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Eastern Orthodox theology is thetheology particular to theEastern Orthodox Church. It is characterized bymonotheisticTrinitarianism, belief in theIncarnation of the divineLogos or only-begottenSon of God,cataphatic theology withapophatic theology, ahermeneutic defined by asacred Tradition, acatholicecclesiology, a theology of theperson, and a principallyrecapitulative and therapeuticsoteriology.
TheEastern Orthodox Church considers itself to be theone, holy, catholic and apostolic church established byJesus Christ and hisApostles. The Eastern Orthodox Church asserts to have been very careful in preserving thesetraditions. Eastern Orthodox Christians regard theChristian Bible as a collection of inspired texts that sprang out of this tradition, not the other way around; and the choices made in thecompilation of the New Testament as having come from comparison with already firmly established faith. The Bible has come to be a very important part of tradition, but not the only part.
Tradition also includes theNicene Creed, the decrees of the SevenEcumenical Councils, the writings of theChurch Fathers, as well as Eastern Orthodox laws (canons),liturgical books,icons, etc.
Eastern Orthodoxy interprets truth based on three witnesses: theconsensus of the Holy Fathers of the Church; the ongoing teaching of the Holy Spirit guiding the life of the Church through thenous, or mind of the Church (also called the "Universal Consciousness of the Church"[1]).
Some of the greatesttheologians in the history of the church come from the 4th century, including theCappadocian Fathers and theThree Hierarchs. However, the Eastern Orthodox do not consider the "Patristic era" to be a thing of the past, but that it continues in an unbroken succession of enlightened teachers (i.e., thesaints, especially those who have left us theological writings) from the Apostles to the present day.
The Eastern Orthodox also understand that a particular passage may be interpreted on many different levels simultaneously. However, interpretation is not a matter of personal opinion (2 Peter 1:20). For this reason, Eastern Orthodox depend upon theconsensus of theHoly Fathers to provide a trustworthy guide to the accurate interpretation of Scripture.[2][3]
Recent essays have been written by various contemporary Eastern Orthodox scholars which attempt to reconcile and react to both thecreationist interpretation of Genesis 1-2 and theDarwinian theory ofhuman evolution.[4]
Eastern Orthodox Christians believe in amonotheisticconception of God (God is only one), which is bothtranscendent (wholly independent of, and removed from, the material universe) andimmanent (involved in the material universe).[5] In discussing God's relationship to his creation, Eastern Orthodox theologydistinguishes between God's eternal essence, which is totally transcendent, and hisuncreated energies, which is how he reaches humanity.[5] The God who is transcendent and the God who touches mankind are one and the same.[5] That is, these energies are not something that proceed from God or that God produces, but rather they are God himself: distinct, yet inseparable from God's inner being.[6]
Eastern Orthodox Christians believe in a single God who is both three and one (triune); the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, "one in essence and undivided".[5] TheTrinity, three distinct, divine persons (hypostases), without overlap ormodality among them, who each have one divineessence (ousia, Greek: οὐσία)—uncreated, immaterial, andeternal.[7] TheFather is eternal and not begotten and does not proceed from any, theSon is eternal and begotten of the Father, and theHoly Spirit is eternal and proceeds from the Father.[5] Eastern Orthodox doctrine regarding the Trinity is summarised in theNicene Creed.[8] The essence of God being that which is beyond human comprehension and cannot be defined or approached by human understanding.[9]
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Eastern Orthodox Christians believe theWord of God (Greek:Λόγος) is one person in two natures, both fully divine and fully human, perfectly God (τέλειος Θεός) and perfectly man (τέλειος άνθρωπος) united in the person ofJesus Christ, in a unique event known as "theIncarnation".[10]
Eastern Orthodox Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah of the Jews, the God of Israel come to be with his people, the Redeemer of the human race who saves the world from sin and its effects, the comprehensible self-revelation of the incomprehensible God, and the pre-eternal Son begotten of the Father before all ages: "the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds (æons), Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father."[11]
In discussing God's relationship to his creation a distinction is made within Eastern Orthodox theology between God's eternal essence and uncreated energies, though it is understood that this does not compromise thedivine simplicity. Energies and essence are both inseparably God. The divine energies are the expressions of divine being in action according to Eastern Orthodox doctrine, whereas the persons of the Trinity are divine by nature. Hence, created beings are united to God through participation in the divine energies and not the divine essence orousia.
The Eastern Orthodox theologianOlivier Clement wrote:[12]
There is no need for Christians to create a special theory for justifying God (theodicy). To all the questions regarding the allowance of evil by God (the problem of evil) there is one answer – Christ; the Crucified Christ, Who burns up in Himself all the world's sufferings for ever; Christ, Who regenerates our nature and has opened the entry to the Kingdom of everlasting and full life to each one who desires it.The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that from the time of Christ's coming into the world, the fullness of Divine Love is revealed to those who believe in Him, the veil is fallen, and the Lord's sacrifice has demonstrated His Divine Love in His resurrection. It only remains for the faithful to partake of this Love: "O taste and see that the Lord is good," exclaims David the Psalmist.[13]
From an Eastern Orthodox perspective the concept oftheodicy and theproblem of evil stem both from a misconceived anthropology of man.[13] Early on in the history of the Christian communityGnostics attacked the God of the Jews and the story of cosmic creation contained in the Torah. They regarded this God as inferior for allowing his creation to be imperfect and negative events to occur. Western Roman Catholic philosophers (such asAugustine,Anselm of Canterbury, andThomas Aquinas)[14] have attempted to develop theodicies for theJudeo-Christian-Islamic God.[14]
Eastern Orthodox authors see theodicy as an exclusively Western preoccupation.[15]
The Eastern Orthodox Church holds the belief that following rules strictly without the heart "being in it" does not help a believer with his salvation.Sin is not fundamentally about transgressing a Divine law; rather, it stands for any behavior which "misses the mark", that is, fails to live up to the higher goal of conforming to God's nature, which is love.
