The Greek East and the Latin West

Rating:
Summary: balanced and accurate
Review: I always find Sherrard's books stimulating for at least two reasons. One, he does not gloss over tough issues by evading difficult questions. He takes them head-on with respect and balance, drawing from a deep love of God and His Church. Secondly, he approaches many of the topics in a fresh way, using arguments that are not always found in other texts, conceeding points which others won't let go of, and all with an apparent willingness to be corrected by those more learned than he. You may not always agree with him, but you will certainly come to appreciate your own positions as well as his in a new way. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you learned how your own tradition works for the first time (even if you disagree with him) by sitting at the feet of Sherrard. The following is the jacket's review of the book. "The division of Christiendom into the Greek East and the Latin West has its origins far back in history but its consequences still affect Europe, and thus Western Civilization. Phillip Sherrard's study seeks to indicate both the fundamental character and some of the consequences of this division. He points especially to the underlying metaphysical bases of Greek Christian thought, and contrasts them with those of the Latin West: he argues persuasively that the philosophical and even theological differences, remote as they might seem from practical affairs, are symptoms of a deep divergence of outlook that has profoundly affected the history of ideas and hence the whole course of European history. He exemplifies this by contrasting the relationships between the spiritual and the temporal powers during the Byzantine period with those assumed by the medieval Papacy; by an analysis of the 'Platonic reaction' of such figures as Gemistos Plethon; and by an exposition of the intellectual background of the Renaissance, the Reformation, and finally, of the modern western world. His concluding chapters discuss the impact of modern western ideas on Greek life and letters during that last few centuries. With an unusual knowledge of aspects of thought of the Greek Fathers often neglected in the West, and a deep sympathy with their outlook on these matters, Sherrard presents a point of view that may be unfamiliar, but should be of great concern, both to theologians and philosophers, and to historians and students of European civilization and ideed of world affairs in general." "...an appeal whose passionate eloquence is reinforced by a most interesting account of the thought of some little-known Eastern scholars, theologians, and poets."- A.A. Stephenson in 'The Month' Other books of interst may include: Sherrard's "Church, Papacy, and Schism", "Common Ground" by Jordin Bajis, Colin Gunton's "The One, The Three, And The Many", "The Christian East and the Rise of the Papacy" by Papadakis and Meyendorff, "Imperial Unity and Christian Division", also by John Meyendorff.

Rating:
Summary: East West Relations in History
Review: I always find Sherrard's books stimulating for at least two reasons. One, he does not gloss over tough issues by evading difficult questions. He takes them head-on with respect and balance, drawing from a deep love of God and His Church. Secondly, he approaches many of the topics in a fresh way, using arguments that are not always found in other texts, conceeding points which others won't let go of, and all with an apparent willingness to be corrected by those more learned than he. You may not always agree with him, but you will certainly come to appreciate your own positions as well as his in a new way. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you learned how your own tradition works for the first time (even if you disagree with him) by sitting at the feet of Sherrard. The following is the jacket's review of the book. "The division of Christiendom into the Greek East and the Latin West has its origins far back in history but its consequences still affect Europe, and thus Western Civilization. Phillip Sherrard's study seeks to indicate both the fundamental character and some of the consequences of this division. He points especially to the underlying metaphysical bases of Greek Christian thought, and contrasts them with those of the Latin West: he argues persuasively that the philosophical and even theological differences, remote as they might seem from practical affairs, are symptoms of a deep divergence of outlook that has profoundly affected the history of ideas and hence the whole course of European history. He exemplifies this by contrasting the relationships between the spiritual and the temporal powers during the Byzantine period with those assumed by the medieval Papacy; by an analysis of the 'Platonic reaction' of such figures as Gemistos Plethon; and by an exposition of the intellectual background of the Renaissance, the Reformation, and finally, of the modern western world. His concluding chapters discuss the impact of modern western ideas on Greek life and letters during that last few centuries. With an unusual knowledge of aspects of thought of the Greek Fathers often neglected in the West, and a deep sympathy with their outlook on these matters, Sherrard presents a point of view that may be unfamiliar, but should be of great concern, both to theologians and philosophers, and to historians and students of European civilization and ideed of world affairs in general." "...an appeal whose passionate eloquence is reinforced by a most interesting account of the thought of some little-known Eastern scholars, theologians, and poets."- A.A. Stephenson in 'The Month'.

