John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon

Metropolitan John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon

His Eminence John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon (b. 1930) is a modern theologian, Metropolitan of Pergamon, Greece, under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. He was consecrated as a bishop on June 22, 1986, and is currently the co-chair of the Catholic-Orthodox dialogue.

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Biographical timeline

• 1930: The future metropolitan is born.
• 1986 Jun 22: Archim. John is consecrated a bishop.
• Became a key figure in major ecumenical dialogues between the Orthodox Church and other Christian traditions.
• Leading theologian in a theology of ecology, played a central role in making the Orthodox Church one of the most active religious religious communities involved with development and environmental issues.
• Held professorships at Glasgow University and King's College, London.
• 2006: Succeeded Archbishop Stylianos of Australia as president of the Commission of Orthodox in the Dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church.

Books

• Being and Communion: Studies in Personhood and the Church (Crestwood, NY: St Vladimirs Seminary Press, 1997)
• 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)
• Communion & Otherness: Further Studies in Personhood and the Church (London: T & T Clark, 2007)

Studies

• Fox, Patricia A. God as Communion: John Zizioulas, Elizabeth Johnson, and the Retrieval of the Symbol of the Triune God (Michael Glazer, 2001)
• Knight, Douglas, ed. The Theology of John Zizioulas: Personhood and the Church (Ashgate, 2007)
• Papanikolaou, Aristotle. Being with God: Trinity, Apophaticism, and Divine-Human Communion (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2006)

Criticisms

Academic and Theological

Like many theologians, particularly those involved in theological dialogues, Metropolitan John has undergone some level of criticism for his theological works.

• Lucian Turcescu argues in Person versus Individual and Other Modern Misreadings of Gregory of Nyssa that there are differences between patristic theology and the theology of John Zizioulas.

• Peter J. Leithart's article, Divine Energies and Orthodox Soteriology, cites the work of Aristotle Papanikolaou, Being with God, where he points to differences between Vladimir Lossky and John Zizioulas on the issue of divine energies.

• In his book, Innovatory Theology of Metropolitan Zizioulas (In Serbian, ATOS - Missionary Center, Belgrade 2002), Rodoljub Lazic explains why he believes the work of Zizioulas differs from traditional Orthodoxy and argues that there is a connection between Zizioulas' ecumenical orientation and his theology.

• In a letter, Archbishop Chrysostomos of Etna states that Fr John Meyendorff and Metr. John (Zizioulas) were Westernized theologians, in contrast with Fr Georges Florovsky (a teacher of Metr. John's). In that letter he also states that though Zizioulas was a student of Father Georges, his theological and philosophical thinking has deviated substantially from the Patristic principles set forth by his mentor.

Regarding Ecumenical Relations

• In an interview with Maria Antoniadou, Archbishop Stylianos of Australia criticizes John Zizioulas for his stance on Uniatism, questioning his status as a systematic theologian.

• Hieromonk Patapios in the article titled A Traditionalist Critique of The Orthodox Church, criticizing ecumenistic Baptismal theology, refers to John Zizioulas as to: "...lamentable Metropolitan John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon". (Part II, paragraph 27)

• Concerning the Approaching Orthodox – Monophysite Union, an article in the September 1971 issue of the Newsletter Supplement to The Orthodox Christian Witness, John Zizioulas is given as an example of a "muddled theologian". (Paragraph 21)

External links

• List of Works by John of Pergamon
• His Eminence John, Metropolitan of Pergamon from the Orthodox Research Institute
• 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."
• The Holy and Sacred Synod
• John Zizioulas (Wikipedia)
• Resources for Christian Theology: John Zizioulas
• Page with many dogmatic treatises written by H.G. John Zizioulas, Metropolitan of Pergamon

Succession box: John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon
Preceded by: ?	Metropolitan of Pergamon 1986 - present	Succeeded by: —

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