Fr. George Florovsky's "The Last Things and the Last Events" (1 of 3)

THE LAST THINGS AND THE LAST EVENTS

By Archpriest George Florovsky (1893-1979)

Eschatology - an unpopular topic

Eschatology was for a long time a neglected field in modern theology. The arrogant phrase of Ernst Troeltsch - "The bureau of eschatology is for the most part closed" - was distinctively characteristic of the whole liberal tradition, since the Age of the Enlightenment. Nor is this neglect for eschatological issues fully overcome in contemporary thought. In certain quarters eschatology is still regarded as an obsolete relic of the forlorn past. The theme itself is avoided, or it is summarily dismissed as unreal and irrelevant. The modern man is not concerned with the last events. This attitude of neglect was recently reinforced by the rise of theological Existentialism. Now, Existentialism does claim to be itself an eschatological doctrine. But it is a sheer abuse of terms. Eschatology is radically interiorized in its existentialist reinterpretation. It is actually swallowed up in the immediacy of personal decisions. In a sense, modern Existentialism in theology is but a fresh variation on the old Pietistic theme. In the last resort, it amounts to the radical dehistorization of the Christian faith. Events of history are eclipsed by the events of inner life. The Bible itself is used as a book of parables and patterns. History is no more than a passing frame. Eternity can be encountered and tasted at any time. History is no more a theological problem.

The Miracle of the Church of the Prophet Elijah in Chernobyl

The Only Church Open in the Chernobyl Zone Shows the Minimum Radiation Level

April 20, 2011

Interfax

25 years from the date of the Chernobyl accident (26 April 1986), the radiation level in the area of Prophet Elijah Church, the only church operating in the exclusion zone, was well below the level across the zone, Chernobyl disaster liquidators state.

"Even in the hardest days of 1986, the area around Prophet Elijah Church was clean (from radiation - IF), not to mention that the church itself was also clean," the president of the Ukrainian Chernobyl Union Yury Andreyev said in a Kiev-Moscow video conference on Wednesday.