Christ is risen!Workers of the world, unite! Are these two exclamations mutually exclusive? Can one be an (Orthodox) Christian and an anarchist or a socialist? It all depends on what one means by “Orthodoxy” (or “Christianity” for that matter), and what one means by “socialism” or “anarchism.” Orthodox Christianity, in my view, cannot fully be…
Continue readingIslam, Orthodoxy, and Tyranny
by Phil Dorroll | български | ქართული | Ελληνικά | Русский | Српски When it comes to religion and politics, Eastern Orthodox Christians and Sunni Muslims find themselves in the same predicament. Both of these religions adhere to a particularly strong concept of sacred tradition. This tradition is distinct from revelation itself, but revelation can…
Continue readingThe Navalny Protests and Orthodoxy’s A-Political Theology
Mumblings of the Sacred
At the end of January, what were perhaps the largest protest rallies in the last ten years took place across Russia. The protests were sparked by the arrest of opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who had returned to his homeland after medical treatment in Germany. Back in August 2020, Russian special services had tried to poison…
Continue readingSearching for Social Ethics
by Regina Elsner The International Orthodox Theological Association (IOTA) as the largest meeting of Orthodox theologians from all over the world was a remarkable event not only for the Orthodox world but also for a Catholic theologian engaged with Orthodox theology. As my own research focuses on (Russian) Orthodox socio-ethical thinking, and current issues of…
Continue readingPolitical Nestorianism and the Politics of Theosis
In addressing how the Orthodox Churches in a pan-Orthodox voice and in pan-Orthodox action realize justice, freedom, brotherhood and love among peoples, what I would like to suggest is that the Orthodox churches will not contribute to such a realization until they abandon what I would call political Nestorianism. As we all know, the sin…
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