Logos and Logoi

The ontology of Maximus the Confessor

The doctrine of the logoi is Maximus the Confessor’s most significant addition to patristic theology, metaphysics and cosmology. It is simply impossible to understand the worldview of St. Maximus–one that is unapologetically Christo-centric–without at least a basic grasp of the doctrine of the logoi. One of the world’s foremost Maximus scholars, Fr. Nikolaos Loudovikos (whose work we have covered in depth on our channel), says that the doctrine of the logoi is essentially a synonym for “the ontology of Maximus the Confessor,” as it reveals how God shares His existence—the only existence that truly is—with His creation.  

While St. Maximus is undoubtedly a metaphysician who makes use of many classical metaphysical categories and concepts, he is first and foremost a Christian. Thus, his ontology is thoroughly and inescapably theological, and his theology is thoroughly Christological. And so, it is impossible to understand Maximus’ doctrine of the logoi without knowing that they all exist in and as the Logos, and that the Logos exists in communion with His Father and His Spirit:

…the many logoi are one Logos, seeing that all things are related to Him without being confused with Him, who is the essential and personally distinct Logos of God the Father, the origin and cause of all things, in whom all things were created, in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities: all things were created from Him, through Him, and return unto Him.¹

The Logos is the Word of God, Jesus Christ, who created the world in the beginning and united God and man through His incarnation into human flesh. The Word is consubstantial with the Father; as such, He is everything that the Father is aside from being the Father, who alone is the source of the Son and the Spirit. The divine essence or substance, “what” it means to be God, is eternally shared by Father, Son and Holy Spirit. While Maximus and the Fathers say we cannot provide a definition or know the divine essence in its fullness, they will nonetheless assert that it is revealed in His energies or activities. The divine energies are things we can say about God, things He has revealed about His character and His essence. We know God to be loving, all-knowing, and all-powerful; love, knowledge, and power are three divine energies that all three divine persons equally possess, as the energies reveal the hidden essence that all three persons have. To understand the doctrine of the logoi and the Logos, it is crucial to take the doctrine of the divine energies into account.