Reconstruction of the earthly life events of the Most Holy Theotokos in the teaching of the late Byzantine Church Fathers of the XIVth century

Abstract

The article studies the theological contribution of seven late Byzantine holy fathers of the XIV century: St. Gregory Palamas, St. Nicholas Cabasilas, St. Gregory of Sinai, St. Callistus I of Constantinople, St. Theoleptus of Philadelphia, St. Philotheus Kokkinos, St. Isidore Buchiras, carrying out the theological reconstruction of the earthly life of the Most Holy Theotokos, starting from Her eternal election and coming into the world, the Annunciation, the Nativity of Christ — to the suff ering at the Cross of Her Divine Son and Her glorious Dormition. Consolidating the contributions into a holistic teaching and citing the assessments of their points done by wellknown modern theologians, the author also emphasizes the key diff erences between the deeply Orthodox teaching of the holy fathers of the 14th century and the modern interpretations of Roman Catholic Mariology.