What do you think?
Rate this book
Patristic Theology: The University Lectures of Father John Romanides
What is orthodoxy? Is it a religion? What is the essence of Orthodox Tradition? What are the "two kinds of faith" and "two kinds of revelation"? What is "noetic prayer"? What is the difference orthodoxy and heresy? What is the essence of God and what are his energies? These and other such questions are answered in this unique volume of Fr. John Romanides' university lectures.
- GenresTheologyChristianity
296 pages
First published January 1, 2008
7 people are currently reading
162 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 31, 2012
Insightful in many ways, but very polemical. Guard your heart as you read.
Want to read
April 1, 2009An interesting thesis, but I'm not sure I like his bias. The central goal of the Christian life, in his opinion, is *theosis*, which he equates to "glorification". He stretches this to cover every aspect of glorification, both new and old Testament personalities.
He also takes very literally the idea that theosis occurs, potentially, in every believer, and the path to theosis is noetic prayer (or self-prompting prayer of the heart, by the Holy Spirit). This is, in his view, the totality of faith, and the single objective of the Christian life.
He laments the transition of clergy (at all levels) from enlightened spiritual guides (ones who have achieved theosis) to administrative necessities. He offers no suggestions how to rectify the situation.
He also laments the lack of theosis among the population of believers in general, but again offers no real alternatives.
If his theory and interpretation is correct, then there are very few in this world, Orthodox or not, that will reach salvation. There is also no "plan" for how one even begins that journey.
Prayer to find a spiritual guide seems to be the only way.
He also takes very literally the idea that theosis occurs, potentially, in every believer, and the path to theosis is noetic prayer (or self-prompting prayer of the heart, by the Holy Spirit). This is, in his view, the totality of faith, and the single objective of the Christian life.
He laments the transition of clergy (at all levels) from enlightened spiritual guides (ones who have achieved theosis) to administrative necessities. He offers no suggestions how to rectify the situation.
He also laments the lack of theosis among the population of believers in general, but again offers no real alternatives.
If his theory and interpretation is correct, then there are very few in this world, Orthodox or not, that will reach salvation. There is also no "plan" for how one even begins that journey.
Prayer to find a spiritual guide seems to be the only way.
June 30, 2022
Causou uma rotação de 180 graus na minha visão da teologia cristã.
August 21, 2024
Poate pe alocuri cu unele exagerări, dar în general este o carte foarte instructivă care descoperă specificul ortodoxiei în raport cu alte credințe sau erezii.
June 29, 2014
Romanides' tone can be famously rude, argumentative and politically incorrect, but I love so many of his ideas. I particularly enjoy his definition of theologian, and his discussion of the Fathers and their project. This is well worth the read, despite its polemic and sometimes combative tone.
December 1, 2023
Fr. John is often maligned by various interests in our day. He has become a boogyman to many.
A brief summary of various naysayers.
Those who seek to rewrite Church history of the first millennium that the Frankish-Latin innovations of Charglemane and successors was the continuation of the Patristic deposit.
There are those who seek to rectify Augustinianism (this is distinct from the person of Blessed Augustine himself, who ran into errors in his opining but remains a humble and pious model to all Christians) with Orthodoxy.
Those who seek to transform Orthodoxy into just another philosophical or moral ethics thought experiment on the other.
It remains the case that Orthodox Christianity is an empirical faith, of direct communion with God based in the experience of theosis, as the Prophets, Fathers, and Saints experienced God directly and relayed these experiences to the faithful through Scriptures and their writings. Orthodoxy is not a Christian version of the faith of the Greek philosophers and it is not a moralistic code of ethics.
Those critics would do wise to actually read Fr. John's writings instead of combating strawmen and resorting to character assassination.
A brief summary of various naysayers.
Those who seek to rewrite Church history of the first millennium that the Frankish-Latin innovations of Charglemane and successors was the continuation of the Patristic deposit.
There are those who seek to rectify Augustinianism (this is distinct from the person of Blessed Augustine himself, who ran into errors in his opining but remains a humble and pious model to all Christians) with Orthodoxy.
Those who seek to transform Orthodoxy into just another philosophical or moral ethics thought experiment on the other.
It remains the case that Orthodox Christianity is an empirical faith, of direct communion with God based in the experience of theosis, as the Prophets, Fathers, and Saints experienced God directly and relayed these experiences to the faithful through Scriptures and their writings. Orthodoxy is not a Christian version of the faith of the Greek philosophers and it is not a moralistic code of ethics.
