TY - JOUR
T1 - The concept of symphonia in contemporary European Orthodoxy
AU - Leustean, Lucian N.
N1 - Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - The relationship between the religious and political fields in the Orthodox Church is defined by the concept of symphonia which dates back to the Byzantine Empire. The concept suggests that the religious and political authorities should work together in a symphonic agreement towards achieving the material and spiritual welfare of the faithful. This article argues that an investigation of the theory of sign and symbol offers a better understanding of symphonia and, in particular, of its relationship with the nation-building process. From this perspective, by corroborating the data provided by the European Values Survey from 1990 to 2000 with this theory, this article demonstrates that the enlargement of the European Union represents the most significant challenge to symphonia, shifting its national focus to a supranational level.
AB - The relationship between the religious and political fields in the Orthodox Church is defined by the concept of symphonia which dates back to the Byzantine Empire. The concept suggests that the religious and political authorities should work together in a symphonic agreement towards achieving the material and spiritual welfare of the faithful. This article argues that an investigation of the theory of sign and symbol offers a better understanding of symphonia and, in particular, of its relationship with the nation-building process. From this perspective, by corroborating the data provided by the European Values Survey from 1990 to 2000 with this theory, this article demonstrates that the enlargement of the European Union represents the most significant challenge to symphonia, shifting its national focus to a supranational level.
KW - concept of symphonia
KW - Orthodox churches
KW - theory of sign and symbol
KW - nationalism
KW - European Values Survey
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=80053006826&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/1474225X.2011.575573
U2 - 10.1080/1474225X.2011.575573
DO - 10.1080/1474225X.2011.575573
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:80053006826
SN - 1474-225X
VL - 11
SP - 188
EP - 202
JO - International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church
JF - International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church
IS - 2-3
ER -