Page 160 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

O r t h o d o x y
The Bishop in the Orthodox Church
In the consciousness of the Orthodox Churches, the bishop
occupies a central position. The Ignatian saying, “Wherever
the bishop is there is the Church,” continues to shape both the
mind of the faithful and the position of Orthodox theology as
a whole. Without exaggeration, one could say that Orthodox
ecclesiology is fundamentally episcopocentric.
It became clear that sacramental theology cannot be treat-
ed autonomously, but belongs to ecclesiology. In speaking of
the sacraments, one encounters the mystery of the Church in
its entirety. If the bishop is necessary as the foundation of the
Church, he must also be necessary as the foundation of each
sacrament, above all the Eucharist.
The Eucharist does not represent simply one sacrament
among many, but the sacrament of unity par excellence, the
expression of the mystery of the Church itself. If, therefore, the
bishop is indispensable as the head of each local Church, he is
also indispensable as the head of each eucharistic assembly,
since such an assembly manifests the Church in her fullness.
Thus, the bishop is organically linked with the Eucharist, as he
was in the early centuries.
To understand this more deeply, two fundamental princi-
ples form the background of the Orthodox concept of episco-
pacy.
According to the first, the Church is viewed from the angle
of her historical existence. She continues in history the mis-
sion of Christ, who, as the Apostle par excellence, is sent by
the Father and sends His Apostles to proclaim the Gospel and
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