Исихазм

Автор Тема: "Empirical Dogmatics" Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos [English]  (Прочитано 11910 раз)

mysticalogical

  • Сообщений: 20
    • Просмотр профиля

К сожалению много сильных и содержательных трудов митрополита Иерофея (Влахоса) и профессора о.Иоанна Романидиса не доступны на русском языке, где очень ясно описывается мистическая и екклезиологическая жизнь Церкви, которая тесно взаимосвязанно с умным деланием.

Empirical Dogmatics
Empirical Dogmatics of the Orthodox Catholic Church by Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos is a valuable contribution to contemporary theological literature. It is a work in two volumes, based mainly on the spoken teaching of Fr. John Romanides. This book is an encounter between two important theologians of our time. Father John Romanides’ vivid and unconventional words, presented by Metropolitan Hierotheos, come as a liberating intervention in theological thought. Fr. John’s precise and specific teaching is not essentially innovative, but takes patristic theology and re-formulates it for our own era.


The first volume of Empirical Dogmatics is divided into four chapters: Dogma and Ethics, The Experience of Revelation, The Bearers of Revelation and The Living Monuments of Revelation.

This is a different kind of dogmatics because it is based on experience. “Dogma is not to be believed. Dogma is to be experienced.” Dogma is not human speculation. It has nothing to do with philosophy or metaphysics. It does not lead to any form of moralism. Fr. John often draws parallels between theology and the positive sciences, particularly medicine and astronomy. The method proposed for approaching dogma, and theology in general, is experiment, experience, observation and recording, as well as verification of the degree of success in achieving the aim by means of results. The aim is man’s glorification, which is reached by way of purification and illumination. Holy relics are tangible evidence for the authenticity of this experience, which transforms the whole human being, body and soul. It is empirical realities of this kind that attract non-Orthodox Christians today.

Dogma is the record of the revelatory experience of the saints who see God. It is the rational formulation of the mystery that they experienced. Dogma also acts as a means of therapeutic treatment for those who are spiritually sick and as a guide and signpost showing the way to glorification. There is a close connection between dogma and ethics, which Orthodox theology identifies with ascetic practice. The ascetic method consists of striving for purification, and leads to illumination. In this way the separation of the rational faculty from the noetic faculty is achieved, the darkened nous is illuminated and unceasing noetic prayer begins. Man is then in a position to experience dogma and to reach glorification. The empirical basis of dogma is the foundation of the spiritual life, understood in the context of the life of the Church.

The experience of revelation, of glorification, is the experience of Pentecost. Theology is an expression of the vision of God, but is not identical with it, because in the state of divine vision theology is transcended. The Christian is led to this experience through obedience to an experienced spiritual father. Spiritual fatherhood and its therapeutic dimension is the factor that links the bearers of the revelation: the glorified down through the ages and the God-seers of the Old and New Testaments. The difference between them is that the glorified Prophets of the Old Testament experience the revelation of the unincarnate Word, whereas the glorified Apostles, Fathers and saints of the New Testament experience the incarnate Word. Divine inspiration is another characteristic that they share, so they are unerring theologians. The infallibility of the Ecumenical Councils, which set out dogmas when the appearance of heretics makes this necessary, is due to the divine inspiration and freedom from error of the glorified Fathers who participated in them.

The theological teaching of Fr. John clarifies misunderstandings and resolves points of uncertainty. For instance, he clarifies the distinction between the revelation itself and the ‘living monuments of the revelation’: Holy Scripture and Tradition. The source of the faith is revelation, the experience of uncreated, ineffable words. The purpose of created words and concepts in Holy Scripture and Tradition is to cure man through purification, illumination and glorification.

This therapeutic method is the heart of the Orthodox Tradition and Empirical Dogmatics is a therapeutic intervention for those who are tired of the barren wanderings of Western theology.
http://www.pelagia.org.gr/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage-ask.tpl&product_id=107&category_id=2&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=10&lang=en

Volume 2 completes the Empirical Dogmatics addresses central dogmatic issues in the light of the experience of the Apostles and saints. Fr. John’s approach is unique, lively, and unconventional. Because of his American background, his wide-ranging academic research and his participation in ecumenical dialogues, he sees Orthodox dogma in its wider context.  But his words are also illuminated by the mystery of his own experience, which he does not completely succeed in concealing. 