Other books of interst may include: Sherrard's "Church, Papacy, and Schism", "Common Ground" by Jordin Bajis, Colin Gunton's "The One, The Three, And The Many", "The Christian East and the Rise of the Papacy" by Papadakis and Meyendorff, "Imperial Unity and Christian Division", also by John Meyendorff.

Let me know if you have other books about this topic that I should read. Thanks!

Rating:
Summary: food for thought
Review: Sherrard wrote a higly philosophical book. It took me quite a while to grasp it's meaning (if ever). It nevertheless was crucial to my understanding of my protestant heritage and orthodox present. Sherrard explores the different emphasis in greek and latin thought and it's consequences for theology, ecclesiology and spirituality. Even though he shows great love for the greek emphasis on the manifold ways that God enters our life (reflected in the insistance on the distinction of the three persons of God) as opposed to the rather unifying stress of latin thinking (god is one in essence, therefore there is one curch under one pope), he never looses balance and looses himself in an eastern Apology. We can but join him in deploring the hubris of both east and west, when they (we) take our concepts for truth itself. His book is not only food for thought, it evokes a certain humility. For what are our fights and our lovely concepts when we stand before the Lord Himself?

Rating:
Summary: Byzantium, the Papacy, Platonism and the Filioque.
Review: _The Greek East and the Latin West: A Study in the Christian Tradition_ by Philip Sherrard is an interesting historical study concerning the theological issues behind Plato, Aristotle, Orthodox Byzantium, Medieval Western Europe, Scholasticism, the Papacy, the Filioque controversy, Neoplatonism and the emerging modern world of the Renaissance. Sherrard, an Englishman and convert into the Greek Orthodox Church, wrote this book in the 1950s, and an adherent of Traditionalism. Sherrard begins his analysis by examining the differences between the Platonic and Aristotelian worldviews propagated in ancient Greek philosophy. According to Sherrard, Plato stood at the end of a philosophical tradition in Greece that viewed the world and its phenomena as manifestations of a higher divine reality. Aristotle, on the other hand, set forth a dichotomy between the divine (conceived in the classic term as the "Unmoved Mover") and the created, material world. Aristotle placed more emphasis on the external, structural and rational nature of reality, along with the use of reason to understand it, as opposed to Plato's more mystical thought. The later Greek city-states and in particular, ancient Rome, in their political and social organization were in accord with Aristotelian ideals: the polis in which civil virtue and service to the state were the highest virtues. With the emergence of Christianity, however, a new sect arose which challenged the metaphysical authority of imperial Rome. The Church, the head of whom is Christ, fulfills its work in the divine economy through the Holy Mysteries (Sacraments) and its legitimacy is in no way detracted from its official sanction (or lack thereof) by the secular state. The conversion of the Constantine presented a problem to the Church: how was the Church supposed to remain Holy and Apostolic when it was now an organ of the Imperial authority? The Byzantine Empire operated under a system (_Imperium_ and _Sacerdotium_) where the Emperor fulfilled the position of Moses and ordered society according to Christian principles while the Bishops managed the Church itself. The Roman pope, however, attempted unsuccessfully many times to make itself both a secular and temporal authority. This was even reflected in the different interpretations of the concept of Christ's _Corpus Mysticum_. The Greeks focused on the Eucharist itself as the Mystical Body of Christ (esoteric) while the Latins stressed the idea that the Church itself, the external, organized body of believers was the Mystical Body (exoteric). The differences between Eastern and Western Christianity came about in part because of their divergences in views of God's ontological Being. According to the Greeks, a distinction exists between God's Essence, which has no relationship to anything of which can be conceived of and is hence Beyond Being itself; juxtaposed with God's Energies that man can experience from the Father via the action of the Son/Logos and the Holy Spirit. God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all of the same Essence. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father alone, not from both "the Father and the Son" according to a Latin addition to the Nicene Creed. This is because the Father is the principle source of the Godhead and the roles of the Father and the Son in the Hypostatic Union are not confused. The Latin addition of "and the Son" and its subsequent defense in the medieval Scholastic theology of Thomas Aquinas has its origins in the Aristotelian concept of God as Being itself. If the three Persons of the Trinity are of the same Being in the Western sense then the logical outcome is that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. This may sound like an extremely obscure and irrelevant theological debate, which it is for most people, Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant or otherwise. Nevertheless, it was, as Sherrard explains, this view of theology that provided the impetus for the "world domination" schemes of the Papacy and the centralization of the Roman Church's ecclesiastical authority during the middle ages. The Christian East, however, faced its own problems. Orthodoxy became increasingly identified with Byzantine, i.e. Greek, nationalism and secular politics. The Greek Orthodox also failed to assimilate the writings of Plato as well as they did those of Aristotle and a widespread hostility arose directed at Platonism and its various other philosophical attaches because Plato was considered incompatible with Christianity. This produced what Sherrard terms the "Platonic reaction" of Gemistos Plethon and other Greek intellectuals who drew from ancient Greek philosophy and non-Christian eastern religions in order to construct a cosmology and vision of God opposed to Christian Orthodoxy. This in fact spilled over into the West before the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 through Venice's University of Padua. Padua was freed from Papal control and the Inquisition by the Venetian city-state and thus became an early bastion of liberalism. The intellectual output from Padua spread over the Western world during the Renaissance and back into Greece under Ottoman control over the next several centuries. Sherrard thus attributes the Greek uprising in 1821 to Western secular, liberal, and at that time, nationalist tendencies, which themselves may have had their origins in the work of anti-Christian Greek idealists before Byzantium's final collapse. In all, _The Greek East and Latin West_ is an interesting book about the East/West divide in Christendom, Greek philosophy and the nature of reality. One of its strong points is that it goes deeper into the roots of contemporary apostasy and explains its causes better than other Orthodox convert authors who have written on this subject: Fr. Seraphim Rose, Dennis Engleman and Frank Schaeffer.

