Interpersonal Forgiveness from an Eastern Orthodox Perspective

Abstract

In the last 15 years, Christian and secular psychologists in the western tradition have written much about interpersonal forgiveness and reconciliation. The eastern Christian tradition (i.e., the Orthodox Church) has not had much of a voice in this discussion. In order to promote dialogue and assist clinicians in their ministry to Orthodox Christians, this article proposes some basic elements of an Orthodox view of interpersonal forgiveness and reconciliation, links those elements with eastern theology and anthropology, and compares them with concepts from western Christian and secular psychology.