From Repose to Resurrection: The Intermediate State of Souls

Concilium: International Journal of Theology (English edition), 2024

Considering Religious Traditions in Bioethics: Christian and Jewish Voices, 2005

The Tribune, 2023

The primary objective of this article is to facilitate individuals who are experiencing distress to develop a more positive perspective on the concept of death. This perception can potentially assist them in coping with the emotional and psychological challenges associated with this inevitable phenomenon. It is worth noting that within the context of Orthodox Christian tradition, death is regarded as a ceremonial event characterised by a state graceful happiness. In order to comprehend this concept, it is necessary to commence by elucidating the prelapsarian existence, which bears resemblance to the post-apocalyptic state following the Day of Judgement. Next, we will discuss the concept of Fall and its repercussions on human existence, specifically the earthly life, which is immersed in a state of "autism". The mortal existence endeavours to confront its inherent finitude, and it is of interest to observe the strategies it employs in this pursuit. The cessation of bodily functions represents a transition towards a more elevated state of being. This discussion will explore the significance of death, the various perspectives held by individuals regarding death, and the concept of life-giving death. Additionally, we will examine the role of human ceremonies in highlighting the importance of the human experience.

2006

Works reviewed: Demetrios Bathrellos, “Love, Purification, and Forgiveness versus Justice, Punishment, and Satisfaction: The Debates on Purgatory and the Forgiveness of Sins at the Council of Ferrara-Florence,” Journal of Theological Studies, NS 65, 1 (2014), 78-121; Vasileios Marinis, Death and the Afterlife in Byzantium: The Fate of the Soul in Theology, Liturgy and Art (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017), 214 p.; Shawn McAvoy, Demonic Trials and Whispers: An Inquiry into the Origins of Logismoi and the Telōnia (Dewdney, BC: Synaxis Press, 2013), 198 p.; St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery, The Departure of the Soul according to the Teaching of the Orthodox Church: A Patristic Anthology (Florence, AZ: St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery, 2017), 1,111 p.; Denis F. Sullivan, Alice-Mary Talbot, and Stamatina McGrath, eds., The Life of St. Basil the Younger: Critical Edition and Annotated Translation of the Moscow Version (Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks, 2014), 842 p.

2000

In this paper I investigate the relationship between the theological study of the resurrection of Jesus and of resurrection in general, and the psychology and sociology of death and bereavement. I discovered that there is a mutual line of reception. On the one hand, there are a number of recent theological studies on the resurrection of Jesus, that are dependent for their interpretation of the appearances as “visions” upon studies in the field of psychology of death and bereavement. After presenting the position of Gerd Lüdemann, I will analyse the way he reads his psychological sources and make some theological comments. This will be the subject of the first part of my paper: THE IMPACT OF THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DEATH & BEREAVEMENT ON THE THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF THE APPEARANCES. On the other hand, I discovered that the social sciences, when studying the issues of death and bereavement, are sometimes in turn dependent upon theological ideas. I found an excellent exemple in a recent monograph by sociologist Clive Seale, entitled Constructing Death: The Sociology of Dying and Bereavement (1998). The author is convinced that it is important for dying and bereaved people to maintain social bonds. Through his notion of “resurrective practices,” he provides in a secular reinterpretation of a theological notion. In my assessment as to whether it is not “hyper-pelagianistic” to conceive of resurrection as a human activity, I have to admit honestly that there are also some theologians, who seem to allow for an interpretation of resurrection as a human task and a human possibility. The critical question, from the point of view of the theologian, will, of course, be whether the legitimate plea for a present eschatology, must not be complemented by a reflection on future eschatology. These ideas will be developed in the second part of my paper: A SECULAR REINTERPRETATION OF THE NOTION OF RESURRECTION”.

