Greek Orthodox Theology: history

GrEEK OrTHODOX THEOLOGY: HISTOrY (from 1453 to the present) The Roman Empire in the East came to an abrupt end with the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Thereafter began the period of post-Byzantine hellenism which continues to this day. Greek Orthodoxy was forced to defend itself with very limited means, in order to try and safeguard its own identity. The Russian theologian G. *Florovsky (1893–1979) used the term pseudomorphosis to indicate the conditions under which Orthodox theology had to operate by resorting to the theological categories furnished by the West. In the nearly 600 years since the fall of Constantinople several theological phases may be approximately distinguished: The period immediately following the fall of Constantinople. These were the years of adaptation for the institutions. Mehmed II established the Christian *millet under the authority of the patriarch of Constantinople, the first of whom under Turkish rule was *Gennadius II Scholarius (1405–1472) Many intellectuals and nobles abandoned the Greek lands. The Byzantine tradition continued, with an intense anti-Latin orientation, and this continuity enabled Greek theology to address the Reformation controversies. This period characterized the second part of the 16th century and found its most significant expression in the answers which Patriarch *Jeremiah II Tranus gave to the questions of the Lutheran theologians of Tübingen (1536–1581), when he was asked to proffer an official position on the points raised by the Augustan confession. The period of faith confessions and growing anti-Latin polemics. In the 17th century, Greek Orthodoxy opened itself up to the confessional mentality which dominated the Reformed as well as the Catholic West, while in Greek circles the neo-Aristotelian philosophy of Theophilus *Corydalleus (1563–1646), trained in the Aristotelian school of Padua, became prominent.

The first formal expression is the work of the patriarch of Constantinople, Cyril *Lucaris (1572–1638), who in 1629 published a Latin Confession of Faith in which the Orthodox faith is expressed in terms close to Calvinism. The reactions were immediate, as is reflected in the synods of Constantinople (1638) and Jassy (1642) (*Confessio Orthodoxa) In this latter synod, a version of Peter *Moghila’s Confession, under Latin influence but corrected by Meletius Syrigus (d. 1664), was approved. Some years later Patriarch *Dositheus of Jerusalem (1641–1707) promoted a Confession that was less influenced by Latin theology; it was approved by the Synod of Jerusalem in 1672. In the 18th century the theological and philosophical heritage of the previous century continued, but with a strong anti-Latin tendency due to the Orthodox conviction that they would have to set up a front against a pervasive Latin proselytism. This anti-Latin attitude is most evident in Eustratius Argenti (1685/1690–1756/1760), through whose influence we arrive at the famous Horos (Gr. Hōros: ‘decree’) of Patriarch Cyril V of Constantinople (1748–1751, 1752–1757), which insisted on the need to re-baptize Latin and Armenian converts to Orthodoxy. The confrontation with the Enlightenment and the Philocalic renovation. When the Horos was published, Greek Orthodoxy was faced with a more serious problem than that of Latin proselytism, namely, the spreading of Enlightenment ideas by Eugene *Vulgaris (1716–1806) and other intellectuals, for the most part members of the clergy who translated Voltaire, promoted Newtonian physics, and distributed texts of Italian and French Illuminists.

Under the influence of the Enlightenment – whose foremost interpreter was Adamantius Coraēs (1748–1835) – the dream of the megali idea, the ‘Great Idea’ (see below), made one of its first appearances with Rigas Velestinlis (Rēgas, Velestinsēs Feraios, 1757–1798) Sharp criticism spread among Constantinopolitan Greeks, affecting both the official Church and the Phanariote Greek aristocracy collaborating with the *Ottoman Empire. The religious reaction against the Enlightenment found its most significant support in the movement of the so-called kollyvades (*Kollyva) which began on Mount *Athos in 1754. It was known as philocalic renewal, since the work which transmitted it was the *Philocalia, an anthology of hesychastic texts arranged by *Macarius Notaras, of Corinth (1731–1805) and *Nicodemus of the holy Mountain (the hagiorite) (1749–1809) This movement was joined by all of those urging a renewal of monastic and spiritual life through a return to the Fathers of the Church and the masters of *hesychasm. A major figure was *Athanasius of Paros (1721–1813), a disciple of Vulgaris and a combative critic of the Enlightenment and its political consequences, first condemned and suspended a divinis by the patriarchate, but then reinstated. A fervent defender of the status quo in politics, he is believed to be the author of Didascalia Patrikē (‘Fatherly Teaching’), which attempted a religious justification of Turkish rule – to which Coraēs responded with his Adelphikē Didaskalia (‘Brotherly Teaching’)

