This
is the second book of Christopher Beeley's published works that I have now
read. I first became aware of Dr. Beeley via a link provided by Iohannes in
THIS
COMMENT. [See also this Google
Books Preview.]
I
was thoroughly impressed by his, Gregory of Nazianzus on
the Trinity and the Knowledge of God, so when I discovered The
Unity of Christ during some recent online research, I knew I had to obtain
it—I was not disappointed—this book has reinforced my opinion that Dr. Beeley
is firmly establishing himself as one of the most gifted Patristic scholars of
the early 21st century.
In
The Unity of Christ, Dr. Beeley delves into the
theology of the following Church Fathers: Origen of Alexandria, Eusebius of
Caesarea, Athanasius, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine, Cyril
of Alexandria, and Leo the Great, with an emphasis on development of doctrine and
the formation of the early creeds produced by the councils of Nicaea (325),
Constantinople (381) and Chalcedon (451).
Though all the chapters of the book are quite good,
I particularly appreciated the one devoted to Eusebius of Caesarea (chapter 2,
pp. 49-104). For a number of years now, I have felt that Eusebius' theological
contributions have been either ignored or significantly under appreciated by
most patristic scholars. Dr. Beeley is of the same opinion; he demonstrates
that Eusebius offers much more than his valuable history of the Church, and that he was a major contributor concerning the issue of the monarchy of God the Father.
Anyway, I wanted to bring this excellent book to
the attention of readers who have an interest in patristic studies. Selections
from the book can be read online via this, Google
Books Preview.
For
those who make the decision to purchase the book, I would be very interested in
hearing from you once you have had the opportunity to read it.
Grace
and peace,
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