History of Theology

The Most Important Personalities, Themes and Genres

©Ivana Noble, 2012© English translation Tim Noble, 2014

Hans Küng, Christianity: Religious Situation of Our Time, SCM, London, 1995, xxi–xxii.

What is Christianity actually? Is it at all possible to speak of it “ in the singular? Are there not rather various Christianities –Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant Reformation Christianity, without even mentioning the different Christian Free Churches and innumerable Christian sects and groups? It is necessary to say from the beginning that everywhere in the world Christianity has aroused many contradictory feelings. What is not “Christianity”? Christians too recognised this problem. Think of all the institutions, parties and movements, dogmas, laws, rituals, that bear the label “Christianity”. And how many times already in history has Christianity been forgotten, defeated, yes, even betrayed! How many times has it been forgotten, defeated, even betrayed by the churches themselves! … What does Christianity really mean or what could it mean?

Pentecost, Modern Mexican Art

The Early Church: 1st -7th Centuries

After the death of the apostles, the first witnesses of the life, death and resurrection of Christ, the question arose as to how to continue proclaiming the Christian faith, without distorting or abusing it, or dividing it into different conflicting sects, in order to help Christians remain steadfast in the face of persecution, even when the Second Coming of Christ did not happen.

St Clement of Rome


APOSTOLIC FATHERS (1ST-2ND C.)

Clement of Rome (+ c.101) Ignatius of Antioch (+ c.

106) Polycarp of Smyrna (+155-

167) The unknown authors of

the Didaché (The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles), the Letter of Diogenes, the Letter of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas

Icon of St Ignatius of Antioch, Russia, 17th Century.


Younger contemporaries of the apostles, whose writings are, both in terms of time and genre, similar to the New Testament canon which was then coming into being

Organising the church in times of persecution – they are an exposition of martyrdom

Protecting the church against internal divisions

Icon of St Polycarp by Nicholas Papas, Antiochean OrthodoxChurch in Souderton, USA.


In the second century the waves of persecution against Christians continued and it was necessary to address the accusations and objections from the side of the Jews, philosophers and Roman state officials.

Icon of the Early Martyrs of Rome


APOLOGISTS (2ND C.)

Aristides (+133-134)

Tatian (c. 120–180)

Athenagoras (c.133 – 190)

Justin Martyr (c.100-165)

Theophilus (+ c.177)

Icon of Justin Martyr, copy of icon by

Theophanes of Crete (16th c.), Athos


Philosophically educated converts, who, in dialogue with Judaism and Hellenic culture, explained that Christianity is not a dangerous sect, but rather the fulfilment of the human search for truth and justice, which has beneficial consequences for the whole world.

Their work, though aimed outside the church as a defence of Christianity, helped within the church to reflect on faith and the meaning of Christian practice

St Theophilus of Antioch


In the late 2nd / early 3rd

centuries Christianity struggled with Gnosticism, and set itself against the idea of a dualism between spirit and matter and against the idea that at its heart there is a kind of higher knowledge, accessible to only a few.

Origen, Illustration from "Les Vrais Portraits Et Vies Des Hommes Illustres" by André Thévet


ANTI-GNOSTIC FATHERS(2ND-3RD C.)

• Tertullian (c.160-220)• Clement of Alexandria

(c.150 -215)• Origen (c.185-253)• Irenaeus of Lyon (c.130-200)• Hippolytus of Rome (c.170-

235)

• Icon of St Irenaeus of Lyon, France


First systematic theological writings

The interpretation of Scripture and the previous tradition

their work, though aimed at the church, raised questions about how Christianity, through Christ, is concerned with the world as a whole, as well as how it related to other religions and to philosophy, in which there is an irreplaceable value.

St Hippolytus of Rome


A falling off in persecution in the late 3rd / early 4th

centuries allowed for the public operation of important Christian centres, but at the same time confronted the church both with the plurality of its theological approaches as well as with its divisions and its long unresolved disputes.

The library of Alexandria


DEVELOPMENT OF THE THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS(3RD-4TH C.)

HIGH POINT OF GREEK PATRISTICS

Alexandrian School

Clement of Alexandria

Origen

Athanasius (c.295-373)

Cyril of Alexandria (c.370-444)

allegorical interpretation of Scriptures, contemplation (theoria)

Emphasis on Christ’s divinity

St Atnahasius


DEVELOPMENT OF THE THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS (3RD-4TH C.)


