Over the past seven centuries, the history of the reception of Thomas Aquinas’ legacy in Orthodox theology has been a controversial one, ranging from cautious assimilation to radical rejection. In the 20th century, against a backdrop of turbulent socio-political upheavals, the Christian East became largely imbued with a spirit of suspicion towards the West, with the Thomistic synthesis as a symbol. The debate took on considerable proportions: the works of Fr. Sergiy Bulgakov and Vladimir Lossky contained uncompromising criticism of Aquinas’ system, whilst Fr. George Florovsky made fruitful attempts to uncover a mystical-apophatic dimension within Thomism.
A significant step towards overcoming the outdated assumptions about the value of Aquinas for Orthodoxy was the article by the renowned patrologist Marcus Plested, “Twentieth Century Orthodox Reception of Aquinas,” which was included in The Oxford Handbook of the Reception of Aquinas. In his study, the scholar provides a concise yet detailed analysis of the controversial reception of Thomism by Orthodox theologians in the 20th century. Of particular value in Plested’s work is his coverage of positive Orthodox reactions to Thomism, notably from the Greek thinker Stelios Ramfos, who encourages the East to reconsider the unchallenged ideological monopoly of Neopalamism and to return to a serious dialogue with the highest achievements of Scholasticism.
In his analytical review of Plested’s article, Rev. Dr. Andrii Shymanovych highlighted the main theses of the Anglo-American patrologist and contextualised them in relation to the challenges facing Orthodox thought in the 21st century. Fr. Andrii’s review focuses on the need to overcome the stereotypes of Orthodox anti-Westernism and calls for an unbiased intellectual assessment of Thomas’ legacy and methodology.
The full text of Fr. Shymanovych’s review can be found at this link: https://www.academic-initiative.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/17-Plested-marked-by-suspicion.pdf