The most prominent personality, however, was Nicodemus of the holy Mountain, who promoted the renewal of Greek religious life by publishing numerous spiritual, liturgical and canonical texts. Instead of the French Enlightenment authors, Nicodemus proposed the teachings of various ‘enlightened’ authors of the Neptic (Sober) Fathers (*hesychius of Sinai) Although deeply rooted in Orthodoxy, he made ample use of Western spiritual authors, such as the Theatine Lorenzo Scupoli (1530–1610) and especially the Jesuit Giovanni Pietro Pinamonti (1632–1703), adapting them to Eastern use. The Greek Revolution, the constitution of a national Church, the birth of an academic theology and the tragic dream of the ‘megali (Gr. megalē: ‘great’) idea’ The ‘megali idea’ envisaged the annexation of all former Greek territory still inhabited by Greeks. The Greek revolution of 1821 led to the proclamation of the first independent Greek state under a hereditary monarchy. Only a small percentage of Greeks formed part of the new state; according to estimates, between two-thirds to three-quarters of the entire Greek population resided outside the territory of the new state. Most Orthodox Greeks still looked to Constantinople for direction. Nevertheless, the Bavarian monarchy under Otto I took full control over the Church within its own state, thus separating it from Constantinople. The autocephaly of the Greek Church was proclaimed unilaterally (23 July (4 August) 1833) It had been promoted especially by Theoclitus *Pharmakidis (Theoklētos Pharmakidēs) (1784–1860), disciple of A. Coraēs, and by Georg Ludwig Maurer, a Bavarian Protestant. The schism was healed to a certain extent when the patriarch and his synod accorded recognition to the Greek Church in 1850.

The Greek world thus obtained two points of reference: that of the recently founded Greek state, and that of the Greek heritage of Constantinople and Anatolia. In the 19th century Greek theology saw the emergence of two academic centres of theological activity, both oriented towards Western models. In 1837 the University of Athens (*Athens, Theological Faculty of) was founded, with four faculties, foremost among which was theology. Seven years later, the patriarch of Constantinople presided over the inauguration of the patriarchal theological school in the Monastery of the holy Trinity on the island of halki. (In 1971, the School of halki (Gr. Chalkē) was closed by the Turkish government and it unfortunately remains closed despite many Greek and international appeals.) The theological academic spirit dominated during the 19th century, as a group of professors with European standards was formed, capable of giving scientific dignity to theological work according to positivistic Western criteria. Thus they reproduced in the small Greek kingdom and in halki a miniature image of the great European Theological Faculties. The most universal aspects of Orthodoxy were revealed in movements and persons closely associated with the popular ethos, such as the author of short stories, Alexander Papadiamantis (1851–1911) The dream of the megali idea assumed new vigour in a romantic cultural context. The dream found one particular expression in the unconventional ideas of Apostolos *Makrakis (1831–1905), in some ways highly relevant to Greek religious life. his passionate faith inflamed Eusebius *Matthopoulos, who in 1907 founded the important Theological Fraternity *Zoe. The 20th century and the consolidation of academic theology. The first part of the century, up to the 1960s, was dominated by the presence of two academic centres – namely, Athens and halki.