Cappadocian Fathers

Basil the Great (c.330-379)

Gregory Nazianzus (c.330-390)

Gregory of Nyssa (c.335-395)

Trinitarian dogma

liturgy, monasticism, spiritual poetry

Icon of St Gregory of Nyssa, Chora Church, Constantinople, 14 centrury


DEVELOPMENT OF THE THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS (3RD-4TH C.)


Antiochean School

Cyril of Jerusalem (315-386)

John Chrysostom (350-407)

Theodore of Mopsuestia (350-420)

typological interpretation of Scripture, discussion over first level of meaning “history”

liturgy, homilies

Emphasis on Christian living in the world

A Byzantine Mosaic of St John Chrysostom, Hagia Sophia


State recognition of the church led to the much longed-for end to persecution and to the church being seen as the most important force in the empire, though with this connection it began to lose its evangelical radicalism. In the 4th

century, as a reaction to this, both men and women left the towns for the desert regions of Egypt to live an intensely spiritual life, to fight with evil, to seek for grace and especially for a life of uninterrupted prayer which joined them to God and sanctified the world.

Coptic Icon of St Anthony


DESERT FATHERS (4TH C.)

Anthony of Egypt (251-356)

Pachomius (287-347)

Malchus (c. 300-c.370)

Macarius of Egypt (+390)

Syncletica of Alexandria (*380)

Mary of Egypt (c. 344 – c. 421)

Rejection of the world

Spiritual direction by an experienced father or mother

Struggle with evil

Bringing the whole person together in prayer

apophthegmata (Sayings of the Desert Fathers)

Advice to pilgrims

Icon of St Mary of Egypt


In the 5th century pilgrimage developed especially amongst women (Mother Theodora of Alexandria, Mother Sarah of the Desert), in the 6th century the tradition of the desert fathers moved to Mount Sinai, where it was continued by, for example, John Climacus, and from where in the 10th century, it moved to Mount Athos

Mosaic of Mother Theodora ofAlexandria


Christianity in the 4th and 5th centuries was conditioned to a large extent by the life of the church within the framework of the Roman Empire, where the Emperor called ecumenical councils in which bishops and other theologians from various parts decided together on what constituted Christian orthodoxy. The church also existed outside the Roman Empire, in Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Armenia.

Tetramorph, fresco from a monastery in Meteora, 16th century


Theology in the Eastern Churches

Theology there took on its own particular methods and their representatives did not always get to the councils. This was, for example, the case at the 4th Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon (451). Despite earlier accusations of heterodoxy and being labelled monophysites or non-Chalcedonian Christians, the monastic movement and theologians from these regions deeply influenced both Eastern and Western Christianity within the Empire.

Frescos from the Syrian monastery of WadiNatrun


FATHERS OF THE ORIENTAL CHURCHES(4TH-5TH C.)

Ephraim of Syria (306-373)

Deacon, exegete, theologian and poet

theology emerging from the mouth to the spiritual life

The human being is linked to the whole of the visible and invisible creation, the church is not isolated from the world, salvation from the act of creation and theosis

Icon of St Ephrem


FATHERS OF THE ORIENTAL CHURCHES

(4TH-5TH C.)

Dionysius the Areopagite (end of 5th c.)

Appears to have been a Syrian monk,

mistakenly identified with the pupil

of the Apostle Paul, deeply

influenced Byzantine theology

Mystic, synthesising Christianity and

neo-Plantonism

Heavenly and earthly hierarchy

St Dionysios the Aeropagite


In the late 4th / early 5th centuries the church increasingly found itself a part of public and political life. The Emperor called its councils and thus participated in the formulation of orthodoxy.Its theological nuances are not, however, so easy to summarise in one document. Despite the formation of the Biblical canon and the formulation of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, disagreements over the interpretation of Christian orthodoxy and orthopraxis continued. In 410 Rome fell to the Visigoths, and was sacked by the Vandals in 455. The question arose as to whether, and if so how, Christianity would survive the Roman Empire.

Sibyl and the ruins of Rome, Giovanni Paolo Pannini, c. 1750.


HIGH PERIOD OF LATIN PATRISTICS(4TH-5TH C.)

Jerome (c.347-420)

Latin translation of the Bible (Vulgate)

Ambrose of Milan (c.340-397)

Proponent of Nicene Christology in the West

Skilled politician, intellectual, bishop, teacher of St. Augustine

St Jerome


HIGH PERIOD OF LATIN PATRISTICS(4TH-5TH C.)

Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

Internalisation of Christianity

Disputes with Manicheans, Donatists and Pelagius influenced his theology of grace and ecclesiology, dualistic anthropology

Fall of Rome – theology of history

St Augustine by Boticelli, Florence, 1480.


HIGH PERIOD OF LATIN PATRISTICS (4TH-5TH C.)

Vincent of Lerins (+ before 450)

Criterion of orthodoxy, Vincentian canon: what has been believed always, everywhere and by all

Leo the Great (+461)

Pope, preacher, protected Rome at the time of the sackings

St Vincent of Lerins, Russian icon, 20th century


In the 6th and 7th centuries the migration of the peoples took place. In the remnants of the Western Roman Empire Goths, Franks, Saxons and Slavs fought for power. Later new forms of government developed in these areas. In the late 5th / early 6th centuries Benedict of Nursia founded the first monastic community in southern Italy.

Monte Cassino, the first Benedictine Monastery


LATE PERIOD OF LATIN PATRISTICS (6TH-7TH C.)

Boethius (480-524) Translation of Aristotle into Latin Indispensable role of philosophy

Gregory the Great (c.540-604) pope Benedictine spirituality Reform of the church organisation and liturgy

Isidore of Seville (560-636) Regarded as the last Church Father

writing in Latin Defender of Latin culture and

Christianity under Gothic rule

Boethius, medieval illustration

Between Antiquity and the Middle Ages: 7th-9th Centuries

The Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire survived the fall of Rome and Christianity. Linked with the imperial throne, with all the advantages and problems that brought, it continued until the 15th century. In this setting the foundations of Orthodox Christianity were formed. These consisted in the Greek language, Roman law and those councils considered as orthodox. Monasticism, liturgy, theology, canon law, as well as norms for church music, architecture and iconography stem from this particular background.

Illustration of medieval Constantinople

Between Antiquity and the Middle Ages: 7th-9th Centuries

LATE BYZANTINE PATRISTICS (7TH-9TH C.)

John of Damascus (c. 675 – 7 49) Born in Syria, left a high-ranking

governmental position to become a monk, died in Palestine

Disputes concerning iconoclasm, distinction between veneration and worship of icons

His work had a fundamental influence on the 7th Ecumenical Council in Nicaea (787), which dealt with iconoclasm.

Photios (820-891) Patriarch of Constantinople Dispute concerning the filioque

St John of Damascus

Mission in new lands (5th-9th Centuries)

The decline and subsequent disappearance of the Europe of antiquity – and with it of early Christianity – brought new possibilities. Characteristic of the change from antiquity to the Middle Ages is not only the migration of peoples but also the Christianisation of peoples. Over time the church thus became in the lands of medieval Europe a decisive force in spiritual, cultural and also political affairs. Medieval map


CHRISTIANITY OF THE FRANKS (5TH C.) King Clovis and his court accepted

baptism (498/499) The Frankish empire was formed as

a western Christian state Permanent struggle with Arianism

IRISH-SCOTTISH MISSION (5th-7th C.) Christianity came to Ireland in the

5th century, from where it moved to Scotland

monastic spirituality with an emphasis on the unity of all creation

St. Columba Irish monk, who brought

Christianity to Scotland Founder of the monastery on

IonaIcon of St Columba


MISSION TO THE SLAVS (9TH C.)

Cyril (Constantine, 826-869) andMethodius (815-885)

Dual sending was an attempt at bringing together eastern and western Christianity

Glagolitic a Cyrillic, translation of Scriptures and liturgy

Mission to Great Moravia (863-885), from where Christianity spread through Methodius’ disciples to the southern Slavs

In Kievan Rus Christianity arrived from Byzantium at the end of the 10th century (baptism of Princess Olga and Prince Vladimir)

Sts Cyril and Methodius bring the remains of St Clement to Rome , fresco on the basilica of St Clement, 11th century

Eastern Church Fathers: 11th-14th Centuries

Whilst the patristic period in the West ends in the 7th century, the Eastern Church speaks of the period of the church fathers as lasting much longer.Typical of the period between the 11th

and 14th centuries is the struggle between Hellenism (stressing the values of Greek culture) and hesychasm (with its stress on the inner life of prayer and unity with God). The Church Fathers from this time come from the Hesychast setting. They understood themselves as followers of the desert fathers. They typically turned from the world and criticised the too close links between the church and secular powers. From Mount Athos hesychasm gradually spread among the southern Slavs, and then to Russia.

