Miroslav Volf was born in Croatia and grew up in Serbia. He is currently Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School and Director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture. Volf has been described as “an eclectic” and “unusual in many settings ... a Pentecostal among evangelicals, a mainline Christian among evangelicals, and an evangelical in the mainline. Growing up, he was a Christian among communists” (Oppenheimer, 2003:18).
Volf does theology at the intersection of faith and life – and this characteristic makes him an obvious choice among contemporary theologians as we reflect on the ecclesiality of Christian ashrams, for ashrams are meant to be gathered communities that are creatively, and fruitfully, engaged at the intersection of faith and life. Volf is a practitioner of a passionate, open and constructive theology, speaking the implications of his faith beyond the boundaries of the academy or the church and into the needs of the world. He sees his type of theological work as a relevant, and much needed, contribution to understanding and seeking solutions to the problems of life in the world. “Volf offers theology not as the exclusive province of Christians, but as an appeal to the whole world” (Stafford 1999:35).
Volf’s broad topic in his book, After Our Likeness
, is ‘the relation between persons and community in Christian theology.’ In the first part of the book Volf engages in a dialogue (in itself a model of how ecumenical dialogue should be conducted: open and appreciative, critical and sustained) with Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) and the metropolitan John Zizioulas, both of whom he recognizes “as more or less official representatives” of Catholic and Orthodox ecclesiology. As he moves towards his ultimate goal of spelling out “a vision of the church as an image of the triune God,” he purposes “to counter the tendencies towards individualism in Protestant ecclesiology” and also to develop an “understanding of the church in which both person and community are given their proper due.” (1998:2)Based upon his presentation of a ‘non-hierarchical doctrine of the Trinity’, Volf seeks to develop a non-hierarchical and ‘truly communal’ ecclesiology (1998:4). A primary criticism of the institutional church in India has been its hierarchical and bureaucratic organisation. Thus Volf’s ecclesiology is far in advance of other ecclesiologies and is relevant for our examination of the ashram as an ecclesial community.
Volf is also concerned for the transmission of faith (1998:4) – a concern that has always been central for the Christian ashram pioneers, and to which task the ashram is eminently suited. It would be worthwhile for us to note Volf’s expression of his concern – “My concern is ... to develop an ecclesiology that will facilitate culturally appropriate – which is to say, both culturally sensitive and culturally critical – social embodiments of the Gospel” (1998:5 emphasis in the text).
Here is the link on Amazon.com to Miroslav Volf's book "After Our Likeness: The Church as the Image of the Trinity"
