Orthodox Neo-Patristic Theology and the West


 This article reflects on Stăniloae’s engagement with Karl Barth’s approach to Orthodox Christianity and delineates its most important consequences in terms of pneumatology. The article argues that Barth’s critique of Orthodoxy’s sacramental ecclesiology gave the Romanian theologian the occasion to expand his reflections on the role of the Holy Spirit in the Church, as well as to emphasize some aspects of Eastern pneumatology that would remain unexplored otherwise. In so doing, Stăniloae’s theology offers a detailed picture of the Neo-Patristic movement’s interaction with Western theology.