Book contents
- The Humanity of Christ as Instrument of Salvation
- The Humanity of Christ as Instrument of Salvation
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- A Note on Translations
- Introduction
- Part I Foundations and Statements of the Doctrine
- 1 Scripture and Conciliar Teaching
- 2 St. John Damascene, St. Maximus the Confessor, and the Earlier Greek Fathers on the Instrument Doctrine
- 3 St. Thomas Aquinas on the Instrument Doctrine
- Part II Difficulties and Resolutions
- Part III Theological Implications
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
2 - St. John Damascene, St. Maximus the Confessor, and the Earlier Greek Fathers on the Instrument Doctrine
from Part I - Foundations and Statements of the Doctrine
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 August 2025
Book contents
- The Humanity of Christ as Instrument of Salvation
- The Humanity of Christ as Instrument of Salvation
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- A Note on Translations
- Introduction
- Part I Foundations and Statements of the Doctrine
- 1 Scripture and Conciliar Teaching
- 2 St. John Damascene, St. Maximus the Confessor, and the Earlier Greek Fathers on the Instrument Doctrine
- 3 St. Thomas Aquinas on the Instrument Doctrine
- Part II Difficulties and Resolutions
- Part III Theological Implications
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
St. Thomas Aquinas developed his account of the instrument doctrine by carefully attending to the work of St. John Damascene, in particular Book III of his On the Orthodox Faith. The Damascene himself was drawing upon a long tradition of reflection on Christ’s humanity that reaches as far back as Origen. In this chapter, John’s account of the doctrine and its basis in Maximus the Confessor’s writings is assessed, and five synthetic propositions are brought forward to summarize the doctrine. These propositions are nearly the same as what we find in Aquinas’s mature Christology. This chapter shows that far from being unique to Aquinas’s own Christology, the instrument doctrine is a basic patristic desideratum.
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- The Humanity of Christ as Instrument of SalvationA Study in Thomistic Christology, pp. 31 - 65Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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