The Promise and Pitfalls of Recent Currents in Contemporary Orthodox Theology of Religions

This article provides a short overview of the trends that have appeared within the theology of interreligious dialogue as practiced in Orthodox theology. A concluding reflection will summarize these developments in a systematic fashion. In the first part of this article, an overview is given of the involvement of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in matters related to interreligious dialogue and the developments in Orthodox theology of non-Christian religions which might be described as an emergent 'middle way'. The second section of the article seeks to present some of the major obstacles threatening the development of both, a 'middle-way' theology of non-Christian religions and the successful practice of interreligious dialogue. If not dealt with, these obstacles may well derail the entire project of an Orthodox Christian theology of interreligious dialogue.