Orthodox Theological Currents in Modern Greece after 1974: Ongoing Tensions between Reform and Conservatism

Abstract

The demand for social change and ecclesiastical reform after the restoration of democracy in 1974 was addressed in the field of theology in at least two different ways. On the one hand, an activist, this-worldly, and socially oriented current responded positively to the calls for progressive and democratic reforms within society and Church (social equality, democracy, lay participation, and so on). On the other hand, the inward-oriented, mystical theological current emphasized the inner freedom of the human being and the interpersonal relationships formed within the Eucharistic community at the expense of social change. The different conceptual constellations of each theological current underscored two diametrically opposite positions for the ecclesiastical and social organization, which in the end reflect the perspectives and goals of different contingents of the ecclesiastical system.

The Greek debt crisis as theodicy: Religious fundamentalism and socio-political conservatism

“…The contradiction between the West and the Orthodox East as two totally different civilizations is a favorite theme of the religious fundamentalists, but also a much broader phenomenon that characterizes historically the mentality of the Greek Orthodox Church. For instance, anti-Westernism occupies a central place in the rather influential, inward-oriented, mystical current of Orthodox theology (Kessareas, 2015).…”