Anastasios Yiannoulatos, Universality and Orthodoxy, Studies of Orthodox Speculation, Akritas, 2000, pages 285.

            The book “Universality and Orthodoxy” (or “Facing the world” in its English version), is a collection of studies by Archbishop Anastasios Yiannoulatos, most of which were presented at International Conferences. All of them are related to the contemporary issue of globalization and the role of Orthodoxy, as well as the challenges of multiculturalism.

In the 1^st chapter, Archbishop Anastasios deals with the global community, in which religion as a spiritual and social phenomenon has both united and divided people. He holds the view that the role of religion and especially of Christianity is to show how this global community will be transformed into a community of love, a community with the fellow-man, the world and God.

In the 2^nd chapter, he develops the issue of human rights from an Orthodox perspective. The important difference between the Ecumenical Declaration of Human Rights and religion is that the latter refers to the relationship between man and God. More specifically, Orthodoxy did not establish any kind of social or political system, but tried to transform them in Christ and in the Holy Spirit.

            The 3^rd chapter starts with the definition of the concept of culture. Culture is important because it is created by man, who is created in the image and likeness of God and because the Gospel is articulated by him. The Church adopts all the cultural elements that harmonize with the evangelical message and rejects all the uncompromising and opposing to it elements. The radiation of the Gospel’s viability in civilization was obvious when the Gospel encountered the Islamic culture and the communist Marxist ideology.

The 4^th chapter describes the dialogue of Orthodoxy with Islam in four different periods, starting from the decades after Mohammed’s death (632) until the middle of the 19^th century, and the contemporary dialogue that takes place on the level of academic theology.

 The 5^th chapter refers to the theological understanding of other religions and the Orthodox attitude towards the different beliefs of the world, defined by the conviction that God is one, father and creator of all people.

The 6^th chapter is dedicated to the meaning of religious experience in the global community. The Orthodox vision of a catholic testimony that embraces the whole of human life, in all its dimensions and meaning, is clearly depicted in the work of the Three Hierarchs.

The 7^th chapter describes the dynamics of a catholic and continuous change that starts from the human being and expands to the whole creation.

In the last chapter, Archbishop Anastasios discusses the particularities and repercussions of globalization and the phenomenon of religion in the end of the 20^th century, emphasizing ecumenicity as the spiritual foundation of Orthodoxy.