ABSTRACT
One of the most striking characteristics of early Christianity was the willingness despite occasional misgivings to engage with Greek philosophy. This chapter presents evidence for the influence of Aristotelianism on Chalcedonian authors and assesses its implications for the development of their theological speculation. It discusses a popular theological handbook from the end of the sixth century, the so-called Praeparatio of Theodore of Raithou. The chapter reviews a fragment from a lost Christological treatise by Heraclianus of Chalcedon, which dates to the first half of the sixth century. It focuses on the treatise De Sectis, which was composed by an anonymous author in Alexandria around the year 600. From the second century onwards Christian writers borrowed terms and concepts from the different philosophical schools in order to formulate their understanding of the Christian God and his relation to Jesus Christ.
