Simple and Bold : : Ephrem's Art of Symbolic Thought / / Kees den Biesen.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Gorgias Press Backlist eBook-Package 2001-2015
• VerfasserIn: Biesen, Kees den,
• Place / Publishing House: Piscataway, NJ : : Gorgias Press, , [2014]; ©2014
• Year of Publication: 2014
• Language: English
• Series: Gorgias Studies in Early Christianity and Patristics
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (459 p.)

Ephrem the Syrian is known as one of the greatest Christian poets and as a unique author whose mode of thought is usually described as "symbolic." In this work, Kees den Biesen explores the literary, intellectual, and theological mechanisms at work in Ephrem's writings with the specific aim of identifying the exact nature of his "symbolic thought" and evaluating its contemporary relevance. Den Biesen elaborates a comprehensive approach that integrates a variety of methods into a genuinely theological methodology. He then proposes his own comprehensive understanding of the nature and merits of Ephrem's symbolic thought.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Table of Contents -- Preface -- Notes -- Part 1. Approaching Ephrem -- Introduction -- 1. The Discovery of Symbolical Theology -- 2. The Literary Vehicles of Symbolical Theology -- Some Conclusions and Reflections -- Part 2. Word And Silence -- Introduction -- 3. Between Word and Silence -- 4. The Complementary Nature of Word and Silence -- Some Conclusions -- Part 3. Symbol And Intellect -- Introduction -- 5. The Gift of the Word and the Intellect -- 6. The Intelligence of Symbolic Thought -- Ephrem the Artist with Words -- Selection of Texts -- Index of Quotations -- Index of Syriac Terms -- Bibliography -- Index of Authors