Eustratios Argenti

by Kallistos Ware

Overview

This is an important contribution to the virtually non-existent history of Orthodox theology of the "post-Patristic" age. Mr. Ware is right in stating in his introduction that "four centuries of Turkish rule have left-for good or evil-a permanent mark upon the Greek Orthodox world" and that "without taking into account the way Greeks thought and felt under Turkish domination, and the way their theology developed between 1453 and 1821, it is all but impossible to understand the present condition of Greek Orthodoxy." The book begins with an extremely valuable and well-documented chapter on the general state of Orthodoxy under Islam, with a special emphasis on the relations between the Greeks and the Latins. A modern "ecumenicist" will discover here many puzzling facts which could help him to overcome some of the current oversimplifications. Chapter II gives us an exhaustive biography of Argenti and in chapter III through IV the main theological problems debated by Argenti-Baptism, Eucharist, purgatory, and papacy-are presented in a clear and penetrating way. Finally, a list of Argenti's writings and a bibliography crown this scholarly book. As said above, the importance of the book goes beyond the personal case of Argenti: it helps us to understand the tragedy of Eastern Orthodoxy at the time when the West was reaching the climax of its religious and cultural development. "Squeezed" between Latin and Protestant influences, deprived of academic centers, Orthodox theology often surrendered to pressure. Mr. Wares point is that in the case of Argenti it avoided such a surrender and preserved its tradition from deviations and errors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781625640826
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	05/08/2013
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Kallistos Ware is an English bishop within the Eastern Orthodox Church under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and one of the best-known contemporary Eastern Orthodox theologians. From 1982 he has held the Titular Bishopric of Diokleia.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

I The Background 1

Orthodoxy under Islam 1

The State of Learning and Theology 5

Greeks and Latins: Hostility and Friendship 16

Chios 33

II Life and Travels 43

III The Baptism Controversy 65

The Reception of Heretics 65

Strictness and Economy, Sprinkling and Immersion 78

Manual concerning Baptism 90

The Sequel 101

IV The Lord's Supper 108

Azymes 112

The Epiclesis 121

The Use of the Sacrament 133

V The Fire of Purgatory 139

Argenti's Predecessors 139

Argenti's Short Treatise 154

VI The Papal Claims 161

Conclusion 170

Appendix: A List of the Writings of Eustratios Argenti 176

Bibliography 180

Index 188

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

This is an important contribution to the virtually non-existent history of Orthodox theology of the "post-Patristic" age. Mr. Ware is right in stating in his introduction that "four centuries of Turkish rule have left — for good or evil — a permanent mark upon the Greek Orthodox world" and that "without taking into account the way Greeks thought and felt under Turkish domination, and the way their theology developed between 1453 and 1821, it is all but impossible to understand the present condition of Greek Orthodoxy."
The book begins with an extremely valuable and well-documented chapter on the general state of Orthodoxy under Islam, with a special emphasis on the relations between the Greeks and the Latins. A modern "ecumenicist" will discover here many puzzling facts that could help him overcome some of the current oversimplifications.
Chapter 2 gives us an exhaustive biography of Argenti and in chapter 3 through 4 the main theological problems debated by Argenti — Baptism, Eucharist, purgatory, and papacy—are presented in a clear and penetrating way. Finally, a list of Argenti's writings and a bibliography crown this scholarly book.
As said above, the importance of the book goes beyond the personal case of Argenti: it helps us understand the tragedy of Eastern Orthodoxy at the time when the West was reaching the climax of its religious and cultural development. "Squeezed" between Latin and Protestant influences, deprived of academic centers, Orthodox theology often surrendered to pressure. Mr. Ware's point is that in the case of Argenti it avoided such a surrender and preserved its tradition from deviations and errors.
— Alexander Schmemann, St. Vladimir Seminary Quarterly 9.2 (1965)

Editorial Reviews

This is an important contribution to the virtually non-existent history of Orthodox theology of the post-Patristic age. Mr. Ware is right in stating in his introduction that four centuries of Turkish rule have left -- for good or evil -- a permanent mark upon the Greek Orthodox world and that without taking into account the way Greeks thought and felt under Turkish domination, and the way their theology developed between 1453 and 1821, it is all but impossible to understand the present condition of Greek Orthodoxy.
The book begins with an extremely valuable and well-documented chapter on the general state of Orthodoxy under Islam, with a special emphasis on the relations between the Greeks and the Latins. A modern ecumenicist will discover here many puzzling facts that could help him overcome some of the current oversimplifications.
Chapter 2 gives us an exhaustive biography of Argenti and in chapter 3 through 4 the main theological problems debated by Argenti -- Baptism, Eucharist, purgatory, and papacy--are presented in a clear and penetrating way. Finally, a list of Argenti's writings and a bibliography crown this scholarly book.
As said above, the importance of the book goes beyond the personal case of Argenti: it helps us understand the tragedy of Eastern Orthodoxy at the time when the West was reaching the climax of its religious and cultural development. Squeezed between Latin and Protestant influences, deprived of academic centers, Orthodox theology often surrendered to pressure. Mr. Ware's point is that in the case of Argenti it avoided such a surrender and preserved its tradition from deviations and errors.
-- Alexander Schmemann, St. Vladimir Seminary Quarterly 9.2 (1965)

From the Publisher