Lykhosherstov, Oleksandr  <br/><br/>
IN RELATION TO THE UKRAINIAN-RUSSIAN HERITAGE AND MODERNITY 

 - Johannesburg South Africa  South African Theological Seminary  September 2018 
 - 354 pages  PDF  A4  Abstract, TOC 
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<br/><br/> The end of the communist rule in Eastern Europe facilitated the emergence of the modern renaissance of Orthodox Church Tradition as authority in the post-Soviet society. Adopting the fundamental affirmation of the authority of the universal Christian tradition as that which had  been  believed  "everywhere,  always,  by  all  [ubique,  semper,  ab  omnibus]  (Pelikan 1971:333),   the   research   investigates   a   threefold   paradigm   of   "universality-antiquity-consensus"  of  the  Orthodox  Tradition  in  relation  to  the  Ukrainian-Russian  heritage  and modernity.   The   conceptualization   of   Orthodox   Church   Tradition   from   a   relational perspective, both its nature and forms of expression, are explored within the context of the space  between  the  elements  involved  and  the  specific  eschatological  goal  popular  in  the Eastern  Orthodox  theology  -  a  personal  self-realization  via  mystical  thesis.  This new dialectic  of  Orthodox  notion  of  authority,  clothed  in  the  Hellenistic  philosophy  and the ancient Byzantine constellation of values, is still characterized by a tremendous number of more or less obligatory traditions in church doctrine, liturgy, and ethics. The main  body of the  thesis  provides  a  critical  epistemological  analysis  of  Orthodox  Tradition.  This  tradition has become a significant factor in the social scene and a guiding moral force in almost all spheres of the post-Soviet society. Since the world-historical struggle over the reformation of  the  church  was  fundamentally  a  struggle  over  the  primacy  of  the  Sacred  Scripture  as opposed to church tradition, the history of ecclesial authority within the Eastern Orthodoxy is briefly discussed. This discussion centres on formative influence that Orthodox Tradition has  had  on  the  development  of  Eastern  Christianity.  The  research  suggests  that  all Christian denominations, which are in constant search for consensus, are in need of more relentless inquiry into our common ecclesiological heritage, and that denominations should ask   embarrassing   but   honest   questions   of   one   another.   A   new   methodology   of reconciliation, juxtaposed with cooperative didactics of possible consensus, is introduced in the  research.  It  is  hoped  that  this  methodology  can  lead  both  Orthodox  and  Protestant Churches out of their confessional caves. Elaborating a theological solution of the indicated problem of authority, the Orthodox idea of the normative faith deposit and unique Christian truth beyond  time  and  space  as  well  as  the ecclesiastical  triumphalism  of  some  Orthodox claims  are  closely  examined  in  the  research.  Taking  the  perspective  of  Evangelical theology,  different  long term  trajectories  of  interaction  and  consensus  between  Orthodox East and Protestant West are provided.