The place of experience in theological praxis of the Eastern Christian churches

Abstract

The concepts, language and theoretical meanings formulate knowledge. Theology, as an area of knowledge, also makes use of theoretical principles to elucidate the Transcendent. However, Eastern theology proclaims that before every concept, knowledge resulting from man's experience of faith with God are not only a result of conceptual formulas, irrefutable axioms; They stem from personal intimacy and the experience of faith that, far from being confused with ideologies, abstractions, psychic nature hallucinations, they showed themselves as the foundations and materiality of Eastern theology. Within this universe of theological knowledge, apart from the set of concepts, Eastern overcomes logic and the parameters of some knowledge made only by theories and gives space and relevance to lived experience. In Eastern Christianity, the experience is the key, distinction and specificity of Eastern theology that seeks to dialogue with the world in its entirety. This article discusses the place of experience in theological praxis of the Eastern Christian churches, seeking the Eastern Orthodox theologians Greeks and Slavs the foundation for such an understanding.