Georges El Hage

This article by Georges El Hage explores the relationship between fear, hope and love in the biblical and Orthodox theological tradition. Taking the form of a meditative and exegetical lecture, it begins from the anthropological observation that lamentation constitutes a natural reaction in the face of human powerlessness before death. The author surveys the various meanings of the fear of God, from the Old Testament to the New Testament, showing how the Incarnation and the Resurrection radically transform humanity's relationship with God: the terrifying theophany gives way to a God who gives himself in the Eucharist. The principal theological contribution lies in the redefinition of Christian hope, not as linear or cyclical expectation, but as ontological trust grounded in the loving nature of God, an antidote to every form of contemporary gnosticism that disfigures the Church.

Georges El Hage, a doctor in patrology, examines the Origenian conception of human freedom and predestination. Drawing on a study of Origen's texts, the article analyzes the way in which this Alexandrian theologian articulates divine sovereignty and the moral responsibility of the human being. The central idea is that Origen, despite the controversies surrounding some of his doctrinal positions, defends an anthropology in which man, created in the image of God, remains fundamentally free and cannot be subjected to an imposed destiny. The contribution of this article is twofold: it partially rehabilitates Origenian thought by demonstrating its convergence with the ecclesiastical Tradition on this precise point, and it contributes to the patristic debate on the compatibility between divine providence and human freedom, a central question in the history of Christian theology.