Amphilochius of Iconium: A preacher of fourth-century Cappadocia in the context of the history of liturgy, church and preaching

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Harald Buchinger
• Subject Area: Roman Catholic Theology
• Term: from 2013 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 239800299

The fourth century AD is a key period in church history in which Christianity advanced from being the faith of a persecuted fringe group to become the state religion of the Roman empire, and ecclesiastical doctrine was laid down with ever greater definition. The liturgy also underwent fundamental changes, the most conspicuous innovation being the explosive development of festal cycles (Easter, Christmas, feasts of the saints) at the end of the century. The radically changed social form and the new culture of festal celebration presented new challenges to preachers, whose response is most importantly reflected in the flourishing new genre of festal sermons.The Cappadocian bishop Amphilochius of Iconium lived and worked in a centre of these developments, though his remarkable oeuvre has hitherto been overshadowed by the theology of the "Three Great Cappadocians" (Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa), with whom he was connected by blood and friendship. The analysis of his sermons thus promises a wide variety of insights into one of history's most interesting periods of upheaval, particularly with respect to the interplay between rapid diversification and standardization in Christian festal celebration, religion, and life, and to the underlying concerns, strategies, and methods of ecclesiastical preaching at this time.Situated at the interface between Liturgics and Patristics, the project is to pursue the following goals: 1) To put all further research on a firmer footing by checking the authenticity of the writings attributed to Amphilochius through an examination of their language, style, and content; 2) To draw up the first comprehensive account of Amphilochius's life and oeuvre for one century; 3) To analyze Amphilochius's preaching with regard to style and rhetoric, liturgical content, exegesis, ecclesiastical doctrine, and church history, and to put it in its correct context; 4) To use the liturgical findings to establish a more differentiated picture of the development of feasts within the most important formative period of the liturgical year; and 5) To compare Amphilochius's sermons with others, in order to enrich our picture of preaching in the life of Christian communities at the end of the fourth century.A thorough examination of the sermons promises to yield new and significant insights in numerous fields, notably: festal theology and the understanding and development of liturgy in the fourth century; the use of scripture and exegesis in the preaching of the early church; the history of Cappadocian theology and doctrine; the appropriation of methods of Greek rhetoric; and the subject matter and strategies of preaching within the church's altered social form and in relation to its social environment.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants