Patristic Theology: The University Lectures of Fr. John Romanides

Fr. John Savva Romanides was a clergyman and professor of theology who taught another kind of dogmatics, beyond the scholastic rationalist models of his time, which still burden our seminaries today. In this volume of his university lectures we encounter not mere citations from Patristic texts, but an entrance into the Patristic spirit and experience through the Holy Fathers’ relationship with our Triune God in their hearts. Fr. Romanides succeeded in “reformulating” the Patristic teaching, such that we can refer to a “pre-Romanides” period and a “post-Romanides” period in our theological schools. Fr. Romanides helps us understand the interconnection between the history and worship of the Orthodox Church, which is an expression of the experience of the Church and which bears witness to the life in Christ. In his lectures we encounter theology not as independent scholarly knowledge but as closely connected to the believer’s struggle for salvation.