Culture and Theology

General Foundation

Upon successful completion of the course, the students will be able to: - they understand the concept of culture and especially the culture of the Incarnation, - recognize the influence of Christianity on art (poetry, painting, photography), - examine the sources critically and with proper scientific methodology, - understand the richness of culture thanks to the Christian element - develop their arguments properly.

"It is true that Christ is not born of civilization. And I continue to believe that the Church cannot but continuously create culture. However, I have to admit that a culture, through all its inadequacies and sufficiency, can be both saving and fatal for the incarnation of the Logos of God. In other words, it can reveal, illuminate the incarnation, but it can also hide it in all kinds of idols and restrictive and disorienting mechanisms. And this is because, as I have already emphatically emphasized, culture does not constitute a set of impersonal realities, a randomness or an absolute destiny, but an expensive fruit, produced by human faces, who exercise or do not exercise their image-like creativity, among borderline moments of love and death. A creativity that makes man work together with his God, "towards the end of every particle of the world". Following such an understanding of civilization and its concomitants, I think it is now clear and must be emphasized that Christ came also for civilization; if, of course, we are ready to say, in defiance of all those who flirt with the remnant of Messalianism and with the ascetic excesses of Syrian theology, that civilization, like history, is somehow, through the image of God man, a continuation of creation, an extension of creation." (Chr. Stamoulis, Eros and death. Test for a culture of incarnation, Akritas ed., Athens 2009, pp. 122-123)

Incarnation, culture, art, dialogue

31-10-2023