The monastery of Vatopedi on Mount Athos, where GregoryPalamas was a novice in 1316.


HESYCHAST FATHERShésychia = stillness, silenceThe Jesus Prayer: Lord, Jesus

Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Philokalia: A collection of writings from the Hesychast Fathers about theology and spiritual life

Symeon the New Theologian(949-1022) theology as a school of

spiritual life ascetic life psycho-somatic prayer

St Symeon the New Theologian


Gregory Palamas (1296-1359) Monk of Mount Athos,

archbishop of Thessaloniki Conflict with the

philosopher Barlaam over the authority to be accorded to Aristotelian philosophy (as evidence of the correctness of his theological position)

Direct knowledge of God is possible

Distinction between the divine essence and the divine energies

St Gregory Palamas

The Medieval Church: 8th-15th Centuries in the West

In 1054 a split occurred between the

Western and Eastern Churches. Their

theologies would develop each in its

own way, despite attempts at

reunification.

CAROLINGIAN THEOLOGY (8TH-9TH C.)

Bede the Venerable Alcuin John Scotus Eriugena Walahfrid Strabo

Cathedral of Amiens


WESTERN MONASTIC

THEOLOGY (11TH-12TH C.)

Bernard of Clairvaux

Hugo and Richard of St.

Victor

EARLY SCHOLASTICISM (11TH-

12TH C.)

Anselm of Canterbury

Peter Abelard

Peter of Lombard


HIGH SCHOLASTICISM (13TH

c.)

Albert the Great

Alexander of Hales

Thomas Aquinas

Bonaventure

LATE SCHOLASTICISM (14TH-

15TH C.)

Duns Scotus

William of Ockham

Triumph of St Thomas Aquinas, "Doctor

Communis", between Plato and

Aristotle, Benozzo Gozzoli,1471

The Church in Modern Times: Renaissance and Reformation (16th C.)

A renewed interest in investigating the cosmos (Copernicus’ heliocentric model, Kepler, Galileo) and in medicine (autopsy – Jesenius), the invention of the printing press (1452), as well as the interest of the nobility in modern weapons and tiredness with religious-political wars gave rise to humanism. The human being and his or her salvation form the backdrop to the development of the reformation, which both comes out of Renaissance values and sets limits to their optimistic concept of humanity.The Roman Catholic Church was confronted both by the need for church reform and with the need to define itself over against the schism caused by the reformation. Both these needs were in play at the Council of Trent.

Reformers’ Wall, Geneva, 1909-17Paolo Farinati, The Council of Trent, 1563


GERMAN REFORMATION (AugsburgConfession)

Martin Luther (1483-1546)Philipp Melanchton (1497-1560) Salvation by grace, faith, the

sufficiency of the Bible

HOLLANDErasmus of Rotterdam (1467-1536) Attempt to combine renaissance

and reformation

Portrait of Martin Luther, Lucas Cranach theElder, 1529


SWISS REFORMATION (HelveticConfession)

Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531)John Calvin (1509-1564) The majesty of God,

predestination, theocracy Bible as critic of tradition

ENGLISH REFORMATIONHenry VIII (pragmatic decision)Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) liturgical reform and reform of

canon law 39 Articles – the foundation of

Anglicanism

John Calvin, Titian, 16th Century


COUNCIL OF TRENT (1545-1563)

Robert Belarmine, Cajetan de Vio

Grace and merit Scripture and Tradition Sacraments

Robert Belarmine SJ

Modern Times: Western Mysticism of the 14th – 17th Centuries

Within the Western Church since the 12th century there had already been movements who turned their attention from institutional Christianity to the internal life of the Spirit. Their emphases, starting with the expected coming of the “Age of the Spirit” announced by Joachim de Fiore (c.1130-1202),reinforced by the evangelising work of the Franciscans and Dominicans, and then in the second half of the 14th century by the DevotioModerna movement and its need for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, were not ended by the Reformation.Mystical theology of the 16th and 17th

centuries, though influenced by the struggle between Reformation and Counter-Reformation, would eventually cross confessional boundaries and speak from experience to experience.

