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John Zizioulas is renowned for his controversial reflection on the ontological freedom as the cause and cipher of God¿s being, which also has important implications for anthropology, ecclesiology and ecumenical dialogue. This view is bound up with a personalist conception of the Trinity, recognised in the teaching of the Greek Church Fathers, in which the person represents the primary ontological category. In particular, Zizioulas shows how, by virtue of the Father, personhood coincides with absolute freedom. In The Father¿s Eternal Freedom, Dario Chiapetti explores this ontology. Taking into account Zizioulas' epistemological principles, his patristic reading and his theological development, the author systematically presents Zizioulas' thesis, verifying its conformity to dogma and its internal coherence. Chiapetti analyses how Zizioulas' proposal brings back to the centre of systematic theology the teaching of the Greek Fathers, especially the Cappadocians, and the apophatic horizon of dogmatic reflection. Such reflection pushes the discourse on God to its maximum degree, identifying and bringing out, rather than resolving or attenuating, the aporetic terms that structure it.

St Dunstan of Canterbury (909-88) was the central figure in the development of English church and society after the death of King Alfred. Douglas Dales traces Dunstan's life beginning with his education at the great monastery of Glastonbury of which he became abbot. He was a central figure at the court of the kings of Wessex but was banished, partly because of his hostility to the king's mistresses, and went to exile in Flanders. After his return he was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury. During the twenty-eight years of his primacy he carried out one of the major developments of the century, the reformation of the monasteries. The millennium of Dunstan's death provides an opportunity to examine him not merely as a prelate and royal advisor, but to see other aspects of his life: his skills as a craftsman caused him to be adopted as the patron saint of goldsmiths; some of his work as calligrapher and artist survives to this day; the coronation service which he drew up still lies at the heart of this service for English monarchs today; he was famed for his musical skills; above all, the sanctity of his name and the fame of his miracles kept Dunstan's memory alive. Douglas Dales' re-examination of the life and times of Dunstan sets his achievements against the social and religious background of the day, at a time when new forces were emerging that would shape the future of England and the English Church for centuries to come.

In general, Revelation studies continue to favour going outside or behind the text (in search of its context of origin, via the historical-critical paradigm) or, more recently, in front of the text (to investigate the book's reception history, past and present). To date, relatively little synchronic exegetical work inside the text has been undertaken, with the aim of understanding the text as we have it and on its own terms. To facilitate such work, narrative criticism has supplied some much-needed tools and methods, although these are mainly used to explore the mechanics of how a text 'works' via an examination of its moving parts. Campbell uses this methodology in a way that respects Revelation's narrative verve, adjusting and supplementing it so as to take account of the book's sophisticated thematic content. The result is a coherent and satisfying account of how Revelation's complex parts fit together into a meaningful whole. Throughout, the author is motivated by the conviction that the Church requires a biblical-theological appreciation of Revelation's story, developed from inside the text. This involves relating Revelation adequately to the rest of Christian Scripture - both to the Gospels and Epistles and to the Old Testament, to which it so frequently alludes.

“On the way where a man follows Christ, the height of suffering is the height of glory.”So writes Kierkegaard, long considered the father of existentialism, in his comprehensive explanation of how suffering in all its forms is transformed into joy by faith in God. As an integral part of his ‘Edifying Discourses’, Gospel of Sufferings bears witness to Kierkegaard’s transition from a general religious and philosophical standpoint to a specifically Christian one, forming what is now considered a central plank in the structure of his mature thought. In this classic volume, the great Danish thinker brings together elements that show him to be at once a mystic and a theologian, confirming his status as a precursor of the existentialists and a brilliant philosopher in his own right.

An exposition of Orthodox systematic theology, Gazing on God is written from the point of view of the experience of the faithful, drawing on traditional icons and liturgy. By tracing the depth of some key Christian concepts —salvation, Logos, the Trinity— Andreas Andreopoulos provides a framework for the theology of experience. In the following chapters seven select icons are analyzed, in order to demonstrate the theological ideas and themes that may be revealed by studying Christianity through iconography. The analysis touches on topics such as time (the eternity of God, ‘flat’ liturgical time), space, the Church as the Body of Christ, and the Trinity.Gazing on God offers to all Christian traditions a demonstration that, while our understanding of the development of Christian views and attitudes is guided by the history of theological ideas, Christianity includes from the beginning a strong dimension of meta-linguistic knowledge, which is expressed in its liturgy, as well as in its symbolism.

Finally filling the gap between specialist volumes and ‘companion texts’, Charles Miller's rigorous and well written exploration of the works and theology of Richard Hooker is a comprehensive and critical testament to one of the most important founders of Anglican thoughtMiller introduces the main theological topics in Hooker’s writings and identifies his distinctive contribution to the emergence of Anglicanism via discussion of such themes as Hooker’s conception of God, of Mankind and of the place of Scripture in the Church. These discussions are deeply founded on Hooker's own works and Miller makes good use of the yet un-translated work L’Anglicanisme de Richard Hooker by Olivier Loyer, which has not been frequently cited in English language scholarship until now. Richard Hooker and the Vision of God is a groundbreaking new text that serves as both an introduction to, and substantive analysis of, this hugely influential sixteenth-century theologian.

