Orthodox Constructions of the West: (Orthodox Christianity and Contemporary Thought)

The category of the "West" has played a particularly significant role in the modern Eastern Orthodox imagination. It has functioned as an absolute marker of difference from what is considered to be the essence of Orthodoxy and, thus, ironically has become a constitutive aspect of the modern Orthodox self. The essays collected in this volume examine the many factors that contributed to the "Eastern" construction of the "West" in order to understand why the "West" is so important to the Eastern Christian's sense of self.

Table of Contents:
Orthodox Naming of the Other: A Postcolonial Approach George E. Demacopoulos and Aristotle Papanikolaou Perceptions and Realities in Orthodox-Catholic Relations Today: Reflections on the Past, Prospects for the Future Robert F. Taft, S.J. Byzantines, Armenians, and Latins: Unleavened Bread and Heresy in the Tenth Century Tia Kolbaba "Light from the West": Byzantine Readings of Aquinas Marcus Plested From the "Shield of Orthodoxy" to the "Tome of Joy" The Anti-Western Stance of Dositheos II of Jerusalem Norman Russell The Burdens of Tradition: Orthodox Constructions of the West in Russia (late 19th-early 20th cc.) Vera Shevzov Florovsky's Neopatristic Synthesis and the Future Ways of Orthodox Theology Paul L. Gavrilyuk Eastern "Mystical Theology" or Western "Nouvelle Theologie"?: On the Comparative Reception of Dionysius the Areopagite in Lossky and de Lubac Sarah Coakley The Image of the West in Contemporary Greek Theology Pantelis Kalaitzidis Christos Yannaras and the Idea of Dysis Basilio Petra Religion in the Greek Public Sphere: Debating Europe's Influence Effie Fokas Shaking the Comfortable Conceits of Otherness: Political Science and the Study of "Orthodox Constructions of the West" Elizabeth H. Prodromou Eastern Orthodox Constructions of "the West" in the Post-Communist Political Discourse: The Cases of the Romanian and Russian Orthodox Churches Lucian Turcescu Primacy and Ecclesiology: The State of the Question John Panteleimon Manoussakis (In)Voluntary Ecumenism: Dumitru Staniloae's Interaction with the West as Open Sobornicity Radu Bordeianu Notes List of Contributors Index

About the Author :
George E. Demacopoulos is Fr. John Meyendorff & Patterson Family Chair of Orthodox Christian Studies and Professor of Theology at Fordham University. He is also a Co-founding Director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham University. He serves as a Senior Fellow at Dumbarton Oaks and as President of the Byzantine Studies Association of North America. He is the author of five monographs and dozens of scholarly articles of the history of Christianity in the premodern period. Aristotle Papanikolaou is professor of theology, the Archbishop Demetrios Chair of Orthodox Theology and Culture, and a Co-Director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham University. He is also McDonald Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Emory University Center for the Study of Law and Religion. He is the author of two monographs and numerous scholarly articles on Orthodox theology, as well as co-editor of ten volumes.

Review :
"The authors of these essays critique the predominant practice among many leading Orthodox thinkers of defining Orthodoxy as 'that which Western Christianity is not.' Through successive layers of historical and theoretical analysis, the volume shakes this dominant paradigm and demonstrates how much more complex - and problematic - Orthodox constructions of 'the West' are." Perry Hamalis, North Central College "This book represents a significant step in the direction of self-reflection and self-criticism that has almost completely eluded Orthodox identity narratives colored by centuries of political oppression and demographic challenges. After too long a wait, such an initiative is all the more remarkable: it approaches the prophetic. Demacopoulos and Papanikolaou are to be recognized for having assembled a world-class array of scholars in diverse fields to produce a compilation that is fascinating, accessible, and at points highly challenging. It will inspire heated debate, and will surely become a staging point for future work." Peter C. Bouteneff, St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary