Latin American liberation theology: economic conditions, current state and orthodox reflection

The 20th century was full ofpolitical and social changes, both in Russia and in other continents. The Catholic countries of Latin America in 1970th experienced significant economic stratification of society and economic problems on the one hand and liberalisation of the Church life on the other hand, therefore a specific socio-theological concept has been developed, which is known as Liberation Theology. Despite the fact it was developed within Catholicism, some provisions raised concerns and criticism from the Vatican side for both theological and practical issues. In today's Russia, we observe deterioration of relationships with the Western world and transformation of a purely capitalist economic system that took shape at the turn of the century. The article deals with the main postulates and criticism of the Liberation Theology, analysis of its relations with the Christian faith in general, and the Orthodox doctrine. Additionally, we considered the draft document "Economy in the context ofglobalisation. Orthodox Ethical View", developed by Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church and claimed to address the socio-economic challenges of our times.