See also:Reading (1720). There is an See also:English See also:translation of the history by See also:Bloomfield See also:Jackson in the Nicene and See also:Post-Nicene Fathers, See also:series ii., vol. iii.; the translation including also the dialogues and letters. Besides the earlier labours of See also:Tillemont, See also:Ceillier, Oudin, Du See also:Pin and See also:Fabricius and See also:Harless, see Schrockh, Kirchengesch., vol. xviii.; Hefele, Conc.-gesch., vol. ii.; See also:Richter, De Theodoreto Epp. See also:Paul. Inter prete (See also:Leipzig, 1822) ; Binder, Etudes See also:sus Theodore' (See also:Geneva, 1844) ; Staudlin, Gesch. u. Lit. der Kirchengesch. (See also:Hanover, 1827) ; Kihn, See also:Die Bedeutung der antioch.

Schule (1866); Diestel, See also:

Des A. T. in der christl. Kirche (Jana, 1869); Specht, Theodor v. Mopsvestia ' See also:Roman See also:Catholic writers vary greatly in their estimate of Theodoret's christology and of his general orthodoxy. On See also:Bertram's See also:essay on this subject (Theodoreti, Episcopi Cyrensis, Doctrina Christologica, See also:Hildesheim, 1883), see Theol. Lit.-Ztung. (1883), 563 seq.u. Theodoret v. See also:Cyrus (See also:Munich, 187x); Roos, De Theodoreto Clementis et Eusebii Compilatore (Halle, 1883) ; Nolte in the Tubing. Quartalschr. (1859), p. 302 seq.; Moller, See also:art.

" Theodoret," in See also:

Herzog-Hauck's Realencykl.; Venables's See also:article in See also:Smith and See also:Wace's Dict. g Christian Biography; also Bardenhewer's Patrologie, p. 345 if. On the sources of Theodoret's church history see Jeep, Quellenuntersuchungen z. d. Griech. Kirchenhistorikern (Leipzig, 1884); and especially Giildenpenning, Die Kirchengesch. des Theodoret von Kyrrhos (Halle, 1889). (A. HA.; A. C.

End of Article: THEODORET

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