Contextual Theology: Part Four By Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos We all need to accept the basic position that the Church is a living reality; that She is the Body of Christ and the community of theosis and, subsequently, that the Church gives birth to Fathers and not the Fathers who give birth to the Church. This […]
Neopatristic and Postpatristic “Theology”
June 16, 2011 By
Contextual Theology: Part Three By Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos The previous example shows how contemporary theologians behave and react towards the Tradition of our Church. I have been in discussions with an Orthodox professor of biblical theology who teaches at a University abroad, but has been immensely influenced by Protestant ideas and who maintains that, since […]
“Palamite” and “Neo-Palamite” Theology
June 15, 2011 By
Contextual Theology: Part Two By Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos The fourteenth century was extremely important for the Church, because for the very first time Orthodox theology confronted the West’s scholastic theology in the persons of Saint Gregory Palamas and Barlaam respectively. In this dialogue, it became evident that Saint Gregory Palamas was the bearer and the […]
Contextual Theology: Part One
June 14, 2011 By
By Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos As one studies the texts of the Holy Bible and the Fathers, one realizes that the basis of Orthodox theology is God’s revelation – as given to the Prophets, the Apostles and the Fathers – throughout the ages. Characteristic of this is the beginning of the Epistle to the Hebrews: “Having […]
Orthodox Worship As A School Of Theology: Part Eight
February 1, 2011 By
by Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev Lecture delivered at the Kiev Theological Academy on September 20, 2002 The beauty of Orthodox services. The Sanctuary One of the most noticeable qualities of the divine services is their beauty and splendour. This beauty is also reflected in the external arrangement of the church. There is a well-known story from […]
Orthodox Worship As A School Of Theology: Part Seven
January 31, 2011 By
by Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev Lecture delivered at the Kiev Theological Academy on September 20, 2002 Liturgical “Ceremony” At this point I would like to review several aspects of the liturgical ceremony of the Orthodox Church, especially the peculiarities of hierarchical service. People sometimes say that Byzantine liturgical ceremony is outdated and needs to be simplified. […]
Orthodox Worship As A School Of Theology: Part Six
January 30, 2011 By
by Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev Lecture delivered at the Kiev Theological Academy on September 20, 2002 Church Singing Permit me to say a few words about church singing. Recently I visited the Valaam Monastery of the Transfiguration, where I served an all-night vigil and Divine Liturgy in the monastery’s main church. The services there struck me […]
Orthodox Worship As A School Of Theology: Part Five
January 29, 2011 By
by Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev Lecture delivered at the Kiev Theological Academy on September 20, 2002 The Divine Liturgy Some of my non-Orthodox friends complain that the Orthodox Liturgy is too long, saying “why do you have to stretch out the Eucharist when you can serve it in half an hour?” My experience of the Liturgy […]
