A journey through the flow of history searching for the incarnate Word in the persons and events of Orthodox theology and contemporary reflection is undertaken in this work by the author, which appears as a continuation of his previous piece titled The Word of Theology A. This timeless yet simultaneously synchronic – viewed in its spatio-temporal context – approach showcases the ever-present Word, which articulates humanity as a "bodily" person.
This "embedded in human existence" Word is invoked and sought by the author to uncover the true "word" of theology, a quest that runs throughout the entire text, composed of eight studies. The author engages openly with persons and situations, seeking in the face of his "dialogues" the intrinsic person of the incarnate Word... the "seminal word" that inherently exists in all human persons, no matter how much institutionalized and established religious systems may seek to silence or bind it.
The author's research journey traverses through the ecclesiology of the Apostle Paul and his interpreter John Chrysostom, continuing by examining the Christological truth through the disjunctive dilemma of life: "mournful" or "life-giving" knowledge? This is the theme addressed by the kontakion of Romanos the Melodist, which the author enters with an analytical perspective.
The next study refers to the Fifth and Sixth Ecumenical Councils with an emphasis on historical-theological prerequisites that facilitate the understanding of the Christological dogma. The continuation of this historical journey leads us to a great teacher of our Nation, Eugenios Giannoulis, who creatively kneads theological letters into his present and the real needs of his place and time.
This fertile dialectic between the past and the present, as well as between the seemingly opposing aspects, is revealed more clearly with the theological penetration into the Epitome of Athanasius of Paros, who, about a century later, does not hesitate to engage in dialogue with the West and borrow its terminology to orthodoxly describe the divine mysteries and the doctrinal teachings of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Within this framework of contemporary dialogue with the West, the next study fits in, which concerns the divine Eucharist as an object of theological discussion in recent years. The forthcoming study engages with the philosophy professor from New York, P. Kitcher, and the discussion about the "de-religionization" of ethics and humanity in general, and also discusses the viewpoint that advocates human salvation without God.
From the ethicist Kitcher, the author transitions to his final study on the atheological philosopher M. Onfray, who sinks into the institutional absolutism of Christianity to build his atheology. Through this historical journey that seeks the traces of the Word in the body, it becomes evident that there is nothing with which the theological discourse of today cannot or should not engage, remaining always synchronous with the Word and thus timely and local.
As a result, the author seeks a basis for unifying dialogue and not for divisive controversy, presenting in view the true person of the incarnate and ecumenical Word of God. Only on this incarnate field of the local yet uncontainable Word can every communication and every genuine dialogue become possible.
Remarkably, the author states in the epilogue of his work that "the Word became flesh so that we could go mad together with it and seek to teach us its 'rights'." This Word calls us to listen within the lines of this work, which, showing our rights, digs into an encompassing – Christological opening the theological discourse of today.
