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| Source: oca.org |
Recently, the Church commemorated the 30th anniversary (1996 - 2016) of the repose of Protopresbyter John Meyendorff, internationally acclaimed theologian and patriotic scholar. I had the great privilege of studying under - and worshiping with - Fr. John for three years at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (1978-1981). This short, but brilliant passage is a wonderful distillation of Fr. John's understanding of the role of theology in the Church throughout the centuries and, of course, for today.
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When Orthodoxy speaks of a “return to the sources,” it does not mean a return to the dead past, but only continuity and consistency with the apostolic faith. Consistency does not imply repetition, but living understanding—or gnosis—of the faith “once delivered to the saints,” which must be rediscovered, reformulated, and witnessed anew in the midst of historical change. Furthermore, the theology of the New Testament implies not only preservation of a faith revealed once for all, but it also affirms that human history has a meaning and a goal. Christians will be judged not only for their faithfulness to the past, but for the manner in which they have worked for and prepared “the last things” (ta eschata).
Jesus Christ is not only the alpha, but the omega (Rev. 1:8; 21:6; 22:13). His presence, through the Holy Spirit, in His Body, the Church, judges the past, the present, and the future, of the East and of the West.
–Fr. John Meyendorff, The Orthodox Church (SVS Press, 1981)