Thomas Kempis


GERMAN MYSTICISM (14th C.) Dominican School, mystical

preaching Meister Eckhart (c.1260-

1327) Johannes Tauler (1300-

1361) Henry Suso (c.1300-1365)

Meister Eckhart


SPANISH MYSTICISM (16th C. –Jesuits, Carmelites)

Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) Spiritual Exercises

Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) The Interior Castle

John of the Cross (1542-1591) The Dark Night of the Soul

St Teresa of Avila, Rubens, 1615


FRENCH MYSTICISM (16th-17th

C.)Francis de Sales (1567-1622) The experience of Christ’s

love in daily life

Pierre de Bérulle (1575 –1629) –Oratorian

The apostle of the Incarnate Word

Vincent de Paul (1581 –1660) Founder of Vincentians

Compassion, humility, generosity

Work among the galley slavesA portrait of St Vincent de Paul

by Simon Francois de Tours (17th century)

The Church in Modern Times: Colonialism and Mission

In 1492 Christopher Columbus “discovered”

America. Shortly after the Spanish Conquistadores

arrived and destroyed the Aztec and Inca empires.

South America was divided between the Spanish

and Portuguese, who began to colonise the

region. The conviction of European superiority

served as a justification for the inhuman

treatment of the indigenous peoples and for the

bringing of slaves from Africa. The Church came to

the new lands with the colonial power. Whilst its

European hierarchy rejoiced in the new situation,

religious missionaries, confronted with the

colonial praxis, often sided with the indigenous

people. This led to long-term conflict in the

church as well as to a new concept of mission

which then spread out to the other continents.


MISSION IN THE NEW LANDS (16th-

18th C.)

Bartolomé de las Casas (1484-

1566)

Spanish Dominican, critic of

colonial practice in Latin

America

The Indians have souls!


MISSION IN THE NEW LANDS (16th-18th C.)

Jesuit mission 17th-18th C.

the liberating power of the gospel

human value

inculturation

Linking faith, art and science

Reductions in Argentina, Brasil, Bolivia,

Uruguay and Paraguay

Mission to China

Matteo Ricci (1552 –1610)

Matteo Ricci and Xu Guangqi, engraving,

Athanasius Kirchers: China illustrata, 1667.

The Church in Modern Times: Baroque, Protestant Orthodoxy, Radical Reformation(16th -18th C.)

The Roman Catholic Church, after its struggles with the Reformers, sought for a new unifying framework. This it found in Baroque piety. Alongside this, of course, the Inquisition continued its work. Within Protestantism, further divisions occurred.At the time of the Peasant Wars the question arose as to how far it is possible to claim that each person can interpret Scripture for themselves, that each has the right to talk and act in the Spirit. In practice the Protestant Church would renounce the radicality of its principles, and Protestant orthodoxy became very close in form to scholasticism. As a reaction to it Puritanism and pietism arose.

Illustration to John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, James Baldwin (1841-1925)


BAROQUE SCHOLASTICISM Vasques Suarez Cano

ORTHODOX RECEPTION OF REFORM AND SCHOLASTICISM Kyrilios Loukaris Peter Mogilas

Melichor Cano


RADICAL REFORMATIONPeasant Wars: Thomas Münzer Anabaptists: Menno SimonsBaptists. John SmythMethodists: John Wesley

LUTHERAN ORTHODOXYChemnitzHutter Gerhard

REFORMED ORTHODOXY(SCHOLASTICISM)Theodore Beza


PURITANISM

Radicalisation of Calvinism, Christian moralityEngland, Scotland, Holland, AmericaOliver Cromwell

PIETISM

Radicalisation of Lutheranism internal pietySpener Franke von Zinzendorff

Herrnhut

The Church in Modern Times: Orthodoxy in the 16th to 19th centuries)

From the end of the 15th century, when Russia threw off Mongolian rule, it was the only Orthodox country under Christian rule, which greatly increased its significance. Moscow understood itself as the “Third Rome”, the continuation of the Roman and Byzantine Empires. At the same time Russia was opening itself up to the West, which brought with it theological consequences too, and the loss of its own roots. Orthodox Christians living in the Ottoman Empire could not have their own theological schools or publish their own books, and were thus dependent on gifts from the West. However Russian theology of the period also more or less copied western scholasticism, both Catholic and Protestant. It was only at the end of the 19th century that there began to be an interest in the study of the Church Fathers, which became the source of renewal.

