A Critical View on the Orthodox Neopatristics of the Second Half of the Twentieth Century. Consequences and Insufficiencies
A Critical View on the Orthodox Neopatristics of the Second Half of the Twentieth Century. Consequences and Insufficiencies

Summary/Abstract: A critical view on the Orthodox neopatristics of the second half of the twentieth century. Consequences and insufficiencies. The neopatristic synthesis can constitute the paradigm of the repositioning of the contemporary orthodox theology on the line of the Church Tradition. The neo-patristic current presupposes the appropriation and not the abandonment of the spirit of the Fathers. This synthesis is still in its beginning and its development will depend on how the Orthodox theologian will understand and relate to the concept of Church Tradition, in order to remain faithful to the thinking of the Holy Fathers and effectively contextualize their teaching. In this study I am going to present, from a critical perspective, the consequences and the insufficiencies of the neopatristic movement in the second half of the twentieth century. These would be: neglect and depreciation of the study of Holy Scripture, an anhistorical approach to patristic theology and a subsequent exaltation of traditionalism, tendency to introvertism and non-involvement in major trends and theological issues of the twentieth century, the obsolescence of Byzantine theology, cultivation and consolidation anti-Western and anti-ecumenical spirit, an insufficient theological response to the challenges of modernity. In the second part of the study, the main current challenges of Orthodox theology will be exposed and some of the achievements of neopatristic theologians will be presented.

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