Did Orthodoxy come to a halt before modernity? Does Orthodox Christian theology function only in traditional contexts, borrowing schemes and forms of rural society, to which the liturgical and theological symbolisms, the rhetorical models of preaching, the structures of church administration, and its views on the relation between religion, politics, and secular society are closely linked? Has Orthodoxy accepted the consequences of modernity, or does the Orthodox still feel a nostalgia for pre-modern forms of organization and structures of a glorified past, following in this way fundamentalism? Did even the movement called "Return to the Fathers", as it was understood, and despite its initially renewing character, function unwittingly as a barrier against modernity and its challenges? Modernity and post-modernity constitute, however, the broader historical, social, and cultural context within which the Church is called to accomplish its mission and to ceaselessly incarnate the Christian truth. In this book, Kalaitzidis argues that theology as a prophetic voice and expression of the self-understanding of the Church can only function in reference to the antinomy and the duality of the latter. Just as the Church is not of this world, so is theology aiming to express a charismatic experience and a transcendental reality, over and above words, concepts, or names. Just as the Church lives and goes forth in the world, so is theology seeking dialogue and communication with each historical present, following the language, the flesh, and the schemes of every given era, of each historic and cultural present. Theology is not exhausted by nor is it identified with History, but neither can it function in the absence of History, and more importantly, it cannot ignore the teachings of History. After all, the Revelation of God has always taken place inside the creation and History, not in some unhistoric, timeless, and unearthly universe.

Theology, Social Sciences, Politics