Download or read book The Macarian Legacy written by Marcus Plested and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2004-09-23 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Macarian writings are among the most important and influential works of the early Christian ascetic and mystical tradition. Marcus Plested deals both with their immediate historical and theological context and with their later influence and circulation - their 'legacy'. His book constitutes the first attempt to examine in detail and in the round the nature of that legacy within the Eastern Christian tradition. This is undertaken not so much as an exercise in source criticism as an exploration of the very nature and dynamic of the Christian paradosis. In short, Plested offers a timely reassessment of the 'place' of the writings in the Eastern Christian tradition, thereby clearing away some of the pre-conceptions that have hindered due appreciation of these remarkable works."--BOOK JACKET.

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies written by Elizabeth Jeffreys and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 1053 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies presents discussions by leading experts on all significant aspects of this diverse and fast-growing field. Byzantine Studies deals with the history and culture of the Byzantine Empire, the eastern half of the Late Roman Empire, from the fourth to the fourteenth century. Its centre was the city formerly known as Byzantium, refounded as Constantinople in 324 CE, the present-day Istanbul. Under its emperors, patriarchs, and all-pervasive bureaucracy Byzantium developed a distinctive society: Greek in language, Roman in legal system, and Christian in religion. Byzantium's impact in the European Middle Ages is hard to over-estimate, as a bulwark against invaders, as a meeting-point for trade from Asia and the Mediterranean, as a guardian of the classical literary and artistic heritage, and as a creator of its own magnificent artistic style.