Moscow in the 17th century, Apolinarii Vasnetsov, 1922


GREECE

Maximus the Greek (1475-1556)

Byzantine humanist

Latin is the only common

language of Greeks and Russians

Kyrillos Loukaris (1572-1638)

Introduced Calvinism to Greek

Orthodox Theology

Maximus the Greek


RUSSIA

Kievan Theology

Peter Mogila (1597-1647)

reception of scholasticism and

Roman ecclesiology

Mefodij Smirnov (1761-1815)

History of the Early Church

Petr Mogila


RUSSIAMoscow Theology

Feofan Prokopovich (1681-1736) Principles of Lutheran and Reformed

scholasticism

Platon Levshin (1737-1812) Metropolitan Integration of humanism and

Enlightenment

Filaret Drozdov (1782-1867) Metropolitan Return to a detailed study of the

Fathers

Filaret Gumilevsky (1805-1866) Archbishop Patristic studies

Four academies publishing patristics in the 19th centuryKiev, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan

Filaret Drozdov

Enlightenment and the Challenges of Modernity (19th C. – First World War)

The end of the Thirty Years War brought the need for religious tolerance and with it a different understanding of Christianity – in place of a static eternity, history is ongoing.Descartes posited the rational “I” as the foundation of our knowledge, Kant equated human freedom with the fact that the human being has a mind and that God exists. The French Revolution (1789-1795) demonstrated the new threat of this kind of freedom. Growing social tensions and the appearance of the Communist Manifesto (1848) were seen by the church as threatening. Darwin introduced the theory of evolution and Colenso showed that the beginning of humanity as described in Genesis is historically unreliable. Theologianswere faced with how to solve the conflict between science and faith and how to understand their own tradition.

Plan of a steam engine


PROTESTANT ATTEMPTS AT

INTEGRATING TRADITION AND

MODERNITY

Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768 –

1834)

Classification of knowledge

Protestant orthodoxy and the

emphasis on the experience of

God


PROTESTANT ATTEMPTS AT INTEGRATING TRADITION AND MODERNITY

LIBERAL PROTESTANTISMTubingen School:Ferdinand Christian Baur, Albrecht

Ritschl, Adolf von Harnack

History of Religions School: Ernst Troeltsch, Abert Schweitzer History as critic of tradition Pure religion of Jesus Rather than emphasis on doctrine,

emphasis on ethics

Albert Schweitzer at Lambarene


PROTESTANT ATTEMPTS AT

INTEGRATING TRADITION

AND MODERNITY

BIBLICAL THEOLOGY

Martin Kähler, A. Schalter

critique of the domination

of biblical knowledge using

historical knowledge


In Catholicism there were at the same time attempts to restore certainties founded on images of a previous time as well as to enter into dialogue with the modern world. The First Vatican Council met from 1869-1870,entering into polemical discussion with the modern world, in an attempt to protect the faithful against doubt. In the decree Dei Filius it was stated that God is knowable by natural reason, whilst the ConstitutionPastor aeternus affirmed the dogma of papal infallibility in matters of faith and morals. The Franco-Prussian War violently interrupted the work of the Council, which did not meet again. The search for new responses to how the church should interact with the modern world would have to wait until the Second Vatican Council. The ground for this was prepared by the renewal movements which were at the time often judged by the church as heretical or to be rejected.


NEOSCHOLASTICISM Inspiration of the union of

philosophy and theology in Thomas Aquinas

Influence of the encyclical of Pope Leo XIII. Aeterni patris(1879)

Because of its opposition to modern ideologies often declared by the church hierarchies to be the only correct Catholic theology


ATTEMPTS AT THE INTEGRATION OF TRADITION AND MODERNITY

TÜBINGEN SCHOOLJohann Adam Möhler (1796-1838)Johann Sebastian von Drey (1777 –1853)Johannes von Kuhn (1806 –1887) Experiences of unity between

natural and revealed religion

John Henry Newman (1801-1890) Tradition as a living organism, the

development of doctrine Life as an ascent to God Integration of reason, conscience

and the authority of the church

John Henry Newman


MODERNISM

Alfred Loisy (1857-1940)

George Tyrrell (1861-1909)

Friedrich von Hügel (1852–1925)

against Liberal Protestantism and Catholic traditionalism

Tradition as living development of Gospel

Spiritual guidance of modern humanity

Pius X defined and condemned modernism in the decree Lamentabili (1907) and the encyclical Pascendi (1907). In 1910he introduced the Anti-Modernist Oath (taken by priests and professors until 1967)

