Orthodoxy

Abstract

Orthodox theologians were aware of developments in Western thinking in the nineteenth century, and sought to define their religious and cultural identity in relation to them. In Russia, this found expression in the Slavophile movement and the ‘Russian School’ with its notion of ‘Godmanhood’. Within the latter context, Soloviev’s controversial sophiology was to exercise an important influence. By the end of the century, prominent members of the intelligentsia had begun to return to Orthodoxy in a movement known as the ‘Russian religious renaissance’. In the Greek-speaking world, the guiding spirit was Korais, who saw it as his mission to bring to Greece the values of the Enlightenment. Koraism inspired the liberal wing of the Greek Church, which was vigorously opposed by the conservatives. The complex relationship between the imitation of Western patterns of thought and the recovery of older Orthodox traditions has left an indelible mark on modern Orthodox theology.