The service of truth

This article by Constantin Andronikof, drawn from an academic address delivered at the Saint Sergius Institute in 1975, offers a theological study of the notion of truth based on scriptural and patristic sources. Rejecting the rationalist definition that opposes the true to the false, the author develops a cataphatic approach grounded in Johannine theology: truth is not an abstract concept, but the very nature of God, personified in the incarnate Word and communicated by the Spirit. The article shows that "knowing the truth" is equivalent to communing with God and participating in his divine nature. This participation, sacramental and liturgical, transforms man by renewing his intellect and actualizing the passage from image to likeness. The theological contribution lies in the articulation between truth, deification, and ecclesiology, the Church being defined as "the pillar and foundation of Truth."