Orthodox Theology Research Articles

‘One Baptism for the Remission of Sins’: Exploring the Harmony Between Christian Platonism, Reformed Soteriology, and Credobaptism

Abstract In recent years, Protestant theology—particularly of the Reformed and evangelical variety—has shown an increased interest in historical retrieval. Various theologians have engaged in the work of mining the Great Tradition of Christianity in order to resource contemporary theology with wisdom from the past. Presupposed in this work of retrieval is a claim that is by no means a foregone conclusion for Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox theologians: the notion that Protestants also lay claim to the Great Tradition of the ‘one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.’ Protestant theologians working on retrieval believe they are drawing from their own heritage, not the heritage of another. While it may appear counterintuitive to do so, this paper seeks to defend this notion by drawing together three terms commonly considered disparate: Christian Platonism, Reformed soteriology, and Baptist sacramentalism. It disputes two popular insistences: first, that Reformed soteriology depends on a nominalism that contradicts the realism of the Christian-Platonic metaphysical tradition; and second, that the Baptist view of baptism amounts to mere symbolism (and thus depends on nominalism in another sense). This paper therefore argues not only that Reformed evangelicals, broadly speaking, lay rightful claim to the Great Tradition (and specifically, its metaphysics), but also that Baptists in particular share this heritage.

THE REASONS (LOGOI) OF CREATION, PREMISES OF THE FULFILMENT OF GOD'S ETERNAL PLAN

The reasons (logoi) of creation, premises for the fulfilment of God's eternal plan. In order for the world to move towards the purpose for which it was created and to share in God's grace, it must have been created with this capacity and predisposition. It must be capable of receiving the grace that sanctifies it and of containing certain potencies that are actualized in the sense intended by the Creator. These potencies have been much spoken of in Orthodox theology, and are known as the rations (logoi) of creatures

The Content and Functioning of the Concept of "Individual" in Modern Orthodox Theological Anthropology

The Content and Functioning of the Concept of "Individual" in Modern Orthodox Theological Anthropology

Theological Genealogies of Modernity: An Introduction

Theological Genealogies of Modernity: An Introduction

Intersectionality and Orthodox Theology: Searching for Spandrels

The author argues that Orthodox theology and intersectionality can be mutually illuminative both in theory and in praxis ordered to dismantling interlocking systems of oppression and to the creation of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. By taking an approach that looks for spaciousness for the “both/and” to exist, rather than single-axis thinking, the author seeks to model what intersectional coalition can look like with Orthodox theology. The author overlays the Orthodox concepts of sobornost’, icon, and theosis with the intersectional concepts of coalition, subjectivity, and the basement metaphor, tying theory to activist praxis with beloved community, emergence, and transformative justice.

Orthodox Christianity in the United States: A challenge for the study of American religion

AbstractArguably one of the oldest forms of Christianity, with a global population of more than 260 million adherents, Orthodox Christianity is a major religious system, with networks of believers on almost every continent. However, within the study of American religion, as well as most of the social sciences and humanities (not including theology), Orthodoxy has received minimal research and interest. The broad omission of Orthodoxy from the history of American religions pushes a question to the fore: Why are some forms of Christianity at the very edge of our academic topography? This article explores existing literature on Orthodox Christianity in the United States, looking at issues between emic and etic studies, notions of Eastern Christian alterity, and the rise in new research at the intersection of contemporary social issues, Orthodox theology, and religious practice. In doing so, this article draws out how Orthodoxy provides rich American religious histories tied to global politics, immigration, and nationalism, while also prompting us to reconfigure how we study religion in the United States.

A Sacred Cyberspace? Towards the Ontology of Virtual Worship

Abstract Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Orthodox Church was compelled to move its worship to online platforms. What does such a shift mean in terms of liturgical theology and ontology? To what extent, and in what sense, is participation possible online? How does the virtual space function as a liturgical space? What kind of ontological and aesthetic problems are involved? Orthodox theologians have not yet developed answers to such questions. This paper approaches the problem in the light of Pseudo-Dionysian ontology, supplemented by Alexander Schmemann’s ideas, proposing that virtual worship offers a new sub-category of liturgical reality that reflects the higher forms of reality. To paraphrase the words of Pseudo-Dionysius, cyberspace constitutes a medium in which “like represents like,” though it uses formations that are “even entirely inadequate and ridiculous.”

