Presence and Thought: Essay on the Religious Philosophy of Gregory of Nyssa (A Communio Book)

Rating:
Summary: A theological beauty of a book
Review: The outstanding quality of Hans Urs von Balthasar's thought stems, I believe, from his early, pioneering work in Patristics. He wrote three seminal studies of three of the greatest and most influential of the patristic writers, Origen, Gregory of Nyssa and Maximus the Confessor, and he drew the core principles of his own systematic thinking from the writing of these giants of Christian metaphysics and spirituality. This book is the second of these studies, and it simply is one of the best and most perceptive analyses of St. Gregory in print. Everything Balthasar says about beauty as a key to theology and spirituality, for example, can be found in the writings of St. Gregory of Nyssa, the patristic apostle of beauty as a Divine attribute and gift. This book is a must for both those interested in St. Gregory and for those looking for an insight into von Balthasar.

Rating:
Summary: A theological beauty of a book
Review: The outstanding quality of Hans Urs von Balthasar's thought stems, I believe, from his early, pioneering work in Patristics. He wrote three seminal studies of three of the greatest and most influential of the patristic writers, Origen, Gregory of Nyssa and Maximus the Confessor, and he drew the core principles of his own systematic thinking from the writing of these giants of Christian metaphysics and spirituality. This book is the second of these studies, and it simply is one of the best and most perceptive analyses of St. Gregory in print. Everything Balthasar says about beauty as a key to theology and spirituality, for example, can be found in the writings of St. Gregory of Nyssa, the patristic apostle of beauty as a Divine attribute and gift. This book is a must for both those interested in St. Gregory and for those looking for an insight into von Balthasar.