"THE WAY"
(An Introduction to the Orthodox Faith)
by Protopresbyter fr. George D. Metallinos
Professor Emeritus of the Athens University
CHAPTER 1
THE REDEMPTIVE DIALOGUE
BETWEEN CREATED AND UNCREATED IN HISTORY
History, according to one point of view, is the
eternal “carriage of world reality”, which takes every man from the first
moment of his life, and transports him to his eternal destination. Man, as
a persona, i.e. a God-created, free being, deposits his acts (RES GESTAE) in
History and at the same time he self-actualizes in accordance with the purpose
of his existence. Christianly speaking, however, History has a “mind”. It
is not just an arbitrary flow and interweaving of events and occurrences; it
simultaneously offers itself to Man as a possibility for affirmation of his
worth, for the fulfillment of his destiny. That is, universal history is
comprised of the personal histories of all men, as success or
failure to realize this common purpose of every man.