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Unity is the categorical imperative of the Church. It is not just
the Church's bene esse, but its esse. In addition to being a
theological concept, unity has become a raison d'etre of various
structures that the Church has established and developed. All of
these structures are supposed to serve the end of unity. However,
from time to time some of them deviate from their initial purpose
and contribute to disunity. This happens because the structures of
the Church are not a part of its nature and can therefore turn
against it. They are like scaffolding, which facilitates the
construction and maintenance of a building without actually being
part of it. Likewise, ecclesial structures help the Church function
in accordance with its nature but should not be identified with the
Church proper. Scaffolds of the Church considers the evolution of
some of these structures and evaluates their correspondence to
their initial rationale. It focusses on particular structures that
have developed in the eastern part of the Christian oecumene, such
as patriarchates, canonical territory, and autocephaly, all of
which are explored in the more general frame of hierarchy and
primacy. They were selected because they are most neuralgic in the
life of the Orthodox Churches today and bear in them the greatest
potential to divide.
The book explores the variables and invariables of the church. Its
argument is that self-awareness of the church was often a matter of
change, depending on historical circumstances. It encourages
appreciating plurality in the church and sets the system of
coordinates for identifying the ecclesial 'self'.
Surveying theological literature produced in the Christian East
from the first through the 20th century, Eastern Christianity in
its Texts explores different theological themes (analytical and
mystical), genres (epistles, treatises, and poetry), and milieux
(Greek, Armenian, Western and Eastern Syriac, Russian and
Romanian). The book illustrates the evolution of the Orthodox
thought, how it influenced and was influenced by intellectual,
social, and political environments. It demonstrates a theology in
context, and yet displays consistency in the traditions spread
through different epochs and countries. The book is divided in five
parts, each standing for an epoch with distinct features: formation
of the Christian identity in the era before Constantine, golden age
of theology in the period of Late Antiquity, the pinnacle of
erudism and mysticism in the eastern Middle Ages, wrestling with
the Modernity imported from the West in the 18th-19th centuries,
and finally theological polyphony in the 20th century.
Surveying theological literature produced in the Christian East
from the first through the 20th century, Eastern Christianity in
its Texts explores different theological themes (analytical and
mystical), genres (epistles, treatises, and poetry), and milieux
(Greek, Armenian, Western and Eastern Syriac, Russian and
Romanian). The book illustrates the evolution of the Orthodox
thought, how it influenced and was influenced by intellectual,
social, and political environments. It demonstrates a theology in
context, and yet displays consistency in the traditions spread
through different epochs and countries. The book is divided in five
parts, each standing for an epoch with distinct features: formation
of the Christian identity in the era before Constantine, golden age
of theology in the period of Late Antiquity, the pinnacle of
erudism and mysticism in the eastern Middle Ages, wrestling with
the Modernity imported from the West in the 18th-19th centuries,
and finally theological polyphony in the 20th century.
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