LIFE AFTER DEATH

Life after Death

Preface to the English edition

Introduction

1. The parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus about life after death

1. The parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
2. Interpretive analysis of the parable

2. The separation of the soul from the body         

1. Definition of the soul
2. The creation and origin of the soul
3. Death and the ancestral sin
4. The mystery of the soul’s departure from the body                    
5. The taxing of souls
6. The intermediate state of souls
7. The death of infants
8. Conclusions

3. Experiences after death   

1. Contemporary after-death experiences
2. Critique of these experiences from an Orthodox point of view      
3. The discernment of experiences

4. The immortality of the soul      

1. Immortality of the soul according to philosophy
2. The immortality of the soul according to Orthodox theology         
3. Belief in the soul’s mortality and the Orthodox Church   

5. The purifying fire

1. The discussions at Ferrara-Florence about the purifying fire      
2. The teaching of St Mark Eugenicus about the purifying fire      

a. Dogmatic discussion is needed

b. Paradise and Hell exist

c. There is no purifying fire

d. Theological arguments against the existence of a purifying fire

e. Interpretation of an apostolic passage

f. Patristic passages in the dialogue

g. The eternal fire is uncreated

h. The source of the Latins’ teaching about the purifying fire      

6. The Second Coming of Christ    

1. The coming of Christ in glory
2. The resurrection of the dead
3. The coming Judgment

7. Paradise and Hell

1. Holy Scripture on Paradise and Hell
2. The holy Fathers on Paradise and Hell
3. Paradise and Hell in the life of the Church
4. The theological and ecclesiological consequences of the Orthodox perception of Hell        

8. The restoration of all things       

1. Ancient philosophers and theologians on the restoration of all things  

2. The views of the interpreters on the position of St Gregory of Nyssa as to the restoration of all things                  

3. Interpretive comments on the teaching of St Gregory of Nyssa about the restoration of all things         

a. His great ecclesiastical personality

b. His views about philosophy

c. His teaching about man’s choice and the perpetuity of Hell     

d. Interpretive analysis of particular passages

e. Interpretation of St Gregory of Nyssa by the Fathers of the Church     

4. Conclusion

9. Eternal life           

1. The Kingdom of God
2. The renewal of creation
3. The continuing development in the age to come

10. Timeless eschatology     

1. Interpretation of the term ‘eschatology’
2. Time in the Orthodox conception
3. The past and present of the last things

a) What the Kingdom of God is

b) The last things as the first

c) The last things as present

Epilogue                    

The Feast of the Kingdom