Panel: TRINITY AND THE BODY: A SYSTEMATIC-PRAXEOLOGICAL APPROACH



448.11 - TRINITY AND POLITICS: THE RECEPTION OF JOHN ZIZIOULAS' TRINITARIAN THEOLOGY IN CONTEMPORARY ORTHODOX POLITICAL THEOLOGIES

AUTHORS:
Chivu S. (KU Leuven ~ Leuven ~ Belgium)
Text:
This paper aims to shed light on how John Zizioulas' Trinitarian theology has been understood and integrated within two contemporary models of political theology developed by the well-known scholars and Orthodox theologians, Pantelis Kalaitzidis and Davor Džalto. Zizioulas, the late Metropolitan of Pergamon and maybe one of the most recognisable Orthodox theologians worldwide, is well known for his robust personalism developed on a Trinitarian basis. Despite the ecclesiological and, by extension, ecological contributions of his approach, one of the critiques raised toward Zizioulas's Trinitarian theology is its lack of awareness regarding questions related to politics. However, his understanding of the Trinity and personhood found itself on fertile soil in the context of the explicit 'turn to politics' that occurred within contemporary Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The discourse on political theology has only recently started to gain prominence within Orthodox Christianity, particularly within the anglophone academic milieu. Kalaitzidis and Džalto comprehensively, systematically, and critically construct political theologies, and engage with the contemporary socio-political context by using, to various degrees, a 'Zizioulean' Trinitarian theological framework. However, each scholar proposes slightly different perspectives, with Kalaitzidis leaning more toward a leftist-oriented political agenda, while Džalto fully embraces an anarchic position regarding the relationship between Christianity and sociopolitical issues. In this respect, a critical and comparative study of the reception of Zizioulas' Trinitarian theology in the works of Kalaitzidis and Džalto shows their strengths, shortcomings, and their particular relevance when it comes to questions related to personhood and Orthodox approaches toward the human body.