John Zizioulas

Ioannis (John) Zizioulas ( born January 10, 1931) is Metropolitan of Pergamon and one of the most important and influential Orthodox theologians of our time.

Academic Education and Career

Zizioulas studied theology in Thessaloniki and Athens, and in the USA Georges Florovsky and received his doctorate in 1965 in Athens. He first taught in Thessaloniki, but soon he went to Scotland, where he first taught 14 years systematic theology in Edinburgh and then Glasgow. In 1986 he was elected by the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the ( titular ) Metropolitan of Pergamon. Today, he heads the office of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Athens, is a member ( and was president ) of the Athens Academy and directs the Orthodox delegation in the official Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox and the Catholic Church.

Theology

The theological work of Zizioulas focused on the topics ecclesiology and anthropology. His theology reflects the influence of Russian exile theologians such as Nikolai Afanassieff, Vladimir Lossky and his teacher Georges Florovsky. In addition, Zizioulas materially from the ascetic theology of Archimandrite Sophrony ( Sakharov ) was affected. Most of his books have been published in English and French, in German-speaking countries it is as yet hardly been received.

Ecclesiology

The translation of the title of his dissertation is in the Greek-speaking German "The unity of the Church in the Divine Liturgy and Bishops in the first three centuries ." This in a sense puts his theological program; he is one of the most important representatives of the " eucharistic ecclesiology ", according to which the Church is not considered primarily from the perspective of the universal Church, but of the local church here: the celebrating the Eucharist and to the Episcopal Church is the Church par excellence. Zizioulas and the other representatives of Eucharistic ecclesiology access so that the early church principle that the Church sees in the individual local church.

The eucharistic ecclesiology has been widely discussed. In Orthodoxy it is considered patristic sound alternative to the so-called " school of theology ", ie the over-molding Orthodox theological thought by Western categories and questions. This " pseudomorph " has been most vehemently complained of Zizioulas ' teacher Florovksy. Through his approach Zizioulas are Orthodox theology the opportunity to realize the demanded by Florovsky and other return to the fathers, and at the same time from the patristic theology (and the practice of the early church ) provide a creative new approach, which has also influenced Catholic theology.

Anthropology

In his writings on anthropology, the work of Zizioulas operates at the interface between the One and the majority. This concerns the anthropology ( "Being as communion", " Communion and Otherness " ), in which he repeatedly tried to find a balance between the two poles. The analogy to the question of the Trinity is near; the theology of the Cappadocians and Maximus the Confessor serve it as the main sources.

Reception

In Orthodoxy, his approach is widely used today, though not without controversy. Many important theologians refer to him, especially in the Greek-speaking and the Serbian church. He enjoys great authority widely. The ecumenical consequences that Zizioulas draws from his theology are innerorthodox also criticized, but this is mainly seen in the context of the general criticism of ecumenism, which is widely used in Orthodoxy.

Ecumenical importance

Through his theological thought Zizioulas opens up the possibility of new beginnings in ecumenical dialogue, which does not exhaust itself in the treatment of specific disagreements in matters of doctrine, but more fundamentally attaches and thus indirectly also implies questions of theological hermeneutics. The eucharistic ecclesiology enables a new way of understanding of the church; it has brought the debate between the Catholic and Orthodox church from focusing on issues of church structure ( papacy, Uniate ) on a fundamental level on which an agreement is in principle much more promising. Zizioulas is since 2006 the Orthodox Co- Chairman of the Commission official dialogue between the two churches.

Honors

  • Honorary doctorates Institut Catholique in Paris
  • Orthodox Theological Faculty in Belgrade
  • Westfälische Wilhelms -Universität Münster (2010)

Works

  • Remembering the Future: An Eschatological Ontology, London, 2009.
  • Lectures in Christian Dogmatics. Ed. by Douglas Knight and Katerina Nikolopulu, London, 2008.
  • Being as Communion: Studies in Personhood and the Church. Crestwood NY (SVS Press) 1993 ( Contemporary Greek Theologians 4 ), London, 2004.
  • L' Être Ecclesial ( Orthodox Perspective 3), Genève 1981.
  • L ' Eucharist ( Eglises en dialogue 12) Tours in 1971.
  • Eucharist, Bishop, Church: The Unity of the Church in the Divine Eucharist and the Bishop falling on the first three Centuries, Greek Athens 1965 Brookline / MA 2001.
Academy of Athens (modern) Institut Catholique de Paris Integrated Authority File
416083
de