Was Mary Magdalene really mistaken when she took the Risen Lord to be a ‘gardener’ working near the tomb where Christ was laid after the crucifixion? In this compelling volume, Anthony M. Moore persuasively argues that Jesus must be recognised, at a theological level, as the Gardener: the Creator-God Himself.The author skilfully examines the strong evidence available to the reader that the narrative material of the Book of Signs ( John 2-12), together with the ‘High Priestly Prayer’ of John 17, is deliberately infused with the fundamental theme of creation. The first sentence of the Gospel, ‘in the beginning’, meaningfully echoes the start of Genesis, and sets the tone for what is to come. ‘Creation indicators’, or leitmotifs, which link the signs narratives in the Fourth Gospel to the sequence of the days of creation, are unpicked in this volume in a careful survey of the placement of particular nouns and verbs within the narratives and how often they occur. Upon these foundation s, the author builds his strikingly original thesis: that each miraculous ‘sign’ of John 2-12 corresponds to a day of creation, and that, subtly but unmistakably, John intends to reveal Jesus as the Creator in all His glory.A book that offers a novel and enlightening way of reading John’s Gospel, 'Signs of Salvation' will interest any reader seeking a deeper understanding of a fundamental truth about Christ’s nature: He is the God of creation, at one with and participating in the creative work of the Father.

In this compelling narrative, Bernard Heyberger relates the fascinating history of Hindiyya 'Ujaymi, a highly charismatic eighteenth-century mystic of sinister repute.Heyberger makes a careful study of Hindiyya's life from earliest childhood, with a detailed picture of her formative years in the eighteenth century Christian community of Aleppo, the domestic reality of which is little known, exploring the influences she would have experienced. He leads us through her spiritual development under the direction of the Jesuits, her determination to found a new religious order, and the tragic history of its collapse in a welter of paranoia and persecution. Heyberger also reveals the tensions and complex rivalries at play around Hindiyya between Rome, the Jesuits, and Eastern tribes, which were also beset by feuds and alliances. He makes extensive use of a wide variety of sources, from Hindiyya's own writings to reports from her confessors and Roman inquisitors, to shed light upon the Hindiyya affair. 'Hindiyya, Mystic and Criminal' relates the history of a woman of inflexible power of will and great charisma, who managed to move beyond the circumscribed world of her girlhood and realise what she believed to be her destiny. It will be of great interest to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of an affair which has been long obscured by contradictory reports, or to those interested in eighteenth-century Maronite Christianity and its complex interactions with the authority of Rome.

‘Send Back the Money!’ is a thorough and gripping examination of a fascinating and forgotten aspect of Scottish and American relations and Church history. A seminal period of Abolition activity is exposed by Iain Whyte through a study of the fiery campaign ‘Send back the Money!’ named after ‘the hue and cry of the day’ that encapsulated the argument that divided families, communities, and the Free Church itself.This examination of the Free Church’s involvement with American Presbyterianism in the nineteenth century reveals the ethical furore caused by a Church wishing to emancipate itself from the religious and civil domination supported by the established religion of the state. The Free Church therefore found an affinity with those oppressed elsewhere, but subsequently found itself financially supported by the Southern slave states of America. Whyte sensitively handles this inherent contradiction in the political, ecclesiastical, and theological institutions, while informing the reader of the roles of charismatic characters such as Thomas Chalmers and Frederick Douglass. These key individuals shaped contemporary culture with action, great oratory, and rhetoric. The author adroitly draws parallels from the twentieth century onwards, bringing the reader to a fuller understanding of the historic and topical issues within global Christianity, and the contentious topic of slavery.‘Send back the Money!’ throws light upon nineteenth-century culture, British and American Abolitionists, and ecclesiastical politics, and is written in a clear and engaging style that makes the book ideal for scholars and general readers.

Scholar, ecclesiastic, teacher and poet of the eighth century, Alcuin can be seen as a true hidden saint of the Church, of the same stature and significance as his predecessor Bede. His love of God and his grasp of Christian theology were rendered original in their creative impact by his gifts as a teacher and poet. In his hands, the very traditional theology that he inherited, and to which he felt bound, took new wings. In that respect, he must rank as one of the most notable and influential of Anglo-Saxon Christians, uniting English and continental Christianity in a unique manner, which left a lasting legacy within the Catholic Church of Western Europe. This book is intended for the general reader as well as for those studying, teaching or researching this period of early medieval history and theology in schools and universities.

Douglas Dales provides a comprehensive study of the life of one of the most underrated figures of the early medieval Western Church. Alcuin left behind him a varied selection of correspondence and other documents which attest to his prominence as a statesman, theologian, poet, friend, and teacher. In this, the first study to fully examine the full span of Alcuin's life and the lasting effect of his actions, the author deftly weaves together the primary manuscript evidence to record Alcuin's transition from a precocious schoolboy of noble lineage in York to his involvement with Charlemagne, Offa, and the papacy in Rome.Alcuin was a conscious heir to the rich traditions of the English Church, and his skill as a poet of prayer, as well as an educator, marks him out as a seminal influence upon his own generation and those that came after him. This book examines his life and career in England and on the continent, and considers his legacy as a churchman and a leading political figure. While Dales places Alcuin firmly within his Christian cultural inheritance and historical context, he also traces from the surviving evidence the subtle and nuanced elements of Alcuin's personality and relationships.