George Tyrrell

Prerevolutionary Orthodox Theology in Russia

Alongside neopatristic theology, which began in the 19th century and reached its peak after the revolution in emigration, Russian prerevolutionary theology had a rich development in other areas. Hesychasm played a significant role in this. The Philokaliawas translated by Paisij Velichovsky from Greek into Church Slavonic (with the title Dobrotoljubije). In 1881the first edition of The Way of a Pilgrim appeared, enjoying a similar popularity in the East to that enjoyed by the Imitatio Christi in the West. The monastery of Optina (Pustina), where the starets tradition was practised, was in the 19th century an important centre of education where different people could meet. Dostojevsky, Tolstoy, Solovyov all visited. For the Russian religious revival of this time even more important was the relationship between philosophy, theology, spiritual life and social questions.

Icon of elders from the Monastery of Optina

Pre-Revolutionary Orthodox Theology in Russia

FIN DE SIÈCLEMetropolitan Antony

VadkovskyAnton V. Kartashev Cohesion between theology,

spiritual life and social questions

Religious foundations of social reforms

Metropolitan Antony at the Entrance to St. Isaac's Cathedral. Photo, 1908

Pre-Revolutionary Orthodox Theology in Russia

SLAVOPHILES

I.V. Kireyevsky

Aleksey StephanovichKhomyakov

The particular contribution of the Slavs to philosophy and theology

Integral knowledge sobornost

Prerevolutionary Orthodox Theology in Russia

SOPHIOLOGY

Sergej BulgakovSynthesis of social

understanding of Christian freedom and Russian Orthodox tradition

Sophia, the principle that gives sense to the universe, God’s wisdom moving to encounter with the Logos, with whose help the original cosmic unity can be regained

cosmic interpretation of the Resurrection, salvation, church, eschatology

Protestant Theology in the 20th Century

After the end of the Second World War the question arose with new urgency as to how to avoid the violent solution of conflicts in the future. The United Nations was formed in1946 with this aim. Two years later in 1948 the World Council of Churches was founded against the same backdrop with the aim of full and visible unity of Christians. Here were new attempts at dialogue, mutual understanding, the search for common bases and a shared mission to bring Christ’s life, Christ’s healing, Christ’s friendship to a war-torn world. But, with its share in the fall in all its forms and through which the world had passed. Faith and reason, progress, science, at the heart of modern anthropological optimism, were all shaken by the two world wars. In place of liberalism came dialectical theology. One direction this took was in opposition to natural theology, pointing to the radical otherness and sovereignty of God as revealed in the bible. The other direction sought in dialogue with wounded modernity and and latterly postmodernity to convince with Christian hope.Hiroshima after the Bomb, Peace Memorial Museum, Hiroshima.


DIALECTICAL THEOLOGY ANDEXISTENTIALISM

Karl Barth (1886-1968) Paradoxical nature of divine

revelation, theology of the Word Basics of theology of the confessing

church and new orthodox

Emil Brunner (1889-1966) Creation in God’s image

Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976) demythologisation



Paul Tillich (1886-1965) God as the depth of being,

correlation, symbol

Friedrich Gogarten (1887-1967) Existentialist theological

anthropology

Dietrich Bonhöffer (1906-1945) civil interpretation,

theologian of limit situations



Gerhard Ebeling (*1922 )

hermeneutics, gospel of the fourth person (the person of modernity)

Wolfhard Pannenberg (*1928)

Historicity of revelation, emphasis on resurrection

Jürgen Moltmann (*1926)

Eschatological creation, theology of hope, kenotic Christ

Catholic Theology in the 20th Century

The main themes of inter- and post-war Roman Catholic theological renewal were developed in conversation with Christians of other confessions. This included patristics and liturgical renewal, heavily influenced by Orthodox thinkers, or new understandings of the authority of Scripture and tradition in relation to the mission of the church in the modern world, in dialogue with Protestants. Vatican II (1962-1965), where for the first time bishops from churches outside Europe took part, and representatives of other confessions were welcomed, brought important changes in theology and church practice. The process of polarisation within the church caused new problems for those hoping for a continuation of what the council had started, and led to confrontation between the church and communist and right-wing dictatorships.


