Thinking about what to read: Eastern Orthodox Theology

A protester in London

My last post was on the early Church Fathers, so it would make sense that this post be on Eastern Orthodox theology. This stream of Christian faith, practice, and theology claims a direct lineage with the early Church Fathers, especially the theology and the creeds established at the first 7 ecumenical councils: Nicaea (325), Constantinople (381), Ephesus (431), Chalcedon (451), Constantinople (553), Constantinople (680), and Nicaea (787).

The Great Schism between the Eastern and the Western Church happened (was formalized) in 1054. There are a number of theological issues that caused this split between the East (Eastern Orthodox Church) and the West (the Roman Catholic Church). Key to the schism was the added "filioque" clause in the Nicene Creed - that the Spirit proceeded not only from the Father but also from the Son (filioque). The Eastern claim is that the filioque undermines the agency of the Father through the Son and the Spirit (Irenaeus' "two hands of the Father"). For example, Metropolitan John Zizioulas refers to the Incarnation and Pentecost as exemplifying this parallel movement of God in the Son and the Spirit, that Pentecost (and the birth of the church) is not a continuation of the Incarnation but its sequel. Of concern is the limitation and subordination of the Spirit, that the Spirit would be just an extension of the Son rather than distinct in agency and personhood.

Another key doctrinal distinction concerns the means of salvation. The Eastern view is that we are in union with Christ and that Christ gives over his benefits. As Irenaeus, the second century theologian, put it, "he became what we are so that we might become what he is." (This idea comes from the final line of the preface to book V of Irenaeus' Against Heresies. See also Gregory of Nanzianzus's concept of the communicatio idiomatum in his "Fourth Theological Oration.") In Eastern Orthodox theology this is called "divinization" and is distinct from the assertion of substitutionary atonement that developed later in the theologies of theologians such as Anselm and Calvin.

All this to say that this is a different stream of theological development and practice than most Christians in the West are familiar with, yet we have a common history in the early Church Fathers. It is fascinating to explore how a thousand year schism as effected a contrasting yet similar theological tradition to that in the West.

Here is a series of 5 videos about the 7 ecumenical councils from a distinctly Eastern Orthodox perspective. A good resource for learning some of the basic issues in the early heresies of the church, as well as the what does it mean to be Eastern Orthodox:

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If you want to hear directly from a few of the theologians in this reading group, here are a few videos of interviews and lectures.

Metropolitan John Zizioulas:



Video streaming by Ustream

Bishop Kallistos Ware: