Eastern Orthodox theologians of the 20th century

Georges Florovsky

During the 1930s, Georges Florovsky

Georges Florovsky

Georges Vasilievich Florovsky was an Eastern Orthodox priest, theologian, historian and ecumenist. He was born in the Russian Empire, but spent his working life in Paris and New York...

undertook extensive researches in European libraries and wrote his most important works in the area of patristics as well as his magnum opus

Masterpiece

Masterpiece in modern usage refers to a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or to a work of outstanding creativity, skill or workmanship....

, Ways of Russian Theology. In this massive work, he questioned the Western influences of scholasticism

Scholasticism

Scholasticism is a method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academics of medieval universities in Europe from about 1100–1500, and a program of employing that method in articulating and defending orthodoxy in an increasingly pluralistic context...

, pietism

Pietism

Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late 17th century to the mid-18th century and later. It proved to be very influential throughout Protestantism and Anabaptism, inspiring not only Anglican priest John Wesley to begin the Methodist movement, but also Alexander Mack to...

, and idealism

Idealism

In philosophy, idealism is the family of views which assert that reality, or reality as we can know it, is fundamentally mental, mentally constructed, or otherwise immaterial. Epistemologically, idealism manifests as a skepticism about the possibility of knowing any mind-independent thing...

on Russian theology and called for a re-evaluation of Russian theology in the light of patristic writings. One of his most prominent critics was Nikolai Berdyaev

Nikolai Berdyaev

Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev was a Russian religious and political philosopher.-Early life and education:Berdyaev was born in Kiev into an aristocratic military family. He spent a solitary childhood at home, where his father's library allowed him to read widely...

, the religious philosopher and social critic.

John Meyendorff

John Meyendorff was a modern Orthodox scholar, writer and teacher. He was born into the Russian nobility as Ivan Feofilovich Baron von Meyendorff , but was known as Jean Meyendorff during his life in France.Fr John Meyendorff retired as Dean of St Vladimir's Seminary on June 30, 1992...

's doctoral dissertation on Palamas is considered to have transformed the opinion of the Western Church regarding Palamism. Before his study of Palamas, Palamism was considered to be a "curious and sui generis example of medieval Byzantium's intellectual decline". Meyendorff's landmark study of Palamas however, "set Palamas firmly within the context of Greek patristic thought and spirituality" with the result that Palamism is now generally understood to be "a faithful witness to the long-standing Eastern Christian emphasis on deification (theosis) as the purpose of the divine economy in Christ."

Roman Catholic Jean-Yves Lacoste

Jean-Yves Lacoste

Jean-Yves Lacoste is a philosopher associated with what Dominique Janicaud called the "theological turn in phenomenology" along with other influential French phenomenologists like Michel Henry, Jean-Luc Marion, and Jean-Louis Chrétien...

describes Meyendorff's characterization of Palamas' theology and the reception of Meyendorff's thesis by the Orthodox world of the latter half of the 20th century:

For J. Meyendorff, Gregory Palamas has perfected the patristic and concilar heritage, against the secularizing tide that heralds the Renaissance and the Reformation, by correcting its Platonizing excesses along biblical and personalist lines. Palamitism, which is impossible to compress into a system, is then viewed as the apophatic expression of a mystical existentialism. Accepted by the Orthodox world (with the exception of Romanides), this thesis justifies the Palamite character of contemporary research devoted to ontotheological criticism (Yannaras), to the metaphysics of the person (Clement), and to phenomenology of ecclesiality (Zizioulas) or of the Holy Spirit (Bobrinskoy).

