Page 153 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

U N I T Y A N D D I V E R S I T Y
Augustine of Hippo, the one God came to be identified primar-
ily with divine substance, while the three persons were under-
stood as distinctions within that substance. In such a frame-
work, personhood—associated with otherness and freedom—
tends to be subordinated to the necessity of substance.
The implications of this shift are far-reaching. If unity is
primary and diversity secondary, then otherness becomes a
problem to be managed rather than a constitutive element of
being. Freedom itself risks being absorbed into necessity. This
is not only a Trinitarian issue—it is also an ecclesiological one.
If the Church is truly the Church of God, she must reflect the
very way in which God exists.
In contrast, the Greek patristic tradition maintains that
unity and diversity are equally primary. The one and the many
coincide fully and simultaneously in God. God is not first one
and then three, but always one and three. The general cannot
exist without the particular.
For the Fathers, the one God is identified not with an ab-
stract substance, but with the Person of the Father. This means
that unity itself is personal and relational. Otherness is not an
addition to unity—it is built into it. As Athanasius of Alexan-
dria insists, without the Son the Father would not be Father;
His very being would be incomplete. Thus, substance itself is
relational.
This vision has direct consequences for the life of the
Church.
There is no area where unity and diversity coexist more
vividly than in the ministry of the Church. Ministry is rooted
in the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and charisms are by nature
diverse. As the Apostle asks: “Are all apostles? Are all prophets?
Are all teachers?” The answer is clearly no. The Body of Christ
is composed of many members, each bearing a distinct gift.
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