Commemorating and honoring gifted spiritual fathers as an expression of the Church's self-awarenesstranslated

The recent organization of the International Theological Symposium in honor of the blessed Elder Emilianos Simonopetritus, one of the most important spiritual figures of contemporary Orthodoxy, was the occasion not only for a fruitful theological dialogue, but also for an intense public debate about the way in which the Church should approach and honor its great spiritual fathers. A particular sensation was caused by the article by Fr. Ioannis Chrysavgi, in which serious reservations are expressed both about the realization of the specific Conference and, indirectly but not clearly, about the very church practice of public memory and study of contemporary elders.

There is no doubt that every theological reflection is legitimate when it serves the truth of the Church. The paternal tradition was never afraid of dialogue, even of counterargument. On the contrary, theology has always developed through discernment, the freedom of ecclesiastical opinion and the responsible exchange of opinions.

However, the specific intervention of Fr. Ioannis Chrysavgi presents, in our opinion, a serious methodological problem. The indiscriminate generalization, and especially the confusion…