The Church’s teaching on the Holy Trinity distinguishes between the dogma of the Holy Trinity, which it is possible to understand, and the mystery of the Holy Trinity, which defies human comprehension.  The revelation of the Holy Trinity begins in the Old Testament: “It is Christ Who appears to the Prophets...Christ...is the Angel of the Lord, the Lord of Glory, Yahweh, the Lord Sabaoth, the Angel of Great Counsel …”

Fr. John reviews the scriptural and patristic teaching on the Creation of the World from non-being.  Discussing the Demons of Darkness, he states uncompromisingly:  “Being a theologian means first and foremost that someone is an expert in the wiles of the devil.”  God’s personal direction of world is a matter of experience:  “When someone is in the state of illumination he…sees the uncreated energy of God within creation.”

Commenting on the Creation of Man, Fr. John declares that we all possess a noetic faculty (nous) “which is supposed to be in man’s heart, but it is not in the heart when it is not functioning correctly”.   The illuminated nous returns to the heart and prays: “When man prays with his rational faculty, that is human prayer...When, however, his nous prays within the heart, then the Spirit is praying.”

The Fall of Man does not mean “inheriting the guilt of Adam and Eve. The ancestral sin was not an affront to God, but a sickness of man.” Fr. John argues against St Augustine’s view that death is “a punishment from God” and sets out the evidence that it is an illness.

The Incarnation of the Son and Word of God is not just a historical event but “a spiritual event that is confirmed by empirical knowledge”. Analysing the Transfiguration of Christ, Fr. John comments: “We also know these things from the experience of glorification, not simply from reading Holy Scripture.”  Christians must personally experience the Mystery of the Cross and Resurrection of Christ. “God is not reconciled with man, but man with God through the mystery of the Cross, and through this reconciliation man is transformed from an enemy of God into His friend, and participates in the Resurrection of Christ.”

The Mystery of Pentecost shows that the experience of Pentecost is repeated through the centuries.  Fr. John stresses the empirical element of St Paul’s teaching:  “For someone to be a temple of the Holy Spirit is an experience. If one reads the Apostle Paul carefully, he is not using empty words every time he describes the Holy Spirit...Who prays in man’s heart...This is the reality.”  He also asks:  “Without becoming a temple of the Holy Spirit, how can anyone become a theologian?”

Fr. John says characteristically: “What is the purpose of Orthodoxy? It is clear from the calendar of feasts. We have Easter and we have Pentecost. Baptism in water takes place at Easter. Baptism in the Holy Spirit takes place at Pentecost... And what is the outcome? The Sunday of All Saints. In other words, that all Orthodox Christians may be numbered among the saints.”

The Spiritual Perfecting of Christians analyses the stages of purification, illumination and glorification-theosis.  Purification is not just a matter of avoiding sin: “Purification of the heart means that thoughts leave the heart...so that the heart is left...with one thought, prayer alone. This...is called prayer of the heart or single-thought prayer.”  Those who reach illumination experience this: “Noetic prayer is a gift from God and is proof that somebody has become a temple of the Holy Spirit.”  And someone who is glorified “no longer knows God in prophecies and knowledge and prayers, but knows Him directly.

Fr. John takes a historical and spiritual approach to the Mysteries (Sacraments) of the Church, stating: “The Mystery of Chrismation was intended for those who had already become members of the Body of Christ, because it was assumed that the Holy Spirit had already come to them and was praying in their heart.”  Heresies and Councils are seen in a therapeutic perspective: “There is no therapeutic treatment in heresy...it is dangerous for people. The Fathers saw heresy as a form of charlatanism...”

Considering Life after Death, Fr. John stresses that Paradise and Hell exist from the human point of view, not from God’s perspective.  “Someone who is suitably prepared sees God as glory, and someone else, who is unprepared, who does not have repentance and does not have divine vision, also sees God, but sees Him as ‘a consuming fire’. This is the fire of Hell.”

Metropolitan Hierotheos arranges all this material clearly and systematically, and links it with his own interpretative and critical comments.  The resulting account of Empirical Dogmatics is comprehensive and compelling, with many surprises.  This book will appeal not only to theologians but to anyone interested in what Orthodox Christians believe and why.
http://www.pelagia.org.gr/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage-ask.tpl&product_id=111&category_id=2&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=10&lang=en

mysticalogical

  • Сообщений: 20
    • Просмотр профиля