Orthodox Christianity and Contemporary Thought
Within contemporary orthodoxy, debates over sex and gender have become increasingly polemical over the past generation. Beginning with questions around women’s ordination, arguments have expanded to include feminism, sexual orientation, the sacrament of marriage, definitions of family, adoption of children, and care of transgender individuals. Preliminary responses to each of these topics are shaped by gender essentialism, the idea that male and female are ontologically fixed and incommensurate categories with different sets of characteristics and gifts for each sex. These categories, in turn, delineate gender roles in the family, the church, and society.
Gender Essentialism and Orthodoxy offers an immanent critique of gender essentialism in the stream of the contemporary Orthodox Church influenced by the “Paris School” of Russian émigré theologians and their heirs. It uses an interdisciplinary approach to bring into conversation patristic reflections on sex and gender, personalist theological anthropology, insights from gender and queer theory, and modern biological understandings of human sexual differentiation. Though these are seemingly unrelated discourses, Gender Essentialism and Orthodoxy reveals unexpected points of convergence, as each line of thought eschews a strict gender binary in favor of more open-ended possibilities.
The study concludes by drawing out some theological implications of the preceding findings as they relate to the ordination of women to the priesthood, same-sex unions and sacramental understandings of marriage, definitions of family, and pastoral care for intersex, transgender, and nonbinary parishioners.
Traditional, secular, and fundamentalist—all three categories are contested, yet in their contestation they shape our sensibilities and are mutually implicated, the one with the others. This interplay brings to the foreground more than ever the question of what it means to think and live as Tradition. The Orthodox theologians of the twentieth century, in particular, have emphasized Tradition not as a dead letter but as a living presence of the Holy Spirit. But how can we discern Tradition as living discernment from fundamentalism? What does it mean to live in Tradition when surrounded by something like the “secular”? These essays interrogate these mutual implications, beginning from the understanding that whatever secular or fundamentalist may mean, they are not Tradition, which is historical, particularistic, in motion, ambiguous and pluralistic, but simultaneously not relativistic.
Contributors: R. Scott Appleby, Nikolaos Asproulis, Brandon Gallaher, Paul J. Griffiths, Vigen Guroian, Dellas Oliver Herbel, Edith M. Humphrey, Slavica Jakelić, Nadieszda Kizenko, Wendy Mayer, Brenna Moore, Graham Ward, Darlene Fozard Weaver
Over the past two decades, the world has witnessed alarming environmental degradation—climate change, the loss of biodiversity, and the pollution of natural resources—together with a failure to implement environmental policies and an ever-widening gap between rich and poor. As this new volume of his writings reveals, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has continually proclaimed the primacy of spiritual values in determining environmental ethics and action. For him, the predicament we face is not primarily ecological but in fact spiritual: The ultimate aim is to see all things in God, and God in all things. On Earth as in Heaven demonstrates just why His All Holiness has been dubbed the “Green Patriarch” by former Vice President Al Gore (recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his environmental activism) and the media. This third and final volume of the spiritual leader’s selected writings showcases his statements on environmental degradation, global warming, and climate change. It contains numerous speeches and interviews in various circumstances, including ecological symposia, academic seminars, and regional and international events, over the first twenty years of his ministry. This volume also encompasses a selection of pastoral letters and exhortations—ecclesiastical, ecumenical, and academic—by His All Holiness for occasions such as Easter and Christmas, honorary doctorates, and academic awards. On Earth as in Heaven is a rich collection, essential for religious scholars, those looking for a deeper understanding of Orthodox Christianity, and anyone concerned with the environmental and social issues we face today.
The second of three volumes of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s writings, this book includes a selection of major addresses and significant statements by the “first among equals” and spiritual leader of the world’s 300 million Orthodox Christians. Whereas the first volume covered global and interfaith issues, this volume represents the inter-Christian initiatives and theological outreach of the Patriarch, covering a range of topics, such as ecumenism and theology. It also contains various ecclesiastical declarations, such as occasional pastoral encyclicals and extraordinary patriarchal exhortations. His All Holiness was trained and experienced in inter-Christian relations, having pursued studies in Roman Catholic theology at the Gregorian University of Rome, Protestant thought at the University of Munich, and the ecumenical movement beside the World Council of Churches in Geneva. Moreover, he has lectured widely on the significance and role of Orthodox theology in contemporary society, having received honorary doctoral degrees from esteemed academic institutions throughout the world. Unafraid to address sensitive, and even controversial issues – such as papal primacy, divisions within Christianity, and inter-Orthodox unity – His All Holiness balances Orthodox doctrine and canon law with open-mindedness and open-heartedness. His official visits to Rome as the personal guest of Pope John Paul II marked the first occasions in history that an Ecumenical Patriarch met with the Roman Catholic Pope in Rome. His invitation to Pope Benedict XVI marked the opening of the Pontiff’s ministry and his first visit to a Christian minority within a Muslim nation. Over the last two decades, he is also the first Ecumenical Patriarch to have traveled throughout the world and to have convened meetings of all Orthodox primates of autocephalous Churches as well as of all bishops directly within the Ecumenical Patriarchate. This book reveals the spiritual depth and profound doctrine of the Orthodox Church from the unique perspective of a Christian leader speaking the truth in love.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew speaks to a contemporary world about, human rights, religious tolerance, international peace, environmental protection, and more. In the World, Yet Not of the World represents a selection of major addresses and significant messages as well as public statements by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, "first among equals" and spiritual leader of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians. The Patriarch is as comfortable preaching about the spiritual legacy of the Orthodox Church as he is promoting sociopolitical issues of his immediate cultural environment and praying for respect toward Islam or for global peace. As the documents reveal, the tenure of the Ecumenical Patriarch has been characterized by inter-Orthodox cooperation, inter-Christian dialogue and interreligious understanding. He has traveled more extensively than any other Orthodox Patriarch in history, exchanging official visitations with numerous ecclesiastical and state dignitaries. In particular, because he is a citizen of Turkey and the leader of a Christian minority in a predominantly Muslim nation, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew's personal experience endows him with a unique perspective on religious tolerance and interfaith dialogue. These documents are drawn from his prominent leadership roles as primary spiritual leader of the Orthodox Christian world and transnational figure of global significance - influential roles that become more vital each day. Published together here for the first time, the writings reveal the Ecumenical Patriarch as a bridge builder and peacemaker. One of his catchphrases is "War in the name of religion is war against religion." Over the past eighteen years, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew's inclination and intention have been to address the most difficult issues facing the world-the deep and increasing mistrust between East and West, the decay and widening destruction of the natural environment, as well as the sharp divisions among the various Christian confessions and diverse faith communities-whether on religious, racial, or cultural levels. He regards being a servant of reconciliation as a primary obligation of his spiritual ministry to. This book reveals the powerful influence of a spiritual institution from the unique perspective of a Christian leader in the world, and yet not of the world. Some of the topics covered: o Faith and freedom o Racism and fundamentalism o Mutual respect and tolerance o Ecology and poverty o Human rights and freedom o Racial and religious discrimination o Church and state o Terrorism and corruption o Freedom of conscience o Europe, Turkey and the world o Religion and politics o Christians and Muslims o Christians and Jews
