Today on The Orthodox Ethos Podcast, the Professor of Dogmatic Theology, Demetrios Tselengides: On the Lack of Distinction Between the Theanthropic Body and the Body of Humanity: the Root of our Problems
This interview was conducted on June 1st. In spite of this, the content continues to be very relevant and the message of great importance for the people of God.
Time stamps:
00:38- Question 1: Can we speak of the life-giving power of Holy Communion in the context of physical health?
01:37- Answer 1: The body of which we partake in the Eucharist is the risen body of Christ...
02:53 - The example of St. Basil the Great...
05:08 - Question 2: So we can receive health of both soul and body from Holy Communion?
05:18 - Answer 2: Yes, we can...but this is left to the discretion of God since it is not always good for us to be healthy
06:10 - Question 3: If one does not wear a mask in Church is this a sign of a lack of love?
07:00 - Answer 3: The error lies in the assumptions. . . the problem is that we did not accept what has happened as a penance sent by God...
09:36 - God allowed for this to happen so that we might repent...i.e. an existential turn to God and absorption of our spirit [nous[ in God
13:26- Question 4: Is the entire picture that is presented, then, the problem?
13:30 - Answer 4: Yes...this Body does not exclude any member from communion of God and Man
14:27 - A Rhetorical Question: On what basis can a faithful man go to Church knowing that he is thereby preventing someone else from going?
15:22 - Concerning Masks and entering into the worldly mentality...
15:52 - We did not take the Scriptural perspective into account.
16:57 - We've reached the point where the scientists determine the policy of the politicians and the politicians determine the life of the Church...
18:35 - Question 5: If you could go to a church where no measures were enforced, would you go?
18:44 - Answer: I would go..without a mask, without limits on attendance, as I would not trample upon my conscience . . .
19:39 - Even so, I have not for I have personally received a penance from Christ Himself, and through repentance I await for Him to lift it...
20:13 - The wonderful 'recipe' of St. Nicholas Kabasilas: for the sake of a sick man, a healthy man can spiritually take the medicine the sick man needs...
Biographical Details:
Professor Tselengidis’ depth of knowledge, his education and studies, and his diligent research and labor have made him an internationally renowned academic theologian of Orthodox Dogmatic Theology. His most important offering and characteristic, however, is his work’s fidelity to the Holy Tradition and the Deposit of the Holy Fathers, a faithfulness he acquired by following experiential theologians of our day, such as Saints Paisios of Mt. Athos and Ephraim of Katounakia. He considers himself a humble minister, always emphasizing the absolute interrelation of right doctrine with the right way of life, distancing himself from the creation of a sterile and cold academic discourse.
He is the author countless articles and seven books on Dogmatic Theology, covering a wide range of topics, including the theology of the icon, grace and freedom, critical studies of the doctrine of salvation in Luther and the satisfaction of divine justice in Anslem of Canterbury, the Soteriology of Western Christianity, and the presuppositions and criteria of Orthodox Theology. Through his many lectures, articles, and appeals to the hierarchy on pressing ecclesiastical matters such as the Orthodox-Roman Catholic, and Orthodox-A