This thesis examines the theology of pregnancy within the Eastern Orthodox Church. In particular, it explores the understanding of the pregnant body as an image of the church, as well as the Orthodox view of biological pregnancy. Drawing upon some patristic sources, as well as the writings of contemporary Orthodox theologians including John Zizioulas, John Breck and Vigen Guroian, it reveals that, though the Orthodox Church opposes abortion, this opposition cannot be grounded in an appeal to the idea of the "rights of the foetus." This is because an emphasis upon the individual's "rights" undermines much of the Eastern Church's understanding of personhood. Rather, the Orthodox Church's opposition to abortion is grounded in a eucharistic approach to justice, and in its positive theology of pregnancy, wherein particular pregnancies within the church are contextualized by the pregnancy of Mary the mother of Christ, and therefore stand as an icon of the larger church body.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.112399 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Humphrey, Meredith. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Faculty of Religious Studies.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002714035, proquestno: AAIMR51383, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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