DEATH AND THE INTERMEDIATE STATE: COMPARISON OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC, ORTHODOX, AND PROTESTANT DOCTRINAL VIEWS ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN’S ETERNAL STATE PAPER TYPE: Synthesis and Expository THESIS STATEMENT: The study will contrast and compare Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant doctrines concerning death and the intermediate state, with the purpose of understanding what happens to the soul upon death, the intermediate state, the resurrection of the body, and how its implications affect the way we live our lives in preparation for our eternal life. ABSTRACT: Death is as much a part of life as life itself. One day, everyone will die, and until that day, most will encounter the death of a friend or a loved one. For unbelievers, death is tragic, and yet for Christians, death is the servant who ushers us into God’s presence. However, erroneous beliefs abound to the point of superstition. In Kallistos Ware’s article, ‘One body in Christ’: Death and the communion of the saints, he described how little the immanence of death is discussed in Western churches and how we should instead discuss it as a vital part of life, rather than something that hits us when we least expect it. When Christians fail to properly understand death, the intermediate state, and the resurrection to come, it minimizes the missional impact of the church on our culture. In N.T. Wright’s book, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, Wright explains the importance of understanding the resurrection in such a way that it influences the way we live in the body and propels us to a greater emphasis on building the Kingdom. Different theological views abound when the intermediate state is compared between the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant faiths. Roman Catholicism teaches Purgatory as the state where the souls are purged from venial sins. Alan Schreck’s book, Basics of the Faith: A Catholic Catechism describes the purging process, not as a second chance, but as an exercise of God’s infinite mercy. Richard P. McBrien’s book, Catholicism, explains the doctrine from Scripture and its development from its patristic roots. Kallistos Ware’s book, The Orthodox Way, describes “A journey into the infinite” (Ware, 137) and how this concept befuddles our “fallen imagination” (Ibid.). Constantine N. Tsirpanlis, Introduction to Eastern Patristic Thought and Orthodox Theology, argues against the doctrine of Purgatory outright, claiming that no eastern or western patristic father taught the this doctrine. From an Anglican Protestant perspective, Wright described paradise as the Christian’s state of blissful rest, but not sleep, but in a state of conscious presence with Christ, awaiting the final resurrection. What we believe about the resurrection, ought to shape the way that we view the mission of the church and the manner in which we live in the body until we meet the Lord Jesus Christ in the veil of death. Death is the servant who ushers us into the very presence of Christ and is nothing to fear.

Zygon, 2012

In the introduction to a syllabus of 291 theses that were condemned as heretical, bishop Stephan Tempier of Paris wrote that some philosophers "state things to be true according to philosophy, but not according to the Catholic faith, as if there are two contrary truths and as if there is truth in the sayings of pagans in hell that is opposed to the truth of Sacred Scripture." The condemnation of 1277 has been incorporated in books on the history of philosophy as a tense moment in the relations between Aristotelian philosophy and Christian thought. In the study under review, the Polish philosopher and deputy director of the Copernicus Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Kraków, Poland, delves deeper into the issue of double truth. Were there philosophers who held the position ascribed to them by Tempier? How might one understand the position of those criticized? The first part of the book by Brożek is historical. In the medieval context of the condemnation by Tempier, the key figures were Siger of Brabant (c. 1240-1284), Boethius of Dacia, and some time later, John Buridan (c. 1300-1360) and Pietro Pomponazzi (1462-1525). However, none of these held a naive view of two contradictory truths. Furthermore, for all of them, revelation is superior to natural reason. The particular issue Brożek focuses on is the understanding from the soul and its perishability and separability from the body-either along the lines of Averroes (Ibn Rushd) or along the lines of Alexander of Aphrodisia (as two interpretations of Aristotle). The later chapters of the book apply modern logic to reconstruct the positions one might ascribe to the philosophers suspected of holding a ''double truth'' view. Thus, Brożek discusses and applies among others paraconsistent logics, adaptive logics, belief revision theory, and defeasible logic. This book provides a very readable reconstruction of a major philosophical controversy regarding tensions that may arise between religious authorities and secular knowledge. Poland has a great tradition in logic and the philosophy of religion (e.g., Jan Łukasiewicz and Józef Maria Bocheński, both from the Kraków Circle).