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CHRISTIAN PRACTICE AS THE FOUNDATION FOR MODERN POLITICAL THEOLOGY

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The Mystical as Political: Democracy and Non-Radical Orthodoxy. By AristotlePapanikolaou. University of Notre Dame Press, 2012. Pp. 248. $27.00. ISBN: 978-0-268-03896-0.
Dissident for Life: Alexander Ogorodnikov and the Struggle for Religious Freedom in Russia. By KoenraadDe Wolf. Translated by NancyForest-Flier. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2013. Pp. 348. $28.00. ISBN: 978-0-8028-6743-8.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2015

Athanasios Giocas
Athanasios Giocas*
Affiliation:
LL.D. Candidate, Faculty of Law, University of Montreal
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Extract

In the twentieth century, the Orthodox Christian diaspora played a critical role in the development of modern Orthodox theology. Forced to take up residence in the West, major figures like Sergius Bulgakov (1871–1944), Georges Florovsky (1893–1979), Vladimir Lossky (1903–1958), and Alexander Schmemann (1921–1983) successfully reinvigorated Orthodox theology for succeeding generations. Their works have become the standard readings in theological faculties and seminaries the world over. But despite the durable and multifaceted heritage of modern Orthodox theology, contemporary Orthodox Christians have been, for the most part, rather timid in thoroughly engaging themselves with matters political. Notable exceptions include Nicolas Berdyaev (1874–1948), who provides a far-reaching critique of both state sovereignty and the Orthodox Church's historic role in supporting worldly realms of authority. For his part, Bulgakov offers some penetrating insights in favor of the separation of church and state in the very brief chapter devoted to this topic, “Orthodoxy and the State,” in his classic treatise, The Orthodox Church. Somewhat later in the twentieth century, the few noteworthy authors who have much more specifically engaged with broader political questions include the current archbishop of Albania, Anastasios Yannoulatos, and arguably the most important Orthodox political philosopher today, Christos Yannaras.

Keywords

Orthodox Churchliberalismreligious freedomRussia
Type
REVIEW ESSAY
Information
Journal of Law and Religion , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , February 2015 , pp. 161 - 169
Copyright
Copyright © Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University 2015 

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References

1 For a brief overview of the Russian émigré theologians, see Plekon, Michael, “The Russian Religious Revival and its Theological Legacy,” in The Cambridge Companion to Orthodox Christian Theology, eds. Cunningham, Mary B. and Theokritoff, Elizabeth (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008), 203–17CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

2 Berdyaev, Nicolas, The Realm of Spirit and the Realm of Caesar, trans. Lowrie, Donald A. (1952; repr. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1975), 72–80Google Scholar.

3 Bulgakov, , The Orthodox Church, trans. Cam, Elizabeth S. (London: Centenary Press, 1935), 181–90Google Scholar.

4 See Yannoulatos's seminal “Eastern Orthodoxy and Human Rights,” International Review of Mission 73, no. 292 (1984): 454–66CrossRefGoogle Scholar, and Yannaras's short but programmatic piece, “A Note on Political Theology,” St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 27, no. 1 (1983): 53–56Google Scholar. Unfortunately, many of the works by Yannoulatos and Yannaras are available only in Greek.

5 See generally the following edited volumes: Alfond Brüning and van der Zweerde, Evert, eds., Orthodox Christianity and Human Rights (Leuven, Belgium: Peeters, 2012)Google Scholar; Clapsis, Emmanuel, ed., The Orthodox Churches in a Pluralistic World: An Ecumenical Conversation (Geneva: WCC Publications, 2004)Google Scholar. Stand-alone studies in English include Gvosdev, Nikolas K., Emperors and Elections: Reconciling the Orthodox Tradition with Modern Politics (Huntington, NY: Troitsa, 2000)Google Scholar. For a more recent stand-alone contribution, see Kalaitzidis, Pantelis, Orthodoxy and Political Theology, trans. Edwards, Gregory (Geneva: WCC, 2012)Google Scholar.

6 The other is McGuckin's, John A.The Ascent of Christian Law: Patristic and Byzantine Formulations of a New Civilization (Yonkers, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2012)Google Scholar.

7 See generally Habermas, Jürgen, “Religion in the Public Sphere,” European Journal of Philosophy 14, no. 1 (2006): 1–25CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

8 See Kalaitzidis, Orthodoxy and Political Theology, 40–41, 59.

9 Christos Yannaras, “Human Rights and the Orthodox Church,” in The Orthodox Churches in a Pluralistic World: An Ecumenical Conversation, 88.

10 Archondonis, Bartholomew, “A Common Code for the Orthodox Churches,” Kanon 1 (1973): 45Google Scholar.

11 Andrei Rublev, Trinity, c. 1425. Icon, 142 cm × 114 cm., Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. For more on Rublev's Trinity, see Bunge, Gabriel, The Rublev Trinity: The Icon of the Trinity by the Monk-Painter Andrei Rublev, trans. Louth, Andrew (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2007)Google Scholar.

12 See Ladouceur, Paul, “Treasures New and Old: Landmarks of Orthodox Neopatristic Theology,” St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 56, no. 2 (2012): 191–228Google Scholar.

13 Solovyov, Vladimir, The Justification of the Good: An Essay on Moral Philosophy, trans. Duddington, Nathalie A. (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2005)Google Scholar, 394.

14 For example, Georges Florovsky presents Chrysostom as an “opponent of force and coercion in any form” in his Eastern Fathers of the Fourth Century, in Collected Works of Georges Florovsky, trans. Edmunds, Catherine (Vaduz, Liechtenstein: Büchervertriebsanstalt, 1987)Google Scholar, 7:247.

15 Chrysostom, John, On Wealth and Poverty, trans. Roth, Catherine P. (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1984)Google Scholar, 50, 55.

16 One such study explores economics through the lens of Chrysostom's basic anthropological precepts: Acatrinei, Nicoleta, Saint Jean Chrysostome et l'Homo oeconomicus: Une enquête d'anthropologie économique dans les homélies sur l'Evangile de St Matthieu (Rollinsford, NH: Orthodox Research Institute, 2008)Google Scholar.

17 Daniel, Wallace L., “Father Aleksandr Men and the Struggle to Recover Russia's Heritage,” Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization 17, no. 1 (2009): 84CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

18 Ibid., 86.

19 Hamant, Yves, Alexander Men: A Witness for Contemporary Russia (A Man for Our Times), trans. Bigham, Steven (Torrance, CA: Oakwood Publications, 1995)Google Scholar, 194.