''Phronema'' is a transliteration of the Greek word φρόνημα, which has the meanings of "mind", "spirit", "thought", "purpose", "will", and can have either a positive meaning ("high spirit", "resolution", "pride") or a bad sense ("presumption", "arrogance").
In the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
, the word is used four times in
Saint Paul's Letter to the Romans
The Epistle to the Romans is the sixth book in the New Testament, and the longest of the thirteen Pauline epistles. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by Paul the Apostle to explain that salvation is offered through the gospel of Je ...
: twice with "τῆς σαρκός" (of the flesh) and twice with "τοῦ πνεύματος" (of the spirit): "for the ''mind'' of the flesh
sdeath, and the ''mind'' of the Spirit – life and peace; because the ''mind'' of the flesh
senmity to God ...and He who is searching the hearts hath known what
sthe ''mind'' of the Spirit" (Romans 8:6-7,27).
Eastern Orthodox theology
The term ''phronema'' is used in
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
for one particular ''mindset'' or ''outlook'' – the ''Orthodox mind''. The attaining of ''phronema'' in this sense is a matter of practicing the correct faith (''orthodoxia'') in the correct manner (''orthopraxis''). Attaining ''phronema'' is regarded as the first step toward ''
theosis'', the state of ''glorification''
''Phronema'' is also the name of the official annual review of
St Andrew's Greek Orthodox Theological College, Sydney, Australia. It presents articles and book reviews from Orthodox and non-Orthodox on topics with central reference to theology, Church history and Orthodoxy.
Use by John Henry Newman
The term was used by
John Henry Newman
John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...
in an article published in 1859 under the title "On Consulting the Faithful in Matters of Doctrine". He said that the ''consensus'' of the faithful is to be regarded as "a sort of instinct, or ''phronēma'', deep in the bosom of the mystical body of Christ".
Use by Ernst Haeckel
The term was used by
Ernst Haeckel
Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel (; 16 February 1834 – 9 August 1919) was a German zoologist, naturalist, eugenicist, philosopher, physician, professor, marine biologist and artist. He discovered, described and named thousands of new sp ...
in his book ''The Wonders of Life''
Ernst Haeckel, ''The Wonders of Life: A Popular Study of Biological Philosophy'' (London, 1904, Watts & Co.)
/ref> where (p. 342) the phronema is the name given to a part of the cortex, as “the real organ of mind”.
See also
*Hesychasm
Hesychasm (; Greek: Ησυχασμός) is a contemplative monastic tradition in the Eastern Orthodox Church in which stillness (''hēsychia'') is sought through uninterrupted Jesus prayer. While rooted in early Christian monasticism, it took it ...
*Praxis (Orthodox)
Praxis, a transliteration of the Greek word (derived from the stem of the verb , "to do, to act"), means "practice, action, doing". More particularly, it means either:
# practice, as distinguished from theory, of an art, science, etc.; or practic ...
*Theoria
Christian mysticism is the tradition of mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative presence of God" ...
*Theosis (Eastern Orthodox theology)
''Theosis'' ( grc, θέωσις), or deification (deification may also refer to '' apotheosis'', lit. "making divine"), is a transformative process whose aim is likeness to or union with God, as taught by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the C ...
;People
*Alexander Schmemann
Alexander Dmitrievich Schmemann (russian: Алекса́ндр Дми́триевич Шме́ман, ''Aleksandr Dmitrievich Šmeman''; 13 September 1921 – 13 December 1983) was an influential Orthodox priest, theologian, and author who had mos ...
*Georges Florovsky
Georges Vasilievich Florovsky (Russian: Гео́ргий Васи́льевич Флоро́вский; – August 11, 1979) was a Russian Orthodox priest, theologian, and historian.
Born in the Russian Empire, he spent his working life in Pari ...
*John Meyendorff
John Meyendorff (french: Jean Meyendorff; russian: Ива́н Феофи́лович Мейендо́рф, tr. ; February 17, 1926 – July 22, 1992) was a leading theologian of the Orthodox Church of America as well as a writer and teacher. He s ...
*Vladimir Lossky
Vladimir Nikolaievich Lossky (russian: Влади́мир Никола́евич Ло́сский; 1903–1958) was a Russian Eastern Orthodox theologian exiled in Paris. He emphasized '' theosis'' as the main principle of Eastern Orthodox Christi ...
References
{{Greek Orthodox Christianity
Eastern Orthodox theology
Christian terminology
Greek words and phrases