Back on January 30, 2020 I reviewed a book by the
Evangelical scholar, Michael J. Svigel (link). The book was the second
contribution of his that I have read; the first being a paper that he delivered
back in 2004 at the 56th Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Theological
Society, with the title: Power in Unity Diversity in Rank - Subordination
and the Trinity in the Fathers of the Early Church. [Full
paper available in PDF format HERE.]
This paper is one of the better treatments concerning the doctrine of God in the Greek Church Fathers from the late 1st century through the end of the 2nd century.
This paper is one of the better treatments concerning the doctrine of God in the Greek Church Fathers from the late 1st century through the end of the 2nd century.
As the introduction of the paper explicitly points out,
Dr. Svigel’s analysis/survey is inextricably linked to the Trinitarian
controversy concerning the issue of subordination that arose within Evangelicalism
with the publication of John Dahms' article, “The Generation of the Son”, back
in 1989 [link - see
also his subsequent article].
With the above in mind, I was pleasantly surprised to find
that the majority of the paper remained quite objection in its analyses—the section on Irenaeus being the most in depth
survey. The
quotations from the Greek Fathers concerning the doctrine of God that he
surveys are exhaustive; I noticed only a few notably exclusions—e.g. citations
of Proverbs 8:22 by Justin and Athenagoras with reference to the origin of the
Son of God. [See this thread for the citations.]
I was also pleased that Dr. Svigel touches on the issue of
the monarchy of God the Father. Note the following selections:
In
Ignatius’s thinking the Father is the ultimate authority, the monarchia of
the Godhead, and this relationship seems to precede and transcend the limits of
the incarnation. (Page 7)
…the fact
that for Athenagoras (and, in fact, for all of the writers of the second
century), the monarchia of the Godhead rests with the Father while the
Son and Spirit operate in submission to the Father’s will. (Page 27)
There is
an overwhelming tradition of what is today described as ontological equality
and functional subordination within the Trinity that emphasizes the
monarchia of the Father. While the Son and Spirit are not creatures, the
Father is their head, meaning that all activities conform to his will. (Page
38)
In
ending, though I personally do not fully agree with all of Dr. Svigel’s
assessments, the paper as a whole is a valuable contribution for those folk
interested in the teachings of the early Greek Fathers concerning the doctrine
of God.
Grace
and peace,
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