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[[Image:Zizioulas1.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Metropolitan John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon]]
His Eminence , the Most Reverend '''John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon''' (b. 19301931) is a modern [[theologian]], and [[titular bishop|titular]] [[Metropolitan]] of Pergamon, Greece, under the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate]] of Constantinople. He was [[Consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] as a [[bishop]] on [[June 22]], 1986.
==Theology and significance==
Metropolitan John's influence is widely felt, both among Protestant and Roman Catholic theologians, as well as within the Orthodox Church. Some have suggested that his 1985 book, ''Being as Communion'', is perhaps the most significant theological book of the late 20th century.
The principle themes in Metropolitan John’s theology are freedom and otherness, both human and divine. Grounding his work in the Cappadocian Fathers and St Maximus Confessor in particular, he articulates a relational ontology in which neither unity nor plurality have priority. His ''Being as Communion'' (1985) addressed the theme from the importance of communion for unity, while his later ''Communion and Otherness'' (2007) is a complementary analysis of the importance of otherness for communion. He thus takes up the ancient philosophical problem of reconciling the One and the Many, which he examines with respect to divinity (the three Persons of the Trinity and the ''monarchia'' of the Father), humanity (theological anthropology), and the Church (ecclesiology). The philosophical implications of the book extend to the human and social sciences. A further theme of the two studies is the eschatological ontology he derives from St Maximus the Confessor, in which the truly real is that which is real at the ''eschaton''. This is the subject of a new book by the Metropolitan to be released in summer 2008, ''Remembering the Future: An Eschatological Ontology''.
His first book was his doctoral dissertation in 1965, only recently published in English as ''Eucharist, Bishop, Church: The Unity of the Church in the Divine Eucharist and the Bishop During the First Three Centuries'' (2001). It was an early and significant contribution to the development of ‘eucharistic ecclesiology’, associated with [[Nicholas Afanasiev]], that focused on the essential role of the bishop as the presider of the Church’s Divine Liturgy.
Metropolitan John has become a significant figure in major ecumenical dialogues between the Orthodox Church and other Christian traditions, and in 2006 succeeded Archbishop [[Stylianos (Harkianakis) of Australia|Stylianos of Australia]] as president of the Commission of Orthodox in the Dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church. Metropolitan John is also well-known for his work on the environment, particularly for his lecture series, ‘Preserving God’s Creation.’
==Criticisms==
Like many theologians, particularly those involved in theological dialogues, Metropolitan John has undergone criticism for his theological works, particularly in the areas of the patristic roots of his theology of personhood, and his ecclesiology and perspective on ecumenical relations.
===Theology of Personhood===
* Lucian Turcescu argues in [http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1468-0025.00202 "'Person' versus 'Individual' and Other Modern Misreadings of Gregory of Nyssa"] that "Zizioulas is ... in error when he contends that the Cappadocians did not understand a person as an individual or when he credits them with having had the same concerns we moderns have when combating individualism today" <sup>2</sup> (Turcescu, 537). These criticisms have been answered by Aristotle Papanikolaou in the same journal<sup>3</sup> ("Is John Zizioulas an Existentialist in Disguise? Response to Lucian Turcescu," Modern Theology 20:4, October 2004, pp. 601-607), and by Metropolitan John himself in ''Communion and Otherness'', pp. 171-177 <sup>4</sup>
* Rodoljub Lazic, in his book, ''Innovatory Theology of Metropolitan Zizioulas'' ([http://www.pravoslavlje.net/texts/InovatorskoBogoslovlje.html In Serbian], ATOS - Missionary Center, Belgrade 2002), explains why he believes the work of Zizioulas differs from traditional Orthodoxy and argues that there is a connection between Zizioulas' [[Ecumenism|ecumenical]] orientation and his theology.
* In [http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/her_saints.aspx a letter], Archbishop [http://www.synodinresistance.org/Administration_en/ChrysostomosEtna.html Chrysostomos of Etna] (Exarch of the [[Holy Synod in Resistance]] in America, an [[Old Calendarist]] group) states that Zizioulas (along with Fr [[John Meyendorff]]) is a Westernized theologian, in contrast with Fr [[Georges Florovsky]] (a teacher of Zizioulas).
===Ecclesiology and Ecumenical Relations===
*Rodoljub Lazić's booklet, "Innovatory Theology of Metropolitan Zizioulas" ([http://www.pravoslavlje.net/index.php?title=%D0%9D%D0%BE%D0%B2%28%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%81%D0%BA%29%D0%BE_%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%99%D0%B5_%D0%9C%D0%B8%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0_%D0%97%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%B8%D1%98%D1%83%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B0 in Serbian]), argues that the Metropolitan's work differs from "traditional" Orthodoxy and that there is a connection between the Metropolitan's [[Ecumenism|ecumenical]] orientation and his theology.
