EMPIRICAL DOGMATICS - VOLUME 2

Empirical Dogmatics of the Orthodox Catholic Church - Volume 2

according to the Spoken Teaching of Father John Romanides

Holy Trinity – Creation – Fall – Incarnation – Church – Life after Death

Preface to the Greek Edition 

Introduction  

Note by the Author   

Part 1 - Theology of the Holy Trinity      

1. Dogma and Mystery of the Holy Trinity

a) The Existence of God

i. The Unincarnate Word      

ii. The Angel of Great Counsel

b) Knowledge of God – Theology

c) Formulating Experience – Dogma

2. Persons, Essence and Energy

a) Triune God in the Old Testament

b) Persons – Essence – Energy

c) Manner of Existence of the Persons of the Holy Trinity

d) The Son and the Holy Spirit Co-essential with the Father

3. Created and Uncreated

a) The Difference between Created and Uncreated

b) The Bridge between Created and Uncreated

c) Theoria (Vision) of the Uncreated Glory of the Holy Trinity

Part 2 - The Creation of the World          

1. The Creation of the Universe

a) God the Creator

b) Created Things

c) The Purpose of Creation

d) The Energy of God in Nature

e) Recording the Experience of Revelation

2. The Creation of Angels

a) Angels of Light

b) Demons of Darkness

3. The Creation of Man

a) The Creation of Man in the Image and Likeness of God

b) The Simultaneous Creation of Body and Soul

c) The Human Soul

i .Rational and Noetic Faculties (Energies)  

ii. Reason and Nous

iii. The Noetic Faculty in relation to Passions, Rational Faculty and Environment      

iv. Rational and Noetic Worship

d) The Human Body

Part 3 - The Fall of Man    

1. The Life of the First-Formed Human Beings before the Fall           

2. Ancestral Sin

3. Consequences of the Fall

4. Inheriting Sin

5. Old and New Adam

Part 4 - The Incarnation of the Son and Word of God        

1. Empirical Facts

2. Christ-Messiah

3. The Birth and Baptism of Christ

4. The Revelation of the Uncreated Energies of Christ

5. The Mystery of the Cross and Resurrection of Christ

Part 5 - The Church as the Body of Christ and a Community of Glorification

1. Uncreated and Created Church

2. The Mystery of Pentecost

3. The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church

4. The Purpose of the Church

5. The Spiritual Perfecting of Christians

a) Servant, Hired Worker, Son  

b) Purification, Illumination, Glorification

i. Ecclesiastical Interpretation of the Stages of Spiritual Perfection

ii. Definition of Purification  

iii. Definition of Illumination of the Nous     

iv. Definition of Glorification 

c) The Glorified as the Foundation of Ecclesiastical Life

6. The Mysteries (Sacraments) of the Church

a) Unity of the Mysteries

b) The Mystery of Baptism

c) The Mystery of Chrismation

d) The Mystery of the Divine Liturgy

e) Clergy, Monks and Laity

7. Heresies and Councils

a) Heresies

i. What is heresy?     

ii. The Difference between the Orthodox and Heretics        

iii. Dialogues between the Orthodox Church and other Confessions          

b) Councils of the Church

i. Local and Ecumenical Councils    

ii. Orthodox Preconditions for Councils      

iii. The Dogmatic Statements and Canons of the Councils   

iv. Condemnation of Heretics

8. Atheism, Religion, Church

Part 6 - Life after Death     

1. The Death of Man

2. The Intermediate State of Souls

3. Paradise and Hell

4. The Cure of Man

Central Points in the Teaching of Fr. John Romanides         

Instead of an Epilogue