Nowadays, it is hard to surprise anyone with the diverse forms of ecumenical interaction between Orthodoxy and Catholicism. Though a century earlier, any initiative aimed at bringing the two historic Churches into closer contact required considerable courage, the ability to think in terms of evangelical universalism, and to act with a prophetic openness to the world. The Berdyaev Colloquiums, initiated by the famous émigré philosopher in 1926, became an intellectual platform where the most gifted representatives of both Churches tested the relevance of Eastern and Western traditions of understanding Christian truth in open discussions.
In 2012, Archpriest Andrew Louth, a towering figure in British Eastern Orthodox theology, wrote an article in which he used the example of the Berdyaev Colloquiums to reflect on the mutually enriching contributions of Catholic and Eastern Orthodox scholars to the rethinking of the deepest layers of their shared theological tradition. The article is entitled “French Ressourcement Theology and Orthodoxy: A Living Mutual Relationship?”
The significance of this study lies in the fact that its author traces the common origins of French ressourcement and Orthodox projects to reinvigorate the patristic heritage, drawing on émigré theologians while not overlooking the final contributions of each side to the common enterprise. The British scholar analyses the inequality of the starting positions of the Russian Orthodox Church and the other Local Churches operating in the Ottoman Empire. Fr. Louth also highlights the most important attempts at a new interpretation of the Church Fathers, beginning with the publication of the Philokalia in 1782. However, the culmination of Fr. Louth’s article is an overview of the ecumenical discussion meetings that took place at Berdyaev’s house, as well as an assessment of the contribution to Orthodox-Catholic cooperation made by Archpriest Georgy Florovsky, Myrrha Lot-Borodine, and Vladimir Lossky.
In his review of the aforementioned article by the British patrologist, Rev. Dr. Andrii Shymanovych did more than highlight the author’s most important ideas; he also shared his own thoughts on the latest attempts to portray Thomas Aquinas as a spiritual master and on John Henry Newman’s level of awareness of the Eastern Orthodox Church’s doctrinal teaching and its life in the 19th century.
Review #15 by Fr. Andrii Shymanovych on Fr. Andrew Louth’s article can be accessed by following this link: https://www.academic-initiative.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/15-Louth-Berdyaev-colloquiums.pdf
Fourteen other reviews of theological articles are published in the ‘Article reviews’ section of our website.
