How Is the Political Theology of Orthodox Christianity Possible? (Review of the book: A. Papanicolaou. The Mystical as Political. Democracy and Non-Radical Orthodoxy. Kiev : Dukh i litera, 2021. 360 р.)

Abstract

The monograph presented for the review features modern experience of building Orthodox political theology in a liberal democracy. The author's approach to studying political reality, based on the identification of links between the Orthodox doctrine of theosis and political practices, makes an original contribution to the development of Orthodox political theology, which determined the choice of the given book for the review. The reviewer commented on the author's outline of the historical development of Orthodox political theology, and highlighted the main issues presented in the monograph (the relationship of political theology with Orthodox ecclesiology, communion with God and modern democracy, the problem of human rights and freedoms, etc.). The review shows the key idea of the book. It is that modern Western democracy is the only historical example of a political space within which the full implementation of the Orthodox doctrine of divine-human communication is possible. The review concludes that the author adheres to the tradition of Byzantism, despite the critical interpretation of the Byzantine concept of the symphony of authorities.