Alfons Bruning Different Humans and Different Rights? The Concept of Human Dignity in Western and Eastern Orthodox Perspectives Alfons Bruning - Faculty Member of the Institute of Eastern Christian Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen (Netherlands). a.bruening@ivoc.ru.nl Focusing on the concept of human dignity, the article compares the views of Eastern Orthodox theology and "western" approaches with further distinction between secular, generally neutral models, and Christian theology. Analysis of Eastern Orthodox theology, of the idea of theosis (deification) in particular, shows that theological foundations of "human dignity" in East and West are often closer to each other than it is usually assumed. Consequently, the actual borderline apparently runs not so much between East and West, but rather between secular and religious approaches. At the same time, the existing models of human dignity and human rights seem to have reached dead ends and need a new orientation in order to provide convincing responses to new challenges. The Eastern Orthodox teaching of theosis, as applied in the "Bases of the Russian Orthodox Church's Teaching on Human Dignity, Freedom and Human Rights" can offer a number of new insights that can be combined with western perspectives for mutual enrichment. Keywords: human dignity, human rights, Russian Orthodox Church, theosis, Christian anthropology. Статья основана на тексте лекции, написанной на нидерландском языке и прочитанной в Свободном университете (Vrije Universiteit) и Протестантском теологическом университете (Protestantse Theologische Universiteit) в Амстердаме 24 января 2013 года по случаю моего вступления в должность. Текст был дополнен и исправлен. стр. 166Введение ЗА ПОСЛЕДНИЕ десятилетия термин "достоинство человека" сделал блистательную, хотя и весьма неоднозначную карьеру. Он популярен, но не всегда ясен вкладываемый в него смысл. Вот, что написано в преамбуле Всеобщей декларации прав человека ООН от 1948 года, одного из сам ... Read more