A number of notable Orthodox theologians such as John Romanides

John S. Romanides

John Savvas Romanides was a Greek Orthodox priest, author and professor who, for a long time, represented the Greek Church to the World Council of Churches. He was born in Piraeus, Greece, on 2 March 1928 but his parents emigrated to the United States when he was only two months old. He grew up in...

have criticized Orthodox theologian Meyendorff's understanding of Palamas as flawed. Romanides argued that Meyendorff's entire characterization of Palamas' teachings was erroneous, criticizing what he called Meyendorff's "imaginative theories concerning Palamite monistic prayer and anthropology, and Incarnational and sacramental heart mysticism." According to Duncan Reid, the theme of the debate between Meyendorff and Romanides centered on the relationship between nominalism and Palamite theology. Romanides characterized Meyendorff as engaged in an "obsessed struggle to depict Palamas as an heroic Biblical theologian putting to the sword of Christological Correctives the last remnants of Greek Patristic Platonic Aphophaticism and its supposed linear descendants, the Byzantine Platonic-nominalistic humanists." Orthodox theologians such as John Romanides, Alexander Golitzin, and Andrew Louth have argued against Meyendorff's interpretation of the works of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, also known as Pseudo-Denys, was a Christian theologian and philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, the author of the Corpus Areopagiticum . The author is identified as "Dionysos" in the corpus, which later incorrectly came to be attributed to Dionysius...

and have strenuously asserted the Orthodoxy of the Dionysian corpus.

John Romanides

John Romanides contributed many speculations, some controversial, into the cultural and religious differences between Eastern and WesternChristianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

, and how these divergences have impacted the ways in which Christianity has developed and been lived out in the Christian cultures of East and West.

His theological works emphasize the empirical basis of theology called theoria

Theoria

For other uses of the term "contemplation", see Contemplation Theoria is Greek for contemplation. It corresponds to the Latin word contemplatio, "looking at", "gazing at", "being aware of".- Introduction :...

or vision of God, (as opposed to intellectual-contemplative) as the essence of Orthodox Theology. He identifiedHesychasm

Hesychasm

Hesychasm is an eremitic tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some of the Eastern Catholic Churches, such as the Byzantine Rite, practised by the Hesychast Hesychasm is an eremitic tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some of the Eastern Catholic Churches,...

as the core of Christian practice and studied extensively the works of 14th century hesychast and theologian St.Gregory Palamas

Gregory Palamas

Gregory Palamas was a monk of Mount Athos in Greece and later the Archbishop of Thessaloniki known as a preeminent theologian of Hesychasm. The teachings embodied in his writings defending Hesychasm against the attack of Barlaam are sometimes referred to as Palamism, his followers as Palamites...

.

His research on Dogmatic Theology led him to the conclusion of a close link between doctrinal differences and historical developments. Thus, in his later years, he concentrated on historical research, mostly of the Middle Ages but also of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Romanides criticized Meyendorff's understanding of Palamas as flawed. Romanides described Myendorff as engaged in an "obsessed struggle to depict Palamas as an heroic Biblical theologian putting to the sword of Christological Correctives the last remnants of Greek Patristic Platonic Aphophaticism and its supposed linear descendants, the Byzantine Platonic-nominalistic humanists."

Vladimir Lossky

Vladimir Nikolayevich Lossky was an influential Eastern Orthodox theologian in exile from Russia. He emphasized theosis as the main principle of Orthodox Christianity....

's main theological concern was exegesis on mysticism in the Orthodox tradition. He stated in The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church that the Orthodox maintained their mystical tenets while the West lost them after the East-West Schism

East-West Schism

The East–West Schism of 1054, sometimes known as the Great Schism, formally divided the State church of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western branches, which later became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, respectively...

. A loss of these tenets by the West was due to a misunderstanding of Greek terms such as ousia

Ousia

Ousia is the Ancient Greek noun formed on the feminine present participle of ; it is analogous to the English participle being, and the modern philosophy adjectival ontic...

, hypostasis

Hypostasis (religion)

In Christian theology, a hypostasis or person is one of the three elements of the Holy Trinity.In Christian usage, the Greek word hypostasis means beneath-standing or underpinning and, by extension, the existence of some thing...

, theosis

Theosis

In Christian theology, divinization, deification, making divine or theosis is the transforming effect of divine grace. This concept of salvation is historical and fundamental for Christian understanding that is prominent in the Eastern Orthodox Church and also in the Catholic Church, and is a...

