The Cambridge Companion to Orthodox Christian Theology

by Edited by Mary B. Cunningham , Elizabeth Theokritoff

• ISBN13: 9780521683388
• ISBN10: 0521683386
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-01-12
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Orthodox Christian theology is often presented as the direct inheritor of the doctrine and tradition of the early Church. But continuity with the past is only part of the truth; it would be false to conclude that the eastern section of the Christian Church is in any way static. Orthodoxy, building on its patristic foundations, has blossomed in the modern period. This volume focuses on the way Orthodox theological tradition is understood and lived today. It explores the Orthodox understanding of what theology is: an expression of the Church's life of prayer, both corporate and personal, from which it can never be separated. Besides discussing aspects of doctrine, the book portrays the main figures, themes and developments that have shaped Orthodox thought. There is particular focus on the Russian and Greek traditions, as well as the dynamic but less well-known Antiochian tradition and the Orthodox presence in the West.

Table of Contents

Notes on contributors	p. xi
Preface	p. xv
A chronology of the Eastern Churches	p. xxi
Abbreviations	p. xxv
Map	p. xxvi
Who are the Orthodox Christians? A historical introduction	p. 1
Doctrine and Tradition
Scripture and tradition in the Church	p. 21
Biblical interpretation in worship	p. 35
God in Trinity	p. 49
Creator and creation	p. 63
The human person as image and likeness of God	p. 78
Christ and salvation	p. 93
Eschatology	p. 107
The Church	p. 121
Theology of the icon	p. 136
The spiritual way	p. 150
Contemporary Orthodox Theology: its Formation and Character
Church Fathers and the shaping of Orthodox theology	p. 167
The patristic revival and its protagonists	p. 188
The Russian religious revival and its theological legacy	p. 203
Some key themes and figures in Greek theological thought	p. 218
Personhood and its exponents in twentieth-century Orthodox theology	p. 232
The witness of the Church in a pluralistic world: theological renaissance in the Church of Antioch	p. 246
Russian theology after totalitarianism	p. 261
Orthodox Christianity in the West: the ecumenical challenge	p. 276
Glossary	p. 293
Bibliography	p. 295
Index	p. 311
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