Lectures in Christian Dogmatics

T & T Clark International, February 2009. Paper Back. New. Metropolitan Zizioulas soon lays to rest any fears that these lectures, delivered from 1978 to 1993 to British and Greek undergraduates, belong only inside the classroom. His noble vision of dogmatics has nothing to do with building an abstract theological edifice and everything to do with questions that define our humanity: life, death, love, personhood, and freedom. As he presents Christian doctrine in its various facets (the Trinity, creation, economy, the Church), Zizoulas' goal is nothing less than 'a comprehensive account of the freedom that results from our relationship with God.' Those familiar with earlier works by this leading Orthodox theologian will recognize recurring themes, including communion (with God, within the Church) as central to human existence, and an emphasis on Apostolic faith as 'a tradition that comes to us from the past but which is interpreted [for each generation] in a way that answers the needs of human beings in our own time.' The lectures themselves flow together seamlessly, retaining the immediacy of the spoken word while conveying complex ideas with elegant simplicity. Gem-like insights strewn throughout the text (understanding Eucharist as the image of the future, not mere historical remembrance; why chanting Scripture within a liturgical context differs from reading it, silently or aloud; the eschatological purpose of Apostolic succession; and so on) make it impossible to read this radiant book in solitude. Too many passages demand to be shared, to be read in communion. 166 pp.