, and theoria

Theoria

. He cites much of the mysticism of the Eastern Orthodox Church as expressed in such works as the Philokalia

Philokalia

The Philokalia is a collection of texts written between the 4th and 15th centuries by spiritual masters of the Eastern Orthodox hesychast tradition. They were originally written for the guidance and instruction of monks in "the practise of the contemplative life". The collection was compiled in...

, St John Climacus

John Climacus

Saint John Climacus , also known as John of the Ladder, John Scholasticus and John Sinaites, was a 7th century Christian monk at the monastery on Mount Sinai. He is revered as a saint by the Roman Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches.We have almost no...

's Ladder of Divine Ascent, and various others by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

, St Gregory of Nyssa

Gregory of Nyssa

St. Gregory of Nyssa was a Christian bishop and saint. He was a younger brother of Basil the Great and a good friend of Gregory of Nazianzus. His significance has long been recognized in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Catholic and Roman Catholic branches of Christianity...

, St Basil the Great, St Gregory Nazianzus, and StGregory Palamas

Gregory Palamas

. Father Georges Florovsky

Georges Florovsky

Georges Vasilievich Florovsky was an Eastern Orthodox priest, theologian, historian and ecumenist. He was born in the Russian Empire, but spent his working life in Paris and New York...

termed V Lossky's Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church as a "neopatristic synthesis".

Lossky's main tenet of the Mystical Theology was to show through reference to the Greek Fathers works of the ancient Church that their theosis

Theosis

was above knowledge (gnosis

Gnosis

Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge . In the context of the English language gnosis generally refers to the word's meaning within the spheres of Christian mysticism, Mystery religions and Gnosticism where it signifies 'spiritual knowledge' in the sense of mystical enlightenment.-Related...

).
This was further clarified in his work Vision of God (or theoria

Theoria

). In both works Lossky shows some of the differences between Eastern Orthodoxy i.e. Saint Dionysus the Areopagite's

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite

work and Plotinus

Plotinus

Plotinus was a major philosopher of the ancient world. In his system of theory there are the three principles: the One, the Intellect, and the Soul. His teacher was Ammonius Saccas and he is of the Platonic tradition...

and the tenets of Neoplatonism

Neoplatonism

Neoplatonism , is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists, with its earliest contributor believed to be Plotinus, and his teacher Ammonius Saccas...

. Asserting that Eastern Orthodoxy and Neoplatonism, though they share common culture and concepts, are not the same thing and have very different understandings of God and ontology

Ontology

Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations...

.

Lossky, like his close friend Father Georges Florovsky

Georges Florovsky

Georges Vasilievich Florovsky was an Eastern Orthodox priest, theologian, historian and ecumenist. He was born in the Russian Empire, but spent his working life in Paris and New York...

, was opposed to the sophiological

Sophiology

Sophiology is a philosophical concept regarding wisdom, as well as a theological concept regarding the wisdom of God...

theories of FatherSergei Bulgakov

Sergei Bulgakov

Fr. Sergei Nikolaevich Bulgakov was a Russian Orthodox Christian theologian, philosopher and economist. Until 1922 he worked in Russia; afterwards in Paris.-Early life:...

and Vladimir Soloviev. In the words of Lossky's own father N. O. Lossky, "One characteristic of his theology that should be underscored, is that he was not, and always refused to be, a direct descendant of the famous Russian "religious philosophy" 1. The term Russian religious philosophy

Russian philosophy

Russian philosophy includes a variety of philosophical movements. Authors who developed them are listed below sorted by movement.While most authors listed below are primarily philosophers, also included here are some Russian fiction writers, like Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, who are also known as...

being Neoplatonic as such, having its origin in the works of the slavophile

Slavophile

Slavophilia was an intellectual movement originating from 19th century that wanted the Russian Empire to be developed upon values and institutions derived from its early history. Slavophiles were especially opposed to the influences of Western Europe in Russia. There were also similar movements in...

movement and its core concept of sobornost

Sobornost

Sobornost is a term coined by the early Slavophiles, Ivan Kireevsky and Aleksey Khomyakov, to underline the need for cooperation between people at the expense of individualism on the basis that the opposing groups focus on what is common between them. Khomyakov believed the West was progressively...

