I was browsing around the orthodoxwiki site and I found this section on Timothy Ware that has since been edited out:
quote:He is believed to promote an English Orthodox Church, independent from Constantinople. He is respected as a scholar of the Orthodox faith and is inspired by an old-fashioned attitude that his Western, Anglo-Saxon background is superior to that of ethnic Greeks - towards whom he exhibits a polite disdain.
You are right in your observation and I feel that I am right in mine. My contribution was based on personal observation and interpretation, and also from listening to others (though there is certainly no unanimity). It transpired that Timothy Ware is most appreciated for his scholarly work and forgiven for his 'racist' attitude towards Greeks because it is demonstrated so politely. I would argue that his 'racism' is a product of his generation. But it also the manifestation of the unreconciled heart and mind of a particular kind of convert. His intellectual approach to the Greek Orthodox faith exemplifies all the rigour of a Protestant heart and of a need for 'straight' empiricism; these are truly worthy attributes, but not appropriate for tackling the depths of Greek Orthodoxy or for coming to terms with the inherent Orthodoxy that comes from being born into an ancient Orthodox dailiness. In the case of Timothy Ware, this gap between scholarly rigour and the Orthodox condition cannot be reconciled, so it is resolved through the 'racist' attitude he was probably born into and educated by. At least, that is how I view the situation for the time being. Respectufully Politis.
George, or anyone else, have you read anything about this before? Is this user Politis telling the truth or is this just sensationalism?
I agree with Aristokles. In what I have read by Bishop Kallistos (not Timothy), that is "The Orthodox Church", and "The Orthodox Way", there are points I would argue (himself says that many of his points need revision), but I didn't see anything that would support what you copy from wiki, not only as regards the past, but even for the present. A phrase from "The Orthodox Church" is characteristic, where Kallistos writes that whoever wants to understand the social involvement of Orthodoxy in everyday life should see the great charitable work of the Church of Greece.
Timothy Ware Anti-Greek?
Posted - 11 Sep 2007 : 08:42:56