Rating:
Summary: The Christian East and the Christian West.
Review: _The Greek East and the Latin West_ by traditionalist Greek Orthodox Christian Philip Sherrard offers an examination which compares and contrasts Christianity across the divide of East and West. Sherrard begins by discussing the conversion of the Roman empire to Christendom under Constantine the Great and shows how with this conversion Christianity became rooted as the officially sanctioned state religion of the Roman empire, thus linking the spiritual domain to temporal power. Sherrard shows how out of the philosophies of ancient Greece, in particular Plato and Aristotle, the notion of the state was changed so that what was once anarchistic and irrational became firmly rooted in such Roman philosopher-statesmen as Senecca and Cicero. Much of the first chapter on the Roman background is spent discussing Platonism and Plato's theory of ideal forms which operates specifically within the theological background of early Christian thinkers including Origen. The second chapter of this book is devoted to The Advent and Form of Christianity. Sherrard has been heavily influenced by both the traditionalist school of Rene Guenon and the theory of the transcendent unity of religions of Frithjof Schuon, and both are seen to play an important part in his discussion of earliest Christianity. Christianity was given form so as to maintain the sanctity of its mysteries which are encodified in the creeds given from the councils. The nature of God and the relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the Filioque controversy is discussed by Sherrard in this account. Sherrard shows the difference between Latin interpretation of the Filioque which argues that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son, and the Greek/Eastern interpretation which argues that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son alone. This conflict between Greek and Latin interpretations was to be played out in a schismatic breach which occurred between Rome and the Eastern Patriarchate. While Sherrard notes that true schism within the church (the church being truly catholic) is impossible, what was witnessed here was a certain falling away from faith. The rise of Byzantium as the source for the Eastern tradition plays an important role in forming an understanding of the conflict between Latin and Greek forms of Christianity, as well as the influence of Islam and the Sultan on the Eastern churches. Next, Sherrard precedes to a discussion of the Roman papacy and contrasts this with the temporal rulership by the Byzantine emperor, within the Eastern version of the Christianity. Finally, Sherrard notes the distinction between Greek theology and that of the Latin Fathers Augustine or Aquinas and notes the contrast. According to Sherrard much of the loss of mystery and disenchantment within the world can be attributed to the usurpation of theology by these Latin Fathers, who failed to properly understand the nature of the Divine. Sherrard next turns his attention to a specific individual in the Platonic Greek tradition named Plethon who served as "the first of the neo-hellenizers". Plethon sought to restore a tradition with roots perhaps in Zoroastrianism, Pythagoreanism, Parmenedes, Plato, and later corrupted by Aristotle, as opposed to the Greek orthodox Christian tradition. Plethon played an important role in the formation of the modern secular and rationlist worldview. Finally, Sherrard mentions Rene Descartes whose philosophy served as a foundation for modern scientific rationalism. Again, Sherrard perceives Descartes to be a feature of the potential loss that has engulfed the West due to its denial of its true Christian roots. Sherrard also turns his attention to Protestantism and the Enlightenment, both of which he finds problematic. This book offers an excellent account of the contrast between Greek orthodox and Latin Christianity from the perspective of a Greek orthodox philosopher/theologian. With roots in the traditionalist school of thought, Philip Sherrard offers the reader in the modern world a unique opportunity to look for a restoration of the perennial philosophy within modern thought.

