Page 45 - Western Diocese Annual 2023

2023 DIOCESAN ANNUAL
Catechetical Lectures
“Theologia-Oikonomia- -Leitourgia”
At the request of the faithful of the Western American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in America, His Grace Bishop Max- im (Vasiljevic) offered a series of lectures on the theme entitled “Theologia-Oikonomia-Leitourgia”.
These theological presentations started Decem- ber 9, 2022 and lasted until April 28, 2023. The lec- tures were presented via zoom, and moderated by Protodeacon Paul Germain from San Diego, CA. The lectures expressed the meaning of the three abovementioned important and relational terms ex- pressing the essence of the Orthodox Christian Faith. Moreover, each lecture was presented consid- ering the Great Feasts such as the Nativity, Theopha- ny, Meeting of the Lord, Sunday of Orthodoxy, Pas- cha and Pentecost. Hence, each lecture began with an introduction of how theology, economy, and lit- urgy, are expressed through our celebration of the Feasts.
The essence of the topic was woven into the festal events of the Orthodox Church calendar, whereby Bishop Maxim used these holy themes to express profound theology, especially in relation to the Di- vine Liturgy, Trinitarian Theology and Christology. Utilizing the teachings of the Holy Fathers, such as St. Maximos the Confessor, St. Basil the Great, and St. Gregory the Theologian to support the content, he also directed the participants to the writings of contemporary theologians such as Metropolitan John (Zizioulas), Bishop Atanasije (Yevtich), and Fr. Georges Florovsky, to name a few. The following texts are brief summaries from each of the twelve lectures, which were prepared by the students, that offer reflections on the main theological topics dis- cussed. This breif text canno cannot fully encompass
the vast content presented, but it is hoped that the contents offer a window into the theology of the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church, as uniquely ex- pressed by Bishop Maxim.
The course is an introduction to Greek patristic synthesis with special attention to the Immanent Trinity and the Economic Trinity. An initial look at the biblical facts was followed by a study of select exegetical works by Athanasios the Great, Gregory the Theologian, Basil the Great, Cyril of Jerusalem, etc., including the Divine Liturgies of St. Basil the Great and St. John Chrysostom and ancient eucha- ristic Anaphoras and the tradition of Baptism in the Trinity which point to the way the theologia in oiko-
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