Nicholas of Methone
Program
April 12
On Proclus: Critics and Comparison
Lela Alexidze | Tbilisi State University
Nicholas of Methone and Ioane Petritsi on Intellect
Levan Gigineishvili | Tbilisi State University
Different Understandings of Proclus’ First Principle(s) in Nicholas of Methone and Ioane Petritsi
2:30 pm: break
István Perczel | Central European University, Vienna
The Place of Ioanne Petritsi’s Putative Greek Manuscript in the Text Tradition of the Elements of Theology
Jan Opsomer | Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Standards of Argument in Nicholas of Methone and Proclus: Comparing the Elementatio theologica with Nicholas’ Attempts to Disarm It
4:15 pm: break
Carlos Steel | Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Nicholas' Critical Comments on the Propositions on the Soul (prop. 184-198)
Christos Terezis | University of Patras &
Lydia Petridou | Hellenic Open University
Ontological Foundations and Methodological Applications of Analogy in Nicholas of Methone: An Example of Realis
April 13
Nicholas of Methone in Light of the Byzantines
Christophe Erismann | University of Vienna
Nicholas of Methone and the Byzantine Debate on the Predestined Terms of Life
Alessandra Bucossi | Università Ca' Foscari Venezia &
Carmelo Benvenuto | Università della Basilicata
12th-century Philosophers and the Filioque: the Case of Nicholas of Methone's Corpus on the Procession of the Holy Spirit
2:30 pm: break
Jonathan Greig | Austrian Academy of Sciences
Nicholas of Methone on the Divine Ideas: Between Proclus, Ps.-Dionysius, and the Early Byzantines
Joshua Robinson | Dumbarton Oaks
The Motion of the Fertile One in Nicholas of Methone and Earlier Sources
Conclusions / Q+A
The Byzantine theologian and philosophical commentator, Nicholas of Methone, bishop of Methone in the 12th century AD, is the focus of an online conference as part of the international ERC project, NeoplAT.
The Greek bishop, Nicholas of Methone, was based in central Macedonia roughly a century after the schism of 1054 between the Eastern and Western Churches. As a Greek Orthodox bishop, he likely wrote treatises against the Latin Church, but modern scholars consider his most important work to be his polemical commentary on the late antique Neoplatonist, Proclus, and his work, the Elements of Theology (Στοιχείωσις θεολογική). One essential claim in Nicholas’ arguments is his critique of the idea that philosophical wisdom rises above the divine.
An online conference at the Institute for Medieval Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, “Nicholas of Methone: Between Neoplatonism and the Byzantine Tradition” is dedicated to the writings of the theologian and philosopher in the context of late antiquity and in the light of Byzantium. The conference is organized by ÖAW researcher, Jonathan Greig (Institute for Medieval Research), as well as Dr. Joshua Robinson (Dumbarton Oaks Research Library) and Prof. Dragos Calma (University College Dublin) — members of the research team of the ERC project, Neoplatonism and Abrahamic Traditions: A Comparative Analysis of the Middle East, Byzantium and the Latin West (9th-16th Centuries).