Religious Call in Eastern Orthodox Spirituality: A Theo-Phenomenological Approach
Religions December 6, 2020 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.3390/rel11120653 via Semantic Scholar
Summary
Religious call in Eastern Orthodox spirituality is an existential and theandric experience where God calls man and man calls God, involving appeal, communion, divine grace, love, prayer, fidelity, apophatic intentionality, and a hyper-intelligible gaze before Revelation. Life in the Holy Spirit blurs the distinction between call and answer for one who becomes a son of God by grace, faith, and good works. The article argues for a theo-phenomenology that acknowledges religious faith as a given.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Religious call and answer are existential and theandric experiences, and life in the Holy Spirit no longer distinguishes between call and answer for one who becomes a son of God by grace, faith, and good works. |
Abstract
Drawing a clear line between phenomenology and theology remains a challenging endeavor. This article has two parts: The first one argues that, from a methodological point of view, there is a need for a theo-phenomenology, a phenomenology which acknowledges religious faith as a given. The second part of the article tries to present the essence of religious call in Eastern Orthodox spirituality. Using ideas such as appeal and communion, divine grace, love, prayer, fidelity, apophatic intentionality, and a hyper-intelligible gaze before the Revelation, I will describe the phenomenon of religious call—God calling man and man calling God. The conclusion shows that religious call and answer are existential and theandric experiences, where one can work on askesis, the fidelity of thought, and mystical experience. Life in the Holy Spirit no longer distinguishes between call and answer for one who became a son of God by grace, faith, and good works.