Contemporary Orthodox theology has long been at the centre of a heated debate regarding the role of the person within the church community. The false dichotomy between ‘Eastern communality’ and ‘Western individualism’ has often served as a pretext for accusing representatives of other Christian traditions of distorting authentic church life. The challenges of modernity, exacerbated by the tragic experience of the Russian-Ukrainian war, now demand a radically different approach – one in which the conciliar nature of the Church does not suppress or negate, but rather reveals the unique dignity of every believer. It is precisely to elucidate all aspects of the complex balance between the communal and the individual, between human freedom and the unity of the congregation, is the subject of the new collective monograph Individual and Community in the Public Discourse of the Orthodox Church, edited by Hans-Peter Grosshans and Pantelis Kalaitzidis.
This volume offers a critical re-examination of the stereotype of ‘passive communality’, focusing on the dignity of the individual within the corporate Body of the Church. The book combines complex metaphysical reflections with unexpected empirical data: from neuroscientific evidence of believers’ freedom to a philosophical justification of the ‘modern individual’ as the foundation for the Christian personality. Special attention should be paid to the article by Ukrainian researcher Lidiya Lozova, who applies these ideas to the realities of war. The author compares the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s human-centred concept For the Life of the World with the anthropological pessimism of the Fundamentals of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church, revealing the value gap between the two foundational documents.
In his review of this book, Rev. Dr. Andrii Shymanovych not only succinctly outlines its main ideas but also shares his own reflections on how the powerful, prophetic voices of Christian conscience in contemporary Ukraine are often left unheard or deliberately silenced. Nevertheless, a series of urgent social problems demands from the Orthodox Church a fearless engagement in the life of a suffering society, as well as a coherent, theologically sound social doctrine that is relevant to current challenges.
You can read Fr. Andrii Shymanovych’s review of the above-mentioned book by following this link: https://www.academic-initiative.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/06-Individual-and-Community-review.pdf (in Ukrainian)