Interpretation of the Concept of Social Constructivism by L. S. Vygotsky through the Semiotics of Education, the Theory of Transcendence in Education and the Theology of Personality by V. N. Lossky

The subject of the work is the theses of the concept of developmental learning, semiotics of education, theory of transcendence in education, and theology of personality. The aim of the research is to develop a practical pedagogical method based on the discussed concepts. The author demonstrates the key positions of the concept of developmental learning, such as the zone of proximal development and scaffolding; reveals the understanding of education as a semiotic system and the participation of transcendent reality in it; and outlines the main theses of the theology of personality by V.N. Lossky. Then the author combines the aforementioned theories to create a pedagogical method, which he defines as an integration of the developmental learning approach with the position of the theology of personality. The author's special contribution is the generalization of scattered concepts into unified conclusions and the development of a practical pedagogical method, which includes a number of theses, specific components of a case for conducting a lesson as a template, and instructions for implementing the case in accordance with the generally accepted stages of a lesson also in the form of a template. The author concludes that the developed case is universal and can be applied at different levels of education. The author also notes the value of the material based on which the method was developed for further study of each of the presented areas of science. The author emphasizes that the application of the method is not limited to the religious context, as the method was developed based on non-religious research, and the positions of Orthodox theology of personality correspond to the presented theories of modern philosophy of education.

Развитие организационной самостоятельности студентов в образовательной среде высшей духовной школы

The article raises the actual problem of the formation of the educational environment of the theological school, which goes beyond the historically established framework of the dogmatic environment and is understood as a dogmatic and creative vector of the formation of the environment, which ensures the development of personality traits of seminary students, which include organizational independence as a manifestation of their activity. The article states that this vector makes it possible to understand spiritual education as an integrated polyfunctional concept, in which quality is ensured by the synthesis of dogmatic and creative vectors of development (according to V. A. Yasvin).Materials and methods. Based on the experience of a qualitative and substantive examination of the educational environment of the Penza Orthodox Theological Seminary, the conditions and opportunities for developing the ability to self-organize, increasing independence and responsibility in the learning process in a higher theological educational organization are revealed. The features of the adaptation of students of the zero and first years of study to the dogmatic and creative educational environment are described. The results of assessing the ability to self-organization of students of theological seminary studying in the field of study 48.03.01 "Theology" (undergraduate level), obtained using the questionnaire E. Yu. Mandrikova, are presented.Results. The article presents the experience of forming the educational environment of the theological school and describes the organizational and pedagogical conditions that contribute to self-organization at the stage of professional training of theologians. The results obtained indicate that the organizational independence of students is formed with a different view of the personality, which means that it allows building other learning strategies in a reasonable combination of strict rules of the dogmatic environment and elements of the creative environment with the possibility of building an individual development trajectory.Findings. It is concluded that the educational environment of the theological school should be aimed at helping students develop a high coefficient of organizational independence in a balanced combination of dogmatic and creative educational environments.

Traditional “African Anarchism” and Orthodox Theology. Is a Dialogue between them Possible?

This article has a twofold aim. It offers a study of precolonial African politicalsystems, and especially those which are often referred to as “traditional African anarchism.” These, despite their influence on many independence movements and political theories and practices in contemporary Africa are mostly ignored in theology, certainly outside of Africa. But the article seeks to engage with them and to study their correspondence to certain strains of Orthodox theology, which question the entrenched hierarchism within the Church. The approach of the article is not simply to excavate historically interesting material, but to seek to demonstrate how traditional thought can inspire political and theological discussions today, both within the context of the Orthodox Church and more broadly among Christians.

О двух синтезах профессора С.С. Хоружего

Two trends in Russian religious thought – Russian religious philosophy and Or­thodox theology – for a long time developed separately. In their history, they have followed different paths, they have different destinies, significant connec­tions have not been established between them, and their synthesis has not oc­curred. This problem has become the subject of special attention of the Russian philosopher, Professor Sergey S. Horujy. Capturing the philosophical signifi­cance of the hesychast turn in Orthodox theology, Sergey S. Horujy transferred it to philosophy. Having made three turns – hesychast, anthropological and phe­nomenological – Sergey S. Horujy carried out a synthesis in Russian religious thought on the path of reconstruction of hesychast anthropology. And having cre­ated his own anthropological concept – synergistic anthropology, Sergey S. Ho­rujy thus accomplished the synthesis of philosophy and religion at the present stage of their development. S.S. Horujy distinguishes three types of ultimate hu­man manifestations and three ways of unlocking, opening oneself to the Other: ontological, ontic and virtual. Their description forms the basis of synergetic an­thropology. Going beyond anthropology in the established sense of the word, synergetic anthropology, developed by Sergey S. Horujy, goes beyond the scope of philosophy. Arising on the basis of Orthodoxy, this discipline also goes be­yond Christianity and can become the center around which all the disciplines of modern humanitarian knowledge will unite.

