Advice from St. Maximos Confessor for Contemporary Macedonians

Authors

James R. Payton Jr., Redeemer University College, Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

Abstract

All three of our monotheistic religions rely on the divine Word, written for us: for Jews in the Tanakh, for Christians also in the New Testament, and for Muslims as well in the Qur’an. For all our disagreements with each other, we recognize a common rootedness in a tradition of faith finding its beginning in Abraham, for Jews carried forward by the patriarchs and Moses, for Christians fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and for Muslims culminating in Muhammed. Consequently, even in the midst of the tensions that have separated our faiths over the centuries and have contributed recently to the tensions notable in your beautiful land, our religions have enough common heritage that we should be able to listen to and, it may be hoped, appreciate each other – with a view to finding ways both to honor our own religious faith and yet also to honor those who do not share it. For this, we need to try to find emphases and approaches to which we can all resonate. One of these may be found in a declaration which all three of our religions have heard and emphasized.

All three of our monotheistic religions rely on the divine Word, written for us: for Jews in the Tanakh, for Christians also in the New Testament, and for Muslims as well in the Qur’an. For all our disagreements with each other, we recognize a common rootedness in a tradition of faith finding its beginning in Abraham, for Jews carried forward by the patriarchs and Moses, for Christians fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and for Muslims culminating in Muhammed. Consequently, even in the midst of the tensions that have separated our faiths over the centuries and have contributed recently to the tensions notable in your beautiful land, our religions have enough common heritage that we should be able to listen to and, it may be hoped, appreciate each other – with a view to finding ways both to honor our own religious faith and yet also to honor those who do not share it. For this, we need to try to find emphases and approaches to which we can all resonate. One of these may be found in a declaration which all three of our religions have heard and emphasized.

Recommended Citation

Payton, James R. Jr. (2004) "Advice from St. Maximos Confessor for Contemporary Macedonians," Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 24 : Iss. 5 , Article 1.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol24/iss5/1