New Life in Christ: Salvation in Orthodox Theology

Abstract

O THEOLOGY is, relatively speaking, a newcomer within the fabric of contemporary theology in the West. It is being rediscovered today in the context of the ecumenical movement, but also—perhaps more importantly— in the framework of the to the sources, which characterized post-World War II Roman Catholicism in France and Germany. This return involved a revival of interest in the Eastern Fathers of the Church and the liturgy, as a living witness to the unbroken Tradition of early Christianity. Orthodox Christians indeed understand themselves as heirs of the Greek Fathers, and the liturgy has been for them the central and essential expression of the catholic nature of the Church. During the long centuries which followed the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Orthodox communities of the Middle East and the Balkans had practically no other means of learning about their faith and witnessing to their Christian commitment than the liturgy, but it proved to be powerful enough to keep those communities spiritually alive. In Russia, meanwhile, historical circumstances delayed for long centuries the organic development of theological thought. It finally emerged into modernity within the framework of a Western school system and methodology, introduced in the 18th century by Peter the Great and adopted later in other Orthodox countries as well. I will begin this study by a brief overview of theological trends as they developed in the modern period. Such an introduction is necessary, I believe, to explain the picture of theological diversity and vitality characteristic of Orthodoxy today and rarely noticed in the West, where interest in Eastern Christianity is limited to a few specialists.