The theology of Christos Yannaras and the rejection of a moralization of Christianity

This article examines the theological thought of Christos Yannaras, a contemporary Greek Orthodox philosopher and theologian, through the lens of his critique of Christian moralism. The study analyzes the way in which Yannaras opposes the reduction of Christianity to a system of individual ethical rules, disconnected from its dogmatic and ecclesial foundations. The central idea is that the ascetic and philocalic tradition constitutes, for Yannaras, the antidote to any moralization of the evangelical message: the Christian life is rooted in an ontological relationship with God and the ecclesial community, not in the observance of an autonomous morality. On the theological level, the article highlights Yannaras's contribution to the revalorization of Orthodox dogmatic theology in the face of the excesses of moral individualism, thereby contributing to the renewal of twentieth-century Greek theological thought.