Michael Plekon

This article by Father Michael Plekon, drawn from a lecture delivered in 2002 at Saint Vladimir's Seminary in New York, offers a theological and biographical study devoted to two major figures of the Russian emigration: the nun Maria Skobtsova and the lay theologian Paul Evdokimov. Drawing on a rich bibliography and numerous excerpts from their writings, the author shows that these two thinkers share a common central principle: the inseparability of love of God and love of neighbour, articulated through the Chrysostomian notion of the "sacrament of the brother." The article establishes that their concrete commitment to the poor and the marginalized was inseparable from their theology, but constituted its living expression. It thus brings to light an incarnate ecclesiology, grounded in the Incarnation and the "liturgy after the liturgy," a distinctive contribution of Russian Orthodox theology developed in exile during the twentieth century.

This article by Father Michael Plekon examines the constitutive relationship between the Church and the Eucharist, drawing on a theological and historical approach. Starting from the liturgical renewal of the second half of the twentieth century, the author traces the rediscovery of the Eucharist as an ecclesial act and of the Church as a eucharistic reality, while offering a critical assessment of the persistent resistance to this vision. The central idea is that the Eucharist constitutes the privileged, indeed unique, path for restoring communion among divided Christian Churches. Drawing primarily on the thought of Sergius Bulgakov and Nicolas Afanassieff, Plekon argues that unity in faith, already substantially achieved through the Nicene Creed, prayer, and the sacraments, finds its fullness in common eucharistic sharing. The theological contribution of the article lies in its ecumenical rereading of Orthodox eucharistic ecclesiology, proposing the Eucharist not as the endpoint of a process of unification, but as its true driving force.

This article by Michael Plekon examines the Marian theology of Paul Evdokimov, an Orthodox theologian of the Russian diaspora, through an in-depth study of his writings. The approach is both analytical and contemplative, drawing on Evdokimov's texts, the patristic tradition, liturgy, and iconography. The central idea is that Evdokimov presents the Mother of God as a double icon: an icon of the Church, as the prototype of the faithful disciple, and an icon of God himself, revealing in particular the hidden face of the Father. Her motherhood constitutes, on the human level, an authentic image of the Trinitarian mystery. The theological contribution of the article lies in shedding light on an often overlooked dimension of Orthodox Mariology: the Theotokos as a theophany of divine philanthropy, manifesting a kenotic and suffering God, and thus offering valuable resources for contemporary ecumenical dialogue.