Page 48 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

O r t h o d o x y
pends—then we have misunderstood its purpose. Dogmas are
not external rules to be obeyed; they are expressions of life.
For this reason, theology has a twofold task. First, it must
understand the precise meaning that a dogma had in the con-
text in which it was formulated. This requires historical fidel-
ity. But second—and equally essential—it must interpret that
dogma in a way that speaks to the present. This is what the
Fathers themselves did: they received the Gospel and ex-
pressed it anew, using the language and concepts of their own
time.
Dogmas, in this sense, are not additions to revelation, nor
developments of previously hidden truths. They are interpre-
tative expressions of the Gospel, inseparably connected both
to Scripture and to one another. If we remove this interpreta-
tive character, dogma becomes fossilized—reduced to a legal
or confessional formula, detached from life.
Yet interpretation carries its own risks. To interpret without
fidelity to the original meaning is to distort the tradition; but
to preserve the past without interpreting it for the present is
to render it lifeless. True theology must hold both together:
historical continuity and existential relevance.
This is why the use of new language and concepts is not a
betrayal of tradition, but often a necessity. The Fathers them-
selves were not afraid to employ the philosophical vocabulary
of their time—introducing terms such as homoousios, or de-
veloping complex distinctions such as those found in Saint
Maximus the Confessor. Their aim was not to preserve words,
but to express truth faithfully in a living context.
The same task remains before us today.
For without such interpretation, a question inevitably aris-
es within us: what does this mean for our life? If theology
cannot answer this question, it risks becoming a mere his-
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