. Which was later used and developed by Vladimir Soloviev

Vladimir Solovyov (philosopher)

Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov was a Russian philosopher, poet, pamphleteer, literary critic, who played a significant role in the development of Russian philosophy and poetry at the end of the 19th century...

Sources

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The Orthodox Church; 455 Questions and Answers. Harakas, Stanley H. Light and Life Publishing Company, 1988. (ISBN 0-937032-56-5)
The Spirituallity of the Christian East: A systematic handbook by Tomas Spidlik
Tomás Spidlik
Tomáš Špidlík, SJ was made a Cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2003. He was ordained a priest of the Society of Jesus on 22 August 1949 in Maastricht. On 21 October 2003, at the age of 83, he was created Cardinal Deacon of the titular church of Sant'Agata dei Goti...

, Cistercian Publications Inc Kalamazoo Michigan 1986 ISBN 0-87907-879-0
Orthodox Dogmatic Theology: A Concise Exposition Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky
Michael Pomazansky
Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky was a Russian theologian.He was born in the village of Korist, in the province of Volhynia. His father was Archpriest Ioann Pomazansky who was the son of Father Ioann Ambrosievich. Fr. Michael's mother, Vera Grigorievna, was the daughter of a protodeacon and later...

St Herman of Alaska Brotherhood press 1994 (ISBN 0-938635-69-7)
The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, Vladimir Lossky
Vladimir Lossky
Vladimir Nikolayevich Lossky was an influential Eastern Orthodox theologian in exile from Russia. He emphasized theosis as the main principle of Orthodox Christianity....

SVS Press, 1997. (ISBN 0-913836-31-1) James Clarke & Co Ltd, 1991. (ISBN 0-227-67919-9)
Orthodox Theology: An Introduction, Vladimir Lossky
Vladimir Lossky
Vladimir Nikolayevich Lossky was an influential Eastern Orthodox theologian in exile from Russia. He emphasized theosis as the main principle of Orthodox Christianity....

SVS Press, 2001. (ISBN 0-913836-43-5)
In the Image and Likeness of God, Vladimir Lossky
Vladimir Lossky
Vladimir Nikolayevich Lossky was an influential Eastern Orthodox theologian in exile from Russia. He emphasized theosis as the main principle of Orthodox Christianity....

SVS Press, 1997. (ISBN 0-913836-13-3)
The Vision of God, Vladimir Lossky
Vladimir Lossky
Vladimir Nikolayevich Lossky was an influential Eastern Orthodox theologian in exile from Russia. He emphasized theosis as the main principle of Orthodox Christianity....

SVS Press, 1997. (ISBN 0-913836-19-2)
The Orthodox Way (St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1995, ISBN 0-913836-58-3)
The Inner Kingdom: Collected Works, Vol. 1 (St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2000, ISBN 0-88141-209-0)
In the Image of the Trinity: Collected Works, Vol. 2 (St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2006, ISBN 0-88141-225-2)
Communion and Intercommunion (Light & Life, 1980, ISBN 0-937032-20-4)
How Are We Saved?: The Understanding of Salvation in the Orthodox Tradition (Light & Life, 1996, ISBN 1-880971-22-4)
Orthodox Dogmatic Theology: A Concise Exposition Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky
Michael Pomazansky
Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky was a Russian theologian.He was born in the village of Korist, in the province of Volhynia. His father was Archpriest Ioann Pomazansky who was the son of Father Ioann Ambrosievich. Fr. Michael's mother, Vera Grigorievna, was the daughter of a protodeacon and later...

St Herman of Alaska Brotherhood press 1994 (ISBN 0-938635-69-7) Online version http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0824/_INDEX.HTM
Let There Be Light: An Orthodox Christian Theory of Human Evolution For the 21st Century (Theandros, Summer 2008, ISSN=1555-936X) http://www.theandros.com/protozoe.html

External links

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