Page 149 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

T H E C A N O N I C A L S T R U C T U R E
requires one who serves as His icon, making His presence
visible within the community.
Surrounding the bishop is the college of presbyters. Ac-
cording to the Ignatian model, they form an image of the
Apostles gathered around Christ. This is not merely a practical
arrangement but an eschatological reality. The witness of the
Apostles belongs to the final judgment of the world, and the
image of their communion with Christ must already be re-
flected in the life of the Church. The presbyterium, therefore,
is not simply a collection of individuals but a college, a com-
munion, as it was in the early Church.
Together with the deacons, who assist in the life and service
of the community, this structure forms the basic organization
of the Church: the community of the baptized, gathered
around the bishop, surrounded by the presbyters, and served
by the deacons. According to Ignatius of Antioch, only where
this structure is fully present can we properly speak of the
Church (ἐκκλησία), because only here is the Eucharist cele-
brated in its fullness, and only here is the Church of God fully
revealed and realized.
The organization of the Orthodox Church is founded upon
this principle. Despite the many deviations that have occurred
through historical and theological developments, this vision
remains normative. Any abandonment of it would mean a loss
not merely of structure, but of the very identity and essence of
Orthodoxy.
From this fundamental principle arise several essential
characteristics of the Church’s canonical structure. The bish-
op, as head of the local Church, embodies the entire commu-
nity and becomes the image of Christ who unites all within
Himself. Through him, the Church manifests its catholicity at
the local level, transcending all natural and social divisions
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