Soteriology, Christology and the Mystery of Christ According to St. Justin the New of Chelie

Authors:

Pages: 171-183
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/EIVO7601

Abstract:

The aim of the paper is to present the original view on the soteriology and Christology of the contemporary Serbian Orthodox theologian Archimandrite Justin Popovic. In contrast to the Orthodox dogmaticians who preceded him and to some extent influenced his Dogmatics, the approach of Justin Popovic to Christological themes was rather innovative, less in terms of form, and more in terms of content. The paper shows that Justin Popovic challenged the traditional pattern of Catholic-Protestant academic theology that perceives Christology as the study of the person of Christ, and soteriology as the study of Christ’s works toward salvation. Justin Popovic approaches these two theological disciplines from the perspective of the mystery of godliness, in which the knowledge of Christ’s person and his work are not only inseparable, but also ungraspable. The paper demonstrates that the salvation of the human race in Justin Popovic’s thought is not postulated as deliverance, or “redemption” from death and sin, but as deification. Finally, focusing on the Mystery of Christ, the term of the Apostle Paul, which Justin Popovic uses extensively, the paper argues that the Incarnation of Christ is the greatest expression of divine love for the world, even greater than the creation. According to Justin Popovic, God created the world in order to enter into it in human form and to bring it into the mystery of divine eternal love of God that exists in the Holy Trinity.

Keywords:

Christology, soteriology, the Mystery of Christ, the Person of Jesus Christ

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