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This word is first found in the [[Epistle]] of the Holy [[Apostle]] [[Apostle Peter|Peter]] in which he instructs,
In Orthodox theology, term [[Apologetics]] is used in regards to defending the true faith against atheists, pagans, Jews and others. This defense, however, is done in a manner that is loving and in order to ''bear good fruits'' and should not be polemical or obsessive in manner, which in many cases is considered detrimental to the Apostolic Faith.
The earliest apologists were the Church Fathers. There Their apologies cover a wide range of topics including the Divine origin of the Church, Christ's Nature, Scripture, the Theotokos, miracles, Christian social interaction and the function of doctrine. Orthodox Apologetics, however, has always tried to give an intellectual synthesis of both general and particular apologetic problems, using as a cornerstone the positive method of building the organically whole Christian worldview. The literature of Apologetics is unusually vast, diverse and almost boundless. But, from a strictly Orthodox point of view, a fully complete, whole and deeply absorbing textbook of Apologetics has not yet been prepared. == List of apologetic work ===== Early Church Fathers (various topics) ===The method adopted by the Church to resolve the vital differences of opinion concerning the meaning of the Scriptures was the ecumenical or universal councils, usually called and presided over by the Roman emperor. There were seven councils that were representative of the whole Christian Church and form the key "apologetics" for the Orthodox faith.
The next list of important apologetic works relate to the writings by the early Church Fathers. The following list follows a chronological listing of these. * The [[Nicene Creed]]* ''"The Fountain of Knowledge,"'' by St. John of Damascus (7th-century). === General topics ===* Classical apologetics, i.e., proof of the existence of God (including apologists such as [[Augustine of Hippo]] and [[Thomas Aquinas]])* the existence of the Holy Trinity.* the relationship between the two natures of Christ / the Divine Nature of Christ / Monophysite.* the humanity of Christ.* the personality of the Holy Spirit.* the Virgin Mary being honoured as "Theotokos" or "Panagia".* the virginity of the Theotokos.* the Theotokos and the saints as intercessors.* the place of icons in orthodox worship* and others .... == Apologetic Articles Modern Apologies and Apologists ==The following chronolical most recent and most controversial '''apologetic''' is that of [[Ecumenism]] and will not directly be addressed in this section. Among the various works on Apologetics written in the 19th and 20th centuries, worthy of note are: * Ulrici (1806-1884), God and Nature; * F. Hettinger (1819-1890), Apology of Christianity; and * J. Ebrard (1818-1888), Apologetics.* The (GOARCH) website has a listof ''Apologetics'', ''see [http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/apologetics/ GOARCH Modern Apologetics]'' === The '''Da Vinci Code''' apologetics ===# [http://goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article9583.asp The Da Vinci Code] by [[Frederica Matthewes-Green]] ([[GOARCH]])# [http://goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article9576.asp The Da Vinci Code:Decoding the Agenda] by Rev. Fr. Theodore Stylianopoulos, Th.D. ([[GOARCH]])# [http://goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article9555.asp The Da Vinci Code: The X-Files of Ancient Lies] by Rev. Frank Marangos, D.Min.,Ed.D. ([[GOARCH]]) === Russian apologetics ===Of the Orthodox Russian works in Apologetics, noteworthy are the classic work of: * the Moscow Metropolitan, Macarius (Bulgakov), ''An Introduction to Orthodox Theology'' (6th edition, St. Petersburg, 1897); * a remarkable two volume textbook for religious academies by Professor N. P. Rozhdestvensky, Christian Apologetics--A Course of Fundamental Theology, (2nd edition, St. Petersburg, 1893); and * an original investigation of dogmatic theology from an apologetic point of view, by the Professor V. Rev. P. Y. Svetlov, Experiment of Apologetical Exposition of the Orthodox Christian Doctrine, Vol. I and Vol. II (Kiev, 1898). These remarkable works have not lost their meaning even up to the present time. Also deserving attention are some other Russian textbooks. For instance, Father Augustine's, A Manual of Fundamental Theology; Professor V. Rev. D. A. Tichomirov's, A Course in Fundamental Theology, St. Petersburg, 1887; Professor V. Rev. Kudryavtsev's, Short Course of Lectures in Orthodox Theology, (2nd edition, Moscow, 1898); Piatnitsky's, Fundamental Theology; Eleonsky's, Brief Report on Fundamental Theology; Petropavlovsky's, In Defence of Christian Faith Against Unbelief and several other works written by various Church fathers:. == References ==<references/>
== Further reading ==
* ''Orthodox Apologetic Theology'' by Ivan M. Andreyev, St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1995
'''Orthodox Apologetics:'''
* [http://www.orthodox.net/fathers/exactidx.html An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith by St John Damascene]
[[Category:Theology]]
[[el:Απολογητές]]
[[ro:Apologetică]]