Preface

§ 1. The Object of an Introduction to a Science.

The object assigned to an introduction to a science is ordinarily its preliminary concepts—that is, concepts which cannot themselves enter into the science, yet essentially pertain to it and are necessarily presupposed by it. It is therefore enough to determine, with all possible precision, the essence of the science in question, and everything else will define itself: what belongs within its scope, and what must be examined beforehand, in an introduction.

§ 2. The Concept of Orthodox Theology

Under the name of Orthodox1 Theology2 is understood a systematic exposition of the Christian faith or religion, on the foundation of the Word of God—Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition—under the guidance of the Orthodox Church. We say systematic exposition: this is the general feature of Orthodox Theology, by which it belongs to the class of sciences, and without which it could not be called a science. Exposition of the Christian faith: this is the particular feature of Orthodox Theology, by which it is distinguished from all other sciences, and especially from all non-Christian theologies. Exposition of the Christian faith on the foundation of the Word of God: Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition, under the guidance of the Orthodox Church: this is a still more particular feature of Orthodox Theology, distinguishing it not only from allnon-Christian theologies, but also from non-Orthodox Christian ones. For there are Christian societies which acknowledge as the source of the faith and theology they profess likewise the Word of God, or divine revelation, but only an inward revelation, illumined by the Holy Spirit, while greatly disparaging Holy Scripture and not accepting Holy Tradition at all (Quakers, Illuminati, and the like); there are others who acknowledge as such a source Holy Scripture alone, not accepting Holy Tradition (Lutherans, Reformed); and there are yet others who, though they accept both Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition, do so only according to the understanding of their own local church (Roman Catholics), and not of the truly catholic, Orthodox Church—which alone was established by the Lord Himself, and which alone can therefore be the infallible guardian and interpreter of His revelation.

§ 3. The Object and the Parts of an Introduction to Orthodox Theology

Having thus analyzed the concept presented of Orthodox Theology, we obtain three particular concepts:

a) the concept of the object of Orthodox Theology—the Christian Faith;

b) the concept of the sources of Orthodox Theology—Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition, according to the understanding of the Orthodox Church; and

c) the concept of the form of Orthodox Theology, as a system. It is precisely in these three concepts that the object and parts of an introduction to Orthodox Theology are determined: for what is determined here is, properly, that which cannot itself enter into the composition of this science, yet essentially pertains to it and is necessarily presupposed by it.

Every science must be only the vindication, the realization, of the concept established for it. Consequently, the scope of Orthodox Theology can include neither more nor fewer subjects than its exact definition requires. We said, first, that Orthodox Theology is an exposition of the Christian faith: and in the science itself we shall see the vindication of these words—we shall see the truths of the Christian faith one after another, their detailed unfolding, confirmation, defense… But what, then, is to be understood by the Christian faith; what is its essence; what is its origin and worth? These are questions of great importance and unavoidable in the study of this faith, but such as Orthodox Theology itself cannot examine, if it is to remain wholly faithful to its own definition—it evidently presupposes them as already settled beforehand. We said, second, that Orthodox Theology must be an exposition of the Christian faith on the foundation of the Word of God—Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition—under the guidance of the Orthodox Church: and so, in fact, it will be. The dogmas of the faith, the laws of morality, and in general the whole of Christian doctrine will be set forth in no other way than on the foundation of the divine sources, and in the very form in which the Orthodox Church holds and teaches this doctrine. But what, then, is divine revelation, or the Word of God; what, in particular, are Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition; wherein does their importance as sources consist, and on what is it grounded; and is it indeed true that the Orthodox Church must be our teacher in the matter of faith? These are further questions, natural and unavoidable in the study of the Christian faith, but again such as Orthodox Theology presupposes as already settled beforehand, and cannot settle on its own, given the definition assigned to it. We said, third, that Orthodox Theology must be a systematic exposition of the Christian faith: and this last requirement, too, will be fulfilled. We shall see the general and particular division of the theological sciences, their arrangement in a definite order, their treatment by a definite method. But what, then, is the system of Theology; why is it divided into these parts and not others; why is each of these parts assigned this object, and not another, this arrangement, and not another, this method, and not another?… It would be unjust for us to expect an answer to these questions from the science of Orthodox Theology itself, knowing its definition: it evidently presupposes them as already settled beforehand.

Consequently, the full composition of an introduction to Orthodox Theology must be made up of three parts:

1) the doctrine of the object of Orthodox Theology;

2) the doctrine of the sources of Orthodox Theology; and

3) the doctrine of the system of Orthodox Theology.

§ 4. The Source, the Aid, and the Method of an Introduction to Orthodox Theology

1) The source for all parts of an introduction to Orthodox Theology must be the very Word of God—that is, Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition, as preserved and taught by the Orthodox Church. For from where else could the first part draw its doctrine of the Christian Faith, its essence, properties, and divine origin; from where could the second draw its doctrine of the sources of the Christian faith and of Theology; from where could the third draw a full and distinct concept of the object of Orthodox Theology—that is, of the Christian Faith—a concept on which the entire systematic structure of the theological sciences must rest—if not from Christian Revelation, as preserved and taught by the Church? But —

2) A necessary aid in this must be the considerations of sound reason and historical investigation.

