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‘Back to the Fathers’: The Nature of Historical Understanding in 20 th century Patristic Ressourcement
Author(s) -
Ip Pui Him
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
reviews in religion and theology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1467-9418
pISSN - 1350-7303
DOI - 10.1111/rirt.12575
Subject(s) - scholarship , style (visual arts) , church fathers , patristics , curiosity , philosophy , epistemology , classics , literature , theology , history , psychology , art , law , social psychology , political science
Patristic ressourcement is a style of twentieth‐century theology that attempts to retrieve and re‐appropriate the classical sources of theology in the patristic period for the present. Its goal is thus always beyond a mere curiosity in historical reality. Its historical engagement is rather driven by the desire to make classical theology ‘alive’ in the present. Such a goal raises a serious question about the nature of historical scholarship carried out in this style of theology: what kind of historical understanding is presupposed by the theologians working in this style? Two recent books have documented the nature of patristic engagement found in two theologians who arguably worked within this style: T. F. Torrance (1913–2007) and Georges Florovsky (1893–1979). This review essay highlights the salient features in these books that provide substantial insights on the question of historical understanding in patristic ressourcement. Because each book carries out a distinct method to understand this style of patristic scholarship, I shall also offer some comments on the merits and limitations of each approach for studying and evaluating the nature of historical understanding in patristic ressourcement.