Orthodoxy and theater

This article by Jean-Claude Roberti examines the relationship between Orthodoxy and theatre through a comparative historical and theological study of Eastern and Western Christian traditions. Adopting an intellectual history approach, the author analyses the near-total absence of theatre in Orthodox societies as a significant cultural fact, whose boundary coincides with the Great Schism of 1054. The central argument is that the theatricality inherent in Western culture results from a temptation to visualize and materialize the Christian mystery, fuelled by medieval theological shifts — notably the transition from the priest as an icon of Christ to that of an actor representing him. The article's contribution is to demonstrate that the Christian East, by maintaining the liturgical balance between representation and iconic presence, was able to resist this drift, thereby offering an original Orthodox perspective on the question of religious theatre and the Easter celebration.