Church against religion and critique of religion in modern Greek Orthodox theology

This article by Basile Makridis examines the distinction between Church and religion as theorized in contemporary Greek Orthodox theology. Drawing on a critical and comparative approach, it presents and analyzes the positions of several major Greek theologians — Christos Yannaras, John Romanides, Marios Begzos and George Patronos — who argue that authentic Orthodoxy does not constitute a religion but an ecclesial event of a radically different nature. The central idea is that the "religionization" of Christianity represents a historical deviation from the original ecclesial experience, attributable in particular to Western influences. The article situates these theses within their broader context, relating them to the Protestant critiques of religion formulated by Barth and Bonhoeffer, and noting the opposing positions held by other Orthodox theologians. It thus demonstrates that this critique of religion, far from representing a consensus, constitutes a minority but influential current within Greek Orthodox theology of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.