Translation of 'Hellenism and Christianity: The Meeting of Two Worlds' published

Presentation ceremony. Photo by Volos Academy

Source: WCC

The World Council of Churches, in collaboration with the Volos Academy for Theological Studies, has released a translation of Hellenism and Christianity: The Meeting of Two Worlds, by John D Zizioulas, the late Metropolitan of Pergamon (Ecumenical Patriarchate).

The publication was translated by Fr Gregory Edwards and edited with an introduction by Dr Nikolaos Asproulis.

As a delegation from the Holy Metropolis of Demetrias (Orthodox Church of Greece) and the Volos Academy for Theological Studies participated in the celebration of St Photius on 6 February at the Theological School of Chalki in Türkiye, HE Metropolitan of Demetrias Ignatios and the director of the Volos Academy, Dr Pantelis Kalaitzidis, handed to His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew the English version of the book.

The book, which falls within the framework of the series "Doxa & Praxis: Exploring Orthodox Theology," provides the reader with a critical approach to the various issues related to the meeting of Hellenism and Christianity, with a particular focus on the first three formative centuries of the early church.

"The problem of the historical origins of Christianity per se does not interest us here, but rather only as it relates to the broader purpose of our inquiry, which is the relationship between Christianity and Hellenism in the first three centuries," reads the introduction. "Thus, the question of Christianity's historical origins leads us specifically to the following series of questions: What role did Hellenism play in the initial historical appearance of Christianity? Was there any trace of the Greek spirit in this historical setting that aided in the emergence of the first Christian communities, together with their faith in the person of Jesus Christ? What was the relationship between Hellenism and Christianity at the historical origins of the latter?"

Read more about Hellenism and Christianity: www.oikoumene.org/resources/publications/hellenism-and-christianity