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Full Description
Orthodox theology and the Orthodox Churches had, and continue to have an
ambiguous relationship towards the concept of Human Rights: principal
approval often stands alongside serious criticism. This is especially true
for those Orthodox Churches which have their centre in a country of the
former Soviet sphere. On the one hand, especially since the fall of
Communism they enjoy religious freedom that forms a central element within
the framework of Human Rights. On the other hand, the transformation
process of the 1990s and the challenge of pluralism and globalization have
all confronted them with aspects of freedom that could not but affect
their stance towards the Human Rights concept in general. This also means,
that doubts and reservations related to this concept came to the fore
again, which had yet existed already decades before. These reservations
focused on such issues as Church and secular society, Church and state,
furthermore on the understanding of central terms such as "freedom",
"dignity", "rights" - central also for an Orthodox anthropology, that
needs to be reconciled with the partly differing approaches behind the
Human Rights concept.
The chapters of this volume try and explore as
much the philosophical and theological as the social, historical and
practical aspects of this complex relationship. Based either on the
discussion of differing theological concepts, or on empirical and concrete
case studies respectively, they clearly show the tensions and fractures
that do exist. On the other hand, in this way they also hint at
possibilities to overcome these tensions, to continue a dialogue that
already has begun, and to avoid the numerous misunderstandings between
East and West which currently tend to form a hindrance to this dialogue at
various points.
