St. Photios the Great on Papal Primacy, Filioque, & Christology

St. Photios the Great stands at the center of crucial debates over Papal Primacy, the Filioque, and Christology, with enduring relevance for Orthodox–Catholic dialogue. In this lecture, Professor Theodore Alexopoulos explores how St. Photios defended the Orthodox faith, shaped the legacy of the Eighth Ecumenical Council, and clarified the Church’s teaching on the procession of the Holy Spirit. Discover why his witness remains vital for understanding the unity of the Church and the boundaries of true doctrine.

This is the full lecture by Dr. Theodore Alexopoulos from the conference: "On the Eighth Œcumenical Council: The Catholic Condemnation of the Filioque" that took place on March 14 - 16th, 2024 in Lake Guntersville, AL. The original title of his talk was: "St. Photius the Great’s Importance for Resolving Disputes on Primacy, the Filioque and Christology, with reference to the Holy Eighth Oecumenical Council."

Professor Alexopoulos is a faculty member in the Department of Religion at the Kirchliche Pädagogische Hochschule Vienna/Krems and an instructor in Greek Patristics, Byzantine Church Literature and Ecumenical Theology.

Professor Alexopoulos received his masters and doctorate in Theology from the Theological School of the University of Athens, where he has also served as a visiting lecturer. He has also served as a visiting lecturer at the Universities of Heidelberg, Fribourg, Vienna and Bern, where he was also a research assistant and fellow. He is also the oldest Orthodox member of the International Conference on Saint Gregory of Nyssa (founded in 1967).

His monographs include: The Notion of Being according to Saint Gregory of Nyssa with comparative references to Neo-platonic thought and the Areopagitic Works. Athens 2006, (2008)2, 668 S. (in Greek), The Notions of Time and Diastema according to Saint Gregory of Nyssa. Athens 2008, 168 S. (in Greek), and DER AUSGANG DES THEARCHISCHEN GEISTES. Eine Untersuchung der Filioque-Frage and Photios' Mystagogie, Konstantin Melitiniotes Zwei Antirrheitici und Augustins De Trinitate, published by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht-unipress, Göttingen 2009.

His articles are many, and include those most pertinent to the conference’s theme, such as: “The Principle of the Incommunicable of the Hypostatic Properties according to Photius, the Cappadocians and the Areopagitic Works,” in: THEOLOGIA78/1 (2007) 241-263, “The Filioque Controversy in the 13th century: A Collection of major Church Fathers’ citations advanced by the Filioque-supporters in order to fortify their theological position. Conceptual consistency with writers of the Latin West,” in: TEOLOGIA(Revista Facultatii de Teologie din Arad), Vol. 49/4 (2012) 43-60, and a review of Tia Kolbabas book: Inventing the Latin Heretics. The Byzantines and the Filioque in the Ninth Century, Kalamazoo, Medieval Institute Publications 2008, in: BYZANTINISCHEZEITSCHRIFT104/2 (2011) 768-773.

He has also contributed to international conferences on themes pertinent to our conference, such as: “Photius und Konstantinos Melitiniotes on the Filioque. A comparative Study,” in: STUDIAPATRISTICA50 (2011) 287-298, and “The Byzantine Filioque-Supporters in the 13th Century John Beccos and Konstantin Melitiniotes and their relation with Augustine and Thomas Aquinas,” in: STUDIAPATRISTICA68 (2013) 381-395.

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