Date of Award
Summer 2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Theology
First Advisor
Johnson, Mark
Second Advisor
Knox, Lezlie
Third Advisor
Plested, Marcus
Abstract
This thesis investigates the convergences between the Byzantine and Franciscan traditions in the areas of hagiography, mysticism, and dogmatic theology. Historically marginalized in the neo-scholastic synthesis of the nineteenth century, the closeness of Patriarch Bartholomew (b. 1940) and Pope Francis (b. 1936) has symbolized the significance of this dialogue in the modern ecumenical movement. The anonymous bios of St. Nilus of Rossano (d. 1005) and the first vita of St. Francis of Assisi (d. 1226) by Thomas of Celano (d. 1260) are representative of the hagiographical traditions of the Italo-Byzantine monks and the early Franciscans. The traditions came into direct contact in the context of the Second Council of Lyons (1274). Despite the failure of the council to reunify the Greek and Latin Churches, the mysticism of St. Bonaventure (d. 1274) displays significant resonances with the apophatic methodology associated with Eastern Christianity, indicating the compatibility of the emerging Franciscan intellectual tradition with Byzantine theology. While Vladimir Lossky (d. 1958) emphasized that the doctrinal divergence created by the filioque controversy was the primary fracture in the schism between the Eastern and Western Churches, the Trinitarian dogmatics of John Duns Scotus (d. 1308) and St. Gregory Palamas (d. 1359) disclose substantial parallels that transcend this ecclesiological division. The harmonious convergence between the Byzantine and Franciscan traditions offers an important point for further study in the modern renewal of the ecumenical movement.