Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Messinia. Person, Society and Public Discourse: The Bishop of Dialogue and Settlementtranslated

By Ioannou P. Bouga, Theologian

The theological thought of the Metropolitan of Messinia Chrysostomos Sabbatos, among others, emphasizes the relational existence of the person. For the Metropolitan of Messinia, the person is not just an independent unit, which subsequently adds social relations to its existence. Freedom and uniqueness are manifested in the way man relates, accepts otherness and refuses to use the other as a means. Social values, love for one's neighbor are not limited to emotional disposition or social utility. Forgiveness opens up space for the other, while the church community is called to express the relationship through practical care and the disposal of goods. Social consistency is not an external appendage of individual piety. Chrysostomos rejects the transformation of desire into an unlimited claim and opposes heterodetermination to self-sufficient individuality.

He even states, for the Orthodox Church, that "there is no individual right and individual freedom of self-determination or self-determination".

Chrysostom includes relational existence in faith, in church life and in...