The Father’s Eternal Freedom
The Personalist Trinitarian Ontology of John Zizioulas
by Norman Russell and Dario Chiapetti
Paperback (No longer our product)
(November 2022)
ISBN: 9780227177747
Price: $41.00
In stock
A justification of Zizioulas’ controversial ontology on epistemological, patristic and theological lines.
John Zizioulas is renowned for his controversial reflection on the ontological freedom as the cause and cipher of God’s being, which also has important implications for anthropology, ecclesiology and ecumenical dialogue. This view is bound up with a personalist conception of the Trinity, recognised in the teaching of the Greek Church Fathers, in which the person represents the primary ontological category. In particular, Zizioulas shows how, by virtue of the Father, personhood coincides with absolute freedom. In The Father’s Eternal Freedom, Dario Chiapetti explores this ontology. Taking into account Zizioulas’ epistemological principles, his patristic reading and his theological development, the author systematically presents Zizioulas’ thesis, verifying its conformity to dogma and its internal coherence. Chiapetti analyses how Zizioulas’ proposal brings back to the centre of systematic theology the teaching of the Greek Fathers, especially the Cappadocians, and the apophatic horizon of dogmatic reflection. Such reflection pushes the discourse on God to its maximum degree, identifying and bringing out, rather than resolving or attenuating, the aporetic terms that structure it.
Dr Dario Chiapetti is a presbyter in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence. His research interests include Trinitarian Theology, especially in its ontological foundations and in the Eastern perspective, as well as anthropology and Franciscan theology. A former architect, he is also interested in the relationship between liturgy and architecture.
- By (author) Dario Chiapetti
- By (author) Norman Russell
"Dr Chiapetti has produced a comprehensive, profound and fair discussion of Patristic theology, as presented in my work, particularly with regard to its ontological significance. A most successful attempt to bring to the surface the immense significance of Patristic theology for human existence." John D. Zizioulas, Metropolitan of Pergamon "Despite being the most influential living Greek theologian, John Zizioulas' publications are largely occasional. Chiapetti knows the thickets of Zizioulas' uvre like no one else. His defence of his theology - against all comers - tests its theological roots and explores its philosophical implications for notions of personhood and freedom. Impressive!" Andrew Louth, Professor Emeritus of Patristic and Byzantine Studies, Durham University "In addition to providing a lucid and insightful systematic presentation of Zizioulas' theological vision, Chiapetti breaks new ground by offering a constructive defense of 'the father's eternal freedom'. A must read for those interested in Zizioulas and in contemporary trinitarian theology." Aristotle Papanikolaou, Professor of Theology, Archbishop Demetrios Chair in Orthodox Theology and Culture, and co-founding director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center, Fordham University "Chiapetti studies here for the first time in depth Zizioulas' Trinitarian theology, the keystone of his synthesis. Led by a rigorous historical and theological method, this study sheds new light on Zizioulas' thought. Chiapetti's work is important for the ecumenical movement, but also for contemporary reflection on man and on the authentic basis of his freedom." Carmelo Giuseppe Conticello, Professor of Byzantine Theology at the Pontifical Oriental Institute and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique "In opposition to such a "monarchical" conception of the Trinity as Zizioulas posits, the critical question always arises as to whether it is ultimately a form of subordinationism. ... Dario Chiapetti consistently comes to the mediating conclusion that Zizioulas' suggestions are coherent in themselves and, as an interpretation, are also compatible with the patristic textual findings, without being able to impose themselves as the only possible interpretation. In particular, he emphasises as positive and influential for further study the aim of not wanting to overcome the exaggerated individualism of the present by repristination of pre-modern categories of substance and nature, but rather to devise with the Church Fathers a relational ontology of the person with a mystical-ecclesial, even erotic trajectory. Anyone interested in this philosophical enterprise is very well served with Chiapetti's book." Theologische Literaturzeitung 148 (2023), Tobias Graamann, p. 498-500.
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