Postmetaphysical Thinking, Ecclesiology and the Problem of a Unique Theological Language Part II

Abstract

The article compares two selected ecclesiological concepts of the twentieth cen­tury (bishop Damascene Tsedrik and metropolitan Anthony Bloom) with the cur­rents of thought of postmetaphysical theology, namely the movement of weak theology (G. Vattimo, J. Caputo). Firstly, a special study is required to define the object of consideration – a set of ecclesiological programmes of the twentieth century, in key points consonant with the general principles of contemporary postmetaphysical thinking; this task requires, on the one hand, identification of specific features of weak theology in its authentic variants, on the other hand, establishment of a wider (both chronological and with respect to different schools and movements) space of thought that possesses the highlighted fea­tures. Secondly, the question of the uniqueness of each replica under considera­tion arises: to what extent they are conditioned by “external” factors (an object­ive historical situation or orientation towards certain philosophical tendencies) and to what extent they remain a specifically theological statement, reflecting a particular situation in a specific religious logic. The main part offers a detailed examination of the ecclesiological views of Bishop Damascene and Metropolitan Anthony (which are chosen as two distinctive examples of a wider range of typ­ically similar positions). As a result, it is possible to identify common for them content and methodological features, which at the same time are consonant with the main points of postmetaphysical theology. The conclusions are that 1) there is a wider space of reaction to the cultural situation of criticism of modernity, of which the weak theology movement is a part, 2) in the considered concepts there is a proper theology, not reducible to the actual historical and ideological context, and 3) sacramental aspects of the presented ecclesiologies can be inter­preted in the spirit of postmodern poetics of Event.