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 GENNADIUS

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GENNADIUS

last of the old school of polemical writers and one of the greatest. Unlike most of his fellows he had an in- timate acquaintance with Latin controversial litera- ture, especially with St. Tiiomas Aquinas and the Schoolmen. IIo was as skilful an opponent of Catho- lic theology as Marcus Eugenicus, and a more learned one. His writings show him to be a student not only of Western philosophy but of controversy with Jews and Mohammeilans, of the great Hesychast question (he attacked Barlaara and defended the monks; nat- turally, the Barlaamites were \aTeiv6(ppovei), in short, of all the questions that were important in his time. He has another kind of importance as the first Patriarch of Constantinople under the Turk. From this point of view he stands at the head of a new period in the history of his Church; the principles that still regulate the condition of Orthodox Christians in the Turkish Empire are the result of Mohammed H's ar- rangement with him.

Works. — Ciennadius was a prolific writer during all the periods of his life. He is said to have left from 100 to 120 works (Michalcescu, op. cit. infra, 13). Of these a great number are still unedited. P. G., CLX, 320-773, contains the chief collection of what has been published. To this must be adtled the works in vSi- monides, 'Op6. 'EXXtji'. 8eo\oyiKal 7pa0ai (London, 1859), 42-72; Jahn, "Anecilota grsca theologica" (Leipzig, 1893), 1-68, and others mentioned below.

First Period (while he was in favour of the union, 1438-c. 144.5). — The chief works of this time are the "speeches" made at the Council of Florence (printed in Hardouin, IX, and P. G., CLX, 386 sqq.), also a number of letters addressed to various friends, bishops, and statesmen, mostly unedited. An "Apology for five chapters of the Council of Florence", edited first (in Latin) at Rome in 1577, and again in 1628, is doubt- ful (in P. G., (TjIX, it is attributed to Joseph of Me- thone). A "History of the Council of Florence" under his name (in manuscript) is really identical with that of Syropulos (ed. Creighton, The Hague, 1660).

Second Period (as opponent of the union, to his resig- nation of the patriarchal see, c. 1445-1456 or 1459). A great numljer of polemical works against Latins were written in this time. Two books about the "Procession of the Holy Ghost" (one in Simonides, loc. cit., the other in P. G., CLX, 665); another one " against the insertion of the Filioque in the Creed " (ibid., 713); two books and a letter about "Purga- tory"; various sermons and speeches; a "Panegyric of Marcus Eugenicus" (in 1447), etc. Some transla- tions of works of St. Thomas Aquinas, and polemical treatises against his theology by Gennadius are still unedited, as is also his work against the Barlaamites. There are also various philosophical treatises of which the chief is a " Defence of .\ristotle " (di'TiXTji/'eis uw^p 'Apio-TorAous) against the Platonist, Gemistus Pletho (P. G., CLX, 743 sqq.).

His most important work is easily his "Confession" ("EK^etrts TTJs iriareujs tQv dp6od6^cvv xp^<^riavu:v, generally known as'0;HoXo7(a toO Vevvadlov) addressed to Moham- med IL It contains twenty articles, of which however only the first twelve are authentic. It was written in Greek; Achmed, Kadi of Berrhcea, translated it into Turkish. This is the first (in date) of the Orthodox Sym- bolic books. It was published first (in Greek and Latin) by Brassicanus (Vienna, 1530), again by Chytraeus (Frankfort, 1582). Crusius printed it in Greek, Latin, and Turkish (in Greek and Latin letters) in his "Turco- Grajcia" (Basle, 1584, reprinted in P. G., CLX, 333, sqq.). Kimmel has reprinted it (Greek and Latin) in his "Monumenta fidei Eccl. Orient." (Jena, 1850), I, 1-10; and Michalcescu in Greek only [Die Bekennt- nisse und die wichtigsten Glaubenszeugnisse der griech.-orient. Kirche (Leipzig, 1904), 17-21]. There exists an arrangement of this Confession in the form of a dialogue m which Mohammed asks questions ("What is God? "—"Why is he called 9e6s?"— "And VI.— 27

