Customer Reviews

Orthodox Dogmatic Theology: A Concise Exposition

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
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A very complete overview of Orthodox Dogmatic Theology, from a traditional Orthodox perspective. While not as broad in it's scope as other books, such as "The Orthodox Church" by Bp. Kallistos, the smaller scope of the book does allow for a closer examination of the subjects that are dealth with, and Fr. Michael Pomazansky does this quite well.

This book is a systematic examination of Orthodox theology, and for that some have criticized it; systematic, catechism, etc. are four-letter words for some Orthodox. However, one cannot help but wonder why organization as it happens in this book could ever be considered a bad thing. Perhaps only behind "The Orthodox Church" and "The Orthodox Way," this is the book that I would most likely recommend to anyone wishing to have a broad but intellectually satisfying overview of what the Orthodox believe.

I do have two minor issues with the text as it is today. First, it is impossible to tell when footnotes are from Fr. Seraphim Rose (the translator) or Fr. Michael (the author). This has caused a problem at times when I know that Fr. Seraphim feels a certain way about a subject, but I am not sure whether Fr. Michael also feels the same way. A lengthy footnote is sometimes provided, but with no indentification as to who is speaking.

And second, Fr. Seraphim does seem to insert things into the book that were not originally part of the book. While this is not uncommon in books published by the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, and while these additions are given in appendices, I still feel like it is an unfortunate move sometimes, as in a case like this book where the appendices bring in a controversial tone to the book that would have otherwise been absent. If I lend or give this book to someone and they have questions about Orthodoxy, I'd much rather try and answer questions about icons or Mary, and not controversial subjects like the Dogma of Redemption.

An excerpt from the book reads:

"Christian faith is a mystical revelation in the soul. It is broader, more powerful, and closer to reality than thought. It is more complex than separate feelings. It contains within it the feelings of love, fear, veneration, reverence and humility. Likewise it cannot be called a manifestation of the will, for although it can move mountains, the Christian renounces his own will when he believes and gives himself over entirely to the will of God. 'May Thy will be done in me, a sinner.' The path to faith lies in the heart; it is inseparable from pure, sacrificial love, working through love (Gal 5:6)."

When I read this, I read it over and over again. It simply astonished me. What Fr. Pomazansky has to share with us in his book in nothing short of the fullness of the Orthodox Church, and its most profound mysteries. And all this is accomplished without elaborate systems, or contexts, but rather with a humble straightforwardness that is reminiscent of many of the Church Fathers such as Saint Clement of Alexandria, or Saint Gregory the Theologian.

I recommend this to every Christian who truly loves God, and wished to know him truly.

I had been looking for a textbook on Orthodox systematic theology for quite some time before accidently coming across an older edition of this volume while I was in Europe. I am an evangelical who is painfully aware of our tradition's ignorance of Eastern beliefs, and of our dependence on Western conceptions of theological categories and methods. As such I was (and still am) deeply interested in exploring the depths and riches of Eastern theology, and to this end Pomazansky is a gem.

I imagine most pastors have at least one or more volumes of systematic theology in their libraries. Everyone has their favorites: Barth, Calvin, Miley, Mueller, Grudem, Ott, Wenger, etc. Most of us try to have a wide variety of sources at our disposal for the sake of reference. Pomozansky's Orthodox Dogmatic Theology deserves to be on your shelf because I doubt anyone has written a one-volume systematic with the same measure of depth, eloquence, and brevity, let alone from an Eastern Orthodox perspective. Think of Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology, but with greater clarity, and a even more deeply devotional/pastoral spirit.

That being said, Pomazansky's book is not without its flaws. He is strongest when articulating the faith all Christians share, and in that respect, I would reccomend his book to every student of theology, both lay and clergy. On the other hand, from an evangelical perspective, he is weakest when defending Orthodox distinctives. I think evangelicals will find that some of his arguments are far from convincing because they are exegetically unfounded or suspect. That being said, Orthodox readers probably won't be bothered too much by this apparent shortcoming because Scripture does not have the same place of authority in Eastern traditions as in evangelical traditions.