The Theological Faculty of Thessalonica (*Thessalonica, Theological Faculty of), though founded on paper in 1925, only began functioning in 1942, under the Italo-German occupation. Many of the professors at Athens University at the beginning of the century made a name for themselves in an ecumenical context for their activities and commitments; while others are known for their anti-ecumenical spirit. Important manuals were produced in the various disciplines, from dogma to Scripture, from ethics to apologetics, from patrology to the history of dogma. Symbols, confessions of faith and the sacred canons were published. Christos *Androutsos (1869–1935), a philosopher and theologian, German by formation, first a professor at Chalki and later in Athens, was the first Greek theologian to attain pan-Orthodox recognition and to be appreciated on a European basis. his dogmatic works were attacked by Constantine *Dyovouniotes (1872–1943) and Demetrius (Dēmētrius) Balanos (1877–1959); but they were much used by the most prolific theologian of the 20th century, Panayiotis *Trempelas (1866–1977), editor of liturgical texts, commentator of biblical texts and apologist, who wrote a compendium of dogmatic theology in three volumes (Athens, 1959–1961) The canonical tradition found authoritative expression in Constantine Rhallis (1867–1942; see Rhallis & Potlis) and Amilkas (hamilcar) Alivisatos (1887–1992) (*Apostolikē Diakonia) The latter is largely known for his ecumenical activity, including a famous essay on ecclesiastical *oikonomia.

John *Karmiris (1903–1993), a great expert of the Fathers, introduced Orthodox ecclesiology on a European level and edited an indispensable collection of the Orthodox Symbols of Faith, Dogmatic and Symbolic Monuments of the Catholic Orthodox Faith (1952) Some of these theologians played an important role in the First Pan-Orthodox Congress of Theology in Athens in 1936. It was this Congress which stressed the retrieval of identity in terms of a future programme of Orthodox theology, based especially on a return to the Fathers (G. *Florovsky) and to liturgical sources. In the 1960s, these theological generations which emerged and grew up in the early 20th century, trained in the Western theological method, reached their productive zenith with the magnum opus, the twelve-volume Religious and Moral Encyclopedia (here abbreviated as ThE) This project involved practically all the theologians of the first half of the 20th century, aided by their students, who themselves later became professors in Thessalonica and Athens. The new theological resources: the generation of the 1960s and Modern Greek theological personalism. While the great Encyclopedia was being produced, new theologians emerged, partly because of the new attention accorded to the Fathers and the liturgy in response to the Congress of 1936, and partly due to the influences of modern philosophy. These were generally theologians from the faculty of Athens, who had spent long years of study overseas, especially in Germany but also in the United States. Some taught in Athens, as did Nikos *Nissiotis (1925–1986), a Greek theologian of world fame who was Assistant Secretary to the World Council of Churches (1968–1972) and moderator of its section Faith and Order (1976–1983)

Others went to the new school of Thessalonica, such as Panayiotis *Christou (Chrēstou, 1917–1996), an expert in patristic studies and yet a controversial figure in view of his alignment with the dictatorship of the Greek Colonels; Savas *Agourides (1921–2009), who attempted to renew biblical studies in the light of the historico-critical method; John (Ioannis) Phountoulis (1927–2007), a master of Orthodox liturgy; and John (Ioannis) Romanidis (1927–2001), a controversial and polemical theologian, author of a celebrated doctoral study on Original Sin and promoter of the so-called empirical theology. They opened the way to the so-called ‘generation of the 60s’, the most significant development in the Greek theology of the 20th century. The theologians of this generation are often referred to as ‘neo-orthodox’, a journalistic term for Orthodox theologians capable of dialoguing with modern culture, including Marxism, and having a vast knowledge of the social sciences. They had been strongly influenced by the theologians of the Russian diaspora in Paris, such as N. *Berdjaev, V. *Lossky and P. *Evdokimov.