This is necessary in the first two parts: because the Christian faith, as a divine revelation, and the Orthodox Church of Christ, as a divine institution on earth, are historical events, and the task of the first two parts of an introduction to Orthodox Theology is not only to define and explain the concepts of the Christian Faith and its sources (this is only the preliminary part of the task), but chiefly to establish and defend all these concepts against the objections of freethinkers—to prove that the Christian faith indisputably comes from God, and that Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition alike must necessarily be acknowledged as the sources of Orthodox Theology, and that, moreover, in no other way than according to the understanding of the Orthodox Church. In such an inquiry, of course, it would not be enough to confine oneself to the testimonies of Christianity about itself, when the very question at issue is whether it is indeed divine, and consequently whether its own doctrine and testimony about itself deserve our full faith. Still less would this suffice for our adversaries, who openly take up arms against the divinity of the Christian faith and the worth of its sources. Here, after the example of the ancient defenders of Christianity, sound reason and impartial history must be called to our aid: their voice alone can carry force of persuasion for those who do not submit to faith.

Reason’s participation is likewise necessary in the third part of an introduction to Orthodox Theology: because to construct systems of the sciences in general, and consequently a system of the theological sciences, to divide and subdivide them into parts, is the work of our reason, with its logical forms and laws.

3) The method of the first two parts of an introduction to Orthodox Theology must be at once positive and negative. Their task, in unfolding each truth, is on the one hand to set forth the truth positively and show the grounds on which it rests, and on the other to examine critically the very objections made against it and against its grounds, and only then to proceed to the consideration of another truth, and a third, and so on. It should be noted, however:

a) that it suffices here to attend only to contemporary objections, and not to those long since fallen out of use, having been refuted a hundred times over;

b) that of the contemporary ones, too, it suffices to survey only the chief and the seemingly strongest, with whose fall the rest must naturally fall as well;

c) and in general, so far as possible, to avoid disputatiousness and scholastic subtleties, which make a science dry, tedious, and lifeless; and that it is best of all to set forth the positive proofs themselves of one truth or another in such a way that it will afterward be easy to refute every objection made against it.3

And the method for the exposition of the third part may be threefold. One may present in it, after some preliminary concepts of Theology as a system, only a systematic plan of the theological sciences and a brief survey of them in their general connection with one another; or one may, in addition, when delimiting the theological sciences, set forth the history of each science; or one may, finally, append a sketch of the literature of each science, following its history. We shall follow chiefly the first method, because it is dictated by the very subject of this part of the introduction to Orthodox Theology; and we shall make only partial use of the other methods, indicating, when delimiting the theological sciences, the chief sources and aids for each, in the light of its history and literature. The full history and literature of the theological sciences is more properly and usefully surveyed in the particular introduction to each science, before its detailed exposition—as, for the most part, teachers of Theology do.

§ 5. A Historical Survey of Other Conceptions of an Introduction to Orthodox Theology

It must be admitted that, in our own view of an introduction to Orthodox Theology, we have departed somewhat from the—themselves also various—conceptions that native theologians have held of this subject.

Some of them presented, as an introduction to Theology, only the briefest encyclopedia, in which were unfolded the concepts of the essence of Theology, its object, aim, composition, and division, sometimes with an indication of the ways of studying this science. Introductions of this kind are ordinarily found prefixed to theological textbooks—for example, in the textbook of the Kiev Academy of 1696,4 in the essays on Theology of Archimandrite Iakinf Karpinsky,5 of His Grace Sylvester Lebedinsky,6 and others.

Others, besides a brief encyclopedia, attempted to place in the introduction to Theology an inquiry into the principles of Theology—such as the importance of Holy Scripture, Holy Tradition, the ecumenical councils, the holy fathers, and the like. Such treatises were first placed among us, in his own introduction to Theology, by His Grace Theophan Prokopovich,7 and, following in his footsteps, by their Graces Sylvester Kuliabka, Georgy Konissky,8 and Irenaeus Falkovsky.9

Others still, few in number, join to all this, at the beginning or end of an introduction to Theology, inquiries into faith in general, into revelation, and especially into the divinity of the Christian faith. Such, for example, are His Grace Theophylact10 and Archpriest Ternovsky.11 With these last we ourselves are in almost complete agreement: only we have proposed to supplement the doctrine of the sources of Orthodox Theology with a special treatise on the point that they must be used in Orthodox Theology in no other way than according to the understanding of the Orthodox Church, and that she, consequently, must be our teacher in the matter of faith.

