290 Dialog: A Journal of Theology • Volume 56, Number 3 • Fall 2017 • September Outside the Theme Reception of Analogy of Being in Contemporary Eastern Orthodox Theology By Oleg Davydov Abstract : This article examines the relationship between the analogy of being (which is a fundamental principle of Catholic theology and metaphysics) and the most significant contemporary Eastern Ortho- dox theologians. This question of analogy touches upon the fundamental theological problem of the conceptualization of the relationship between God and creation. Even though there is no analogy in Eastern Orthodox theology, it has two polar positions regarding Western analogy of being—pro and con. Key Terms : analogy of being, Eastern Orthodox theology, ontology, creation Renewal of Interest in Analogia Entis The turbulent and changing intellectual atmosphere of our times opens opportunities for the realization of certain theological ways of thinking, ways that were disregarded during previous centuries. The ex- istential human needs of understanding our own faith rise again, seeking out the treasures of the fruitful theological traditions of the past. In this article, I demonstrate that one significant example of this trend is the renewal of theological interest in the issue of the analogy of being (analogia entis). In the Christian metaphysical tradition of the Middle Ages, which was rooted in the theology of Oleg B. Davydov, Ph.D., is a Research Fellow in Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia. His current research project is about the development of modern Eastern Orthodox philosophical theology. the church fathers, the analogy of being is under- stood as the ambivalent correlation between the acts of creaturely beings and the transcendent infinity of God’s being. Properly understood, the analogy of being gives one reason to believe that individual creaturely existence is good, true, and beautiful. Consequently, the analogy of being consists of two sides that include relationships between the Cre- ator and creation on the metaphysical level—thus becoming an area of interest for both theology and philosophy. It is a well-known fact that the early modern sec- ular rebellion against theology destroyed the domi- nance of Christian theological tradition in favor of mechanistic and positivistic philosophies. However, this did not happen by itself, and the source of the distortion of the Christian tradition is a result of C  2017 Wiley Periodicals and Dialog, Inc.