Letter from Bishop Nicholai Velimirovich to Reverend Protopresbyter Stevan Dimitrijević on December 12, 1921

In the Provincial State Archives of Kosovo and Metohija, in the legacy of the distinguished professor and dean of the Orthodox Theological Faculty Archpriest Stevan Dimitrijević, a letter from the Bishop Nicholai (Velimirovich) of Ohrid was found, addressed to Dimitrijević on December 12, 1921. It reveals the Bishop’s thoughts on the God Worshiper movement [or God–Prayer movement — Bogomoljački pokret in Serbian], a brief mention of the disorderly situation in the bishopric entrusted to him, as well as his position that the armed incursions of the Serbian army into the territory of Albania, after the end of hostilities and after the end of the First World War, were wrong. Bishop Nicholai did not comment extensively on Church issues, even though he was the canonical bishop of certain church municipalities in Northern Albania. Although he informed both the state Serbian authorities and the higher ecclesiastical authorities of the Serbian Orthodox Church about the fact that he was prevented from pastoral work and service in the mentioned geographical area, he did not describe it in more detail, because, most likely, he later talked verbally with archpriest Dimitrijević about all the mentioned issues in Southern and Old Serbia.

Theosis : Salvation as Transformation

This paper aims to explore some of the basic tenets of the Eastern idea of theosis and to try an assessment. The Orthodox theologians hold that theosis has a strong biblical basis. The Petrine passage about our becoming “participants in the divine nature” is understood as meaning that although Christ alone is God by nature, all people are called to become God “by participation.” In the Orthodox theological tradition, the doctrinal basis of man’s deification is found in the hypostatic unity between the divine and the human nature in Christ. Though fully man, Christ does not possess a human hypostasis, which implies that Jesus’ hypostasis has a fundamental affinity with all human personalities. Human persons are called to participate in the deified humanity of Christ’s and to share in its deification. The Orthodox distinction between the divine essence and the divine energies enable the Eastern Church to affirm the possibility of a direct or mystical union between man and God, but at the same time we exclude any pantheistic identification between the two. Also the Orthodox theologians emphasize that a person becomes the perfect image of God by discovering his or her likeness to God, which is the perfection of the nature common to all human beings. While the Western doctrines of sin and salvation have been dominated by legal, juridical and forensic categories, the Byzantine doctrine of theosis clearly shows that salvation is transformation, not simply remissions of sins. Salvation means our being united with God. To be saved is to be one with the Father through the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Orthodox doctrine of theosis has a strong point that it is a more positive concept than ‘remissions of sins,’ or ‘satisfaction,’ which, I believe, may have a corrective value in regard to the ‘forensic’ characteristics of Western soteriologies.

Imam Gazzali: A Great Philosopher of Islam

Imam Gazzali is known one of the most prominent and influential philosophers, theologians, jurists, logicians and mystics of the Islamic Golden Age. He is considered to be the 5th century’s mujaddid, means a renewer of the faith, who, according to the prophetic hadith, appears once every hundred years to restore the faith of the Islam and its community. His works were so highly acclaimed by his contemporaries that al-Ghazali was awarded by the honour of the title “Hujjat al-Islam” means “Proof of Islam” Gazzali believed that the Islamic spiritual tradition had become moribund and that the spiritual sciences taught by the first generation of Muslim had been forgotten. This belief led him to write his mugnum opus entitled ‘Ihyaulumad-din’ (The Revival of the Religious Science). Among his other works, the Tuhfat al- Falasifa (Incoherence of the philosophers) is a landmark in the history of philosophy, as it advances the critique of Aristotelian science developed later in 14th century in Europe. Others have cited his opposition to certain stands of Islamic philosophy as a detriment to Islamic scientific progress. Besides his work that successfully changed the course of Islamic philosophy the early Islamic Neo-Platonism that developed on the grounds of Hellenistic philosophy, for example, was so successfully criticized by al- Ghazzali that it never recovered—he also brought the orthodox Islam of his time in close contact with Sufism. It became increasingly possible for individuals to combine orthodox theology and Sufism, while adherents of both camps developed a sense of mutual appreciation that made sweeping condemnation of one by the other increasingly problematic.Al-Ghazzali occupies a unique position in the history of Muslim religious and philosophical thought by whatever standard we may judge him. Al-Subki went so far in his estimation of him as to claim that if there had been a prophet after Muhammad, al-Ghazzali would have been the man. Various spiritual phases developed by him. He was in turn a canon-lawyer and a scholastic, a philosopher and a skeptic, a mystic and a theologian, and a moralist. His position as a theologian of Islam is undoubtedly the most eminent. Through a living synthesis of his creative and energetic personality, he revitalized Muslim theology and reoriented its values and attitudes.His combination of spiritualization and fundamentalism in Islam had such a marked stamp of his powerful personality that it has continued to be accepted by the community since his time. His outlook on philosophy is characterized by a remarkable originality which, however, is more critical than constructive. In his works on philosophy one is struck by a keen philosophical acumen and penetration with which he gives a clear and readable exposition of the views of the philosophers, the subtlety and analyticity with which he criticizes them, and the candour and open-mindedness with which he accepts them whenever he finds them to be true. Nothing frightened him nor fascinated him, and through an extraordinary independence of mind, he became a veritable challenge to the philosophies of Aristotle and Plotinus and to their Muslim representatives before him, al-Farabi and ibnSina. The main trends of the religious and philosophical thought of al-Ghazali, however, come close to the temper of the modern mind. The champions of the modern movement of religious empiricism, on the one hand, and that of logical positivism, on the other, paradoxical though it may seem, would equally find comfort in his works. The teachings of this remarkable figure of Islam pertaining either to religion or philosophy, either constructive or critical, cannot, however, be fully understood without knowing the story of his life with some measure of detail, for, in his case, life and thought were one: rooted in his own personality. Whatever he thought and wrote came with the living reality of his own experience.