Why we have chosen precisely this view of an introduction to Orthodox Theology has already been shown above. But as to why we have not chosen one of the other views mentioned, let us note here:

a) that an encyclopedia alone cannot be an introduction to Orthodox Theology, but is only an introduction to Theology as a science;

b) that inquiries into the foundations and principles of Theology appended to an encyclopedia—that is, into Holy Scripture, Holy Tradition, the importance of the ecumenical councils and the holy fathers—without preliminary inquiries into faith and revelation, and in particular into the divine origin of the Christian faith and the infallible teaching authority of the Church, cannot be satisfactory: because they themselves lack the proper foundations and principles;

c) that, finally, an introduction to Theology in which, alongside a brief encyclopedia, there are inquiries into faith in general and especially the Christian faith, as well as into the principles of Theology, but no inquiry into the Orthodox Church as the teacher of the faith, is an introduction not to Orthodox Theology, but only, in general, to Christian or revealed Theology: such introductions are, for us, incomplete. We consider it necessary to add that the subjects we have adopted for our introduction to Orthodox Theology are likewise assigned to the introduction in the Longer Christian Catechism of the Orthodox Catholic Eastern Church, which is itself a brief Orthodox Theology and ought to serve as our model.

Orthodox — ὀρθόδοξος, by its derivation (from ὀρθῶς δοκέω [so printed in the source as θοχέω, an evident misprint for δοκέω], “I rightly suppose”) and by its use in the Christian world, means the same as one who thinks rightly about matters of faith, who believes rightly, who is right-believing—as opposed to the word ἑτερόδοξος (from ἑτέρως δοκέω [likewise misprinted θοχέω], “I otherwise suppose”), one who thinks wrongly about the faith, who is wrong-believing, non-Orthodox, or heterodox, as our forefathers sometimes expressed it (see Count Teleshov’s Description of Early Printed Books, p. 88, Moscow 1829).

Theology—θεολογία—had several different senses among the ancient teachers of the Church. In its etymological sense it meant, among them: a) word about God—λόγον περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ; b) word from God—λόγον ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ, or the Word of God: for this reason all of Holy Scripture was called Theology, the Old Testament being called the old Theology (θεολογίαν παλαιάν), and the New the new Theology (θεολογίαν νέαν); and the writers of both Testaments, the Prophets and Apostles, were called theologians; c) word to God or for God—λόγον πρὸς τὸν Θεόν: in this sense Θεολογία expressed the ascribing and rendering to someone of divine honor, especially the acknowledgment and confession of the Godhead of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Thus, taken together, by all these etymological meanings, “Theology is the Word of God concerning God, to the glory of God.” In its objective sense, in the language of the ancient teachers of the Church, Θεολογία meant: a) the doctrine not only of God and His attributes, but also of divine things and of everything pertaining to the worship of God; b) the doctrine properly of God, His essence and attributes; c) in particular, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity; d) still more narrowly, the doctrine of the Godhead of Jesus Christ. It is in this last sense that the name Theologian has been given above all: of all the holy Apostles, to John, who, in the words of Blessed Theophylact, “began with Theology” (ἀπὸ τῆς Θεολογίας ἤρξατο…), and wrote his Gospel for the purpose that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, or God the Word (John 20:31); and of all the teachers of the Church, to Gregory Nazianzen, as the one who defended with particular force the Godhead of the Word (θεότητα τοῦ Λόγου) against the Arians. It is clear that all the objective meanings of the word Θεολογία can be reduced to two: “Theology was called, first, the doctrine properly of God, and second, the doctrine of God and of everything pertaining to God.” (The sayings of the holy Fathers themselves, numerous and various, in proof of what has been said here, may be found in Suicer, in his Thesaurus Ecclesiasticus, under the words θεολογέω, θεολογία, θεολόγος.) In the first sense the name Theology properly belongs only to the first part of present-day Christian Dogmatics; in the latter, to the whole science of the Christian Faith, as indeed it has actually come to be used in the schools since the twelfth century. Today Theology is the name given to the whole body of sciences having the Christian Faith as their object.

We have thought it necessary to hold to this last observation especially in compiling the notes now being published, in which objections against the truths and the refutations of objections are for the most part omitted, or, more accurately, are set forth, so far as possible, in positive form. Notes of this kind, as everyone will agree, ought to be only a program and an abridgment of what the students are to hear, or have already heard, at proper length from their instructor during his lectures—and must, accordingly, contain only the beginnings and sufficient hints by which the students may easily recall what they heard in the lecture hall.

See the History of the Kiev Academy, p. 69, St. Petersburg 1843.

Compendium Orthodoxae Theologicae doctrinae… Lips. 1786.

Compendium Theologiae classicum didactico-polemicum… Mosquae, 1806.

By him—Prolegomena de definitione, objecto, causa, partitione, methodo ac principiis Theologiae. See Christ. Orthod. Theolog. in Acad. Kioviensi a Theoph. Procopovicz, vol. I. Lips. 1782.

See their outlines in the History of the Kiev Academy, pp. 139–142.

Christ. Orthod. Dogmatico-Polem. Theolog. compendium… ab Irineo Falkovski, tom. I, cap. I–XIII. Mosquae, 1802.

Orthod. Orient. Ecclesiae dogmata, seu doctr. Christ. de credendis, Petropoli, 1818, §§ 1–23: Articulus praeliminaris—de principiis ac fundamentis Christ. religionis.

He placed such a general introduction to Theology at the beginning of his own dogmatics, ed. 1838 and 1843.