Kairos
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Kairos (καιρός) is an ancient Greek word meaning the "right or opportune moment". It is now used in theology to describe the qualitative form of time. In rhetoric kairos is "a passing instant when an opening appears which must be driven through with force if success is to be achieved." (E. C. White, Kaironomia p. 13)
In theology
In the New Testament kairos means "the appointed time in the purpose of God", the time when God acts (e.g. Mark 1.15, the kairos is fulfilled). It differs from the more usual word for time which is chronos (kronos).
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, before the Divine Liturgy begins, the Deacon exclaims to the Priest, "Kairos tou poiesai to Kyrio" ("It is time [kairos] for the Lord to act"), indicating that the time of the Liturgy is an intersection with Eternity.
In The Interpretation of History, neo-orthodox Lutheran theologian Paul Tillich made prominent use of the term. For him, the kairoi are those crises in history (see crisis theology, Christian existentialism) which create an opportunity for, and indeed demand, an existential decision by the human subject - the coming of Christ being the prime example (compare Barth's use of geschichte as opposed to historie).
In the Kairos Document, an example of liberation theology in South Africa under Apartheid, the term kairos is used to denote "the appointed time", "the crucial time" into which the document / text is spoken.
Many Roman Catholic churches and Roman Catholic schools have "Kairos Spiritual Retreats." In this sense, kairos is adapted to mean "God's time," as per the Bible.
Kairos is also the name of an international Christian prison ministry, which brings the Cursillo method into correctional facilities. [Kairos Prison Ministry] is an independent and highly ecumenical organization that draws its members and leadership from Cursillo groups and from such Cursillo-derived groups as Via de Cristo, Walk To Emmaus, and Tres Dias.
In rhetoric
Kairos was central to the Sophists, who stressed the rhetor's ability to adapt to and take advantage of changing, contingent circumstances. In Panathenaicus, Isocrates writes that educated people are those “who manage well the circumstances which they encounter day by day, and who possess a judgment which is accurate in meeting occasions as they arise and rarely misses the expedient course of action”.
Kairos is also very important in Aristotle's scheme of rhetoric. Kairos is, for Aristotle, the time and space context in which the proof will be delivered. Kairos stands alongside other contextual elements of rhetoric: The Audience which is the psychological and emotional makeup of those who will receive the proof; and, To Prepon which is the style with which the orator clothes their proof.
Compare the use of kairos in rhetoric to the use of kairosis in literary aesthetics.
Kairos is also the name of "a refereed online journal exploring the intersections of rhetoric, technology, and pedagogy."[link]
See also
KAIROS IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY
In Trogir, Croatia, in the Convent of the Benedictine Nuns, is displayed a marble bas-relief of Kairos from the 3rd century B.C., a naked young man, running. According to ancient Greeks, Kairos was the god of the "fleeting moment," " a favorable opportunity opposing the fate of man." The moment must be grasped (by the tuft of hair on the forehead of the fleeing figure), otherwise the moment is gone and can not be re-captured (shown by the back of head being bald.)
A bronze statue known in literature and made by the famous Greek sculptor Lysippos from Sikyon was probably the model for the bas relief. Kairos is described in the verses of the poet Posidippos.
Source: Brochure from museum at Convent of the Benedictine Nuns, Trogir, Croatia
Further reading
- R. B. Onians, The Origins of European Thought (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1951), pp 343-49
- E. C. White Kaironomia: on the will to invent (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1987)
- Leonard Sweet Missed Moments (Rev. Magazine Jan/Feb 2005), pp. 36
- Mick Doherty "Kairos: Layers of Meaning" (Dept of English, Texas Tech University) http://english.ttu.edu/kairos/layers/start.html
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