Theology and the Limitations of Psychology

Orthodox theology is revealed knowledge acquired through the experience of God.  Theology shows us what a whole, healed, perfect human person looks like.  This is the image given to Sts. Peter, James, and John on Mount Tabor. (1)  The Orthodox Way shows us who human beings were intended to be in the beginning, who we are now, and who we can become.  By way of experiential revealed theology, not speculative rational philosophy or theorizing, we know the ultimate cause of our problems and the most thorough cure for the healing of the human person.

Secular psychology is quite limited.  It is based, not on revelation, but on the observation of fallen humanity (that is, human beings who are afflicted by death and its symptom - the sickness of soul and body).  A “normal” person through the perspective of psychology is still a person suffering from sickness, corruption, and death.  "Normal" in a secular sense is far from perfection.

While the Orthodox understand human behavior and the cure of the human person from within the  revealed Tradition, which has been passed down and lived through the centuries from generation to generation, secular psychology is constantly observing human behavior and rationally speculating on causes for behaviors and methods for treatment.  While the methods of secular psychology can help people to some degree on a psychological (rational) and emotional level, it can never reach far enough to heal the soul on the spiritual level, where the root cause of sickness lies. The Orthodox Way, on the other hand, penetrates deeply into the soul to cure the entire human person.  

Theories of secular psychology cannot be effectively grafted onto the inexhaustible Mystery of the Orthodox Church.   The social sciences, including psychology, like the hard sciences, are by nature always open to change.  No scientific theory based on human ideas about the created universe should be dogmatized, but all theories, models, and views may be challenged, changed, or discarded in light of new evidence.  Revealed divine theology, which remains constant and abides in fullness within the Church, can never be tied to or integrated with humanly-made scientific theories or philosophies that progress and change over time.  Secular psychology has nothing to teach the Church, which is the “pillar and ground of truth” and fountain of healing.  Orthodox mental health professionals may, however, find helpful techniques developed within secular psychology based on observation of human behavior that could prove useful when firmly planted in the phronema (mind) and life of the Orthodox Church, the healing context of the Orthodox Way.  

A lay Orthodox mental health professional, dedicated to prayer, can make known the active presence and unconditional love of God to those who seek healing.  Some patients will be open to pursuing the deepest healing within the life of the Church, while others may deny the spiritual reality or resist addressing spiritual issues.  Even in secular facilities, Orthodox therapists may be permitted to ask clients about their religious/spiritual backgrounds and may endeavor to help the person understand who the true God is while guiding them toward an understanding of God's  love for us.  In our society, people (including atheists) tend to have a concept of God based to Western ideologies.  A mental health professional can perhaps share parables about the kingdom of heaven from the Holy Gospels and passages from the writings of the Fathers.  Hopefully, many Orthodox mental health care centers will be established wherein patients, Orthodox Christians and non-Orthodox people, can receive quality care according to the Orthodox ethos within the context of the life of the Church.

Orthodox mental health professionals who wish to be the offer the best care must pursue their own salvation with humility, prayer, and repentance.    

(1) See a sermon by St. Gregory Palamas on the Transfiguration on the OCA website.

Orthodox Spirituality: A Brief Introduction

"In the interpretation of [the Parable of the Good Samaritan] by St. Chrysostom it is clearly shown that the Church is a Hospital which cures people wounded by sin; and the bishops-priests are the therapists of the people of God.

And this precisely is the work of Orthodox theology. When referring to Orthodox theology, we do not simply mean a history of theology. The latter is, of course, a part of this but not absolutely or exclusively. In patristic tradition, theologians are the God-seers. St. Gregory Palamas calls Barlaam a theologian, but he clearly emphasizes that intellectual theology differs greatly from the experience of the vision of God. According to St. Gregory Palamas theologians are the God-seers; those who have followed the 'method' of the Church and have attained to perfect faith, to the illumination of the nous and to divinization (theosis). Theology is the fruit of man's therapy and the path which leads to therapy and the acquisition of the knowledge of God.

Western theology however has differentiated itself from Eastern Orthodox theology. Instead of being therapeutic, it is more intellectual and emotional in character. In the West, Scholastic theology evolved, which is antithetical to the Orthodox tradition. Western theology is based on rational thought whereas Orthodoxy is hesychastic. Scholastic theology tried to understand logically the Revelation of God and conform to philosophical methodology. Characteristic of such an approach is the saying of Anselm of Canterbury: 'I believe so as to understand'. The Scholastics acknowledged God at the outset and then endeavoured to prove His existence by logical arguments and rational categories. In the Orthodox Church, as expressed by the Holy Fathers, faith is God revealing Himself to man. We accept faith by hearing it not so that we can understand it rationally, but so that we can cleanse our hearts, attain to faith by 'theoria' and experience the Revelation of God."

This selection has been taken from Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, Orthodox Spirituality: A Brief Introduction, trans. by Effie Mavromichali (Levadia, Greece: Birth of the Theotokos Monastery, 1998), 24-26.

The first three chapters from this book on "Defining Orthodox Spirituality," "Differences Between Orthodox Spirituality and Other Traditions," and "The Core of Orthodox Spirituality" are available online.