New Phanar terminology: the theological anthropology of metropolitan John (Zizioulas).

Abstract

Today's crisis of interchurch communication in Orthodoxy requires reflection not only in a church-canonical or foreign policy context, but also in terms of theology, actually dogmatics. It is already clear that one of the most important reasons for the recent sentiments is the new ecclesiology, which can be seen in a number of statements and actions of the clergy of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. It is important to note that the Patriarchate of Constantinople is moving to profess this new ecclesiology quite independently, without taking into account the opinion of several Local Churches. The purpose of this study is to identify the specificity of theology of the Constantinople Patriarchate as one of the reasons for the new ecclesiology. The objectives of the study are to consistently analyze the theological terminology of Metropolitan John Zizioulas (today the most influential theologian of the Patriarchate of Constantinople), comparing it with the traditional patristic word usage. The work used the historical-comparative method, the method of hermeneutic interpretation (historical recognition interpretation). The analysis revealed a discrepancy between the teaching of the Church and that of Metropolitan Zizioulas about hypostasis and substance as applied to anthropology. Nor is it an explanation of the meaning of the teaching of the Church to modern readers, but it simply distorts its meaning.