But even with these (minor) doctrinal dissagrements, this is an eminently useful book that I constantly refer to for inspiration and explanation. In fact, it may be the most dog-eared, highlighted, and underlined systematics I own. You should get one.

To quote from the 'Translator's Preface', written by Hieromonk Seraphim Rose, 1981: "One of the major advantages of this book is its simplicity of presentation. It was written not for academic theologians, but primarily for pastors, and thus it has a practical approach that is missing in many works of contemporary academic theology. In his theological writings, Fr Michael remains deeply rooted in the tradition of the Orthodox Church, not trying to supercede with his own private opinions any revelation that the Church has handed down to us.... his intent here is to write about exactly what the Church teaches -- what pastors can give to their flocks as the certain, unchanging teaching of the church -- and not about what is "disputed". There is a distinct wholeness in Fr. Michael's approach, which allows for no confusion over the Church's actual teaching. Another advantage of this book, especially for pastors who deal with converts to Orthodoxy from various religious denominations, is that it contrasts the traditional Orthodox teaching with the errors and innovations of Roman Catholicism and Protestantism."

And further "Fr. Michael is the last surviving graduate of a pre-revolutionary Russian theological academy (that of Kiev), and is therefore one of the few living contacts we have with the long-standing centers of traditional Russian theology, the direct inheritance of the Byzantine Fathers. Always faithful to the instruction of the Church, his actual "school" is, ultimately, the Church herself".

I love this book. I love this book because while it is scholarly, and in fact is used as a text at the Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville, New York, it speaks to the heart. This is terribly important as Orthodoxy is a faith which speaks to the heart. "The soul... naturally seeks a personal God" (God's Revelation to the Human Heart, Fr Seraphim Rose, p6). "Why does a person study religion?... to come into contact with reality" (ibid, p 13), "a person must be in a religious search not for the sake of religious experiences, which can deceive, but for the sake of truth." (ibid, p18) "If you look at a textbook of Orthodox theology, you will find that the truth cannot be found by the unaided posers of man. You can read the Scriptures or any holy book and not even understand what they say.." When in Acts 8 (28-39) the angel of the Lord spoke unto Philip and told him to go south toward Jerusalem, and along the way he encountered the eunuch, the eunuch requested of Philip that he tell him what it meant. "There are several supernatural, mystical elements in this account... there was something else that affected him: not miracles, but something in his heart." (ibid, p 19)"When Philip spoke to the ethiopian eunuch, something in the eunuch's heart changed." This is the reason the eunuch was baptized and became a Christian.

This is how God reveals Himself to mankind, in a personal way, He speaks to our hearts. This book speaks to the heart. It is written in a personal, kind and loving way to tell the truths of the Orthodox Church. It warms the heart and inspires the faithful. That is wonderful, simply wonderful in a teaching book. There are many good theological books out there, very scholastic. However to find one which speaks to one's heart, this is a rare gem. I recommend it highly.

"Dogmas," according to Father Michael, are "...the definitions of truth declared by the Church" [31]. While the meaning of dogma between Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Roman Catholic and Protestant) Churches diverges in significance [cf.20,373-4: by Blessed Seraphim], Father Michael's definition of dogma would meet little resistance when compared with official ecclesial documents outside the Orthodox Church. I will explore divergence later in this review; my point at the start is only to state obvious comparisons.

For example, 'Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy' from the Second Vatican Council [cf. fn. 289; added to 3rd edition (2005)] altered the 'lingua franca' of the Liturgy, reversed the position of the priest, added the common cup as well as much more because of conciliar truth declared by the Roman Church. Moreover, Aquinas would have agreed with Father Michael's definition for dogma by his own use of "scientia," for dogmatic theology was the principal and primary science for Thomas. Father Michael does not identify such given the scope of the text.

Thanks to the author's and translator's literary economy and non-affected style, readers from any Christian tradition can experience encouragement in the book's invitations to draw closer to God. For example, the author's discussions about natural virtues, such as humility and continence [157,264-65], attract readers to cooperate with the Holy Trinity in cultivating the virtues as part of their own salvation in Christ.