Christos Yannaras's View on the History of Western Theology from St. Augustine to Nietzsche

The article analyzes the anti-Western and radically anti-ecumenical theology of the Greek Orthodox thinker Christos Yannaras and his idea of gradual centuries-old deviation of Western theology from the authentic tradition of the early Church Fathers. The study touches upon such subjects as intellectual influences on the process of formation of Yannaras’s thought, the role of the apophatic mystical tradition in Christian theology, and the basic roots of his radical anti-Scholasticism. The article also contains the detailed survey of Yannaras’s analysis of Friedrich Nietzsche’s ‘God is dead’-concept as the natural final point of the Western intellectual discourse’s degradation and dechristianization. There’s also a set of counterarguments from Yannaras’s opponents – Eastern Orthodox theologians Pantelis Kalaitzidis and Vasilios Makrides – who stand for dialogue, openness, ecumenical activity and inclusiveness of the modern Orthodox Church and reject any attempts of its intellectual self-isolation and solipsization.

The question of human in the philosophy of archimandrite Theophan (Avsenev)

The article deals with the philosophical anthropology of the original Russian thinker, Archimandrite of the Russian Orthodox Church Theophan (Avsenev). He formulated the original philosophical doctrine of human, based on patristic theology, philosophy of Platonism and schellingian philosophical anthropology. The philosopher distinguishes between the human body, the physical component that connects human with the inorganic being and the world of plants and the spirit that connect human with the God. The worldly inclinations of the soul connect human with animals. And the spirit aspiring to God is the true essence of human. But since God is immense and unattainable in his essence, human reveals Godly perfection in the world as truth, beauty, and goodness. Theophan (Avsenev) reveals in philosophical anthropology an important moral aspect of his philosophical system, considering human mortality as a result of the deviation of existence from the original plan for it. Therefore, the philosophical system of Theophan (Avsenev) is considered in the context of the soteriological line of Russian moral philosophy. In philosophy Theophan (Avsenev) not only human, but the being needs to be saved. Thus, in the philosophy of Theophan (Avsenev) received an expression of all the most substantial features of the original Russian philosophy: desire for sobornost, ontologism, cosmologism, appeal to the person, the rejection of absolute death. Nevertheless, the original philosophical system of one of the most original representatives of the Kiev theological academic school of Archimandrite Theophan (Avsenev), which stood at the origins of the Russian religious and philosophical Renaissance, has not been studied and is a white spot on the map of the history of Russian philosophical culture. Of course, without addressing the gaps cannot build the big context of Russian philosophy, the relevance of the construction of which now pay attention to many important contemporary historians of Russian philosophy: for example, S. Khoruzhii, V. Varava, etc. It should be pointed out that a special role in the formation of the original Russian philosophy was played by the Russian theological academic tradition, which was a truly original and unique phenomenon. Thus, the study of philosophy Theophan (Avsenev) is not only important in the context of the history of Orthodox theology and Russian philosophy, but in the process of finding prospects of Russian philosophy and the ways of its development.

