Theology in the Church and at the secular university: Features and problems

Abstract

In an interview with Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk, several topics are touched upon concerning the nature of Christian theology, the differences between the theology of the Church proper, which exists in theological schools and in the Orthodox theological community, and theology in universities, which is recognized in Russia as a field of the humanities and a group of specialties for which degrees are awarded. Theology as a field institutionally unites different confessional theologies — primarily the traditional religious confessions: Orthodoxy, Islam, and Judaism. Metropolitan Hilarion defends the idea that theology in this secular space should be confessional, and therefore it is necessary to approbate theological research by the relevant religious organizations. At the same time, Metropolitan Hilarion supports the principle of academic freedom, meaning freedom of theological research within the framework of religious traditions and referring readers to historical examples that are the subject of patrology. In the second part of the conversation, Metropolitan Hilarion describes his own path in theology — from the first patrological works to the latest large-scale project of New Testament theology, the fruit of which was a six-volume study dedicated to Jesus Christ as a historical character and as a Man revealing God. This conversation, on the one hand, outlines the position of the Church in relation to theology in its ecclesiastical and secular dimensions, and, on the other hand, reflects the personal history of an authoritative Orthodox theologian, who responds to the challenges of the time and offers a modern interpretation of the main theological topics, while remaining faithful to the unbroken church tradition.