Vladimir Lossky - elements of neo-patristic Christology
Exponent of the neo-patristic theology which sought to return to the living
sources of the writings of the Fathers, Vladimir Lossky considers that the
source of true Christian theology is the testimony of the Incarnation. The
Incarnation of the Son of God reveals who God is, God as a Trinity of persons,
thus being a revelation of God’s existence. His Incarnation is the event of
true communion, created human nature being deified through participation in
divine life. His Body, the Church, continues the work of Christ that removes
from the human nature the result of the fall, the separation from God. The
Church is already the Body of Christ, but it does not yet have the wholeness of
He who is all in all. If the work of Christ is fulfilled, it is time for the
work of the Spirit to be fulfilled. Lossky’s attitude is based on his 2 ways of
understanding the Church: as the Body of Christ and as the Temple of the Holy
Spirit, the Church thus representing the work of Christ and the Holy Spirit.
For this reason, for the renowned Russian theologian, ecclesiology has a double
foundation, its roots being found in Christology and, at the same time, in
Pneumatology. Vladimir Losky’s uncompromising faithfulness to the scriptural
and patristic tradition, accompanied by his constant concern for an Orthodox
testimony articulated in the West, makes his works instrumental to
understanding the Eastern Orthodox theology today.
ADRIAN IONIŢĂ
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