Mind of the Orthodox Church

The chapters making up this book were talks given to the Catechists of the Holy Archdiocese of Athens in the year 1989-90, and they examine what the Church is and what the real dimensions of the mind of the Church are. At the beginning of the book the chapters “Origin and Revelation of the Church” and “Definition and Characteristics of the Church” emphasise that the Church is not a human organisation but a Divine-Human Organism. It is the Body of Christ and a “communion of deification”. The source of the Church is God Himself. The characteristics of the Church (One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic) are analysed, as well as the aim of the Church, which is man’s deification and salvation. An explanation is given of who the real members of the Church are. In the chapter on “Orthodoxy according to the Holy Fathers” it is made clear that Orthodoxy is the true faith and the real Church, because only within the Church is the salvation of man made sure. The unity between the Church, Orthodoxy and the divine Eucharist is underlined, since the holy Fathers stress that Orthodoxy is the true faith of the Church and the divine Eucharist is the true action of the Church. The chapter entitled “The Church and the Divine Eucharist according to St Maximos the Confessor” looks in detail at the teaching of St Maximos the Confessor on the Church and the Divine Eucharist in a work of his called “Mystagogy”. The divine Eucharist points to the whole work of the divine Economy and signifies the soul’s journey to acquiring true knowledge. Within the Holy Temple (the Church building) and the divine Eucharist Christians have the living experience of the unity of the Church. Reading the chapter on “The Mind of the Orthodox Church” makes us aware that this way of thinking is inspired by the Holy Spirit and is linked with the regenerated life which is experienced in the heart. Reference is made to the characteristics of the Orthodox ecclesiastical mind as recorded by St Paul in his Epistles The chapter on “The Catholic Way of Life” can be seen as especially significant. It points out that a catholic man is one who recognises the truth (Orthodox) and lives the truth (righteous). It examines the fact that there are no splits within the Church, nor are there different categories of people, but one catholic way of life which can be experienced by all the Church’s members, for each person is created by God in His image and likeness. In the chapter “Orthodoxy and Legalism” the Orthodox viewpoint is

שנה

2006

הוצאה

Birth of the Theotokos Monastery

מהדורות

2

ISBN

9789607070395

מקור הנתונים: Wikidata