the theological scene. This book deserves wide readership as a crucial theological contribution to debates about our political and personal lives." —William Schweiker, University of Chicago

"In The Mystical as Political, Papanikolaou not only guides readers through the rich legacy of Eastern Orthodox political thought, from the formative struggles of the pre-Constantinian era to the post-Enlightenment, post-Ottoman, and post-Communist challenges encountered today, but also presents a compelling argument that Orthodoxy's goal of 'divine-human communion' can—and should—include core elements of modern liberal democracy and the human rights tradition. This study signals a new phase in political theology for Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike, and it secures Papanikolaou's place as one of today's leading Orthodox thinkers and theological bridge-builders." —Perry T. Hamalis, North Central College

“Aristotle Papanikolaou’s The Mystical as Political will bebeen critical of Western liberalism. Instead, Papanikolaou mines his own Eastern Orthodox tradition to put forward an understanding of the political through a theology of divine-human communion.

The driving force behind The Mystical as Political is the doctrine of theosis. As Papanikolaou makes clear, this is a doctrine that is central to the Eastern Orthodox understanding of Christianity. However, he reorients the idea from becoming divine to the communion that takes place between the divine and human. With this in mind, he understands politics as the place that ensuresthe possibility of making a choice for divine-human communion to take place, as well as the choice to reject it. Interestingly, the political has to keep open the possibility of the non-church in order for the church to rightly complete its