Astérios Argyriou

This article by Asterios Argyriou examines the difficulties encountered by Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam in their relationship to Western modernity. Drawing on a comparative reflection conducted by an Orthodox theologian who is also an academic, the study analyses in parallel the resistance displayed by certain religious circles within both traditions toward contemporary industrial and technological civilization. The author shows that this resistance is rooted in a mythologized vision of history, based on an appeal to an original "golden age," and that it leads to an identity-based rigidity comparable to that illustrated by Pius IX's Syllabus in 1864. The main contribution of the article is to demonstrate that this withdrawal is not inherent to either tradition: both Orthodoxy and Islam have historically been able to take root in foreign cultures, and their own theological resources — the *logos spermatikos* and the pre-eternal *mithāq* — offer foundations for constructive engagement with the contemporary world.

This article by Asterios Argyriou, professor at the University of Strasbourg, offers a historical and theological study of relations between Orthodox and Muslim peoples in the Balkans, from the birth of Islam to contemporary conflicts. Drawing on extensive documentation, the author distinguishes three major periods of encounter between Islam and Orthodoxy: the Arab-Muslim conquests, the Turkish presence in Asia Minor, and then Ottoman domination in the Balkans. The study shows that, despite a structural legal and religious divide between Christian rayas and Muslim subjects, a common Balkan civilization gradually took shape. The article then analyzes the processes of Islamization, the role of the Orthodox Church as a factor of cohesion, and the emergence of nationalisms. It concludes that the spiritual desert left by communist regimes calls for a shared responsibility among Orthodox Christians, Catholics, and Muslims to build lasting peace in the region.