The Quarterly Journal of St. Philaret’s Institute

This article was written in response to the shock waves caused in Byzantine liturgiology by the suggestion of Prof. Joseph Patrich of the Department of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem that the Mystagogy of Maximus Confessor may be commenting not on the Byzantine Liturgy, as hitherto always presumed, but on the hagiopolite liturgy of Palestine, where we now know Maximus was born and entered monasticism. Through a careful review of the facts of Maximus’ Vita with its many geographical displacements, and a comparative analysis of his Mystagogy with the eucharistic liturgies of the Byzantine and hagiopolite traditions, this study has advanced suasive (if not definitive) arguments in favor of continuing to consider Maximus’ Mystagogy a Byzantine liturgical commentary. The article was originally published in: BBGG. 2011. S. III. N 8. P. 223–270.