Art & Memory

Two thinkers with radically different backgrounds and no other connection to each other or information about each other, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy Dr. Christos Yannaras in Athens, Greece, and Professor of Philosophy Dr. Joseph Kaipayil in Bangalore, India, both articulate a ‘Critical Ontology’ and a ‘Relational Ontology’ with striking similarities as well as substantial differences; one of the most interesting aspects of this parallel philosophical production is the observation of both philosophers that a ‘relational ontology’ cannot but be a ‘critical ontology’, and vice versa. In this article I will attempt to briefly present the relevant theories of both philosophers and to highlight the common points and differing aspects that call for a direct dialogue between them.

The article uses Eastern Orthodox thinker Christos Yannaras' conception of personhood as a theological criterion for examining the ethical use of new information technologies.

The critical ontology proposed by Christos Yannaras is not a new name for an old theory. Its author views it as a consistent attempt to transcend the limitations imposed by Kant upon metaphysics and to construct a comprehensive ontological proposal that is always subject to critical and empirical evaluation, validation or refutation. Until recently, the English speaking researcher could not access the detailed exposition of this critical ontology due to the linguistic barrier, as the monographs expounding it were available only in the Greek original. However, this has changed during the last yearsand the time for a closer look at the possibility of a consistently critical ontology by the academic community may have come. Christos Yannaras, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences in Athens, Greece, has written extensively on ontology, epistemology, ethics, theology and politics. It is a good fortune that a significant number of his books have recently become available in English thanks to Dr. Norman Russell's translation of the main bulk of Yannaras' work, including his magnum opus Person and Eros (2007), the German edition of which bears a subtitle that describes it most abundantly: A Comparison of the Ontology of the Greek Fathers and the Existential Philosophy of the West 1 . In his work, Yannaras applies certain stable criteria emerging from his philosophical understanding of the world to a variety of categories, unveiling the vital connection between the branches of philosophy per se and the world we live in. Thus we may classify the works Person and Eros, Relational Ontology (2011), Propositions for a Critical Ontology et al. under ontology/metaphysics, the works On the Absence and Unknowability of God:

In this article I am looking at the use and appropriation of language and style in Christos Yannaras' "Variations on the Song of Songs". Yannaras is one of the most prolific and influential theologians and philosophers in modern Greece. His published works cover a vast field of interests from philosophy (metaphysics, ethics), to theology and also history, political theory and autobiographical notes. A professor emeritus at the Panteion University of Political and Social Sciences in Athens, he is a publicist, communicating with the public via his Sunday column "ἐπιφυλλίίδα" ("column") in the Athenian newspaper, Kathimerini (The Daily).

The published form of this paper will appear (November 28, 2017) in the journal "Political Theology" (DOI 10.1080/1462317X.2017.1402550). Once this article has been published online, it will be available at the following permanent link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1462317X.2017.1402550 . Usually focusing on Roman Catholic and Protestant trajectories of thought, political theology seldom takes note of Orthodox Christianity and the politically informed theology and/or theologically informed politics it engenders. In this paper, I will engage certain aspects of Christos Yannaras' contemporary political theology. Yannaras, an academic philosopher, influential Christian Orthodox theologian and public intellectual intervening regularly in Greece's public sphere with his political commentary, does not consider his contribution as being a political theology; in fact, he criticizes the concept as such. However, a consistent, coherent and critical political theology, i.e. a theologically-informed political theory, is clearly visible in many of his works. In this paper, I will focus (a) on his understanding of both the political and the ecclesial element of life and society as emerging from the same mode of existence, (b) on the way in which a political community, when primarily aiming at truth rather than usefulness and efficacy, strives to iconize the Trinity, and (c) on his critique of ideology, while (d) discerning the social and political context in which these ideas first appeared. This will by no means be a comprehensive, even an introductory one, overview of Yannaras' political theology, as some core aspects thereof remain beyond the scope of my paper.

The marginalization of divine being, who is the source of energies, makes Ioannis Zizioulas to actually ignore the divine energies in his Eucharistic and personalist theological vision. On the other hand, Christos Yannaras gives a certain importance to the distinction between essence and energies, but he comes to bound energies to person. While, one of the gains of patristic theology was to clearly link the energies to nature, both in Trinitarian theology field as well as in Christology and that of anthropology, while many heresies tied it of person. Therefore there is necessary to distinguish between hypostasis and energy: one energy in three hypostases. While the relationship of Palamite categories to the discourse of 'person' in contemporary Orthodox theology is still unclear, in our study we intend to show that the re-engaging with Palamite theology could help to balance the normative existentialism's of Yannaras and Zizioulas.

When preparing my paper, originally I thought that I had two options; either to emulate the address of the German mathematician David Ηilbert to the International Congress of Mathematicians in Paris in 1900, in which case I would have to outline several theological questions that I believe will engage the interest of theologians in the future; or, to follow at the steps of Florovky's famous Ways of Russian theology, thus providing my version about the "ways of Greek theology". Eventually, I opted to present contemporary discussions among greek theologians on two specific issues, namely nationalism and missiology. ! ! My aim is not to demonstrate the dependence or independence of individual thinkers on Yannaras, but to focus on theology as prophecy, that Yannaras has indicated at an early stage of his career. First, I will introduce Yannaras' concept of prophecy as watchfulness and openness; then, I will move on to present contemporary greek theology on i) Church and state;