The Unknown Christ of Christianity

Since its publication in 1964, The Unknown Christ of Hinduism has been singled out for praise as the quintessential example of Raimon Panikkar’s engagement with theology of religions. Controversies over the real meaning of the title and the author’s remark that Christ is unknown to Hindus and a fortiori to Christians have been waged among generations of scholars. Refusing to isolate Panikkar’s concerns with the Hindu-Christian dialogue from much larger theological and biblical debates occurring in the period before and during the Vatican Council II, this book suggests that the unknown Christ of Christianity is the plastic representation of an insufficient degree of universality of the Church. Rejecting traditional interpretations that identify a gulf between the first and the second edition of The Unknown, this book argues for a continuity in Raimon Panikkar’s thought.