“Your Faith has Healed You”: Christian Orthodox Theology’s Ethical Consideration on Placebos

ABSTRACT Although there is no consensus on how placebos actually work, their association with the concept of faith is considered to play a key role. In modern medicine, the traditional use of placebos raises bioethical concerns, despite the fact that it has shown extremely positive results over time. Orthodox Christian moral theology has not yet divulged its views on the matter, although several of its Church Fathers and secular theologians have evaluated the concepts of falsehood, autonomy, and, of course, faith. Thus, by examining these notions, could we conclude the morality of the practice, from the point of view of Christian Orthodox bioethics? This is the question this paper will answer to.

Dijalog između pravoslavne teologije i nauke u savremenom dobu

The paper deals with the relationship of Orthodox theology and science throughout history and also considers contemporary dialogue of Orthodox theology and science. The foundational principle laid in the thought of Cappadocian Fathers emphasizes theosis as communion of man with God. The next segment deals with the paradox in the search of high knowledge: the highest thing we are looking for is beyond our knowledge, which is the exact reason why Basil of Caesarea has approved of human reasoning and development of human intellect. There is also an important theologian, Gregory Palamas, who has indicated that we cannot come to knowledge of God through secular science but through faith, contemplation and practices of asceticism, from which we are receiving true knowledge. His views are close to the axiom of Gregory the Theologian: Faith is what gives fullness to our reasoning. Then, a contemporary dialogue between Orthodox theology and science is also considered through the lenses of these theologians: Alexei Nesteruk, who represents the phenomenological approach to the relation of Orthodox theology and science; Stoyan Tanev, George Dion Dragas and Kyriacos Markides who represent reconsideration of the relationship between Orthodox theology and science through an anthropic principle; and Christopher Knight who pleads for theological naturalism. We conclude that phenomenological approach of Alexei Nesteruk - who has believed that interference between science and theology is possible by utilization of transcendence and asymmetry between theology and science for better understanding of existential condition of the human person - is close to the patristic view of theology and science.

An Unexpected Literary Depiction of Late Imperial Clerical Life: the Promotion of Catholicism in Nepokladnye Liudi: Povest-Biografiia iz Zhizni Pravoslavnago Dukhovenstva (Inflexible People: an Account-Biography from the Life of the Orthodox Clergy) by A. N. Zviezdin (Priest Aleksei Zerchaninov)

One of the more curious texts produced in the Russian Orthodox clerical milieu is the 1904 novel Nepokladnye liudi. At first glance, it seems to belong to the “insider” clerical exposé started by the works of Priest Ioann Beliustin. While Nepokladnye is written by an Orthodox cleric and set in the Russian Orthodox clerical milieu, however, its over-riding goal is to promote Roman Catholicism. Nepokladnye thus combines two fundamentally distinct genres: the “insider”, semi-autobiographical Russian Orthodox clerical novel, and the polemical apologia for Roman Catholicism. Its criticism of the Russian clerical milieu is not limited to the usual accounts of venality, poverty, and alcoholism, but also attacks Orthodox liturgy, Orthodox theology, and sexual abuse by Orthodox clergy. While more of tendentious tract than a literary landmark, the semi-autobiographical novella is an informative and neglected curiosity that deserves to be better known.

Bogoslovsko-eklisiološka analiza pojma "Crkvena muzika" u svetlu antropološkog poimanja muzike

Throughout centuries, the concept of church music has held significant importance within the Orthodox Church. Its positive reception in the life of the Serbian Orthodox Church is evident by its frequent usage to describe various musical practices, such as: 'church singing, 'choral singing, 'polyphonic singing (or singing from sheet music)', 'Serbian folk singing', 'Karlovac chant', 'Belgrade chant' or 'Byzantine chant'. Drawing from anthropological research, we establish the definition of music through two interdependent approaches. Music is a cultural construct that lacks uniqueness and universality, but rather possesses a multitude of meanings dependent on collective and individual perspectives. Simultaneously, music is a cultural phenomenon that engenders diverse forms of identity, ranging from ethnic, gender, individual, collective, to local or global identities. From the perspective of Eucharistic theology, the Church is presented as the Mystery of unity between the created and the uncreated, founded in the Trinitarian nature of existence. The identity of the Church is not confined to historical and institutional frameworks, but is found in eschatology - the Kingdom of God. The Eucharistic church singing is examined in relation to church music and its connection with the anthropological understanding of music. The findings are analyzed from the standpoint of Orthodox ecclesiology. This paper aims to explore whether the identification of Eucharistic church singing with music, as a human category, can be positively argued within Orthodox theology.