Some come from the *Zoe fraternity, but later left it, including Christos Yannaras (1935–), perhaps the best-known theologian of the second half of the century; Vasilios Gondikakis (1936–), who became one of the spiritual leaders of Mount *Athos with the greatest following; and Panayiotis *Nellas (1936–1986), founder of the journal Synaxis, for many years the most vibrant voice in Greek Orthodoxy, and Anastasius Yannoulatos (1929–), an expert in the theology of mission and of interreligious problems, who after many years of teaching in Athens has become archbishop of Albania. Others come from Thessalonica University, where they taught after studying abroad. Such is Nikos Matsoukas (1934–2006), for many years professor of dogma, often expounding original and provocative theses; George Mantzaridis (1935–), the best well-known Greek teacher of ethics and a specialist in *Palamas. Among the theologians of this generation is also John (Ioannis) Zizioulas (1931–), the most illustrious Greek theologian overseas, especially for his conception of eucharistic *ecclesiology, who after a brilliant academic career became a bishop, the *metropolitan of Pergamon. Both Yannaras and Zizioulas are in a special way at the origin of Modern Greek personalistic thought, characterized by the way they interpreted salvation in terms of a personal relation to Christ and in the Church and by re-reading all areas of theological endeavour in the theological history of Orthodoxy in terms of the primacy of person (*Personalism) Personalism: criticism and new approaches. The propagation of personalistic thought at the turn of the 21st century is encountering resistance.

While some thinkers fiercely criticize its theological use of the Bible (especially biblical scholars from the school of S. Agourides), others discuss the reading of the patristic and Byzantine sources (Stelios Ramphos) and fidelity to the authentic Orthodox personalism (Ierotheos Vlachos) Still others insist on a more profound treatment of the ontological and historical-cultural aspects of personalism (Constantine Delikonstantis, Nicholas Loudovikos, Ilias Papayannopoulos etc.) The number of Orthodox interested in bioethics is steadily increasing, thanks to the attention paid to this issue by the Greek Church under the leadership of the late Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens (r. 1998– 2008) The years to come will reveal the degree to which Greek Orthodoxy succeeds in meeting the challenges of European unification and of cultural and religious pluralism. Rhallis & Potlis; Gavin; Procès-verbaux du Premier Congrès de Théologie Orthodoxe à Athènes, A. Alizivatos (ed.), Athens 1939; ThE; P. N. Trembelas, Dogmatique de l’Eglise Orthodoxe Catholique, 1–3, P. Dumont (tr.), Chevetogne 1966–1968; Runciman; C. A. Frazee, The Orthodox Church and Independent Greece 1821–1852, Cambridge UK 1969; Maloney, 89–210; C. Yannaras, The Freedom of Morality, E. Brière (tr.), Crestwood NY 1984; P. Nellas, Deification in Christ: Orthodox Perspectives on the Nature of Human Person, N. Russell (tr.), Crestwood NY 1987; G.

Podskalsky, Griechische Theologie in der Zeit der Türkenherrschaft (1453–1821): Die Orthodoxie im Spannungsfeld der nachreformatorischen Konfessionen des Westens, Munich 1988; Y. Spiteris, La teologia ortodossa neo-greca, Bologna 1992; J. Zizioulas, Being as Communion: Studies in Personhood and the Church, Crestwood NY 1997; B. Petrà, ‘Personalist Thought in Greece in the Twentieth century: A First Tentative Synthesis’, The Greek Orthodox Theological Review 50 (2005) 1–4, 2–48; Y. Spiteris, ‘Attuali tendenze della teologia greca’, OCP 71 (2005) 299–314; Yannaras; J. D. Zizioulas, Communion and Otherness:- Further Studies in Personhood and the Church, P. McPartlan (ed.), London 2006; C. Yannaras, Person and Eros, N. Russell (tr.), Brookline MA 2007; A. N. Papathanasiou, ‘Some Key Themes and Figures in Greek Theological Thought’, CCOCT, 218–231; N. Loudovikos, A Eucharistic Ontology: Maximus the Confessor’s Eschatological Ontology of Being as Dialogical Reciprocity, Brookline MA 2010. B. Petrà

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