The Addition of Orthodox Voices to (Western) Political Theology

Abstract

This review article examines the recent and welcome addition of Orthodox voices to a politico-theological discourse that has long been dominated by Catholic and Protestant perspectives. The value of Orthodox political theology to wider ecumenical discussion of politics and theology rests in the unique insights it is able to bring to common questions, such as the Orthodox Church’s place and role in liberal democracies, by virtue of its unique political contexts (post-Communism, Byzantine historical legacy) and theological paradigms ( theosis, symphonia). The article notes the explicit and implicit influence of Western political theology on the nature and shape of contemporary Orthodox political theology and suggests that, as such, the latter can be regarded as forming a new and integral part of the former.