:*However, a former student and supporter of Metropolitan John is [[Ignatije (Midic) of Pozarevac and Branicevo|Bishop Ignjatije Midić]], Bishop of Branicevo and professor in dogmatics and ethics at the Serbian-Orthodox Theological Faculty in Belgrade.
* In an [http://www.greekorthodox.org.au/downloads/files/english/vema/2006/10bVEMA06E.doc interview with Maria Antoniadou], Archbishop [[Stylianos (Harkianakis) of Australia|Stylianos of Australia]] criticizes John Zizioulas for his stance on [[Uniatism]], questioning his status as a systematic theologian.<sup>6</sup>
* Hieromonk Patapios (an [[Old Calendarist]]), in his article, [http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/phronema/review_toc.aspx ''A Traditionalist Critique of The Orthodox Church''], criticized ecumenistic [http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/methierotheos_baptism.aspx Baptismal theology] as espoused by Metr. John.
*The 1971 article, ''[http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/mono_2.aspx Concerning the Approaching Orthodox – Monophysite Union]'', gives Metr. John as an example of a "muddled theologian" in his views on Severus of Antioch.
*Some are concerned by his reliance of non-Orthodox sources on his thought in both areas, pointing out the influence of French Catholic theologians [[w:Henri de Lubac|Henri de Lubac]] and [[w:Yves Congar|Yves Congar]], as well as [[w:Martin Buber|Martin Buber]] and [[w:John Macmurray|John Macmurray]]. <sup>3</sup>
==Books==
*''L'Être ecclésial'' (Paris: Labor et Fides, 1981). ISBN 978-2830901801.*''E Ktise os eucharistia'' (Athens: Akritas, 1992). ISBN 978-9607006981. This would be rendered in English as ''Creation as Eucharist''.*''Being and as Communion: Studies in Personhood and the Church'' (Crestwood, NY: St Vladimirs Seminary Press, 1997). ISBN 978-0881410297.*''Eucharist, Bishop, Church: The Unity of the Church in the Divine Eucharist and the Bishop During the First Three Centuries'' (Brookline, MA: Holy Cross, 2001). ISBN 978-1885652515.*''Ellenismos kai Christianismos: H Synantese ton duo Kosmon'' (Athens: ApostolikeDiakonia, 2003). This would be renderd in English as ''Hellenism and Christianity: The Meeting of Two Worlds''.*''Communion & Otherness: Further Studies in Personhood and the Church'' (London: T & T Clark, 2007). ISBN 978-0567031488.*''Remembering the Future: An Eschatological Ontology'' (London: T&T Clark, 2008). ISBN 978-0567032355.*''Lectures in Christian Dogmatics'' (London: T&T Clark, 2009). ISBN 978-0567033154.
==Studies==
*Fox, Patricia A. ''God as Communion: John Zizioulas, Elizabeth Johnson, and the Retrieval of the Symbol of the Triune God'' (Michael Glazer, 2001). ISBN 978-0814650820.*Knight, Douglas, ed. ''The Theology of John Zizioulas: Personhood and the Church'' (Ashgate, 2007). ISBN 978-0754654308.*McPartlan, Paul. ''The Eucharist Makes the Church: Henri du Lubac and John Zizioulas in Dialogue''. Eastern Christian Publications, 2006. ISBN 978-1892278616.*Papanikolaou, Aristotle. ''Being with God: Trinity, Apophaticism, and Divine-Human Communion'' (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2006). ISBN 978-0268038304.* Peter J. Leithart's article, [http://www.leithart.com/archives/002006.php ''Divine Energies and Orthodox Soteriology''], contrasts [[Vladimir Lossky]]'s and Metropolitan John's understanding of the [[divine energies]].
==Academic Theological CriticismNotes ==Like many theologians<sup>1</sup> ''Modern Theology'' 18:4, particularly those involved in theological dialoguesOctober 2002, Metropolitan John has undergone some level of criticism for his theological works527-539.
==External links==
*[http://orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/resources/hierarchs/constantinople/currenta.htm#john_metr_pergamon His Eminence John, Metropolitan of Pergamon] from the Orthodox Research Institute
*[http://www.oodegr.com/english/dogmatiki1/perieh.htm Dogmatics notes] - "These are the notes that were taken from the lessons of Professor I. Zizioulas (current Metropolitan of Pergamus and Chairman of the Athens Academy) at the Poemantic Division of the Thessaloniki University's School of Theology, during the academic year 1984-1985. They are published with the blessing and the permission of the reverend Metropolitan."
*[[:Wikipedia:John Zizioulas|John Zizioulas (Wikipedia)]]
*[http://www.resourcesforchristiantheology.org/content/blogcategory/16/42/ ?cat=11 Resources for Christian Theology: John Zizioulas]*[http://www.trinitylight.net/theology.html Page with many dogmatic treatises written by H.G. John Zizioulas, Metropolitan of Pergamon]
[[Category:Bishops]]
[[Category:20th-21st-century bishops]]
[[Category:Modern Writers]]
[[ro:Ioan (Zizioulas) de Pergam]]