Rating:
Summary: The Christian East and the Christian West.
Review: _The Greek East and the Latin West_ by traditionalist Greek Orthodox Christian Philip Sherrard offers an examination which compares and contrasts Christianity across the divide of East and West. Sherrard begins by discussing the conversion of the Roman empire to Christendom under Constantine the Great and shows how with this conversion Christianity became rooted as the officially sanctioned state religion of the Roman empire, thus linking the spiritual domain to temporal power. Sherrard shows how out of the philosophies of ancient Greece, in particular Plato and Aristotle, the notion of the state was changed so that what was once anarchistic and irrational became firmly rooted in such Roman philosopher-statesmen as Senecca and Cicero. Much of the first chapter on the Roman background is spent discussing Platonism and Plato's theory of ideal forms which operates specifically within the theological background of early Christian thinkers including Origen. The second chapter of this book is devoted to The Advent and Form of Christianity. Sherrard has been heavily influenced by both the traditionalist school of Rene Guenon and the theory of the transcendent unity of religions of Frithjof Schuon, and both are seen to play an important part in his discussion of earliest Christianity. Christianity was given form so as to maintain the sanctity of its mysteries which are encodified in the creeds given from the councils. The nature of God and the relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the Filioque controversy is discussed by Sherrard in this account. Sherrard shows the difference between Latin interpretation of the Filioque which argues that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son, and the Greek/Eastern interpretation which argues that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son alone. This conflict between Greek and Latin interpretations was to be played out in a schismatic breach which occurred between Rome and the Eastern Patriarchate. While Sherrard notes that true schism within the church (the church being truly catholic) is impossible, what was witnessed here was a certain falling away from faith. The rise of Byzantium as the source for the Eastern tradition plays an important role in forming an understanding of the conflict between Latin and Greek forms of Christianity, as well as the influence of Islam and the Sultan on the Eastern churches. Next, Sherrard precedes to a discussion of the Roman papacy and contrasts this with the temporal rulership by the Byzantine emperor, within the Eastern version of the Christianity. Finally, Sherrard notes the distinction between Greek theology and that of the Latin Fathers Augustine or Aquinas and notes the contrast. According to Sherrard much of the loss of mystery and disenchantment within the world can be attributed to the usurpation of theology by these Latin Fathers, who failed to properly understand the nature of the Divine. Sherrard next turns his attention to a specific individual in the Platonic Greek tradition named Plethon who served as "the first of the neo-hellenizers". Plethon sought to restore a tradition with roots perhaps in Zoroastrianism, Pythagoreanism, Parmenedes, Plato, and later corrupted by Aristotle, as opposed to the Greek orthodox Christian tradition. Plethon played an important role in the formation of the modern secular and rationlist worldview. Finally, Sherrard mentions Rene Descartes whose philosophy served as a foundation for modern scientific rationalism. Again, Sherrard perceives Descartes to be a feature of the potential loss that has engulfed the West due to its denial of its true Christian roots. Sherrard also turns his attention to Protestantism and the Enlightenment, both of which he finds problematic. This book offers an excellent account of the contrast between Greek orthodox and Latin Christianity from the perspective of a Greek orthodox philosopher/theologian. With roots in the traditionalist school of thought, Philip Sherrard offers the reader in the modern world a unique opportunity to look for a restoration of the perennial philosophy within modern thought.