“Augustine Agreed with Our Teachers”: Interpretations of Saint Augustine’s Triadology in Byzantine Anti-Latin Polemic

Introduction. This article explores the reception of Saint Augustine’s triadology in Greeklanguage polemical literature from the 7th to the 15th centuries. The problem of the reception of Latin thought in Byzantium represents one of the most pressing areas of contemporary Byzantine studies. The research focuses on how Byzantine theologians interpreted Augustine’s Trinitarian doctrine in comparison with Eastern Orthodox theology. Methods and materials. The analysis is based on a corpus of Byzantine anti-Latin polemical writings spanning from Patriarch Photius to Gennadios Scholarios. The study employs diachronic comparative-historical and source-critical methods, alongside theological approaches, including systematic reconstruction and comparative theological analysis. The principal primary sources include key Byzantine texts addressing the Filioque question, as well as the Greek translation of Augustine’s De Trinitate prepared by Maximos Planoudes in the late 13th century. Analysis. Earlier Byzantine theologians demonstrated limited awareness of Augustine’s works and showed general reluctance to attribute authoritative weight to his testimony. A more nuanced approach is present in St. Maximus the Confessor’s letter to Marinus, which proposed a conceptual distinction between the Latin procedere and the Greek ἐκπορεύεσθαι. This interpretation allowed for a more nuanced understanding of the Spirit’s procession “through the Son,” without implying dual hypostatic origination. The translation of De Trinitate by Planoudes expanded the Byzantine engagement with Augustinian thought. In the 14th – 15th centuries, under the influence of Palamite theology, Byzantine authors began to reinterpret Augustine’s triadology in a way compatible with Orthodox doctrine. Results. The reception of Augustine’s Trinitarian teaching in Byzantium evolved from rejection to reinterpretation. By the Palamite period, Byzantine thinkers had developed a coherent hermeneutic that allowed Augustine’s teaching on the Filioque to be understood within an Orthodox framework: the Holy Spirit originates from the Father alone, yet is manifested through the Son as the common gift of both. Funding. The research was carried out with funds of a grant from the Russian Science Foundation, project no. 24-78-10165, https://rscf.ru/project/24-78-10165/.