Patristics and Theology: From Concordance and Conflict to Competition and Collaboration?

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Patristics and Theology: From Concordance and Conflict to Competition and Collaboration?, Page 1 of 1

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The paper addresses the issue of the complex and intricate relationship between Patristics and theology today and offers a history of the discipline of Patristics as well as a historical overview of the relationship between Patristics and its mother discipline: Theology, in its various stages and mainly in continental Europe. The paper refers to the impact of particular confessional understandings with regard to the historical development and interpretation of a theologia patristica. Moreover, the paper examines the role, and transformation of the study of early Christianity in German language Protestant theology with a focus on the secularisation process in modern times. It suggests a new approach based on hermeneutics and the philosophy of science that highlights the importance of theology as an ensemble of possible preconceptions for Patristics. Finally, the paper stresses the importance of the study of Patristics that expands to include a classic history of dogma and theology as well as religious history and a trans-European dimension of the history of early Christianity and argues for the significance of the contribution of theology to this rich field of study.