Dr Pantelis Kalaitzidis,New Trends in Greek Orthodox Theology

Dr Pantelis Kalaitzidis

Director, Volos Academy for Theological Studies, Volos, Greece

pkalaitz@acadimia.gr

New Trends in Greek Orthodox Theology:

Challenges in the Movement Toward a Genuine Renewal and Christian Unity

Abstract

Theology in Greece today has been shaped to a great extent by the so-called “Generation of the ‘60s,” a renewed Greek theological trend inspired mainly by the theology of the Russian Diaspora and the movement to “Return to the Fathers.” This theological trend, instrumental in shaping contemporary Orthodox theology, includes distinguished Greek theologians such as Metropolitan of Pergamon John Zizioulas, Christos Yannaras, Fr John Romanides, Fr Vasileios Gondikakis, Nikos Nissiotis, Panayiotis Nellas, George Mantzarides, Nikos Matsoukas, among others, and produced admirable syntheses such as those of the theology of the person and Eucharistic ecclesiology. The so-called “theological generation of the ’60s” has largely shaped the agenda and form of contemporary Greek theology, as well as the latter’s image of the West, even today. However as a reaction to Orthodox theology’s “Babylonian Captivity” to the spirit, methods, and language of Western scholastic and academic theology, even this theological movement could not avoid falling into the temptation of anti-westernism.

The theological agenda and language introduced by the “theology of the ‘60s” was not immediately accepted in Greek academic and ecclesiastical circles, and really only assumed its place during the ‘80s, mainly through the popularization of the ideas and writings of Christos Yannaras and the so-called “Neo-Orthodox movement.” All this happened, perhaps, because the “theology of the ‘60s” was perceived by the Greek establishment as a progressive and even subversive theological trend. But criticism of the “theology of the ‘60s” also came from the opposite side (mainly Prof. Savas Agourides), which accused this theological movement of conservatism, a spirit of introversion, and anti-westernism.

During the same period a new model of Orthodox theology and of relationship with the West—different from the “theology of ‘60s”—was proposed and practiced by the Orthodox Academy of Crete and its General Director Dr Alexandros Papaderos. Furthermore, the thenceforth dominant theological “paradigm” and anti-westernism of the generation of the ‘60s was partly overcome by the generation of the ‘80s, especially the professors of the School of Theology of Thessaloniki University.

Today, a new theological generation, nourished by the spirit of the generation of the ‘60s and the call to “return to the Fathers,” but at the same time critical toward this generation, and also more ready to dialogue with the new social and cultural realities, and more aware of the need for an authentic and honest encounter with the Christian West, is called to face the new challenges of globalization, multicultural societies, and religious otherness in a rapidly changing Europe. In regard to the “theology of the ‘60s,” the new generation of Greek theologians represents a mixture of continuity and discontinuity, of tradition and renewal. The points of disagreement with the previous theological generation, and the new issues and concerns introduced in the theological discussion, could be summarized in the following themes: Ecclesiological Issues of the ‘60s (mainly the place of the bishop in the making and life of the church, and the place and role of monastics in the church, including a reappraisal of Athonite monasticism in the renewal of church life); The revalorization of mission: Mission as a co-constitutive element of the making of the Church; The Re-discovery of Ethics and the Dilemma of Ethics Versus Ontology; The Progressive Overcoming of Anti-westernism and of the East-West Divide as a Central Hermeneutical Key; A More Positive Relationship Between Orthodoxy and Modernity; The “Return to the Fathers”: Its Interpretations and Consequences; A Critical Reconsideration of the Devaluation of Biblical Studies; Gender Issues and Women’s Ordination; A Radical Critique of Religious Nationalism and Hellenocentrism; The Slide into Byzantinism and Ecclesiastical Culturalism.

It is necessary to describe here briefly the settings and institutions that are playing host to these new theological trends in Greek Orthodoxy, beginning as early as the ‘90s. We must first mention the theological quarterly “Synaxis,” founded in 1982 by the late theologian Panayiotis Nellas and published for 30 years now without interruption. A remarkable change has also taken place within the official academic journal of the Church of Greece, “Theologia,” since 2009. Another source for theological and ecclesial renewal in Greece has been the biblical foundation “Artos Zoes” and the Bulletin of Biblical Studies—to this day, the sole Orthodox Biblical journal worldwide— which was founded under the direction of Agourides. To complete this list of institutions promoting the new theological trends in Greek Orthodoxy, we should also mention the Volos Academy for Theological Studies, a Church-related institution which functions as an open forum of thought and dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the broader scholarly community of intellectuals worldwide. To this short list we have to add the names of professors from the Theological Faculties of Athens and Thessaloniki Universities.

But there is also the “other side of the coin,” that is the reactions of the fundamentalists and zealots, who often gain support in the Holy Synod and the Faculties of Theology, and who in recent years have made anti-ecumenism and anti-westernism their rallying cry, as well as opposition to globalization and Europe, and any form of theological dialogue and renewal.

In the midst of these difficult circumstances, contemporary Greek theology is called to face the new, very dynamic and particularly challenging global context, and not only to address new questions and problems, but also to consider them in a completely new way, without the security and certainty provided by the frameworks of the so-called tradition.