Comparative Confessions
Orthodox Theology
Orthodox theology: dogmatics, hesychasm and theosis, church structure, Protestant dialogue
Eastern Orthodoxy understands itself as the guardian of the faith of the seven ecumenical councils. It numbers some three hundred million faithful, concentrated in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Near East and Russia.
Dogmatic foundations
Orthodoxy is defined by fidelity to the seven ecumenical councils held between 325 and 787. Its theology is essentially apophatic: one says first what God is not. The Cappadocian Fathers, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzus, together with Maximus the Confessor, are its principal theologians.
Points of divergence from Rome
| Question | Orthodox position | Catholic position |
|---|---|---|
| Filioque | The Spirit proceeds from the Father alone (John 15:26). Any addition to the Creed apart from an ecumenical council is illegitimate. | The Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son; a Western addition adopted progressively and received at Rome in the eleventh century. |
| Papal primacy | A primacy of honour, not of jurisdiction: Rome is primus inter pares. Universal jurisdictional primacy is foreign to patristic ecclesiology. | Universal jurisdictional primacy; the pope as vicar of Christ and successor of Peter, infallible ex cathedra. |
| Recent Marian dogmas | The Immaculate Conception (1854) and the Assumption as dogma (1950) are not received. The Dormition is a liturgical feast, not a defined dogma. | Two defined dogmas, promulgated by Pius IX and Pius XII respectively. |
| Purgatory | No doctrine of purgatory as a place of purification through suffering. Prayer for the dead is retained, resting on divine mercy. | Purgatory as a state of final purification for those who die in grace but imperfectly purified. |
| Sacraments | Seven mysteries, without a scholastic theory of matter and form; the sacramental theology is participatory rather than Aristotelian. | Seven sacraments, with a developed doctrine of matter, form, minister and intention. |
Hesychasm, from ἡσυχία, stillness, is the Orthodox spiritual tradition par excellence. It consists in contemplative prayer centred on the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
The Palamite controversy
Gregory Palamas (1296-1359), archbishop of Thessalonica, defended hesychasm against Barlaam of Calabria. His thesis is that God is wholly inaccessible in his essence (οὐσία) yet truly communicated in his energies (ἐνέργειαι), the radiance of divine life that penetrates creation. The monks of Athos who behold the Taboric light, the light of the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-3), behold a real divine energy and not a created radiance. This essence–energies distinction frames the whole Orthodox theology of grace, and it was confirmed by the councils of Constantinople in 1341, 1347 and 1351.
Theosis
Deification (θέωσις) is the end of salvation in Orthodox theology: a real and ever-increasing participation in the divine life through the uncreated energies. Athanasius states the principle: he became man that we might become god (De incarnatione 54), and 2 Pet 1:4 speaks of sharing in the divine nature. Theosis is not the dissolution of the person in the divine; the distinction between Creator and creature is maintained, while the participation is genuine and transforming.
The doctrine bears directly on ecumenical dialogue. Theosis is often set against forensic justification as an incompatible paradigm, but Tuomo Mannermaa and the Finnish Lutheran school have argued for convergences between Luther’s account of the indwelling Christ and the Orthodox doctrine.
Structure of the Orthodox churches
Orthodoxy is a family of fifteen autocephalous churches together with several autonomous churches. Each is independent in its internal government. The patriarchate of Constantinople enjoys a primacy of honour without jurisdiction.
| Church | See | Faithful (estimated) |
|---|---|---|
| Ecumenical Patriarchate | Istanbul (the Phanar) | ca. 5 million |
| Russian Orthodox Church | Moscow | ca. 100-160 million |
| Romanian Orthodox Church | Bucharest | ca. 18 million |
| Serbian Orthodox Church | Belgrade | ca. 8 million |
| Church of Greece | Athens | ca. 9 million |
| Bulgarian Orthodox Church | Sofia | ca. 6 million |
| Patriarchate of Antioch | Damascus | ca. 4 million |
The Divine Liturgy
The central act of Orthodox worship is the Divine Liturgy, principally that of John Chrysostom, with the Liturgy of Basil the Great on the Sundays of Lent. It lasts from ninety minutes to three hours and is celebrated facing east. The iconostasis, a screen of icons, separates the sanctuary from the nave and figures the boundary between the heavenly kingdom and the world. The faithful traditionally stand, and the music is unaccompanied, in Byzantine or Slavonic chant.
Orthodox and Protestant dialogue
| Theme | Convergence | Divergence |
|---|---|---|
| Scripture and Tradition | Both traditions reject the papal Magisterium as an infallible interpretive organ. | Protestants hold sola Scriptura, Scripture judging Tradition. Orthodoxy holds Scripture and Tradition to form an indivisible whole. |
| Christology | Full agreement on the first councils: Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus and Chalcedon. | Protestants receive conciliar christology as conformable to Scripture rather than as an independent authority. |
| Justification | Mannermaa and the Finnish school have drawn Luther’s christological participation close to Orthodox theosis. | Forensic justification remains difficult to articulate with a participatory account of deification. |
| Worship | Both value the eschatological dimension of the liturgy. | Orthodoxy is eminently sacramental and iconographic; the Reformed tradition is sober and centred on the Word. |
Bibliography
- Lossky, Vladimir. The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church. London: James Clarke, 1957.
- Ware, Kallistos. The Orthodox Church. 2nd ed. London: Penguin, 1993.
- Meyendorff, John. Byzantine Theology. New York: Fordham University Press, 1974.
- Palamas, Gregory. The Triads. Ed. John Meyendorff. New York: Paulist, 1983.
- Mannermaa, Tuomo. Christ Present in Faith. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2005.
Quiz — Orthodox Theology
What distinction did Gregory Palamas defend against Barlaam of Calabria?
- Between nature and person in the Trinity
- Between the divine essence, wholly inaccessible, and the divine energies, truly communicated
- Between the visible and the invisible Church
- Between the veneration of icons and the worship due to God alone
The councils of Constantinople, 1341, 1347 and 1351