The doctrine of Karl Rahner on the relationship between freedom and grace in the issue of salvation in the light of orthodox theology

The fact that salvation requires both divine grace and the efforts of the person himself has been recognized by almost everyone who considered the issue of the relationship between freedom and grace. However, there are a number of questions such as, (1) what is grace, (2) how does it correlate with human nature, (3) can a person, by his own natural powers, do the good necessary for salvation, (4) what (freedom or grace) comes first in the issue of salvation. Such question as a rule became a point of divergence and a subject of fierce disputes. In this article, we offer for consideration the answers that K. Rahner gives to these questions. The reference to his works is relevant for two reasons: (1) the position of Catholic theology on this issue in the Russian Orthodox academic environment is practically unexplored, while Rahner is one of the most ranked 20th century Western Church theologians; (2) in his writings we find a systematic and detailed model of the relationship between grace and freedom, which has not only internal consistency, but is also included in his theological system as a whole. Not only Rahner’s position is proposed for consideration, but also how it relates to the teachings of the holy fathers, namely St. Augustine, St. John Cassian the Roman, St. Gregory the Theologian and the Corpus of Dionysius the Areopagite.