Thus, in the Eastern Orthodox tradition sin is not viewed primarily as a guilty stain on the soul that needs to be wiped out, but rather as a pervading sickness or a failure to achieve the goal of a truly human life, fulfilling one's Divine design and function as the created likeness of God. Sin, therefore, implies the impetus to become something other than what we were created for, rather than guilt for violating a commandment. Because each person's experience is unique, conquering one's sinful habits requires individual attention and correction. The ultimate goal for this salvific process is to become divinized, to reflect the Divine likeness by becoming Christ-like in one's thought, life and behavior.
A traditional practice of Eastern Orthodoxy is, as in other apostolic churches, to have a spiritual mentor and guide to whom oneconfesses and who treats the sin on an individual basis. An experienced and spiritually mature guide will know how and when to apply strictness in dealing with sin and when to administer mercy.
In Eastern Orthodoxy, God created humanity with the ability to freely love him and gave humans a direction to follow. Man (Adam) and Woman (Eve) chose rather to disobey God by eating from theTree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, thus changing the "perfect" mode of existence of Man into a flawed or "fallen" one. Since then a fallen nature and all that has come from it is the result of this "Ancestral Sin".[16]
Man is not seen as inherently guilty of the sin committed by Adam, a view that differs from the Roman Catholic doctrine of original sin, where Adam is conceived as the federal head and legal representative of the human race, as first articulated by Latin FatherAugustine of Hippo.[note 1]
In the bookAncestral Sin,John S. Romanides addresses the concept of original sin, which he understands as an inheritance of ancestral sin from previous generations. Romanides asserts that original sin (understood as innate guilt) is not an apostolic doctrine of the Church nor cohesive with the Eastern Orthodox faith, but rather an unfortunate innovation of later church fathers such as Augustine. In the realm of ascetics it is by choice, not birth, that one takes on the sins of the world.[17]
The Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as theNon-Chalcedonian Churches (i.e.,Oriental Orthodoxy andAssyrian Church of the East), teach that both the elect and the lost enter into the presence of God after death, and that the elect experience this presence as light and rest, while the lost experience it as darkness and torment.[18]
InEastern Orthodoxy,Satan is one of the three enemies of humanity along withsin and death.
Salvation, or "being saved", refers to this process of being saved from death and corruption and the fate of hell. The Orthodox Church believes that its teachings and practices represent the true path to participation in the gifts of God. Yet, it should be understood that the Orthodox do not believe that someone must be Orthodox to participate in salvation. God is merciful to all. The Orthodox believe that there is nothing that a person (Orthodox or non-Orthodox) can do to earn salvation. It is rather a gift from God. However, this gift of relationship has to be accepted by the believer, since God will not force salvation on humanity. Man is free to reject the gift of salvation continually offered by God. To be saved, man must work together with God in asynergeia whereby his entire being, including his will, effort and actions, are perfectly conformed with, and united to, the divine.Vladimir Lossky:
God becomes powerless before human freedom; He cannot violate it since it flows from His own omnipotence. Certainly man was created by the will of God alone; but he cannot be deified [made Holy] by it alone. A single will for creation, but two for deification. A single will to raise up the image, but two to make the image into a likeness. The love of God for man is so great that it cannot constrain; for there is no love without respect. Divine will always will submit itself to gropings, to detours, even to revolts of human will to bring it to a free consent.[19]
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The ultimate goal of the Eastern Orthodox Christian is to achievetheosis ("deification") or conformity to and intimate union with God.
A central concept inEastern Christianity isnous (typically translated "mind" or "understanding"), theapperceptive and relational faculty of attention or awareness which is the center, heart, or spirit of the person.[20][21] Nous is the eye or soul of the person.[22][23] It is the nous that is both logical and intuitive understanding.[24] It was humanity's nous that was damaged by Adam's sin and fall and it was this damaged consciousness that each human by birth now receives.
It is the nous which has to be healed and nourished by means of illumination (seetheoria).[25] In Eastern Orthodox thought, the Church offers a therapeutic treatment for pain, suffering, and the search for value in existence. Eastern Orthodox Christianity is healing or therapeutic, and works in each individual to overcome their passions (i.e. evil thoughts, pasts, addictions).[24]
As a reorientation of the self, faith (pistis) is sometimes used interchangeably with noesis in Eastern Christianity.[26] Faith is the intuitive,noetic experience of the nous or spirit. Transformative faith is a gift from God and among his uncreated operations.[27]
According to anti-Latin polemicistJohn Romanides,Western Christianity does not offer a spiritual cure for spiritual problems, but expresses salvation as a worldly (religious) goal in the pursuit of happiness, rather than seeking to attain the vision of God and transcend the self.[28] Spiritual work is done to reconcile the heart and mind, by putting the mind in the heart, and then contemplating through our intuition.[24][note 2] According to Lossky, rationalism reduces man and nature to cold mechanical concepts, interpretations and symbols of reality not reality in and of itself.[25][30]
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