However, Father Michael clarifies dogma "in situ" across 372 pages of text, which Blessed Seraphim translated from Russian. "In situ," as I use this Latin phrase, conveys Father Michael's goal for dogmatic theology in Orthodox tradition [cf. 46: specific 19th-C Russian citations]. His goal is to make clear statements about the teachings of the Apostles for contemporary readers [46-9]. It would be impossible to do more, such as "...develop more completely or go deeper into the truths of the faith than the Apostles" [47].

As dogmatic theology applies the faith to contemporary issues [48, 355-71], it reinforces collegiality among bishops who share responsibility to obey what has been handed down from the Apostles. Another way to speak of shared responsibility is to speak of dogma residing within the Orthodox Church and not independent from her [46,92-3,246-8,267-9,295-6]. Just as the Church lives, breathes and prays her dogma to remain "one body, one faith," active participation by all members in the Orthodox Church is the author's meaning of shared "consciousness" in the Church [236-7,294-6].

Having laid a foundation for dogma in the Church, Father Michael addresses important differences pertaining to (1) sources of truth and (2) assent to dogma between Christians, east and west, on the nature and practice of theology ("theologizing") and ecclesiology [234,303]. In particular, Father Michael's definition of dogma "in situ" presents an alternative and ancient understanding of practicing theology--"theologizing"--and the Church [427-50]. Therefore, non-Orthodox readers among Christians would benefit most by turning to chapters five and six, where Father Michael lays out the topics of evil, sin, and the salvation of the human race [150-228].

Thus, any dogmas that have been declared after the 11th-Century schism that separated the Patriarchal Sees of Constantinople and Rome [92] must be judged by criteria of "truth" as set before the Great Schism in the seven Ecumenical Councils. Revelation is the only source of truth [29-30], as Father Michael puts it, whereas "opinions" have been introduced as dogma in the west after the Great Schism [362-4].

After the Great Schism, Aquinas introduced an opinion concerning salvation that Father Michael addressed in a footnote to the first Russian edition published in 1911 [214]. He critiqued a passage from Thomas' 'Summa' (III, Q.49, art.4) in which Aquinas deduced that God had been "appeased" by the sacrifice of Christ. A dogma of appeasement had been a logical extension of Augustine's doctrine of sin, a point which Father Michael considered in chapter five [cf.165-6, and editor's fn. on 165 in 3rd ed.]. Therefore, Father Michael identified the origin of what he considered the "one-sided interpretation of Redemption" [214] of the "Latins."

I give the book four stars, and not five, for a couple of reasons. First, the text does not present a method of critical reasoning that even Orthodox theologians must employ when communicating ancient truths to contemporary people and situations. Second, the Brotherhood of St. Herman continues to publish the text and provide updates. However, the updates in footnotes need to be grouped by edition and collated as end-notes to prevent reader errors in interpreting the original. I hasten to add my thanks for Hieromonk Damascene's preface to the third edition (2005), because I discovered therein how to read the 2005 edition. It is critical that readers digest his preface as well as those of Blessed Seraphim, the translator, before jumping in.

Orthodox Dogmatic Theology is a top-notch introduction to Orthodox Theology for the Orthodox Christian, the Catechumen, or the Outsider (that's me). I keep this on my shelf along with The Orthodox Church by Bishop Kallistos Ware, and The Mystical Theology of the Orthodox Church by Vladimir Lossky. This is a fine translation by Father Seraphim Rose, a gifted and intelligent man who became an atheist as a young man but after his college years, walked into a Russian Orthodox Church and became a Priest, Monk, and Scholar. Don't let the controversy surrounding his views concerning aspects of the intermediate state keep you away from this book. A must read for anyone with an interest in Orthodoxy.

Clear, concise, easy to understand, only slightly marred by a critique of a wierd idea held the author added as an appendix. Otherwise, this is the best, and ought not be limited to "Orthodox" readers.

Pomazansky's brilliant and accurate exposition of the Orthodox Faith is filling a great need in America for truly good, truly thorough, truly straightforward Orthodox literature.