Those critics would do wise to actually read Fr. John's writings instead of combating strawmen and resorting to character assassination.
July 19, 2020
He waxes a little to philosophical at times, but overall I feel enlightened having read this book.
November 19, 2012
This book has been a constant companion of mine since Uncut Mountain first released it. I have made it a point to reread it about every six months or so.
Romanides (like Sherrard or Popovich) is an acquired taste. Not knowing his theological and cultural context can (and has) caused much misunderstanding. And this volume in particular has been criticized for "redundancy"... I get that - there is a lot of material that is covered from various angles over and over again... but I am slow, so I find it beneficial... ALSO though, in his defense, these are transcribed lectures - and as such follow very much along the lines of how one would normally speak and address issues. Also, Romanides theological method is (mostly) apophatic in the best sense of the term, so people (even Orthodox theologians) get distracted by this as they are used to western and catophatic models of theological method. There are portions of the text that are polemical too... but I think overall in a fair and gracious way (given that he and other have indeed done the spadework [elsewhere] that is necessary to draw the conclusions being drawn).
I like that this text is NOT an ivory tower, scholastic masterpiece. It is earthy... Rough in spots... That said, it is theologically rigorous and imminently practical. Theology that does comport with reality. Theology that does matter day to day. Theology that does have a praxy.
This is hands down in (in my opinion) one of the most important works out there for any tradition to engage. Whether you wind up agreeing with him or not - what Romanides has to day matters and should be engaged with a humble and attentive heart.
Romanides (like Sherrard or Popovich) is an acquired taste. Not knowing his theological and cultural context can (and has) caused much misunderstanding. And this volume in particular has been criticized for "redundancy"... I get that - there is a lot of material that is covered from various angles over and over again... but I am slow, so I find it beneficial... ALSO though, in his defense, these are transcribed lectures - and as such follow very much along the lines of how one would normally speak and address issues. Also, Romanides theological method is (mostly) apophatic in the best sense of the term, so people (even Orthodox theologians) get distracted by this as they are used to western and catophatic models of theological method. There are portions of the text that are polemical too... but I think overall in a fair and gracious way (given that he and other have indeed done the spadework [elsewhere] that is necessary to draw the conclusions being drawn).
I like that this text is NOT an ivory tower, scholastic masterpiece. It is earthy... Rough in spots... That said, it is theologically rigorous and imminently practical. Theology that does comport with reality. Theology that does matter day to day. Theology that does have a praxy.
This is hands down in (in my opinion) one of the most important works out there for any tradition to engage. Whether you wind up agreeing with him or not - what Romanides has to day matters and should be engaged with a humble and attentive heart.
September 4, 2025
This has grown on me a bit and my star-rating will probably increase. It’s a book that should be perhaps read slowly, and let the seed grow in your head. I never really considered noetic prayer much before but this really made me think about how purity of the mind and soul allows you to focus on God. I thought his writing was a bit confrontational towards philosophy but I started to realize that philosophy is not really as important if you can humble your ego to not want to exalt yourself, but to rather satisfy God.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 13, 2016
Before venturing into this book you must understand the target audience -- seminarians and students of theology in modern Greece around 1987. Having understood that, this book can be widely applied to the present day Orthodox, as well as non-Orthodox, Christian today as the issues it addresses are just old tactics and heresies the enemy has deployed in new clothing.
This book (really a collection of lectures) does an excellent job of exposing the heart of theology, and the issues surrounding modern day Orthodoxy, where heretical teachings come from, and how we can all return to the core teachings and understandings of the Church Fathers.
Readers will also benefit greatly by actually having heard Fr. Romanides or at least understanding the man, as his usual sarcastic undertones are present in these lectures and must not be viewed as personal attack. Lighten up, and enjoy the book if you wish to learn what a true theologian is, and why it is important to every Christian, not just the clergy or students in seminary or in college studying religion.
This book (really a collection of lectures) does an excellent job of exposing the heart of theology, and the issues surrounding modern day Orthodoxy, where heretical teachings come from, and how we can all return to the core teachings and understandings of the Church Fathers.
Readers will also benefit greatly by actually having heard Fr. Romanides or at least understanding the man, as his usual sarcastic undertones are present in these lectures and must not be viewed as personal attack. Lighten up, and enjoy the book if you wish to learn what a true theologian is, and why it is important to every Christian, not just the clergy or students in seminary or in college studying religion.
October 29, 2016
If not dominated by his war on all analogia and tainted with higher criticism and the denial of inerrancy, this would be excellent.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews