Abstract
The SCM Studyguide to Early Christian Doctrine and the Creeds by Piotr Ashwin-Siejkowski provides a chapter-by-chapter overview of select creedal statements. The twofold intent of the work is to provide an entry for readers seeking to navigate the complexity of Patristic thought and to prevent them from becoming ‘lost in a multitude of details’ (p. xxix).
Advocating a critical and contextual approach, the author takes select creedal statements as the starting point for each of the 11 chapters. While no rationale is given for this particular division, the work largely follows the Apostles’ Creed commencing with ‘Belief in God the Father Almighty,’ and culminating with ‘Life Everlasting.’ Each chapter in turn generally follows a chronological format in which post-apostolic fathers, apologists, and later theologians are referenced along with available dissenting voices from Gnostic or Arian sources. For instance, the first entry, ‘God the Father,’ contrasts the Gnostic conception of the divine with Irenaeus’s before moving on to Origen, the debate between Athanasius and Arius, and the finally the Cappadocian formulation of Father as a metaphor for the ineffable God. The same pattern of tracing various interpretations, controversies, and contributions to the development of thought on given creedal phrases holds throughout the work.
The advantage to the chosen approach is that the reader is not left wading through a procession of Christological debates from start to finish. Chapter four, ‘Pontius Pilate: Jesus’ Crucifixion and death’ and ‘Descent into Hell,’ respectively, breathes fresh air to introductory Patristic texts. In exploring the crucifixion under Pilate, Ashwin-Siejkowski picks up a relatively uncontroversial topic; here he traces the view of Pilate in Justin Martyr as the crucial link between history and salvation and Hebrew prophecy; for Tertulian the cross brings satisfaction (satisfactio), whereas for post-Nicean thinkers like Cyril of Alexandria attention is given to the divine logos who is condemned to death and suffers under Pilate.
Likewise, the survey of the ‘Descent into Hell’ in Chapter five considers the ultimate extension of Christ’s descent from heaven. This particular doctrine proved malleable to shifting theological contexts and developed accordingly. For instance, in the dialogue with Trypho, Justin appeals to the descent to the dead as further evidence of Jesus’ messianic status. For Clement, it is part of the process of the economy of salvation where the Gospel is offered to deceased pagans free from idolatry (such as those who followed the teaching of Plato or Pythagoras). Chrysostom marks it as sign of Christ’s ultimate victory over sin and death—and so on.
The chosen methodology is laudable since it brings Patristic perspectives on an eclectic range of topics like the ‘Forgiveness of Sins’ (Chapter nine) and the ‘Resurrection of the Body’ (Chapter ten) into a single-volume work. Here one is given insight into how remission for sin is approached by Origen, the Coptic tradition, or the Syrian Book of Steps. Yet, readers, and the undergraduate target audience in particular, may sense a lack of overall cohesion. Key terms, for instance, are highlighted and explained alongside the text, but are not integrated into its overall discussion. ‘Middle Platonism’ is defined on page 2, whereas only on page 206 is the interrelated concept of ‘Neoplatonism’ first introduced in conjunction with a discussion on Augustine’s eschatology. A sense of a lack of synthesis is also evident in the concluding sections of each chapter; once the perspective of various thinkers has been given, the reader is left with pieces of a mosaic, not a mosaic itself. Moreover, a sustained discussion of the councils which directly formed and informed the creeds is not present in the body of the text. Only in an appendix are we offered a brief overview of the first five ecumenical councils. To discuss the creeds first and provide mention of the councils in passing is akin to putting the cart before the horse.
Despite this sense of disjointedness, readers will benefit from the linear approach offered by Ashwin-Siejkowski. Following the creed as a template, the work brings to light a sense of the polyphony of voices which sought to interpret and discern the meaning of the life of Jesus and the NT texts. It may also benefit students of early Christian thought as a reference to the various creedal statements and basic Christian doctrine. If anything, the book allows one to appreciate and reflect upon the spectrum of topics contained within the creed.