Implicit Disparities

Some Differences between Christos Yannaras’ and John Zizioulas’ Thought

Abstract

Christos Yannaras (1935–2024) and Metropolitan John Zizioulas of Pergamon (1931–2023) are undoubtedly among the most original and significant Greek voices in twentieth-century Orthodox theology. Both remained intellectually active well into the dawn of the twenty-first century, up until their repose. Belonging to the same generation, the theology of Yannaras and that of Zizioulas is frequently compared, and terms such as theology of the person, ontology of the person, or Eucharistic ecclesiology are often applied to both—rightly so, at least to a certain extent. This is due not only to their substantial and genuine affinities but also to their shared effort to confront and move beyond the theological mentality that preceded their emergence in Greece. Many of their premises and themes are strikingly similar: person and nature, substance and hypostasis, communion and otherness, the Church as Eucharistic community, eros and ek-stasis, and so forth. Nevertheless, it would be mistaken to assume that we are dealing with one and the same theology. I would summarize their differences as follows: (a) apophaticism versus eschatology, together with their respective inclusive and exclusive expressions; (b) transcending the limitations of nature versus transcending nature as such; (c) human love versus metaphysical eros; and (d) the monarchy of the Father in relation to the triad of substance–activities–hypostasis. As I hope to demonstrate in this paper, these differences are significant, and the theological implications that arise from them are even more significant.