how many Gods are there ? " and so on) and Gennadius gives suitable answers. This is called variously Gen- nadius's "Dialogue" {Sid\e^ii), or "Confessio prior", or " De Via salutis huraanie" (Uepl Trjs oSoO ttjs <TwTT)plas avBp^irtav). Kimmel prints it first, in Latin only (op. cit., 1-10), and thinks it was the source of the Confession (ibid., iii). It is more probably a later compilation made from the Confession by some one else (Otto, op. cit. infra). It should be noticed that Gennadius's (quasi- Platonic) philosophy is in evidence in his Confession (God cannot be interpreted, Se6s from 8hiv, etc. ; cf. Kimmel, op. cit., viii-xvi). Either for the same reason or to spare Moslem susceptibility he avoids the word 'npbahiira. in e.xplaining the Trinity, speaking of the three Persons as Idiii/iara "which we call Hypostases" (Conf., 3).

During the tliird period, from his resignation to his death (1459-1468), he continued writing theological and polemical works. An Encyclical letter to all Christians "In defence of his resignation" is unedited, as are also a " Dialogue with two Turks about the divinity of Christ", and a work about the "Adoration of God". Jahn (Anecdota grteca) has publi-shed a " Dialogue between a Christian and a Jew", and a col- lection of "Prophecies about Christ" gathered from the Old Testament. A treatise, "About our God, one in three, against Atheists and Polytheists" (P. G., CLX, 567 sqq.), is chiefly directed against the theory that the world may have been formed by chance. Five books, "About the Foreknowledge and Providence of God ' ', and a " Treatise on the manhood of Christ ' ', are also in P. G., CLX. Lastly, there are many homilies by Gennadius, most of which exist only in manuscript at Athos ("Codd. Athous", Paris, 1289-1298). A critical edition of Gennadius's collected works is badly needed.

For the question of the supposed two persons, both named George .Scholarius, see Allatius, De Georgiis eorumque scriptis in De Eccl. occid. atque orient, perp. consensiane (Cologne, 1648), III, 5, 6. His theory has been taken up again by Kim- mel, op. cit., ii-vii, but was confuted long ago by Renaudot, Dissertatio deGennadii vita et scriptis (Paris, 1709) in P. G., CLX, 249 sqq. OuDlx, Comment, de Script. Eccles. (Leipzig, 1722), III, 2481; Fabricius-Harles, Bihl. Grceca (Hamburg, 1790). XI, 349; and everyone since maintain the identity of Genna- dius. TrYPHON EvANGELIDES, recfaSto? ^' o 2xoAapios (Athens, 1S96); Sathos, Georgios Scholarios (1895); Draseke in the Byzantinische Zeitschrift, IV (189.5), 3 sqq.; Gedeon, narpiap- XLKoi IIiVaKe? (Constantinople, s. d.), 471 sqq.; Crusius, Tur- cogrtecia, 1, 2; Otto, De^ Patr. Gennadius Confessio kritisch untersucht (Vienna, 1864); Krdmbacher, Byzantinische Litter' atur (2nded., Munich, 1897), 119-121.

Adrian Fortescue.

Gennadius of Marseilles (Gennadius Scholas- Ticus), a priest whose chief title to fame is his continu- ation of St. Jerome's catalogue " De Viris illustribus". Nothing is known of his life, save what he tells us him- self in the last (xcvii) of the biographies in question: "I, Gennadius, presbyter of Mas.silia, wrote eight books against all heresies, five books against Nesto- rius, ten books against Eutyches, three books against Pelagius, a treatise on the thousand years of the Apoca- lypse of John, this work, and a letter about my faith sent to blessed Gelasius, bishop of the city of Rome" (ed. Bernoulli, 95). This fixes his period more or less; Gelasius reigned from 492—496, so Gennadius must have lived at the end of the fifth century

Internal evidence shows that he was a Semipelagian, as indeed the name of hiscity would make one suspect. Of all the works to which he refers, only the " De Viris illustribus" — "this work" — is certainly extant. He tells us further that he translated and restored to their authentic form Evagrius Ponticus's works (xi, 65), and those of Timothy ^Elurus (Ixxii, 86). 'These translations are also lost. He twice mentions a " cata- logue of heretics" that he means to write (xxv, 74, and liii, 79). Presumably this is the work "against all heresies" referred to above. There is a pseudo- Augustinian treatise, "De ecclesiasticis dogmatibus"