Aspects of theological training

This article by Father Jean Meyendorff, drawn from a paper presented at the International Consultation of Orthodox Theological Schools in Leningrad in 1986, examines the foundations and orientations of contemporary Orthodox theological education. Adopting both a historical and programmatic approach, the author recalls the central affirmations of the patristic heritage — the theocentric nature of humanity, theosis, and the Trinitarian conception of love — before analyzing the influence of Western models on Orthodox theological schools since the seventeenth century. Meyendorff argues that Orthodox theology must appropriate Western scholarly rigor without becoming dependent on it, by maintaining a critical grounding in the patristic and liturgical Tradition. The article's principal contribution lies in the definition of a middle path: renewing theology in the spirit of the Fathers, rather than through their repetition, and making liturgical celebration the living center of all authentic theological formation.