Editing Gennadius Scholarius (section)

=== Second Period (anti-Union) ===
A great number of polemical works against Latins were written in this time. Two books about the ''Procession of the [[Holy Ghost]]'';<ref>One in Simonides, the other in ''Patrologia Graeca'', CLX, 665</ref> another one "against the insertion of the ''[[Filioque]]'' in the Creed";<ref>''Patrologia Graeca'', CLX, 713</ref> two books and a letter about "[[Purgatory]]"; various sermons and speeches; a ''[[Panegyric]] of [[Mark of Ephesus]]'' (in 1447), etc. Some translations of works of Saint Thomas Aquinas, and polemical treatises against his theology by Gennadius II are still unedited, as is also his work against the Barlaamites. However, his hostility toward Aquinas can be overstated. Marcus Plested observes that Gennadius II's "love and esteem for Thomas was to continue undimmed throughout his career although he would often accentuate the note of caution in later works". Despite his cautions, Gennadius writes of Thomas "We love this divinely-inspired and wise man".<ref name="Luis Petit p. 129"/>

There are also various philosophical treatises of which the chief is a ''Defence of Aristotle'' (''antilepseis hyper Aristotelous'') against the Neoplatonist, [[Gemistos Plethon]].<ref>''Patrologia Graeca'', CLX, 743 sqq.</ref>

His most important work is easily his "Confession" (''Ekthesis tes pisteos ton orthodoxon christianon'', generally known as ''Homologia tou Gennadiou'') addressed to [[Mehmed II]]. It contains twenty articles, of which however only the first twelve are authentic. It was written in Greek; Achmed, [[Qadi]] of [[Veria|Berrhoea]], translated it into [[Turkish language|Turkish]]. This is the first (in date) of the Orthodox Symbolic books. It was published first (in Greek and Latin) by Brassicanus (Vienna, 1530), and again by Chytræus (Frankfurt, 1582). [[Martin Crusius]] printed it in [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Latin]], and Turkish (in Greek and Latin script) in his ''Turco-Græcia'' (Basle, 1584 reprinted in ''[[Patrologia Graeca]]'', CLX 333, sqq.). Rimmel reprinted it (Greek and Latin) (in his ''Monumenta fidei Eccl. Orient.'', (Jena, 1850), I, 1–10.); and Michalcescu in Greek only. There exists an arrangement of this Confession in the form of a dialogue in which Mehmed asks questions ("What is God?" – "Why is he called ''theos''?" – "And how many Gods are there?" and so on) and Gennadius II gives suitable answers. This is called variously Gennadius II's ''Dialogue'' (''dialexis'', διάλεξις), or ''Confessio prior'', or ''De Via salutis humanæ'' (''Peri tes hodou tes soterias anthropon''). Rimmel prints it first, in Latin only, and thinks it was the source of the Confession. It is more probably a later compilation made from the Confession by someone else. It should be noticed that Gennadius II's (quasi-Platonic) philosophy is in evidence in his Confession (God cannot be interpreted, ''theos'' from ''theein'', etc.; cf. Rimmel). Either for the same reason or to spare Muslim susceptibility he avoids the word ''Prosopa'' in explaining the [[Trinity]], speaking of the three Persons as ''idiomata'' "which we call [[Hypostasis (philosophy and religion)|Hypostases]]".