(02/03/1927 - 11/01/2001)The dogmatic teaching of the ever-memorable Fr. John Romanides ... opened new, as well as traditional-patristic, roads for contemporary Orthodox theology.... You achieved to transmit correctly the thought and words of the ever-memorable Theologian of the 20th century, who was a child of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, producing spiritual sap from the healthy roots of the reverent and holy-bearing Cappadocia from where he was from, and who was given to discern and to proclaim the truth that true Theology is not moralism or academic scholasticism, but the experience of purification, illumination and theosis.
- Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
I remain, from the beginning, immovable in my opinion that we can easily refer to a "pre-Romanides" and a "post-Romanides" period in the area of our Theology, as well as our academics. Because he by the Grace of God and his deep paternal nature, opened to us the road to freedom from our scholastic oppression, leading us once again to the empirical theologizing of our saints - Prophets, Apostles and Fathers. He restored thus the true understanding for the terms "theology" and "theologian", yet identifying the objective contents of the terms "East-West", in their spiritual dimensions. I often ask myself, with full gratitude, what would we be theologically without Fr. Romanides.
- Fr. George Metallinos
I theorize that the work of Fr. John Romanides is a continuation from the fourteenth century and resembles the work of Saint Gregory Palamas, who faced Barlaam and the Barlaamites. Fr. John Romanides with power, determination, and theological adequacy faced the Barlaamites of our era and presented the value of Orthodox teaching outside of the stochastic, moralistic, idealistic, and religious, magical admixture. For this he has the love of Saint Gregory Palamas and the Hesychast Fathers.
- Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos
- Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
I remain, from the beginning, immovable in my opinion that we can easily refer to a "pre-Romanides" and a "post-Romanides" period in the area of our Theology, as well as our academics. Because he by the Grace of God and his deep paternal nature, opened to us the road to freedom from our scholastic oppression, leading us once again to the empirical theologizing of our saints - Prophets, Apostles and Fathers. He restored thus the true understanding for the terms "theology" and "theologian", yet identifying the objective contents of the terms "East-West", in their spiritual dimensions. I often ask myself, with full gratitude, what would we be theologically without Fr. Romanides.
- Fr. George Metallinos
I theorize that the work of Fr. John Romanides is a continuation from the fourteenth century and resembles the work of Saint Gregory Palamas, who faced Barlaam and the Barlaamites. Fr. John Romanides with power, determination, and theological adequacy faced the Barlaamites of our era and presented the value of Orthodox teaching outside of the stochastic, moralistic, idealistic, and religious, magical admixture. For this he has the love of Saint Gregory Palamas and the Hesychast Fathers.
- Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos and taken from my book Essays In Honor of Protopresbyter John Romanides (1927-2001).
