Christianity, Democracy, and the Shadow of Constantine

George E. Demacopoulos is Fr. John Meyendorff & Patterson Family Chair of Orthodox Christian Studies and Professor of Theology at Fordham University.Papanikolaou Aristotle :

Aristotle Papanikolaou is Archbishop Demetrios Chair of Orthodox Theology and Culture and Professor of Theology at Fordham University.

Drawing together political theologians, ethicists, and historical theologians, [this] volume creates an encounter between "East" and "West" that addresses some critical questions facing the whole of Christianity.

—Elizabeth Phillips:
Many of us in the field of political theology are poorer for the lack of conversation most of us experience between Eastern and Western political theologies. Even if we are open and sympathetic to one another—and historically that is a big ‘if’—the traditions are so distinct from one another that few can claim expertise in both, and so we continue to focus narrowly on our own traditions. This volume represents a welcome change to this pattern, opening a conversation between theologians across Eastern and Western traditions on the timely topics of church and state, democracy, and liberalism.

This is an encouraging collection which points towards the hope that the resources of the Orthodox tradition may contribute to political theology as they have in other areas, not only through greater confidence in restating the now-ubiquitous ideas of personhood, but in challenging and creative ways.

The essays in this volume make good on the editors' hopes: they have demonstrated that Orthodoxy has fundamental contributions to make to contemporary political discourse.

...deserve[s] wide attention from all theologians and scholars of religion who wish to understand how Orthodoxy is speaking to issues of politics today.