Meta-Ecclesiology: Chronicles on Church Awareness

ISBN-13: 9781137545411 / Angielski / Twarda / 2015 / 242 str.

Cyril Hovorun

Opis

Aphrahat, the Syrian poet who lived in the fourth century, described the church of Christ as a colored bird. What does this bird see when, flying above the surface of the ever-changing sea, it looks at its own reflection? This book considers how the church has permanently reimagined itself over the course of its historical journey. Far from being a constant, the self-awareness of the church has varied in relation to theological and philosophical trends together with social and political circumstances. Any theory of the church based on a single snapshot of its self-perception is incapable of catching the invariable 'self' of the church and describing it without reduction. By examining the church's self-perception at different periods, from the first century through to the present day, this book offers a framework through which the church can be better comprehended in our time. On the basis of his historical survey of the evolution of the church's self-perception, Cyril Hovorun distinguishes between changeable and unchangeable components of the church. He also identifies a permanent system of coordinates that help us to trace and evaluate the trajectories of the church's self-awareness.

Recenzje

'The originality of this work lies in its comprehensiveness, taking into account as it does the East-West axis in ecclesiology. This is a brilliantly written book.' - Sven-Erik Brodd, Uppsala University, Sweden

O autorze

Cyril Hovorun is a scholar in Patristics. His first monograph Will, Action and Freedom was published in 2008. He has recently been working in the field of ecclesiology and public theology. He has lectured and published extensively on the modern church issues and the situation in Ukraine.