Contesting Ontological Eastern-ness: Florovsky’s Neo-Patristic Synthesis as a Postmodern and Postcolonial Response to Orientalism and Slavophilia

This paper contends that Orientalism and right-wing Slavophilia are based in the same colonial epistemology aimed to disentangle, legitimize, and hierarchize the sociopolitical categories of “East” and “West.” With this as a backdrop, I will propose a reading of Florovsky’s neo-patristic synthesis as a postmodern and postcolonial response to both, attempting to reconstruct a foundation for self-actualized Orthodox Christian identity neither in subjugation nor in contrast to Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. I will explore how this differs from a Slavophilic reading of neo-patristic synthesis, which I call “neo-patristic reactionism,” focusing on method and historiography. Lastly, I will discuss its implications for contemporary Orthodox ecclesiology and ecumenical relations, including an appraisal of its flaws and limitations.