Union Without Confusion

Agreed Statements from the bilateral dialogue, both Non-Official and Official, suggest that the Eastern Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox are in fact very close in their understanding of the mystery of the Incarnation. Hesitations which have been expressed from both sides, however, have hindered further progress. Since many of these hesitations turn out to be based on polemical misunderstandings of the past which have become fossilized over the course of time, Peter Bouteneff’s eirenic and more objective revisiting of the key documents of the controversies is most welcome, and it is greatly to be hoped that his book will help to remove misconceptions on both sides which have been inherited from the past. * Sebastian P. Brock, Oxford University, UK *
This is a learned and sensitive study by a distinguished Eastern Orthodox scholar. It has arisen from a conviction that the problems arising from the fifth-century Chalcedonian schism that still divides the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox communions are resolvable through reconceiving the way in which conciliar and patristic authority functions. Marked by clarity of thought and written in accessible language despite the complexity of the subject, Bouteneff’s book is essential reading for anyone concerned with healing the division between these two closely related but long-estranged Christian families. * Norman Russell, Theological Institute of Saint Eufemia of Calcedonia at the Orthodox Exarchate of Italy *
Bouteneff’s study offers a historically nuanced and theologically rigorous analysis of the fifth century Christological controversies with an eye to the contemporary dialogue between the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches. By consistently defending term/meaning distinction, Bouteneff shows that the schism of the two churches was primarily a result of terminological misunderstandings rather than profound doctrinal differences. The book is an important contribution to the healing of theological memories, so much needed in our time. * Paul Gavrilyuk, International Orthodox Theological Association *

Peter C. Bouteneff is Professor of Systematic Theology at St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, USA.

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