The Theological Program of the Council of Crete (Notes on the Decisions of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church)

Authors:

Pages: 179-187
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/MWIR6671

Abstract:

The Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church held on Crete adopted a Message and an Encyclica that are concentrated on three theological models: the recapitulation of the Creation in Christ, Christian personology and the concept of freedom. The text traces the presence of these three concepts in the documents adopted by the Council. For St. Cyril of Alexandria recapitulation is a paradigm thanks to which Trinitarian theology, Christology and anthropology converge. Maximus the Confessor develops this teaching in a metaphysical pan-Christism. Thus the recapitulation acquires corporeal connotations. On this basis the Council proclaims the dignity of the entire human person not simply as a substantial image of God, but – in the eschatological perspective of deification. Crete does not develop an autonomous normative anthropology; neither does it establish an emphatic personology. At stake is a Christocentric understanding of the human person. Although the term “person” caused debate at the Council, the texts use it as a terminus technicus. However, the concept behind this term does not imply that the personal identity is a purely relational category, dependent on social connections and structures. Freedom is the main characteristic of the new mode of created being in Christ. It is as an antithesis to autarchy. The Council adopts and uses in a positive sense the two patristic concepts concerning freedom, namely: autonomy and freedom in Christ. For all these concepts the main authority is St. Cyril of Alexandria.

Keywords:

Council, St. Cyril of Alexandria, recapitulation, human person, freedom

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