01/07/2026 09:00 - 12:20

HALL: Parenzo - A12

Chair: Juurikkala O.

Contact: Bennett D.

Augustine of Hippo is frequently characterized—and often critiqued—as a thinker of dualisms: nature and grace, city of God and city of man, spirit and matter. However, such readings overlook the Christological center that holds these poles in a dynamic, sacramental tension. This panel explores the "Christological key" to the Augustinian doctrine of creation, arguing that for Augustine and his successors, the mystery of the Incarnate Word is inseparable from the ontological structure of the cosmos. As the Ars Patris (the Art of the Father), Christ is not merely an external redeemer but the very blueprint through whom all things were made and in whom all things consist.


The panel invite patristic scholars, systematic theologians, and ethicists to explore the vitality of the Augustinian tradition in addressing contemporary questions. We invite contributions from historical exegesis as well as contemporary systematicians and ethicists to explore how an Augustinian "Christology of Creation" offers a robust framework for interdisciplinary dialogue today from a "thick" description of reality that is at once deeply scriptural, philosophically sophisticated, and ethically urgent for a world facing ecological and social fragmentation.


Possible thematic contributions include:
•? ?Historical & Exegetical: Reassessing the relationship between the Logos and the rationes seminales (seed-like principles) in Augustine's Genesis commentaries.
•? ?Theological Aesthetics: Exploring the connections between natural beauty, the imagery of nature, and Christ.
•? ?Science & Religion: How a Christocentric metaphysics provides a "grammar" for the natural sciences, moving beyond the conflict model to see creation as a structured expression of Divine Wisdom.
•? ?Ethics & Ecology: Utilizing the Totus Christus (the Whole Christ) framework to develop a non-anthropocentric ecological ethic and a Christologically grounded natural law.