CATHOLIC CONCILIAR AND POST-CONCILIAR THEOLOGY

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin SJ(1881-1955)

Evolutionary cosmology and anthropology

Henry de Lubac SJ (1896-1991) Grace and nature

Jean Daniélou SJ (1905-1974) Return to the sources


C ATHOLIC CONCILIAR AND POST-CONCILIAR THEOLOGY

Karl Rahner SJ (1904-1984) Transcendental Thomism a

existentialism Anonymous Christians křesťané

Hans urs von Balthasar (1905-1988) Theological aesthetics, the drama of salvation

Yves Congar OP (1904-1995) pneumatology, tradition in its

plurality


C ATHOLIC CONCILIAR AND POST-CONCILIAR THEOLOGY

Edward Schillebeecx OP (1914-2009)

soteriology, ecclesiology, sakramentology from below

Johann Baptist Metz (*1928)

political theology

Gustavo Guttiérez OP (*1928)

Theology of Liberation

Twentieth Century Orthodox Theology

The revolution in Russia and the subsequent wave of massive persecution of Christians brought an end to the Orthodox theological revival. The main Orthodox theological centres were formed by Russian emigrés in the diaspora. In 1925 the Institut St. Serge was founded in Paris, followed by the InstitutSt. Denis in 1944. In America St Vladimir’s Seminary began in 1938, and with the arrival in 1947 of George Florovsky, acquired more clear-cut form. In the theology of the exiles, which at the beginning included all prerevolutionary streams, neopatristics ended up playing the most important role. The First Conference of Orthodox Theologians which met in Athens in 1936, gave the impetus to renewal to Greek theologians and those from other Orthodox countries that had fallen under Communist dictatorship. The contact of emigrés and persecuted theologians with their western colleagues and the friendships which developed, gave a basis for good ecumenical relations. Orthodox engagement in the WCC grew from that base, whilst being complicated by the political situation in Eastern Europe and the fact that the communist regimes abused ecumenical organisations for their own ends.

Chapel at St Sergius Institute, Paris


RUSSIAN THEOLOGY IN EXILEGeorges Florovsky (1893-1979) The journey forward to the sources,

patristic synthesis

Vladimir Lossky (1903-1958) The unity of the apophatic and cataphatic

journeys

Alexander Schmemann (1921-1983) theology emerging from liturgy,

participatory symbolic knowledge

John Meyendorff (1926-1992) Faithfulness to Christ as the basis of

Orthodoxy Ongoing value of Byzantinism


THEOLOGY IN COMUNISTIC LANDS

Justin Popovich (1894-1979) Serb

ascetic tradition as medicine against modern ideology

Dumitru Stăniloae (1903-1993) Rumanian

Relational theology of creation

Alexander Men (1935-1990) Russian

kenotic christology, openness to the other


GREEK THEOLOGY

Christos Yannaras (*1935)

Return to the sources, opposition to the West

John Zizioulas (*1931)

Personhood, ecclesiology, eschatology, Trinity, communio

Moving from Modernity to Postmodernity

After stepping out of the shadow of the great figures of thepast, theology at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries is facing new issues: the majority of Christians live outside Europe and North America, processes of globalisation and increased mobility between countries, social injustice, religious plurality, as well asnew expressions of extremism. Theseall contribute to the need to discover a Christianity that has the power to survive the “end“ of a Christian Europe. Hermeneutics has become the main theological method, politicalengagement and mysticism the most meaningful expressions.

Gaudí’s Cathedral, Sagrada Família, Barcelona


LIBERATION THEOLOGYLeonardo BoffNaim AteekJohn MbitiAlois Pieris

FEMINIST THEOLOGYDorothe SölleMary DalyRosemary Radford Ruether

POLITICAL THEOLOGYJohn Howard YoderRené GirardMiroslav Wolf

Leonardo Boff, Dorothe Sölle, René Girard


HERMENEUTICS OF TRADITION AND CULTURE

David TracyRowan WilliamsLouis-Maria ChauvetJohn Behr

REFLECTION OF THE POSTMODERN SITUATION

John D. CaputoJean-Luc Marion

Tracy, Williams, Marion


SPIRITUALITY ACCROSS CONFESSIONS

Thomas Merton (monasticism in thecurrent world)

Archimandrite Sophrony (Essex –Jesus Prayer)

Frère Roger, Max Thurian (Taizé)Anthony de MelloOlivier Clément

ECUMENICAL AND INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE

Hans KüngJacques Dupuis SJ

Taizé

History of Theology

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